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tectonics

Multiple Choice
Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
 

 1. 
The supercontinent in the continental drift hypothesis was called ____.
a.
Panthalassa
c.
Mesosaurus
b.
Pangaea
d.
Africa
 

 2. 
One kind of evidence that supports Wegener’s hypothesis is that ____.
a.
the same magnetic directions exist on different continents
b.
major rivers on different continents match
c.
land bridges still exist that connect major continents
d.
fossils of the same organism have been found on different continents
 

 3. 
The geographic distribution of the swimming reptile Mesosaurus provides evidence that ____.
a.
Europe was covered by a shallow sea when Mesosaurus lived
b.
a land bridge existed between Australia and India
c.
South America and Africa were once joined
d.
the Atlantic Ocean was wider when Mesosaurus lived than it is now
 

 4. 
How did opponents of continental drift account for the existence of similar fossils on widely separated continents?
a.
parallel evolution
c.
large ocean rafts
b.
oceanic currents
d.
migration across land bridges
 

 5. 
What was the main reason Wegener’s continental drift hypothesis was rejected?
a.
He was not well liked by other scientists.
b.
He could not provide a mechanism for the movement of the continents.
c.
He could provide only illogical explanations for the movement of the continents.
d.
His evidence was incorrect.
 

 6. 
The lithospheric plates move an average of ____.
a.
5 inches per year
c.
5 centimeters per year
b.
50 inches per year
d.
50 centimeters per year
 

 7. 
In the plate tectonic theory, a plate can be made up of ____.
a.
continental lithosphere only
b.
oceanic lithosphere only
c.
both continental and oceanic lithosphere
d.
both continental and oceanic asthenosphere
 

 8. 
What kind of plate boundary occurs where two plates grind past each other without destroying or producing lithosphere?
a.
divergent boundary
c.
transitional boundary
b.
convergent boundary
d.
transform fault boundary
 

 9. 
A divergent boundary at two oceanic plates can result in a ____.
a.
rift valley
c.
continental volcanic arc
b.
volcanic island arc
d.
subduction zone
 

 10. 
What type of boundary occurs where two plates move together, causing one plate to descend into the mantle beneath the other plate?
a.
transform fault boundary
c.
convergent boundary
b.
divergent boundary
d.
transitional boundary
 

 11. 
New ocean crust is formed at ____.
a.
divergent boundaries
c.
continental volcanic arcs
b.
convergent boundaries
d.
transform fault boundaries
 

 12. 
Which of the following results when divergence occurs between two oceanic plates?
a.
seafloor spreading
c.
an ocean trench
b.
a subduction zone
d.
a volcanic island arc
 

 13. 
What forms when one oceanic plate is forced beneath another plate?
a.
an ocean basin
c.
a subduction zone
b.
an ocean ridge
d.
a rift valley
 

 14. 
Deep ocean trenches are associated with ____.
a.
ocean ridge systems
c.
transform fault boundaries
b.
subduction zones
d.
rift zones
 
 
tectonics_files/i0160000.jpg
 

 15. 
What type of plate boundary is illustrated in Figure 9-1?
a.
transform fault boundary
b.
divergent boundary
c.
convergent oceanic-oceanic boundary
d.
convergent oceanic-continental boundary
 

 16. 
What feature is labeled B in Figure 9-1?
a.
trench
c.
volcanic island arc
b.
ocean ridge
d.
continental volcanic arc
 

 17. 
What layer of Earth is labeled C in Figure 9-1?
a.
asthenosphere
c.
oceanic crust
b.
continental lithosphere
d.
continental crust
 

 18. 
What process is illustrated by the area labeled G in Figure 9-1?
a.
seafloor spreading
c.
rifting
b.
continental volcanism
d.
subduction
 

 19. 
Which of the following does NOT occur at a subduction zone?
a.
The leading edges of both plates are bent upward.
b.
Oceanic crust is pushed down into the mantle.
c.
A continental plate moves over an oceanic plate.
d.
One oceanic plate moves beneath another oceanic plate.
 

 20. 
Oceanic lithosphere is destroyed at ____.
a.
transform fault boundaries
c.
ocean ridges
b.
divergent boundaries
d.
convergent boundaries
 

 21. 
The Himalayas in South Asia are an example of what type of plate boundary?
a.
convergent oceanic-continental boundary
b.
convergent continental-continental boundary
c.
divergent boundary
d.
transform fault boundary
 

 22. 
Volcanic island arcs are associated with what type of plate boundary?
a.
divergent boundary
b.
convergent continental-continental boundary
c.
convergent oceanic-continental boundary
d.
convergent oceanic-oceanic boundary
 

 23. 
If a deep ocean trench is located adjacent to a continent, active volcanoes would likely be found ____.
a.
seaward from the trench
c.
at the ends of the trench
b.
along the axis of the trench
d.
landward from the trench
 

 24. 
Why are subduction zones not commonly found at convergent continental-continental boundaries?
a.
Continental lithosphere is too buoyant to be forced down into the mantle.
b.
Subduction zones are never found at convergent boundaries.
c.
Oceanic lithosphere is too buoyant to be forced down into the mantle.
d.
Continental lithosphere is too dense to be forced down into the mantle.
 

 25. 
According to the property of paleomagnetism, ____.
a.
iron-rich rocks show the location of the magnetic poles at the time of their formation
b.
all rocks, regardless of when they are formed, have the same polarity
c.
all rocks have a reversed polarity
d.
rocks do not possess magnetic properties
 

 26. 
Strips of alternating magnetic polarities found in rocks in the ocean basins ____.
a.
conflict with the theory of plate tectonics
b.
provide evidence that Earth’s magnetic field has never reversed polarity
c.
indicate changes in Earth’s gravitation field
d.
provide evidence for seafloor spreading
 

 27. 
The age of the rocks in the ocean basins was determined by ____.
a.
ocean drilling
b.
the fit of continents across ocean basins
c.
the depth of earthquake foci
d.
the amount of magnetism in the rocks
 

 28. 
How does the age of seafloor sediments change with increasing distance from the ocean ridge?
a.
Age decreases.
c.
Age increases.
b.
Age stays the same.
d.
Age varies without a pattern.
 
 
tectonics_files/i0310000.jpg
 

 29. 
What type of plate boundary is illustrated in Figure 9-2?
a.
divergent boundary
b.
convergent oceanic-continental boundary
c.
convergent continental-continental boundary
d.
convergent oceanic-oceanic boundary
 

 30. 
What feature is labeled A in Figure 9-2?
a.
subduction zone
c.
volcanic island arc
b.
trench
d.
continental volcanic arc
 



 
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