Deck 2: Internal Structure of the Earth and Plate Tectonics

Question 1

Which tectonic plate boundary is associated with the following features: major earthquakes; no volcanoes; large and high mountain chain is formed? Himalayan Mountains are a geographic example.

A) divergent plate boundary
B) convergent plate boundary (subduction zone)
C) convergent plate boundary (collision zone)
D) transform plate boundary
E) hotspot

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which tectonic plate setting is associated with the following features: light to moderate earthquakes; nonexplosive volcanic eruptions; new oceanic lithosphere produced? Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a geographic example.

A) divergent plate boundary
B) convergent plate boundary (subduction zone)
C) convergent plate boundary (collision zone)
D) transform plate boundary
E) hotspot

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following is TRUE about plate tectonics?

A) Explains that continents drift around the globe, whereas the oceanic crust does not move over geologic time.
B) Explains that the earth's crust is split into plates that float on a completely molten mantle.
C) It is a controversial idea that most geologists now think is incorrect.
D) Explains that the earth's lithosphere is split into large pieces that move on top of a weak and hot layer called the asthenosphere.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

What would be the correct relationship between the crust and the lithosphere?

A) The crust sits on top of the lithosphere.
B) The lithosphere sits on top of the crust.
C) The lithosphere and the crust are the same thing.
D) The lithosphere contains both the oceans and the continents, the crust only includes continents.
E) The lithosphere is liquid, whereas the crust is solid.

Question 5

The energy for plate tectonics comes from

A) the magnetic field of the earth.
B) heat from the sun.
C) gravity between the Earth and Moon.
D) ocean currents.
E) heat from the earth's core.

Question 6

Which of the following is the correct order of the layers of the Earth from inside to outside?

A) inner core, outer core, crust, mantle
B) inner core, mantle, outer core, crust
C) crust, inner core, outer core, mantle
D) inner core, outer core, mantle, crust
E) mantle, inner core, crust, outer core

Question 7

The Himalayas are associated with which of the following tectonic plate boundaries?

A) Ocean-continental convergence (subduction)
B) Ocean-ocean convergence (subduction)
C) Continent-continent convergence (collision)
D) Divergent
E) Transform

Question 8

If you wanted to draw the boundaries of tectonic plates on a world map, which of the following maps would give you the most complete information?

A) active volcanoes
B) mid-ocean ridges
C) earthquake distribution
D) edge of continental shelves
E) hotspots

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT a significant source of the internal heat of the earth?

A) Original heat of formation of the planet
B) Heat generated by crystallization of the core
C) Heat from the Sun
D) Radioactive decay of elements scattered throughout the mantle

Question 10

Which of the following best describes the internal structure of the earth?

A) An orange, it has a thin peel with a solid, but watery inside.
B) A bowling ball, it is completely solid all the way through.
C) An egg, it is solid at the core, surrounded by liquid and then a hard outer shell.
D) A geode, it is hollow at the center with a strong, hard, outside layer.
E) A chocolate covered cherry, it is solid at the core surrounded by a liquid layer and semi-solid layer, then covered in a thin solid coating.

Question 11

Which tectonic plate boundary is associated with the following features: strong to major earthquakes; no volcanoes; no mountain chain is formed? San Andreas fault is a geographic example.

A) divergent plate boundary
B) convergent plate boundary (subduction zone)
C) convergent plate boundary (collision zone)
D) transform plate boundary
E) hotspot

Question 12

Which tectonic plate setting is associated with the following features: great earthquakes; explosive volcanic eruptions; oceanic plate sinks into mantle and remelts? Andes Mountains are a geographic example.

A) divergent plate boundary
B) convergent plate boundary (subduction zone)
C) convergent plate boundary (collision zone)
D) transform plate boundary
E) hotspot

Question 13

Which of the following statements is TRUE about a mid-ocean ridge?

A) It includes the deepest parts of the ocean basin.
B) It is located at a divergent boundary where tectonic plates move apart.
C) It is a place where old oceanic lithosphere is remelted.
D) It is a site of explosively erupting volcanoes.
E) It is a site of some of the world's largest and most devastating earthquakes.

