Plate Tectonics 7-3

Modified True/False
Indicate whether the statement is true or false. If false, change the identified word or phrase to make the statement true.

____ 1. According the theory of plate tectonics, plates interact at plate boundaries by reflecting each other, moving
away from each other, or sliding past each other. _______________
____ 2. If a continental plate and a continental plate converge, a subduction zone forms. _______________
____ 3. The circulation of material caused by differences in density is called subduction. _______________
____ 4. The density of a subducting plate helps to pull the lithosphere into a subduction zone in a process called ridge
push. _______________

Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question. Write the letter of your choice on the blank
line.

____ 1. The crust and upper mantle make up Earth's ____.

a. lithosphere c. core
b. asthenosphere d. continents
____ 2. Scientists have observed that the continents move apart or come together at speeds of a few centimeters per
____.
a. year c. day
b. decade d. century
____ 3. Plates of the lithosphere float on the ____.
a. crust c. core
b. asthenosphere d. atmosphere
____ 4. The result of plate movement can be seen at ____.
a. abyssal plains c. plate centers
b. plate boundaries d. ocean margins
____ 5. The hypothesis that continents have slowly moved to their current locations is called ____.
a. magnetic reversal c. continental drift
b. continental slope d. convection
____ 6. Plates move apart at ____ boundaries.
a. convergent c. divergent
b. stable d. transform
____ 7. Plates slide past one another at ____.
a. subduction zones c. convection currents
b. divergent boundaries d. transform boundaries
____ 8. The boundary between two plates moving together is called a ____.
a. divergent boundary c. transform boundary
b. lithosphere d. convergent boundary
____ 9. Seafloor spreading occurs because ____.
a. new material is being added to the asthenosphere
b. earthquakes break apart the ocean floor
c. sediments accumulate at the area of spreading
d. molten material beneath Earth's crust rises to the surface
____ 10. Continental drift states that continents have moved ____ to their current location.
a. vertically c. quickly
b. horizontally d. slowly
____ 11. Wegener believed that the continents were assembled as part of a supercontinent about ____ years ago.
a. 250 million c. 450 million
b. 350 million d. 650 million
____ 12. ____ currents inside Earth might drive plate motion.
a. Vertical c. Horizontal
b. Convection d. none of the above
____ 13. Scientists believe that differences in ____ cause hot, plasticlike rock in the asthenosphere to rise toward
Earth's surface.
a. weight c. density
b. magnetism d. composition
____ 14. In order to complete a convection current, the rising material must eventually ____ Earth.
a. stop inside c. warm
b. freeze d. sink back into
____ 15. The East African Rift is an example of a ____.
a. mid-ocean ridge c. convergent boundary
b. divergent boundary d. transform boundary
____ 16. The Himalayan mountain range of India was formed at a ____.
a. divergent boundary c. hot spot
b. convergent boundary d. transform boundary
____ 17. ____ are formed when two continental plates collide.
a. Volcanoes c. Trenches
b. Mountain ranges d. Rift valleys
____ 18. The ____ is (are) an example of a transform boundary.
a. Appalachian Mountains c. Mid-Atlantic Ridge
b. San Andreas Fault d. Himalayas
____ 19. What type of plate boundary occurs between the North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate, shown in the
figure above?
a. divergent boundary
b. transform boundary
c. convergent oceanic-continental plate boundary
d. convergent oceanic-oceanic plate boundary
____ 20. What type of plate boundary occurs between the Nazca Plate and the South American Plate, shown in the
figure above?
a. convergent oceanic-continental plate boundary
b. convergent oceanic-oceanic plate boundary
c. convergent continental-continental plate boundary
d. transform boundary
____ 21. The youngest part of the ocean floor is found ____.
a. along deep sea trenches
b. where ocean sediments are thickest
c. near ocean ridges
d. where Earth’s magnetic field changes polarity
____ 22. At an oceanic-oceanic convergent plate boundary, ____.
a. new crust is created c. the older crust is recycled by subduction
b. the crust separates d. plates side past one another
____ 23. The downward part of a convection current causes a sinking force that ____.
a. pulls tectonic plates toward one another
b. moves plates apart from one another
c. lifts and splits the lithosphere
d. creates a divergent boundary
____ 24. Features found at divergent plate boundaries include ____.
a. mid-ocean ridges c. crumpled mountains
b. deep-sea trenches d. island arc volcanoes
____ 25. Crust is neither destroyed nor formed along which of the following boundaries?
a. convergent c. magnetic
b. divergent d. transform
____ 26. The driving forces of tectonic plates are related to convection currents in Earth’s ____.
a. crust c. inner core
b. outer core d. mantle

