Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the
statement or answers the question.
|
|
|
1.
|
The deep interior of Earth can be mapped using
a. | seismic waves. | c. | information from drilling expeditions. | b. | sonar. | d. | ocean waves. |
|
|
|
2.
|
Both continental crust and oceanic crust consist mainly of
a. | iron, calcium, and magnesium. | c. | oxygen, silicon, and
aluminum. | b. | oxygen, silicon, and magnesium. | d. | iron, silicon, and
magnesium. |
|
|
|
3.
|
Heat from Earth’s center flows toward the surface because
a. | heat always flows from a warmer area to a colder area. | b. | heat always flows
from a colder area to a warmer area. | c. | heat always flows from an inside area to an
outside area. | d. | heat always flows from a warm area to another warm
area. |
|
|
|
4.
|
The global positioning system (GPS) can map the rate of tectonic plate movement
using
a. | lasers. | c. | visual markers. | b. | radio signals. | d. | motion
detectors. |
|
|
|
5.
|
Heat within Earth’s interior is transferred primarily by
a. | subduction. | c. | earthquakes. | b. | convection. | d. | sea-floor
spreading. |
|
|
|
6.
|
What do scientists use to measure the rate of movement of oceanic plates?
a. | convection | c. | island arc | b. | sonar | d. | sea-floor
spreading |
|
|
|
7.
|
Where is most of California’s gold found?
a. | west of the Sierra Nevadas | c. | in southern
California | b. | east of the Sierra Nevadas | d. | along the coast |
|
|
|
8.
|
Which of the following boundaries was formed about 25 million years ago when the
Pacific plate met the North American plate?
a. | convergent boundary | c. | transform boundary | b. | divergent boundary | d. | coastal
boundary |
|
|
|
9.
|
Which process helped form the Los Angeles Basin?
a. | separation | c. | tension | b. | subduction | d. | compression |
|
|
|
10.
|
Which process helped form the Cascade Mountains?
a. | tension | c. | separation | b. | compression | d. | subduction |
|
|
|
11.
|
What marks the boundary between the Pacific and North American plates?
a. | the Sierra Nevada batholith | c. | the San Andreas
fault | b. | the Cascade Mountains | d. | the Transverse Ranges |
|
|
|
12.
|
How long has California been at an active plate boundary?
a. | ten years | c. | 100 million years | b. | 225 million years | d. | 100 years |
|
|
|
13.
|
Which of the following is called a large mass of igneous rock in Earth’s
crust that, if exposed at the surface, covers an area of at least 100 km2?
a. | a volcano | c. | a transform boundary | b. | a batholith | d. | a fault line |
|
|
|
14.
|
What is accreted terrane?
a. | a piece of lithosphere that becomes part of a larger landmass | b. | a mountain
chain | c. | a coastline | d. | volcanic rock |
|
|
|
15.
|
Along the San Andreas fault, in which direction is the Pacific plate moving
relative to the North American plate?
a. | southwest | c. | southeast | b. | northwest | d. | northeast |
|
|
|
16.
|
What does the theory of continental drift explain?
a. | the layers of Earth | c. | how volcanoes formed | b. | why continents move | d. | how oceans
formed |
|
|
|
17.
|
Which of the following causes seismic waves?
a. | strike-slip faults | c. | earthquakes | b. | magnetic reversal | d. | sea-floor
spreading |
|
|
|
18.
|
Which of the following describes a transform boundary?
a. | boundary at which a tectonic plate subducts | b. | boundary at which
two tectonic plates collide | c. | boundary at which two tectonic plates
separate | d. | boundary at which two tectonic plates slide past one another
horizontally |
|
|
|
19.
|
What do scientists use the global positioning system for?
a. | to measure tectonic plate motion | b. | to measure Earth’s
thickness | c. | to make images of tectonic plates | d. | to measure the distances of seismic
waves |
|
|
|
20.
|
What is a batholith?
a. | a large mass of igneous rock in Earth’s crust | b. | a piece of
lithosphere that becomes part of a larger landmass | c. | a block of lithosphere consisting of the crust
and upper mantle | d. | a ridge on the mid-ocean floor |
|
|
|
21.
