Tectonic Plates Unit Test Answers
1. Describe how plant fossils found at Svalbard in Norway gave evidence of drifting continents.
They were plants that became extinct millions of years earlier.
They were found only in that one location.
They were found in glacial deposits.
They were warm climate plants that would not grow in a cold polar area. CORRECT
2. Which of the following describes evidence the Wegener used to support the theories of continental drift and plate tectonics. Select TWO correct pieces of evidence.
Wegener found fossils that were polar animals along the equator.
Fossils of warm-climate plants were found in what are now polar areas, supporting the idea that the land masses were once in different places on Earth’s surface. CORRECT
Mesosaurus fossils were found in parts of South America and Africa separated today by an ocean. CORRECT
Wegener concluded these continents were once joined, due to the magnetic polarity pushing the continents apart.
3. Scientists wondered how volcanoes could be located so far from tectonic plate boundaries until one scientist proposed the idea of what?
continental drift
hotspots CORRECT
undiscovered tectonic plate boundaries
pangea's existence
4. How were the Himalayas formed?
when two plates collided with each other CORRECT
due to an increase in volcanic activity
when a mid-ocean ridge split apart
due to a sudden shift along a transform boundary
5. Which information is needed to construct a geomagnetic time scale? Select the TWO correct answers.
the age of rocks along the surface of Earth CORRECT
the magnetic direction of rocks along the surface of Earth CORRECT
the average speed of tectonic plates on Earth
the length of the mid-ocean ridge
6. Which features would you look for to classify a volcano? Select the THREE correct answers.
presence of foliage
steepness CORRECT
height CORRECT
age of rock
type of lava CORRECT
color
7. Which statement describes a volcano that is classified as dormat?
It is not expected to ever erupt again.
It has not erupted recently. CORRECT
It has never erupted.
It is expected to erupt soon.
8. Identify the type of plate boundary that created the volcanoes of Iceland.
a divergent boundary in the ocean
a divergent boundary on land CORRECT
a transverse boundary on land
a convergent boundary on land
9. What main process do all volcanoes have in common, regardless of the specific ways they form?
plate subduction
rising magma CORRECT
plate divergence
hotspots
10. Paleomagnetic evidence supports the theory of continental drift because the magnetic direction of a new layer of magma match the direction of Earth's magnetic field while older layers are skewed.
True CORRECT
False
11. Geologists found fossils of similar marsupials from the same time period across South America, Africa, Antartica, India, and Austrailia.What theory is supported by this discovery?
Those continents were once a part of one supercontinent. CORRECT
Early marsupials were strong swimmers.
A vast land bridge once connected those continents.
These processes happening today are the same processes that have occurred in the past.
12. At which type of plate boundary would a string of small volcanic islands most likely form.
transverse boundary
divergent ocean-ocean boundary
convergent ocean-ocean boundary CORRECT
convergent ocean-land boundary
13. What will happen where two continental plates collide at a convergent boundary?
A volcanic island arc is formed.
The direction shifts and it becomes a transform boundary.
One plate is subducted beneath the other
The plated push up, forming a mountain range. CORRECT
14. Mountain chains in Northern Europe and West Africa match the Appalachian Mountains in the United State in terms of their ages and rock layer sequences.
True CORRECT
False
15. Which statement about earthquakes is accurate? Select the TWO correct answers.
More than 1 billion earthquakes happen per year
More than 100,000 earthquakes happen per year.
Most earthquakes are not strong enough to be felt by humans. CORRECT
About 100 earthquakes per year are strong enough to cause damage. CORRECT
A few hundred earthquakes per year are strong enough to be detected by instruments.
16. What plate do residents of New York state live on?
North American Plate CORRECT
South American Plate
Eurasian Plate
South American Plate
17. At what plate boundaries are plates divergent? Choose the TWO correct answers.
North American and Pacific
South American and African CORRECT
African and Eurasian
Antarctic and Pacific CORRECT
18. Two tectonic plates, Plate X and Plate Y, are moving towards each other. Plate X is moving at a speed of 4 centimeters per year, while Plate Y is moving at a speed of 6 centimeters per year. If the distance between the plates is currently 150 kilometers, how long will it take for the plates to collide?
2000 years
2500 years
1500 years CORRECT
1250 years
19. How did the theory of plate tectonics revolutionize geology and our understanding of Earth's processes?
It explained how continents move and interact with each other.
It provided a mechanism for how earthquakes and volcanoes occur.
It connected different geological phenomena such as mountain ranges, earthquakes, and volcanoes to the movement of tectonic plates. CORRECT
All of the above.