Plate Tectonics

Question 1

a late 19th century theory that states that the ________________ of the Earth due to cooling

Question 2

a late 19th century theory that states that the ________________ of the Earth due to heating

Question 3

the theory that is analogous to what happens to the skin of an apple as the interior shrinks as it dehydrates

Question 4

what are the strengths of the ‘contraction of the earth due to cooling’ theory

Question 5

what are the weaknesses of the ‘contraction of the earth due to cooling’ theory

Question 6

this theory was suggested after radioactivity was discovered

Question 7

what are the strengths of the ‘expansion of the earth due to heating’ theory

Question 8

what are the weaknesses of the ‘expansion of the earth due to heating’ theory

Question 9

a German meteorologist who studied ancient climates

Question 10

what year did Alfred Wegener describe what he called continental drift

Question 11

in 1915, what was the title of his book wherein he expanded his theory

Question 12

Wegener proposed that prior to about _________________ years ago, all of the continents formed one large land mass

Question 13

the name of the one large land mass that contained all the continents

Question 14

in Greek, the meaning of Pangea

Question 15

name of the super ocean that surrounded Pangea which means “all seas”

Answer 15

Panthalassa

Question 16

enumerate the supporting evidence for Alfred Wegener’s theory

Answer 16

• Jig-saw fit
• Rock types and structure
• Fossil evidence
• Climatic evidence

Question 17

the weakness of Wegener’s theory

Question 18

the study of the earth’s magnetic field and how it varied through time

Question 19

enumerate in order the evolution of the Pangea

Question 20

Pangea broke into two smaller supercontinents called:

Question 21

an attempt to explain why mountains, earthquakes, and volcanoes occur where they do, the ages of deformational events, and the ages and shapes of continents and ocean basins

Question 22

the continents Alfred Wegener observed that fit like a jigsaw

Question 23

the continents where the same coal was found adding as evidence to Alfred Wegener’s theory

Question 24

the Austrian geologist who first hypothesized Gondwana

Question 25

an ancient supercontinent that broke up about 180 million years ago

Question 26

Gondwana eventually split up into the 6 landmasses we recognize today as:

Question 27

along with Gondwana was a large northern continent known as

Question 28

Laurasia was a precursor to (3):

Question 29

Laurasia in 1937 was coined by the South African geologist

Question 30

the American geologist who proposed the Seafloor spreading theory

Question 31

he discovered ‘mid-ocean ridges’

Question 32

what Harry Hess considered as spreading centers for tectonic plates

Question 33

Harry Hess suggested that the ocean floors move like _______________ carrying the continents along with them

Question 34

Harry Hess commanded an attack transport ship during WW2. Like other ships, his had __________________ that mapped the seafloor

Question 35

Hess discovered hundreds of flat-topped mountains in the Pacific that he gave the name:

Question 36

SONAR is a device for detecting and locating objects especially underwater by means of sound waves sent out to be reflected by the objects. What does SONAR stand for

Question 37

In Hess’s theory, he emphasized that what moves?

Answer 37

the seafloors

Question 38

how are ridges, valleys, and trenches different?

Question 39

the theory that states that the earth’s solid outer crust is separated into plates that move over the aesthenosphere

Question 40

the name of the map of the seafloor that was published in 1977

Question 41

in the early 1960s, a number of scientists put the evidence together and concluded that ________________________ drove a process they called seafloor spreading

Question 42

enumerate the evidences for the seafloor spreading theory

Question 43

the edges where two plates meet

Question 44

most geologic activities including volcanoes, earthquakes, and mountain building take place at

Question 45

the theory that states that geologic change formed over a long period of time through a gradual process

Question 46

because of gradualism we were able to conclude that the continents were not really moving instead the _____________

Question 47

the theory that brings together continental drift and seafloor spreading

Question 48

plate movement wherein the two plates move away from each other

Question 49

plate movement wherein the two plates move toward each other

Question 50

plate movement wherein the two plates slip past each other

Question 51

the seven primary plates

Question 52

the eight smaller plates

Answer 52

Philippine Plate, Juan de Fuca Plate, Cocos Plate, Caribbean Plate, Arabian Plate, Indian Plate, Nazca Plate, and Scotia Plate