|
Which is considered the main driving force of plate tectonics?
a. | convection | c. | sea-floor spreading | b. | deformation | d. | slickensides |
|
|
|
22.
|
The San Andreas fault marks a boundary between which two plates?
a. | North American plate and Farallon plate | b. | North American plate
and Pacific plate | c. | North American plate and Juan de Fuca
plate | d. | Pacific plate and Juan de Fuca plate |
|
|
|
23.
|
Which of the following is the idea that all continents were part of one big
landmass?
a. | oceanic drift | c. | oceanic theory | b. | continental drift | d. | continental
theory |
|
|
|
24.
|
Which of the following is the process by which Earth’s magnetic poles
change places?
a. | a strike-slip fault | c. | sea-floor spreading | b. | magnetic reversal | d. | continental
drift |
|
|
|
25.
|
Which of the following is NOT formed as a result of tectonic plates
converging?
a. | a high mountain range | c. | a chain of volcanoes | b. | a mid-ocean ridge | d. | an island arc |
|
|
|
26.
|
Which of the following is used to measure tectonic plate movement?
a. | meters per year | c. | centimeters per year | b. | kilometers per year | d. | centimeters per
day |
|
|
|
27.
|
Which of the following largely makes up Earth’s core?
a. | oxygen | c. | magnesium | b. | aluminum | d. | iron |
|
|
|
28.
|
Which of the following is NOT a possible driving force of plate
tectonics?
a. | ridge push | c. | convection | b. | slab pull | d. | erosion |
|
|
|
29.
|
Folded mountains and volcanic mountains form at which type of boundaries?
a. | convergent | c. | transform | b. | divergent | d. | divergent and
transform |
|
|
|
30.
|
What is the outermost layer of Earth called?
a. | core | c. | asthenosphere | b. | lithosphere | d. | mesosphere |
|
|
|
31.
|
In which direction does the San Andreas fault extend from the California-Mexico
border to northern California?
a. | northeast | c. | southeast | b. | northwest | d. | southwest |
|
|
|
32.
|
What is the liquid layer of Earth’s core called?
a. | lithosphere | c. | inner core | b. | mesosphere | d. | outer core |
|
|
|
33.
|
What type of fault usually occurs because of tension?
a. | folded | c. | strike-slip | b. | normal | d. | reverse |
|
|
|
34.
|
What type of fault usually occurs because of compression?
a. | folded | c. | strike-slip | b. | normal | d. | reverse |
|
|
|
35.
|
Where does sea-floor spreading take place?
a. | convergent boundaries | c. | oceanic volcanoes | b. | transform boundaries | d. | mid-ocean
ridges |
|
|
|
36.
|
In a reverse fault, where does the hanging wall move relative to the
footwall?
a. | upward | c. | horizontally | b. | downward | d. | stays the same |
|
|
|
37.
|
In a normal fault, where does the hanging wall move relative to the
footwall?
a. | upward | c. | horizontally | b. | downward | d. | stays the same |
|
|
|
38.
|
How long has California been at an active plate boundary?
a. | one year | c. | 100 million years | b. | 100 years | d. | 225 million
years |
|
|
|
39.
|
What is the area where two tectonic plates meet called?
a. | a collision | c. | a boundary | b. | a mid-ocean ridge | d. | a rift zone |
|
|
|
40.
|
Which of these did NOT provide evidence for continental drift?
a. | sea-floor spreading | c. | the fossil record | b. | oceanic plate theory | d. | magnetic
reversals |
|
|
|
41.
|
What type of boundary is formed when plates collide?
a. | convergent | c. | divergent | b. | horizontal | d. | transform |
|
|
|
42.
|
Which of the following forms the boundary between the North American plate and
the Pacific plate?
a. | Los Angeles Basin | c. | Cascade Mountains | b. | San Andreas fault | d. | Sierra Nevada
batholith |
|
|
|
43.
|
What type of boundary is formed when plates slide past each other?
a. | convergent | c. | divergent | b. | horizontal | d. | transform |
|
|
|
44.
|
According to the continental drift theory, a single, huge continent once existed
called
a. | Pangaea. | c. | Panthalassa. | b. | Wegener. | d. | Eurasia. |
|
|
|
45.