Matching

Match each term with the correct statement below.

a. mid-ocean ridge d. subduction zone
b. convergent plate boundary e. continental drift
c. asthenosphere
____ 1. Earth's plasticlike layer is the _____.
____ 2. Plates collide together at a(n) _____.
____ 3. One plate is forced under another in a(n) _____.
____ 4. A(n) _____ is an underwater mountain chain.
____ 5. The main points of evidence for _____ are fossils, rocks, and climate.
Short Answer (4 points)

1. A seventh grade scientist was climbing Mt Everest, the tallest mountain in the world. At the top of the
mountain they found a fossil of an organism that once lived in the ocean. Explain how that is possible.
Plate Tectonics 7-3
Answer Section

MODIFIED TRUE/FALSE

1. ANS: F, coming toward each other

PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 2 | DOK 1-LOW

REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 3 OBJ: 7-5
STA: 5.4.6.D.1 | 5.4.8.D.2
2. ANS: F, oceanic

PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 2 | DOK 1-LOW

REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 3 OBJ: 7-6
STA: 5.4.6.D.1 | 5.4.8.D.2
3. ANS: F, convection

PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 2 | DOK 1-LOW

REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 3 OBJ: 7-7
STA: 5.2.6.A.2
4. ANS: F, slab pull

PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 2 | DOK 1-LOW

REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 3 OBJ: 7-7
STA: 5.4.6.D.1

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. ANS: A
The cold and rigid outermost rock layer is called the lithosphere. It is made up of the crust and the solid,
uppermost mantle.

PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 1 | DOK 1-LOW

REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 3 OBJ: 7-5
STA: 5.4.6.B.1 | 5.4.6.D.1
2. ANS: A
Continents move apart or come together at speeds of a few centimeters per year.

PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 1 | DOK 1-LOW

REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 3 OBJ: 7-6
STA: 5.4.8.D.2
3. ANS: B
The layer of Earth below the lithosphere is called the asthenosphere.

PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 1 | DOK 1-LOW

REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 3 OBJ: 7-7
STA: 5.4.6.D.2 | 5.4.8.D.2
4. ANS: B
 When plates separate, collide, or slide past each other along a plate boundary, stress builds.

PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 1 | DOK 1-LOW

REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 3 OBJ: 7-6
STA: 5.4.6.D.2 | 5.4.8.D.2
5. ANS: C
Wegener proposed the hypothesis of continental drift, which suggested that continents are in constant motion
on the surface of Earth.

PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 1 | DOK 1-LOW

REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 1 OBJ: 7-2
STA: 5.4.6.D.2 | 5.4.8.D.2
6. ANS: C
A divergent plate boundary forms where two plates separate.

PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 1 | DOK 1-LOW

REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 3 OBJ: 7-5
STA: 5.4.6.D.2 | 5.4.8.D.2
7. ANS: D
A transform plate boundary forms where two plates slide past each other.

PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 1 | DOK 1-LOW

REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 3 OBJ: 7-6
STA: 5.4.6.D.2 | 5.4.8.D.2
8. ANS: D
Convergent plate boundaries form where two plates collide.

PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 1 | DOK 1-LOW

REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 3 OBJ: 7-6
STA: 5.4.6.D.2 | 5.4.8.D.2
9. ANS: D
When the seafloor spreads, the mantle below melts and forms magma. Because magma is less dense than
solid mantle material, it rises through cracks in the crust along the midocean ridge.

PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 1 | DOK 1-LOW

REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 2 OBJ: 7-3
STA: 5.4.6.C.2 | 5.4.6.C.3
10. ANS: D
Over time Pangaea began breaking apart, and the continents slowly moved to their present positions.

PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 1 | DOK 1-LOW

REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 1 OBJ: 7-2
STA: 5.4.8.D.2
11. ANS: A
When Wegener pieced Pangaea together, he proposed that South America, Africa, India, and Australia were
located closer to the South Pole 250 million years ago.

PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 1 | DOK 1-LOW

REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 1 OBJ: 7-2
STA: 5.4.8.D.2
12. ANS: B
Convection in the mantle is related to plate tectonic activity.

PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 1 | DOK 1-LOW

REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 3 OBJ: 7-7
STA: 5.4.8.D.2
13. ANS: C
As the mantle cools, it becomes denser and then sinks, forming a convection current. These currents in the
asthenosphere act like a conveyor belt moving the lithosphere above it.

PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 1 | DOK 1-LOW

REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 3 OBJ: 7-7
STA: 5.2.6.A.2
14. ANS: D
Thermal energy—heat is transferred from hot mantle material to the colder surface above. As the mantle
cools, it becomes denser and then sinks, forming a convection current.

PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 1 | DOK 1-LOW

REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 3 OBJ: 7-7
STA: 5.4.8.D.2
15. ANS: B
The East African Rift is an example of a continental rift.

PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 1 | DOK 1-LOW

REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 3 OBJ: 7-6
STA: 5.4.8.D.2
16. ANS: B
Convergent plate boundaries can also occur where two continental plates collide. Because both plates are
equally dense, neither plate will subduct. Both plates uplift and deform. This creates huge mountains like the
Himalayas.

PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 1 | DOK 1-LOW

REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 3 OBJ: 7-6
STA: 5.4.8.D.2
17. ANS: B
Mountains can form where two continents collide.

PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 1 | DOK 1-LOW

REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 3 OBJ: 7-6
STA: 5.4.8.D.2
18. ANS: B
The famous San Andreas Fault in California is an example of a transform plate boundary.

PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 1 | DOK 1-LOW

REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 3 OBJ: 7-6
STA: 5.4.8.D.2
19. ANS: A
When two plates separate and create new oceanic crust, a divergent plate boundary forms.

PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 1 | DOK 1-LOW

 REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 3 OBJ: 7-7
STA: 5.4.6.D.1 | 5.4.8.D.2
20. ANS: A
When an oceanic and a continental plate collide, they form a convergent plate boundary.

PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 1 | DOK 1-LOW

REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 3 OBJ: 7-7
STA: 5.4.6.D.1 | 5.4.8.D.2
21. ANS: C
The closer the crust is to a mid-ocean ridge, the younger the oceanic crust is.

PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 2 | DOK 1-LOW

REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 2 OBJ: 7-4
STA: 5.4.6.D.1 | 5.4.8.D.2
22. ANS: C
Two oceanic plates can also collide in either scenario. The denser plate will subduct.

PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 2 | DOK 1-LOW

REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 3 OBJ: 7-6
STA: 5.4.6.D.1 | 5.4.8.D.2
23. ANS: A
Convection occurs in the mantle underneath Earth’s tectonic plates. Three forces act on plates to make them
move: basal drag from convection currents, ridge push at midocean ridges, and slab pull from subducting
plates.

PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 3 | DOK 1-LOW

REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 3 OBJ: 7-7
STA: 5.4.6.D.1 | 5.4.8.D.2
24. ANS: A
Mid-ocean ridges are located along divergent plate boundaries.

PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 1 | DOK 1-LOW

REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 3 OBJ: 7-6
STA: 5.4.6.D.1 | 5.4.8.D.2
25. ANS: D
A transform plate boundary forms where two plates slide past each other.

PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 2 | DOK 1-LOW

REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 3 OBJ: 7-6
STA: 5.4.6.D.1 | 5.4.8.D.2
26. ANS: D
Convection in the mantle is related to plate tectonic activity.

PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 2 | DOK 1-LOW

REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 3 OBJ: 7-7
STA: 5.4.6.D.1 | 5.4.8.D.2

MATCHING
 1. ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 2 | DOK 1-LOW
REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 3 OBJ: 7-7
STA: 5.4.6.C.3 | 5.4.6.D.1 | 5.4.8.D.2
2. ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 2 | DOK 1-LOW
REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 3 OBJ: 7-7
STA: 5.4.6.C.3 | 5.4.6.D.1 | 5.4.8.D.2
3. ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 2 | DOK 1-LOW
REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 3 OBJ: 7-6
STA: 5.4.6.C.3 | 5.4.6.D.1 | 5.4.8.D.2
4. ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 2 | DOK 1-LOW
REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 2 OBJ: 7-4
STA: 5.4.6.C.3 | 5.4.6.D.1 | 5.4.8.D.2
5. ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Bloom's Level 2 | DOK 1-LOW
REF: To review this topic refer to Plate Tectonics: Lesson 1 OBJ: 7-1
STA: 5.4.6.C.3 | 5.4.6.D.1 | 5.4.8.D.2

SHORT ANSWER

1. ANS:
The surface of the Earth has been changing for billions of years. Due to the forces of plate tectonics a
seafloor from long ago may become a mountain top. Converging continental and oceanic plates could make
mountains out of seafloor. Etc.

PTS: 1