Plate tectonics

Question 1

What is the theory that explains the movement of Earth’s lithosphere?

Answer 1

Plate Tectonics

Question 2

True or False: The lithosphere is divided into several large plates that float on the semi-fluid asthenosphere.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

What is the name of the supercontinent that existed about 300 million years ago?

Answer 3

Pangaea

Question 4

What is the process by which one tectonic plate moves under another?

Answer 4

Subduction

Question 5

Which type of boundary occurs when two tectonic plates move away from each other?

Answer 5

Divergent boundary

Question 6

What is the term for the boundary where two tectonic plates slide past each other horizontally?

Answer 6

Transform boundary

Question 7

What is the name for the theory that explains the movement of tectonic plates due to the circulation of the mantle?

Answer 7

Mantle convection

Question 8

What is the process by which new oceanic crust is formed through volcanic activity?

Answer 8

Seafloor spreading

Question 9

What is the name for the process by which two continents collide, forming mountain ranges?

Answer 9

Continental collision

Question 10

What is the term for a sudden release of energy in the Earth’s crust that creates seismic waves?

Answer 10

Earthquake

Question 11

Which layer of the Earth is the thinnest but also the coolest?

Answer 11

Lithosphere

Question 12

What are the two types of crust that make up the Earth’s lithosphere?

Answer 12

Continental crust and oceanic crust

Question 13

In which layer of the Earth do convection currents occur that drive the movement of tectonic plates?

Answer 13

Mantle

Question 14

What is the process by which tectonic plates grind past each other, releasing built-up stress?

Answer 14

Faulting

Question 15

True or False: The theory of plate tectonics was widely accepted when it was first proposed.

Answer 15

False

Question 16

What is the name for the boundary where tectonic plates are moving towards each other?

Answer 16

Convergent boundary

Question 17

What is the term for the process by which the Earth’s magnetic field periodically reverses?

Answer 17

Geomagnetic reversal

Question 18

What is the name for the point within the Earth where an earthquake originates?

Answer 18

Hypocenter

Question 19

What is the term for the outermost layer of the Earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle?

Answer 19

Lithosphere

Question 20

Which scientist is credited with developing the theory of continental drift, a precursor to plate tectonics?

Answer 20

Alfred Wegener

Question 21

What is the term for the process by which one tectonic plate is forced below another due to differences in density?

Answer 21

Subduction

Question 22

What is the term for the process by which the Earth’s crust is deformed due to tectonic forces?

Answer 22

Deformation

Question 23

What is the name for the theory that suggests the Earth’s lithosphere is broken into a series of rigid plates?

Answer 23

Lithospheric plate model

Question 24

What is the term for the process by which one tectonic plate slides beneath another due to compression?

Answer 24

Obduction