Plate Tectonics: Earth's Crust in Motion - Interactive Quizzes

Question 1

What was the name of the supercontinent which existed millions of years ago?

Accepted Answer

Pangea

Answer

Gondwana

Answer

Laurasia

Answer

Atlantis

Question 2

Which layer of the Earth's crust is the thinnest?

Accepted Answer

Oceanic crust

Answer

Continental crust

Answer

Upper mantle

Answer

Lower mantle

Question 3

What is the process by which magma rises towards the Earth's surface?

Accepted Answer

Magmatism

Answer

Subduction

Answer

Erosion

Answer

Weathering

Question 4

Which type of wave is caused by plate movements?

Accepted Answer

Seismic waves

Answer

Light waves

Answer

Sound waves

Answer

Electromagnetic waves

Question 5

What is the process called when one plate moves beneath another?

Accepted Answer

Subduction

Answer

Convergent boundary

Answer

Divergent boundary

Answer

Transform boundary

Question 6

Which country is located on a divergent plate boundary?

Accepted Answer

Iceland

Answer

United Kingdom

Answer

United States

Answer

Japan

Question 7

What famous fault line runs through California?

Accepted Answer

San Andreas Fault

Answer

Great Rift Valley

Answer

Alpine Fault

Answer

North Anatolian Fault

Question 8

What is the instrument used to record seismic waves called?

Accepted Answer

Seismograph

Answer

Barometer

Answer

Anemometer

Answer

Thermometer

Question 9

When two plates move away from each other, what type of plate movement is occurring?

Accepted Answer

Divergence

Answer

Subduction

Answer

Collision

Answer

Transform

Question 10

What process causes tectonic plates to move?

Accepted Answer

Convection

Answer

Radiation

Answer

Conduction

Answer

Subduction

Question 11

When two plates move away from each other, which type of plate boundary occurs?

Accepted Answer

Divergent

Answer

Convergent

Answer

Transform

Answer

Destructive

Question 12

Which theory explains how the Earth's surface is shaped and changed over time?

Accepted Answer

Plate tectonics

Answer

Glacial theory

Answer

Theory of evolution

Answer

Continental drift

Question 13

Which of these is not a result of plate tectonics?

Accepted Answer

Glaciers

Answer

Mountains

Answer

Volcanoes

Answer

Earthquakes

Question 14

What was the name of the supercontinent that existed millions of years ago?

Accepted Answer

Pangea

Answer

Gondwana

Answer

Laurasia

Answer

Eurasia

Question 15

What instrument is used to measure the strength of earthquakes?

Accepted Answer

Seismograph

Answer

Anemometer

Answer

Barometer

Answer

Thermometer

Question 16

When one tectonic plate moves beneath another, what geological process occurs?

Accepted Answer

Subduction

Answer

Obduction

Answer

Collision

Answer

Rift

Question 17

Which layer of the Earth is where earthquakes and volcanoes mostly occur?

Accepted Answer

Crust

Answer

Mantle

Answer

Outer Core

Answer

Inner Core

Question 18

When two plates move towards each other, what is this process called?

Accepted Answer

Convergence

Answer

Divergence

Answer

Transform

Answer

Subduction

Question 19

What is the term for the process when one plate moves beneath another?

Accepted Answer

Subduction

Answer

Obduction

Answer

Overthrusting

Answer

Collision

Question 20

What was the name of the supercontinent that existed before the present-day continents formed?

Accepted Answer

Pangaea

Answer

Gondwana

Answer

Laurasia

Answer

Tethys

Question 21

Which type of seismic wave causes the greatest damage to buildings?

Accepted Answer

Surface waves

Answer

P-waves

Answer

S-waves

Answer

Love waves

Question 22

What is the term for the point on the Earth's surface directly above the focus of an earthquake?

Accepted Answer

Epicenter

Answer

Hypocenter

Answer

Seismograph

Answer

Magnitude

Question 23

Which of the following countries is NOT located on a plate boundary?

Accepted Answer

France

Answer

Japan

Answer

Turkey

Answer

United States

Question 24

What is the name of the study of the structure and history of the Earth?

Accepted Answer

Geology

Answer

Geophysics

Answer

Oceanography

Answer

Meteorology

Question 25

Which of these is NOT a type of plate boundary?

Accepted Answer

Parallel boundary

Answer

Convergent boundary

Answer

Transform boundary

Answer

Divergent boundary

Question 26

Which action of tectonic plates results in the creation of mountains?

Accepted Answer

Plates colliding with each other

Answer

Plates moving away from each other

Answer

Plates sliding past each other

Answer

Plates moving towards each other

Question 27

What is the primary cause of earthquakes?

