Unit 5 Test Plate Tectonics
____1.A caldera is a ____.
a. / violent volcanic explosion / c. / large depression in a volcanob. / type of volcano / d. / very large volcanic bomb
____2.According to the property of paleomagnetism, ____.
a. / iron-rich rocks show the location of the magnetic poles at the time of their formationb. / 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
____3.When an earthquake occurs, energy radiates in all directions from its source, which is called the ____.
a. / epicenter / c. / faultb. / focus / d. / seismic center
____4.Volcanic island arcs are associated with what type of plate boundary?
a. / divergent boundaryb. / convergent continental-continental boundary
c. / convergent oceanic-continental boundary
d. / convergent oceanic-oceanic boundary
____5.Which of the following factors helps determine whether a volcanic eruption will be violent or relatively quiet?
a. / amount of dissolved gases in the magmab. / temperature of the magma
c. / composition of the magma
d. / all of the above
____6.New ocean crust is formed at ____.
a. / divergent boundaries / c. / continental volcanic arcsb. / convergent boundaries / d. / transform fault boundaries
____7.Magma tends to rise towards Earth’s surface primarily because ____.
a. / water is abundant in magmab. / rocks become less dense when they melt
c. / silica is abundant in magma
d. / rocks become more dense when they melt
____8.Most of the active volcanoes on Earth are located in a belt known as the ____.
a. / circum-Atlantic belt / c. / Ring of Lavab. / Ring of Fire / d. / East African Rift Valley
____9.The particles produced in volcanic eruptions are called ____.
a. / laccoliths / c. / pyroclastic materialb. / calderas / d. / volcanic stocks
____10.The supercontinent in the continental drift hypothesis was called ____.
a. / Panthalassa / c. / Mesosaurusb. / Pangaea / d. / Africa
____11.The Himalayas in South Asia are an example of what type of plate boundary?
a. / convergent oceanic-continental boundaryb. / convergent continental-continental boundary
c. / divergent boundary
d. / transform fault boundary
____12.Tsunamis are ____.
a. / often generated by movements of the ocean floorb. / waves that are produced by tidal forces
c. / waves that cannot cause damage on land
d. / also known as tidal waves
____13.The amount of shaking produced by an earthquake at a given location is called the ____.
a. / intensity / c. / epicenterb. / magnitude / d. / Richter magnitude
____14.What forms when one oceanic plate is forced beneath another plate?
a. / an ocean basin / c. / a subduction zoneb. / an ocean ridge / d. / a rift valley
____15.Continental volcanic arcs are associated with what type of plate boundary?
a. / convergent continental-continental boundaryb. / convergent oceanic-continental boundary
c. / transform fault boundary
d. / convergent oceanic-oceanic boundary
____16.Which of the following was NOT used in support of the continental drift hypothesis?
a. / fossil evidence / c. / ancient climateb. / paleomagnetism / d. / fit of South America and Africa
____17.Which of the following causes earthquakes?
a. / elastic rebound / c. / release of heatb. / Richter scale / d. / frictional heating
____18.Major earthquakes are sometimes preceded by smaller earthquakes called ____.
a. / aftershocks / c. / surface wavesb. / focus shocks / d. / foreshocks
____19.A divergent boundary at two oceanic plates can result in a ____.
a. / rift valley / c. / continental volcanic arcb. / volcanic island arc / d. / subduction zone
____20.Magma forms when solid rock in the crust and upper mantle ____.
a. / melts / c. / crystallizesb. / vaporizes / d. / cools
____21.What kind of plate boundary occurs where two plates grind past each other without destroying or producing lithosphere?
a. / divergent boundary / c. / transitional boundaryb. / convergent boundary / d. / transform fault boundary
____22.Lava plateaus form when ____.
a. / the top of a volcano collapsesb. / fluid basaltic lava flows out of fissures
c. / lahars create new landforms
d. / pyroclastic flows erupt from volcanoes
____23.Which of the following is NOT a factor affecting how violently or quietly a volcano erupts?
a. / magma’s compositionb. / magma’s temperature
c. / concentration of dissolved gases in the magma
d. / size of the volcano’s cone
____24.Which type of landform develops at plate boundaries where one oceanic plate descends beneath another?
a. / rift valleyb. / volcanic island arc
c. / mountain ranges formed by a batholith
d. / lava plateau
____25.Which seismic waves travel most rapidly?
a. / P waves / c. / surface wavesb. / S waves / d. / tsunamis
____26.Wegener’s continental drift hypothesis stated that all the continents once joined together to form____.
a. / two major supercontinentsb. / two major supercontinents and three smaller continents
c. / one major supercontinent
d. / three major supercontinents
____27.Highly explosive volcanoes tend to have what type of magma?
a. / magma with high silica, high viscosity, and higher gas contentb. / magma with low silica, low viscosity, and lower gas content
