The Moving World of Tectonic Plates

Science and Technology · 10 questions

Plate tectonics, the mechanisms of plate movement, and the geological structures they form.

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1. In plate tectonics, what type of boundary occurs where plates move apart?

   1. Divergent boundary
   2. Subduction zone
   3. Transform boundary
   4. Convergent boundary
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   A) Divergent boundary

2. What major geological feature runs along divergent boundaries on the ocean floor?

   1. Ocean trench
   2. Continental margin
   3. Volcanic island arc
   4. Mid-ocean ridge
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   D) Mid-ocean ridge

3. Which mountain range rose as the Indian and Eurasian plates collided?

   1. Rocky Mountains
   2. Himalayas
   3. Andes
   4. Alps
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   B) Himalayas

4. How do two plates move relative to each other along transform faults?

   1. Moving apart
   2. Horizontal sliding
   3. Moving toward each other
   4. One descending beneath the other
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   B) Horizontal sliding

5. What is the name for a convergent region where one plate descends beneath another?

   1. Rift valley
   2. Transform fault
   3. Subduction zone
   4. Mid-ocean ridge
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   C) Subduction zone

6. Which ductile mantle region allows lithospheric plates to move above it?

   1. Asthenosphere
   2. Lower mantle
   3. Outer core
   4. Lithosphere
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   A) Asthenosphere

7. Volcanic island arcs most commonly form in which plate-boundary setting?

   1. Passive continental margin
   2. Continental transform boundary
   3. Oceanic convergent boundary
   4. Oceanic divergent boundary
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   C) Oceanic convergent boundary

8. Which scientist proposed the continental drift hypothesis?

   1. Charles Lyell
   2. Harry Hess
   3. Arthur Holmes
   4. Alfred Wegener
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   D) Alfred Wegener

9. What process is supported by matching magnetic stripes on both sides of mid-ocean ridges?

   1. Subduction
   2. Continental collision
   3. Continental rifting
   4. Seafloor spreading
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   D) Seafloor spreading

10. Along the San Andreas Fault, what type of boundary separates the Pacific and North American plates?

    1. Transform boundary
    2. Subduction zone
    3. Divergent boundary
    4. Convergent boundary
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    A) Transform boundary