Plate Tectonics Quiz Review
Evidence from rocks and _ make clear how Earth's plates have moved great distances.
fossils
Identify plate M
Australian Plate
Earthquake
A shaking of the Earth's surface due to a release of energy within the crust that generates seismic waves.
Convergent Plate Boundary
A tectonic plate boundary where two plates collide, come together, or crash into each other.
Identify plate J
African Plate
Transform Boundary
Also called a conservative boundary, a region where two tectonic plates slide against each other.
Identify plate N
Antarctic Plate
Identify plate K
Arabian Plate
Identify plate C
Caribbean Plate
Alfred Wegener's theory of continental drift suggests that -
The continents had once been connected in one massive supercontinent.
Convection Current
Circular movements through the mantle.
Identify plate B
Cocos Plate
Lithosphere
Consists of the crust and part of the mantle.
Continental Drift
Describes the movements of tectonic plates of long periods of time.
Large-scale system interactions
Earthquakes, volcanoes, etc.
Identify plate L
Eurasian Plate
How are scientists able to determine changes in position of Earth's landmasses over geologic time?
Evidence from glaciers, rocks, and fossils.
Fossils
Evidence of life millions of years again.
Pyroclastic Flow
Fast-moving ground-level flows of hot gases and rock fragments, dust and ash from a volcanic eruption.
Identify plate G
Filipino Plate
The distribution of fossils is used as evidence for plate tectonics. The distribution of four different fossil organisms over three different continents is shown in the diagram. The distribution of which organisms can be used as evidence that Africa was once connected to South America?
Glossopteris, Cynognathus, and Mesosaurus
Why did some scientists dismiss Wegener's theory?
He could not explain why or how they moved apart.
Identify plate F
Indian Plate
Which of the following provides evidence for past tectonic plate motions?
Matching rock type and rock formations can show the way the continents were once attached, glacial evidence has been found in areas where glaciers could exist if the continents were in their current location, ancient life forms preserved as fossils can tell us what organisms existed and where they were (matching the fossils can show that land masses were once connected).
Magma
Molten rock below the surface of the Earth.
Identify plate D
Nazca Plate
The theory of plate tectonics was, at first, rejected by most scientists. Now most geologists accept that tectonic plates exist and that these tectonic plates can and do move. What is responsible for the change in how scientists think about plate tectonics?
New evidence was discovered that made scientists revise their ideas.
Identify plate H
North American Plate
Identify plate A
Pacific Plate
Identify plate E
Scotia Plate
How does the picture show evidence that Earth's plates move away from each other and collide?
Similar fossils are found in both South America and Africa.
Identify plate I
South American Plate
What has occurred to the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans over time?
The Atlantic has gradually become larger, while the Pacific has gradually become smaller.
Mantle
The middle portion of the Earth's interior, between the outer crust and the core.
Asthenosphere
The soft layer of the mantle on which the lithosphere floats.
Seafloor Spreading
The spreading of the seafloor around mid-ocean ridges as new rock is formed in between two tectonic plates.
Pangea
The supercontinent that included all of Earth's land surface about 200-300 million years ago.
Plate Tectonics
The theory that the outer layer of Earth is divided and moves across Earth's surface.
Lithosphere
The upper layer of the Earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle, as opposed to the more fluid lower mantle and core.
Continental Crust
The uppermost layer of the Earth that forms the continents and coastal sea floor, sitting on top of a layer of denser rock called the mantle.
Divergent Plate Boundary
an area beneath the ocean where tectonic plates move away from each other
Scientists believe Earth's _ are _, or gradually moving.
continents, drifting
By studying the distribution of different types of fossils, geologists have determined that some plates have traveled great distances. Evidence to support this comes from the fact that -
fossils of organisms that lived in warm climates have been found in arctic environments.
There is an idea or theory that the large masses of land all over Earth were at one time all connected as the Pangaea, or _.
supercontinent
The pieces of Earth's crust and uppermost mantle are referred to as _ or lithosphere.
tectonic plates
Before there was evidence from rocks and fossils, many scientists theorized that the continents were once joined together. Using only maps, these scientists observed that -
the shapes of the continents allowed them to fit together.