c. / magma with low silica, high viscosity, and lower gas content
d. / magma with no silica, high viscosity, and no gas content
____28.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.
____29.The geographic distribution of the swimming reptile Mesosaurus provides evidence that ____.
a. / Europe was covered by a shallow sea when Mesosaurus livedb. / 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
____30.An earthquake’s epicenter is ____.
a. / the place on the surface directly above the focusb. / a spot halfway between the focus and the surface
c. / the spot below the focus
d. / any spot along the nearest fault
____31.The broad, slightly dome-shaped volcanoes of Hawaii are ____.
a. / composite cone volcanoes / c. / pyroclastic volcanoesb. / shield volcanoes / d. / cinder cone volcanoes
____32.The Hawaiian Islands were formed when the Pacific Plate moved over ____.
a. / a subduction zone / c. / the Aleutian Plateb. / an ocean ridge / d. / a hot spot
____33.Which of the following affects the amount of destruction caused by earthquake vibrations?
a. / the design of structuresb. / the intensity and duration of the vibrations
c. / the nature of the material on which structures are built
d. / all of the above
____34.What type of volcano is built almost entirely from ejected lava fragments?
a. / cinder cone / c. / shield volcanob. / composite cone / d. / pahoehoe volcano
____35.A fault is ____.
a. / a place on Earth where earthquakes cannot occurb. / a fracture in the Earth where movement has occurred
c. / the place on Earth’s surface where structures move during an earthquake
d. / another name for an earthquake
____36.In general, an increase in the confining pressure results in what change in a rock’s melting temperature?
a. / Melting temperature stays the same.b. / Melting temperature decreases.
c. / Melting temperature increases.
d. / Melting temperature is not related to confining pressure.
____37.The scale most widely used by scientists for measuring earthquakes is the ____.
a. / seismic scale / c. / moment magnitude scaleb. / Richter scale / d. / epicenter magnitude scale
____38.One kind of evidence that supports Wegener’s hypothesis is that ____.
a. / the same magnetic directions exist on different continentsb. / 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
____39.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 boundaryb. / divergent boundary / d. / transitional boundary
____40.Earth’s thin, rocky outer layer is its ____.
a. / core / c. / outer coreb. / mantle / d. / crust
____41.Overall, which seismic waves are the most destructive?
a. / P waves / c. / compression wavesb. / S waves / d. / surface waves
____42.What instrument records earthquake waves?
a. / seismogram / c. / Richter scaleb. / seismograph / d. / barometer
43. Which of the following is the best evidence that Earth’s continents were once in vastly different positions than they are today?
A Penguins are found only in the Southern Hemisphere.
B Fossils of tropical plants are found in Antarctica.
C Volcanoes encircle the Pacific Ocean.
D Major rivers form deltas from continental erosion.
44. Which of the following provides evidence for plate tectonics?
A sea-floor topography B ocean currents C Coriolis effect D atmospheric temperatures
45. The convergence of two continental plates would produce
A island arcs.B rift valleys. C folded mountains. D trenches.
46. Which of the following is most responsible for the formation of new crust at the edge of a tectonic plate?
A mountain building at a continent-continent convergent boundary
B magma rising up from the mantle at a divergent boundary
C two tectonic plates sliding past one another at a transform boundary
D subduction of one oceanic plate under another at a convergent boundary
47. Earthquake vibrations are detected, measured, and recorded by instruments called
A sonargraphs.B seismographs.C Richter scales.D magnetometers.
Diagram A
48. In Diagram A, at which location would earthquakes be leastlikely to occur?
A 1 B 2 C 3 D 4
49. Which type of volcano would be the least explosive?
A cinder coneB stratovolcanoC shield volcanoD composite cone
50. Scientists have found fossils of tropical plants in Antarctica. How could tropical plants have grown in Antarctica?
A At one time, Earth’s entire surface was a tropical rain forest.
B At one time, Antarctica was located closer to the equator.
C The rotation of Earth has increased, causing cooling of the atmosphere.
D Catastrophic volcanic eruptions melted the ice and exposed the soil to sunlight.