|
What type of boundary is formed when plates separate?
a. | convergent | c. | divergent | b. | horizontal | d. | transform |
|
|
|
Use the diagram below to answer questions 46 through 48.
|
|
|
46.
|
In the diagram, which of the following letters represent the part of Earth that
consists of mostly the metal iron?
|
|
|
47.
|
In the diagram, Earth’s compositional layer on which the tectonic plates
move is represented by which letter?
|
|
|
48.
|
In the diagram, which letters represent Earth’s mantle?
a. | A and B | c. | C, D, and E | b. | C and D | d. | A, B, and C |
|
|
|
49.
|
Which of the following is used to measure the rate of tectonic plate movement on
continents?
a. | seismometer | c. | batholith | b. | global positioning system
(GPS) | d. | sea-floor
spreading |
|
|
|
50.
|
The core consists mainly of
a. | iron. | c. | silicon. | b. | magnesium. | d. | oxygen. |
|
|
|
51.
|
Seismic waves travel through Earth’s layers at different speeds depending
on the
a. | density. | c. | area. | b. | mass. | d. | shape. |
|
|
|
52.
|
Mountains formed by magma that reaches the Earth’s surface are
a. | slip-strike. | c. | fault-block. | b. | folded. | d. | volcanic. |
|
|
|
53.
|
The fact that similar fossils are found on both sides of the ocean is evidence
of
a. | global positioning. | c. | continental drift. | b. | magnetic reversal. | d. | oceanic drifts. |
|
|
|
54.
|
The chunks of lithosphere that are scraped off subducting plates and added to
the edge of a continent are called
a. | mid-ocean ridges. | c. | fault blocks. | b. | tectonic plates. | d. | accreted
terranes. |
|
|
|
55.
|
What is the order of the layers of the Earth from the surface to the
center?
a. | asthenosphere, lithosphere, mesosphere, outer core, inner core | b. | lithosphere,
asthenosphere, mesosphere, outer core, inner core | c. | mesosphere, outer core, inner core,
lithosphere, asthenosphere | d. | lithosphere, asthenosphere, mesosphere, inner
core, outer core |
|
|
|
56.
|
Tectonic plates “float” on
a. | the ocean. | c. | the asthenosphere. | b. | the mantle. | d. | the
lithosphere. |
|
|
|
57.
|
Earthquakes produce
a. | seismographs. | c. | seismic waves. | b. | maps. | d. | volcanoes. |
|
|
|
58.
|
The giant continent that was composed of all the land on Earth was called
a. | Pangaea. | c. | Gondwana. | b. | Panthalassa. | d. | Laurasia. |
|
|
|
59.
|
The southern portion of Pangaea that broke apart about 180 million years ago is
known as
a. | Pangaea. | c. | Gondwana. | b. | Panthalassa. | d. | Laurasia. |
|
|
|
60.
|
Magnetic reversals are preserved in
a. | compass needles. | c. | all minerals. | b. | magnetic minerals. | d. | seismic waves. |
|
|
|
61.
|
Magnetic reversals have helped to support
a. | the theory of Pangaea. | c. | sea-floor spreading. | b. | the age of the Earth. | d. | the theory of
Gondwana. |
|
|
|
62.
|
The global positioning system (GPS) depends on
a. | gravity. | c. | satellites. | b. | the Internet. | d. | visual
observations. |
|
|
|
63.
|
The amount of force per unit area on a given material is called
a. | stress. | c. | uplift. | b. | deformation. | d. | subsidence. |
|
Matching
|
|
|
Match each item with the correct statement below. a. | magnetic reversal | e. | seismic waves | b. | crust | f. | sea-floor spreading | c. | core | g. | continental drift | d. | fossils | h. | lithosphere |
|
|
|
64.
|
hypothesis that states that the continents were once one large mass that broke
apart
|
|
|
65.
|
the layer of Earth made mostly of iron
|
|
|
66.
|
process by which new oceanic lithosphere forms
|
|
|
67.
|
the rigid layer of Earth made up of the crust and upper mantle
|
|
|
68.
|
process of Earth’s magnetic poles changing places
|
|
|
69.