Accepted Answer

Movement of tectonic plates

Answer

Volcanic eruptions

Answer

Flooding

Answer

Landslides

Question 28

Which device is utilized to measure the strength of earthquakes?

Accepted Answer

Seismograph

Answer

Barometer

Answer

Anemometer

Answer

Thermometer

Question 29

Which of these is NOT a type of plate boundary?

Accepted Answer

Parallel

Answer

Convergent

Answer

Divergent

Answer

Transform

Question 30

What is the outermost layer of the Earth called?

Accepted Answer

Crust

Answer

Mantle

Answer

Core

Answer

Lithosphere

Question 31

When two plates move apart, what type of plate boundary is formed?

Accepted Answer

Divergent boundary

Answer

Convergent boundary

Answer

Transform boundary

Answer

Collision boundary

Question 32

Before the continents separated, what was the name of the supercontinent?

Accepted Answer

Pangea

Answer

Gondwana

Answer

Laurasia

Answer

Rodinia

Question 33

When oceanic and continental plates converge, what type of landform can form?

Accepted Answer

Mountains

Answer

Volcanic islands

Answer

Oceanic trenches

Answer

Mid-ocean ridges

Question 34

What theory explains how the Earth's crust moves?

Accepted Answer

Plate Tectonics

Answer

Continental Drift

Answer

Seafloor Spreading

Question 35

What is the name of the thin, outermost layer of the Earth?

Accepted Answer

Crust

Answer

Asthenosphere

Answer

Mantle

Answer

Core

Question 36

When two plates move away from each other, what type of plate boundary is formed?

Accepted Answer

Divergent

Answer

Transform

Answer

Subduction

Answer

Convergent

Question 37

Which process is responsible for driving the movement of tectonic plates?

Accepted Answer

Convection currents

Answer

Wind

Answer

Magnetic fields

Answer

Gravity

Question 38

What landform is created when two continental plates collide?

Accepted Answer

Mountain range

Answer

Earthquake

Answer

Ocean trench

Answer

Volcanic island

Question 39

Which phenomenon is associated with divergent plate boundaries?

Accepted Answer

Seafloor spreading

Answer

Earthquakes

Answer

Volcanic eruptions

Answer

Subduction

Question 40

Before the continents separated, what was the name of the single, giant landmass?

Accepted Answer

Pangea

Answer

Laurasia

Answer

Rodinia

Answer

Gondwana

Question 41

Which layer of the Earth is the most dense?

Accepted Answer

Core

Answer

Crust

Answer

Mantle

Answer

Asthenosphere

Question 42

What is the name of the process where a denser oceanic plate sinks beneath a less dense continental plate?

Accepted Answer

Subduction

Answer

Transform fault

Answer

Convergence

Answer

Divergence

Question 43

Which feature is a result of volcanic activity?

Accepted Answer

Lava flows

Answer

Earthquakes

Answer

Mountain building

Answer

Tsunamis

Question 44

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

Accepted Answer

Plate tectonics

Answer

Subduction

Answer

Continental drift

Answer

Seafloor spreading

Question 45

Which layer of the Earth is broken into tectonic plates?

Accepted Answer

Lithosphere

Answer

Mantle

Answer

Inner core

Question 46

What is the name of the supercontinent that existed millions of years ago from which all the current ones originate from?

Accepted Answer

Pangaea

Answer

Laurasia

Answer

Gondwana

Answer

Atlantica

Question 47

Which type of plate boundary is responsible for the formation of the Himalayas and the Andes?

Accepted Answer

Convergent boundary

Answer

Divergent boundary

Answer

Transform boundary

Answer

Subduction zone

Question 48

What is the process called when one tectonic plate slides beneath another, causing earthquakes and volcanoes?

Accepted Answer

Subduction

Answer

Convection

Answer

Transformation

Question 49

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is an example of which type of plate boundary?

Accepted Answer

Divergent boundary

Answer

Convergent boundary

Answer

Subduction zone

Answer

Transform boundary

Question 50

What causes the movement of tectonic plates?

Accepted Answer

Convection currents in the mantle

Answer

Volcanic eruptions

Answer

The Earth's rotation

Answer

Gravitational pull of the moon

Question 51

Which of these features is formed at a divergent plate boundary?

Accepted Answer

Rift valley

Answer

Fold mountain

Answer

Volcanic arc

Question 52

How do volcanoes formed at convergent plate boundaries differ from those formed at divergent boundaries?

Accepted Answer

They tend to be more explosive and form composite cones.

Answer

They erupt less frequently.

Answer

They are smaller in size.