Question 14

The characteristic type of tectonic plate motion associated with a transform plate boundary is

A) plates move laterally past each other with horizontal motion.
B) plates move directly towards each other and one plate sinks deep into the mantle.
C) plates move directly towards each other and one plate slides beneath the other.
D) plates move directly away from each other.

Question 15

What is the difference between the inner and outer core of the Earth?

A) The inner core is liquid and the outer core is solid.
B) The inner core is made from magma and the outer core is metal.
C) The inner core is solid and the outer core is liquid.
D) The inner core is cool and the outer core is hot.
E) The inner core is hot and the outer core is cool.

Question 16

The slow movement of the lithosphere is

A) caused by the gravitational attraction from the Moon.
B) a key feature in the theory of plate tectonics.
C) responsible for earthquakes but not volcanoes.
D) speeding up because of human-induced changes.

Question 17

Which of the following is FALSE about the mantle?

A) The mantle surrounds the outer core.
B) The mantle is composed of iron- and magnesium-rich rocks.
C) The density of the rocks in the mantle is higher than water.
D) The density of the rocks in the mantle is lower than the outer core.
E) The mantle is mostly liquid.

Question 18

Where are earthquakes usually the LEAST common?

A) Convergent plate boundaries
B) Divergent plate boundaries
C) Transform plate boundaries
D) Hotspots
E) Central region of tectonic plates

Question 19

Why aren't volcanoes associated with continent-continent convergence?

A) Both plates are too buoyant to sink into the asthenosphere.
B) The continental plate isn't hot enough to cause volcanoes.
C) Volcanoes are not associated with convergent plate boundaries.
D) Rising magma from melted plates can't break through continental crust.
E) Volcanoes only occur on islands in the ocean and not on land.

Question 20

What would you NOT expect to see at locations where tectonic plates are sinking?

A) Earthquakes
B) Volcanoes
C) Magma
D) Undersea mountain range that wraps around the Earth like seams of a baseball
E) Subduction of oceanic lithosphere

Question 21

The youngest seafloor rocks are found

A) nearest to the mid-ocean ridges.
B) nearest to the continental shelves.
C) evenly distributed throughout the ocean.
D) underneath the continents.
E) where the ocean is the flattest.

Question 22

Which of the following hazards would you expect to see at a convergent plate boundary associated with a continent-continent collision zone?

A) moderate strength earthquakes; non-explosive volcanic eruptions; flooding if volcanoes erupt underwater such as in Iceland
B) large earthquakes; explosive volcanic eruptions; landslides and flooding due to long chain of volcanic mountains
C) large earthquakes; no volcanoes; landslides and flooding due to the large plateau of very high mountains
D) large earthquakes; no volcanoes; flooding if the plate boundary is hilly

Question 23

Which of the following hazards would you expect to see at a convergent plate boundary associated with a subduction zone?

A) moderate strength earthquakes; non-explosive volcanic eruptions; flooding if volcanoes erupt underwater such as in Iceland
B) large earthquakes; explosive volcanic eruptions; landslides and flooding due to long chain of volcanic mountains
C) large earthquakes; no volcanoes; landslides and flooding due to the large plateau of very high mountains
D) large earthquakes; no volcanoes; flooding if the plate boundary is hilly

Question 24

All of the following are forces that may contribute to plate movements EXCEPT

A) convection currents within the asthenosphere.
B) centrifugal forces from the rotation of the Earth.
C) the gravitational pull of the Earth on the subducting slabs of oceanic lithosphere.
D) the gravitational pull of the Earth on plates away from the mid-ocean ridges.

Question 25

In California, Los Angeles is slowly moving toward San Francisco because the two cities are located on two different tectonic plates with a transform plate boundary in between.

Question 26

The asthenosphere layer of the Earth is completely liquid.

Question 27

What is the importance of magnetic reversals to the theory of plate tectonics?

