Question 1

Roughly how fast do most lithospheric plates move?

Accepted Answer

A)  about 5 kilometers per year
B)  about 5 kilometers per thousand years
C)  about 5 centimeters per hour
D)  about 5 centimeters per yearE) B) and C)
F) None of the above

Question 2

The youngest seafloor rocks are found ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  near the edges of continents
B)  near the rift valleys of mid-ocean ridges
C)  beneath the deep sea trenches
D)  evenly distributed over the ocean basinsE) B) and C)
F) A) and B)

Question 3

Some plateaus, ocean ridges, ancient island arcs, and parts of continental crust are too buoyant to be subducted. These are, instead, squeezed and sheared onto the face of a continent, forming ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  Wadati-Benioff zones
B)  terranes
C)  rift valleys
D)  sea mountsE) All of the above
F) C) and D)

Question 4

New crust is being generated ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  in the deep ocean trenches
B)  at convergent plate boundaries
C)  at divergent plate boundaries
D)  at the centers of tectonic platesE) C) and D)
F) None of the above

Question 5

Earlier than 200 million years ago, the continents were joined into one supercontinent called ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  Pangaea
B)  Panthalassa
C)  Oceanus
D)  TethysE) A) and B)
F) C) and D)

Question 6

How has the history of plate movement been captured in residual magnetic fields?

Accepted Answer

A compass needle points to the magnetic ...

Question 7

California's San Andreas fault is which type of plate boundary?

Accepted Answer

A)  divergent plate boundary
B)  transform plate boundary
C)  ocean-continent convergent plate boundary
D)  continent-continent convergent plate boundaryE) None of the above
F) A) and B)

Question 8

The rigid outer layer of Earth that comprises both continental and oceanic crust is called the ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  hydrosphere
B)  lithosphere
C)  asthenosphere
D)  outer coreE) A) and B)
F) C) and D)

Question 9

One cubic meter of which of these would weigh the most?

Accepted Answer

A)  ocean water
B)  granite rock
C)  basaltic rock
D)  mantleE) None of the above
F) All of the above

Question 10

The mid-ocean ridges are ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  subduction zones
B)  transform or lateral plate boundaries
C)  divergent plate boundaries
D)  convergent plate boundariesE) None of the above
F) B) and C)

Question 11

About how many kilometers (miles) is it from the center of Earth to the outer edge of the outer core?

Accepted Answer

A)  12,523 kilometers (7,827 miles) 
B)  6,370 kilometers (3,980 miles) 
C)  1,264 kilometers (790 miles) 
D)  2,880 kilometers (1,800 miles) E) A) and B)
F) A) and C)

Question 12

What kind of observational evidence did Alfred Wegener use to propose his theory of continental drift, and the idea that the continents were once connected as the single landmass, Pangaea?

Accepted Answer

As early as the 1600's scientists and ob...

Question 13

The Himalayan Mountains were formed as a result of ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  ocean-continent convergence
B)  continent-continent convergence
C)  ocean-continent divergence
D)  continent-continent divergenceE) B) and D)
F) A) and B)

Question 14

Scientists believe the breakup of Pangaea occurred about ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  1 million years ago
B)  25 million years ago
C)  200 million years ago
D)  750 million years agoE) C) and D)
F) B) and C)

Question 15

If two oceanic plates collide and one is older and cooler (therefore more dense) than the other, what will happen?

Accepted Answer

A)  A deep trench will form.
B)  Continental mountains will form.
C)  A mid-ocean ridge will form.
D)  A hot spot will form.E) B) and C)
F) A) and C)

Question 16

As early as the 1700s, scientists and observers noticed a remarkable coincidence of shape of the Atlantic coasts of Africa and ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  North America
B)  Australia
C)  Asia
D)  South AmericaE) B) and C)
F) None of the above

Question 17

One piece of evidence that suggests the existence of Pangaea is the discovery of Mesosaurus fossils in Argentina and Africa, but nowhere else.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 18

There are two types of plate divergences: divergent oceanic crust and divergent continental crust.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 19

A "mystery" in our understanding of plate tectonics has been, until recently, the nature of the power source capable of moving the plates and the continents embedded within them. Recent evidence indicates the power source to be ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  the readjustment of the surface to continual shrinking of the whole Earth
B)  convection currents within Earth's mantle is moving the plates
C)  the action of ocean currents is dragging along the seafloor, causing the seafloor and the continents to move
D)  the continual vibration from earthquakes and volcanoes slowly moves the continents equator-ward under the influence of centrifugal forceE) A) and B)
F) C) and D)

Question 20

The hot, partially melted, slowly flowing layer of Earth is called the ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  inner core
B)  asthenosphere
C)  lithosphere
D)  outer coreE) B) and C)
F) A) and D)

Exam 3: Earth Structure and Plate Tectonics

If two oceanic plates collide and one is older and cooler (therefore more dense) than the other, what will happen?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What kind of observational evidence did Alfred Wegener use to propose his theory of continental drift, and the idea that the continents were once connected as the single landmass, Pangaea?

Correct AnswerverifiedAs early as the 1600's scientists and ob...View AnswerShow Answer

Earlier than 200 million years ago, the continents were joined into one supercontinent called ____.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The rigid outer layer of Earth that comprises both continental and oceanic crust is called the ____.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Some plateaus, ocean ridges, ancient island arcs, and parts of continental crust are too buoyant to be subducted. These are, instead, squeezed and sheared onto the face of a continent, forming ____.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

One piece of evidence that suggests the existence of Pangaea is the discovery of Mesosaurus fossils in Argentina and Africa, but nowhere else.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

California's San Andreas fault is which type of plate boundary?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

How has the history of plate movement been captured in residual magnetic fields?

Correct AnswerverifiedA compass needle points to the magnetic ...View AnswerShow Answer

About how many kilometers (miles) is it from the center of Earth to the outer edge of the outer core?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

A "mystery" in our understanding of plate tectonics has been, until recently, the nature of the power source capable of moving the plates and the continents embedded within them. Recent evidence indicates the power source to be ____.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Roughly how fast do most lithospheric plates move?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The mid-ocean ridges are ____.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

There are two types of plate divergences: divergent oceanic crust and divergent continental crust.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The hot, partially melted, slowly flowing layer of Earth is called the ____.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The Himalayan Mountains were formed as a result of ____.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

One cubic meter of which of these would weigh the most?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Scientists believe the breakup of Pangaea occurred about ____.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The youngest seafloor rocks are found ____.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

New crust is being generated ____.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

As early as the 1700s, scientists and observers noticed a remarkable coincidence of shape of the Atlantic coasts of Africa and ____.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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As early as the 1600's scientists and ob...
View Answer

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A compass needle points to the magnetic ...
View Answer

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