|
the thin, solid outermost layer of Earth above the mantle
|
|
|
70.
|
items that provide evidence that the continents were once closer
together
|
|
|
71.
|
vibrations produced by an earthquake
|
|
|
Match each item with the correct statement below. a. | tectonic plates | d. | boundary | b. | plate tectonics | e. | cm/year | c. | convection | f. | transform boundary |
|
|
|
72.
|
place where tectonic plates meet
|
|
|
73.
|
lithosphere pieces that move around on top of the asthenosphere
|
|
|
74.
|
place where two plates are moving horizontally past each other
|
|
|
75.
|
process of moving layers of rock by heating and cooling
|
|
|
76.
|
theory that Earth’s lithosphere is divided into moving tectonic
plates
|
|
|
77.
|
a measurement for tectonic plate movement
|
|
|
Match each item with the correct statement below. a. | syncline | f. | anticline | b. | folded mountains | g. | tension | c. | normal
fault | h. | reverse
fault | d. | compression | i. | molten rock | e. | fault-block
mountains |
|
|
|
78.
|
Mountains are caused by tension in Earth’s crust.
|
|
|
79.
|
Stress pulls rock apart.
|
|
|
80.
|
Stress pushes rocks together.
|
|
|
81.
|
Rock limbs slope down to form an arch.
|
|
|
82.
|
This type of mountain range forms at convergent boundaries.
|
|
|
83.
|
Rock limbs slope up to form a trough.
|
|
|
84.
|
Hanging wall moves down relative to footwall.
|
|
|
85.
|
Hanging wall moves up relative to footwall.
|
|
|
86.
|
Volcanic mountains form when this erupts.
|
|
|
Match each item with the correct statement below. a. | asthenosphere | g. | Pangaea | b. | fault | h. | tectonic plates | c. | folding | i. | outer core | d. | seismic waves | j. | volcanic mountains | e. | inner
core | k. | San Andreas fault
system | f. | crust | l. | plate
tectonics |
|
|
|
87.
|
world-famous transform plate boundary
|
|
|
88.
|
mountains formed from eruption of molten rock
|
|
|
89.
|
a break in a body of rock along which one block slides relative to
another
|
|
|
90.
|
the bending of rock layers
|
|
|
91.
|
vibrations that, when measured, can be used to calculate the thickness of
Earth’s layers
|
|
|
92.
|
the soft layer of the mantle on which tectonic plates move
|
|
|
93.
|
the outside layer of Earth
|
|
|
94.
|
Earth’s liquid layer
|
|
|
95.
|
single large continent that gave rise to today’s continents
|
|
|
96.
|
pieces of Earth’s lithosphere
|
|
|
97.
|
the hot, solid layer at Earth’s center
|
|
|
98.
|
the most important force in shaping California’s geology
|
|
|
Match each item with the correct statement below. a. | volcanic mountains | f. | fossils | b. | magma | g. | heat | c. | seismometer | h. | magnetic reversal | d. | global positioning system
(GPS) | i. | fault-block
mountains | e. | folded mountains |
|
|
|
99.
|
form when tension causes Earth’s crust to drop down relative to other
blocks of crust
|
|
|
100.
|
used to measure the movement of tectonic plates
|
|
|
101.
|
cools to form new rock at mid-ocean ridges
|
|
|
102.
|
used to measure the density of Earth’s layers
|
|
|
103.
|
form when molten rock erupts onto Earth’s surface
|
|
|
104.
|
used as evidence for continental drift
|
|
|
105.
|
used as evidence for sea-floor spreading
|
|
|
106.
|
causes convection in the mantle
|
|
|
107.
|
form when rock layers are squeezed together and pushed upward
|
|
|
Match each item with the correct statement below. a. | centimeters per year | d. | seismic waves | b. | convection currents | e. | accreted terranes | c. | batholiths |
|
|
|
108.
|
large masses of igneous rock in Earth’s crust
|
|
|
109.
|
vibrations produced by earthquakes
|
|
|
110.
|
pieces of lithosphere that become part of a larger landmass when plates
collide
|
|
|
111.
|
method of heat transfer in the mantle
|
|
|
112.
|
units for measuring tectonic plate movement
|