A) It causes earthquakes.
B) It provides evidence for seafloor spreading.
C) It causes volcanic eruptions.
D) It is associated with mass extinction events.
E) It explains times of rapid change on the Earth's surface.

Question 28

The geographic distribution of the Mesosaurus, a small swimming reptile that lived during the late Paleozoic, shows that the reptile lived on the southwest coast of what is now Africa and the southeast coast of what is now South America. This provides evidence that

A) a land bridge once existed between Africa and South America.
B) the Atlantic Ocean was once much more shallow.
C) Africa and South America were once joined into one continent.
D) migration between Africa and South America was once possible.
E) the Earth was once much smaller in size.

Question 29

What does paleomagnetism study?

A) magnetism of rocks when their magnetic properties formed
B) magnetism of rock formed during the Ice Age
C) magnetism of the Earth's core
D) magnetism of new magma
E) magnetism of the Earth's poles

Question 30

Which of the following hazards would you expect to see at a divergent plate boundary?

A) moderate strength earthquakes; non-explosive volcanic eruptions; flooding if volcanoes erupt underwater such as in Iceland
B) large earthquakes; explosive volcanic eruptions; landslides and flooding due to long chain of volcanic mountains
C) large earthquakes; no volcanoes; landslides and flooding due to the large plateau of very high mountains
D) large earthquakes; no volcanoes; flooding if the plate boundary is hilly

Question 31

Which of the following hazards would you expect to see at a transform plate boundary?

A) moderate strength earthquakes; non-explosive volcanic eruptions; flooding if volcanoes erupt underwater such as in Iceland
B) large earthquakes; explosive volcanic eruptions; landslides and flooding due to long chain of volcanic mountains
C) large earthquakes; no volcanoes; landslides and flooding due to the large plateau of very high mountains
D) large earthquakes; no volcanoes; flooding if the plate boundary is hilly

Question 32

Which statement about the hotspot at Hawaii is FALSE?

A) A hotspot at Hawaii explains the presence of active volcanoes far from a tectonic plate boundary.
B) A hotspot is a localized zone of upwelling mantle rock located deep below the moving tectonic plate.
C) The age of volcanic rock in the Hawaiian Islands gets progressively older to the west.
D) Magnetic reversals are the primary cause for the hotspot at Hawaii.

Question 33

Which tectonic plate setting is associated with the following features: volcanic eruptions; magma rises from deep in the mantle; can produce a chain of extinct volcanoes with increasing distance from the active volcano? Yellowstone National Park and Hawaiian islands are geographic examples.

A) divergent plate boundary
B) convergent plate boundary (subduction zone)
C) convergent plate boundary (collision zone)
D) transform plate boundary
E) hotspot

Question 34

The Hawaiian Islands are an example of

A) two ocean plates converging.
B) two continental plates converging.
C) diverging plates.
D) hotspots.
E) transform plate boundary.

Question 35

Geologists tested the model of sea floor spreading by dating rocks from the ocean floor. The model successfully predicted that ocean rocks

A) get younger with increasing distance from a mid-ocean ridge.
B) get older with increasing distance from a mid-ocean ridge.
C) get older moving from south to north along the top of a mid-ocean ridge.
D) show no particular pattern of age with respect to the mid-ocean ridges.

Question 36

Reversals of the earth's magnetic polarity

A) occur with a regular periodicity; the next one will happen in about 140 years.
B) have occurred randomly in the past and represent times when the south magnetic pole was swapped in location with the north magnetic pole.
C) have occurred randomly in the past and represent times when the earth turned upside-down
D) are a consequence of major earthquakes.
E) have not happened since the end of the Paleozoic.

Question 37

Where would you find ridge-push, a possible mechanism for driving the motion of tectonic plates?

A) Convergent boundary
B) Divergent boundary
C) Transform fault boundary
D) Hotspot
E) Between a continent and an ocean plate

Question 38

Tectonic plates move about as fast as

A) a car moves on a city street.
B) fingernails grow.
C) a swallow flies.
D) a tortoise walks.
E) hotspot.

