Chapter 2
The flipping of Earth's magnetic field takes an average of about ________ years.
5,000
The largest reef system in the world is the Great Barrier Reef. Where is it located?
Australia
What part of the continent(s) create the best fit when trying to piece them back together like a puzzle into the supercontinent Pangaea?
Continental Margins
Which of the following is the main reason that Earth has a magnetic field? Select only one answer.
Convection in the liquid iron-nickel outer core generates a magnetic field.
What is the motion of a declining stage of the Wilson cycle?
Convergence (subduction)
The Himalayan Mountains and Alps are geographic examples of which type of plate boundary?
Convergent
Plate convergence begins during which stage of the Wilson Cycle?
Declining
What is the motion of a juvenile stage of the Wilson cycle?
Divergence
Which of the following is an example of the embryonic stage of the Wilson Cycle?
East Africa
Where are the only two places in the world where continental ice sheets occur today?
Greenland and Antarctica
Which of the following is an example of a nematath?
Hawaiian Islands-Emperor Seamount Chain
Which of the following fossils was used as data to help reconstruct Pangea because it was a reptile found in South America and Africa?
Mesosauras
In the ocean, where are the youngest rocks found?
Mid-ocean ridges
What piece of evidence supports Wegener's hypothesis of continental drift?
Modern-day species that evolved in isolation share a common ancestor.
Most large earthquakes occur along which of the following?
Ocean trenches Submit
What type of plate boundary will result in the formation of a volcanic island chain or arc near a deep-sea trench?
Oceanic-oceanic convergent boundaries
Which is the largest tectonic plate?
Pacific
The San Andreas Fault in California cuts through which two plates?
Pacific Plate and North American Plate
Part complete Which of the following was not used as evidence for continental drift?
Paleomagnetic reversals
Which hypothesis best explains the continuous bend in the Hawaiian Islands-Emperor Seamount chain?
The direction of plate motion shifted over time over a stationary mantle plume (hotspot).
Which of the following statements is true of the lithosphere?
The lithosphere is composed of the crust and the uppermost portion of the mantle.
What was the one line of evidence that Alfred Wegner could not explain with continental drift?
The mechanism for the movement of the plates
Alfred Wegener's continental drift hypothesis received much hostile criticism and ridicule from the scientific community because of which of the following?
The mechanism he proposed for the movement of the continents.
Which of the following is the most convincing piece of evidence set forth to support the concept of sea floor spreading?
The oceanic pattern of alternating reversals of Earth's magnetic field Submit
What do all plate boundaries have in common? Select only one answer.
They are all associated with zones of earthquakes.
The Red Sea is an example of ________ plate boundary.
a continental-continental divergent
Evidence shows that periodic reversals of Earth's magnetic field have resulted in __________.
a symmetrical pattern of normal and reverse magnetization in ocean crustal rocks along ridges and rises.
Which of the following is characteristic of oceanic-continental convergent plate boundaries?
andesitic volcanoes
A major characteristic of a seamount is that it is ________.
cone shaped
The Pacific Ocean is an example of the ________ stage of the Wilson Cycle.
declining Submit
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is an example of a:
divergent plate boundary.
Based on the Theory of Plate Tectonics, you would expect to find ________ heat flow at the mid-ocean ridge and ________ heat flow at subduction zones when compared to other parts of the crust.
increased; decreased
Moving from an oceanic ridge to an oceanic trench, the thickness of the lithosphere:
increases in proportion to the distance.
Climate distribution on Earth is primarily controlled by:
latitude.
Tectonic plates are pieces of the ________ that float on the more fluid ________ below.
lithosphere; asthenosphere
The study of historical changes of continental shapes and positions is called:
paleogeography.
Fossils of ancient tropical plants are currently found near the poles because the:
plants lived in the tropics, but landmasses have drifted to current locations.
Spreading centers have ________ earthquakes, while trenches have ________ earthquakes.
shallow; deep
Based on the map of what the world may look like in 50 million years from now, the Pacific Ocean will become ________ while the Atlantic Ocean will become ________.
smaller; larger
Compared to the rest of the planet, an unusually high concentration of hotspots and rifting is located on the continent of Africa. A likely explanation for this is that __________.
the African Plate is essentially stationary with respect to Earth's interior and the thick continental crust acts as a "heat blanket"
Frederick Vine and Drummond Matthews determined that new ocean floor was being produced at ocean ridges by examining:
the magnetic pattern of rocks on the seafloor.
Which of the following is characteristic of continental-continental convergent plate boundaries?
uplifted mountain ranges
To find the largest area of the ocean with the oldest ocean crust, you should go to the ________.
western Pacific
Tectonic plates move about as fast as ________.
your fingernails grow