Question 39

Marine magnetic anomalies are now known to have developed because

A) magnetic reversals were finally shown to be a consequence of variations in the orientation of the earth's magnetic field lines relative to the equator.
B) there are linear strips of iron ore embedded in the seafloor as a consequence of sea-floor spreading.
C) movement at convergent margins tends to distort the earth's magnetic field over broad distances.
D) different strips of seafloor formed at different times on an earth whose magnetic polarity occasionally reverses through geologic time.
E) movement of the continents relative to the magnetic field.

Question 40

The Earth is composed of layers that have different properties.

Question 41

Reconstructing all of the continents into a single supercontinent called Pangaea helps to explain better evidence of ancient glaciation on several continents, especially in terms of ice flow directions.

Question 42

Convergent plate boundaries generally represent a greater hazard to people than divergent or transform plate boundaries due to the threat of major earthquakes, explosive volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and landslides (associated with the mountain chains).

Question 43

Triple junctions are where three tectonic plates border each other.

Question 44

Reconstructing all of the continents into a single supercontinent called Pangaea helps to explain better the occurrence of the same fossil plants and animals on different continents.

Question 45

During subduction, one plate sinks under another tectonic plate.

Question 46

Explain the concept of convection. Describe how convection may work in the mantle of the earth.

Question 47

The mantle is a layer of molten iron metal that surrounds the solid inner core.

Question 48

Earth's magnetic field is produced from large amounts of magnetic minerals buried within the lower part of the crust.

Question 49

Tectonic plates are actively separating at convergent plate boundaries and subduction zones.

Question 50

Earthquakes occur at all tectonic plate boundaries EXCEPT transform plate boundaries.

Question 51

Give a description of the lithosphere, crust, asthenosphere, and mantle and explain the relationships between them.

Question 52

Tectonic plates move completely continuously at speeds of several centimeters per year.

Question 53

Explain how the seafloor is produced. Why does the Earth NOT get any bigger or smaller over geologic time?

Question 54

Pangaea refers to the enormous single ocean that was produced when all of the continents were assembled.

Question 55

The boundaries of tectonic plates are defined by the location of ocean coastlines.

Question 56

Over geologic time New York City is moving farther away from London, England due to movement associated with the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

Question 57

The Earth's core is thought to be hollow.

Question 58

The oldest ocean crust will tend to occur at the greatest distances from the mid-ocean ridge.

Question 59

Volcanism at transform plate boundaries is derived from melting of crustal rock.

Question 60

Slab pull seems to be a more important driving force for moving tectonic plates than ridge push.

Question 61

Using concepts from plate tectonic theory, describe an area that should have many different types of geologic hazards and an area that should have few geologic hazards. NOTE: You do not have to give a specific geographic location, just give the general characteristics in terms of plate tectonic theory.

Question 62

Magnetic reversals have happened throughout most of the Earth's history. Explain how these magnetic reversals have been used as evidence for Seafloor Spreading.

Question 63

Describe the theory of continental drift and explain how it relates to plate tectonics.

Question 64

Explain the importance of Paleomagnetism in understanding plate tectonics.

Question 65

If you were studying photographs of another planet, what features would you look for to determine whether or not plate tectonic activity is occurring or has ever occurred?

Question 66

The Cascade Region of northwestern U.S. is home to a subduction zone. Describe the hazards that can occur in this area. For each hazard, explain how the hazards are caused in the subduction zone.

Question 67

Explain why the location of volcanoes does NOT give a complete picture of the location of the plate boundaries.

Question 68

Describe the mechanisms of ridge-push and Slab-pull and explain which one is the more important process in driving plate tectonics.

Question 69

Explain where the magma for volcanoes at divergent plate boundaries comes from and how it rises to the surface. In this explanation, briefly describe how mantle convection is related to the motion of tectonic plates.

Question 70

Describe how the Hawaiian Islands were formed and explain how they are evidence for tectonic plate motion.