Question 1

The theory of plate tectonics ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)  incorporates continental drift but not sea-floor spreading 
B)  incorporates sea-floor spreading but not continental drift 
C)  incorporates and explains both sea-floor spreading and continental drift 
D)  does not incorporate sea-floor spreading or continental drift 
A)  incorporates continental drift but not sea-floor spreading 
B)  incorporates sea-floor spreading but not continental drift 
C)  incorporates and explains both sea-floor spreading and continental drift 
D)  does not incorporate sea-floor spreading or continental drift

Question 2

The lithosphere of the Earth is generally thinnest at and near ____________ plate boundaries.

Accepted Answer

A)  Convergent 
B)  Divergent 
C)  Transform 
A)  Convergent 
B)  Divergent 
C)  Transform

Question 3

At a transform-plate boundary (shown below),two opposed plates ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)  move toward one another 
B)  move away from one another 
C)  slide past one another 
A)  move toward one another 
B)  move away from one another 
C)  slide past one another

Question 4

According to the figure below,the Earth's magnetic reversals are likely due to ______________.

Accepted Answer

A)  meteorite impacts 
B)  lightning strikes 
C)  changes in circulation patterns in the outer core 
D)  changes in circulation patterns in the inner core 
A)  meteorite impacts 
B)  lightning strikes 
C)  changes in circulation patterns in the outer core 
D)  changes in circulation patterns in the inner core

Question 5

The oldest oceanic crust is approximately ____________ years old.

Accepted Answer

A)  1 billion 
B)  240 million 
C)  120 million 
D)  90 million 
A)  1 billion 
B)  240 million 
C)  120 million 
D)  90 million

Question 6

Continental coastlines that occur within the interior of a tectonic plate are called ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)  internal margins 
B)  passive margins 
C)  active margins 
D)  inert margins 
A)  internal margins 
B)  passive margins 
C)  active margins 
D)  inert margins

Question 7

Consult the figure below.The Wadati-Benioff zone is a belt of earthquakes found ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)  within an otherwise stable continental interior 
B)  within an overriding plate at a subduction zone 
C)  within a downgoing plate at a subduction zone 
D)  along mid-ocean ridges 
A)  within an otherwise stable continental interior 
B)  within an overriding plate at a subduction zone 
C)  within a downgoing plate at a subduction zone 
D)  along mid-ocean ridges

Question 8

Consult the figure below.Abundant swamps led to the formation of coal during the Late Paleozoic in which of the following places?

Accepted Answer

A)  India 
B)  southern Africa 
C)  North America 
D)  South America 
A)  India 
B)  southern Africa 
C)  North America 
D)  South America

Question 9

A great boost in sea-floor exploration and a greater understanding of sea-floor bathymetry were a result of _______________.

Accepted Answer

A)  scientific advances in the 1950s 
B)  scientific advances in the 1920s 
C)  military needs in World War I 
D)  military needs in World War II 
A)  scientific advances in the 1950s 
B)  scientific advances in the 1920s 
C)  military needs in World War I 
D)  military needs in World War II

Question 10

The thickness of oceanic lithosphere is ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)  uniformly 100 km 
B)  greatest at the geographic poles and least near the equator 
C)  greatest near the mid-ocean ridges and thins out away from the ridges 
D)  least near the mid-ocean ridges and thickens away from the ridges 
A)  uniformly 100 km 
B)  greatest at the geographic poles and least near the equator 
C)  greatest near the mid-ocean ridges and thins out away from the ridges 
D)  least near the mid-ocean ridges and thickens away from the ridges

Question 11

Evidence of paleomagnetism can be found in _________________.

Accepted Answer

A)  basalt that has cooled from lava 
B)  any rock with magnetic minerals present 
C)  sedimentary rocks where minerals form from ion-bearing groundwater 
D)  All of the above are correct. 
A)  basalt that has cooled from lava 
B)  any rock with magnetic minerals present 
C)  sedimentary rocks where minerals form from ion-bearing groundwater 
D)  All of the above are correct.

Question 12

All rock produced at the mid-ocean ridges consists of basalt.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

Slab pull occurs because subducting slabs are ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)  less mafic, and therefore less dense, than surrounding asthenosphere 
B)  cooler, and therefore more dense, than surrounding asthenosphere 
C)  hotter, and therefore more dense, than surrounding asthenosphere 
D)  cooler, and therefore less dense, than surrounding asthenosphere 
A)  less mafic, and therefore less dense, than surrounding asthenosphere 
B)  cooler, and therefore more dense, than surrounding asthenosphere 
C)  hotter, and therefore more dense, than surrounding asthenosphere 
D)  cooler, and therefore less dense, than surrounding asthenosphere

Question 14

Marine magnetic anomalies result from sea-floor spreading in conjunction with ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)  global warming 
B)  magnetic storms on the surface of the Sun 
C)  magnetic polarity reversals 
D)  apparent wander of the magnetic poles 
A)  global warming 
B)  magnetic storms on the surface of the Sun 
C)  magnetic polarity reversals 
D)  apparent wander of the magnetic poles

Question 15

As lithosphere cools to the sides of a mid-ocean ridge,it begins to ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)  rise with respect to material located closer to the ridge axis 
B)  sink with respect to material located closer to the ridge axis 
A)  rise with respect to material located closer to the ridge axis 
B)  sink with respect to material located closer to the ridge axis

Question 16

The term and concept of sea-floor spreading (see figure below)was developed by _____________.

Accepted Answer

A)  Hess and Dietz 
B)  Hess and Wegener 
C)  Wegener and Dietz 
D)  Wegener 
A)  Hess and Dietz 
B)  Hess and Wegener 
C)  Wegener and Dietz 
D)  Wegener

Question 17

The apparent tendency of the north (or south)magnetic pole to vary in position over time is termed ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)  Dipole 
B)  magnetic declination 
C)  magnetic inclination 
D)  polar wander 
A)  Dipole 
B)  magnetic declination 
C)  magnetic inclination 
D)  polar wander

Question 18

Consult the figure below.Marine magnetic anomaly belts are widest when and where ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)  continents are joined to form supercontinents 
B)  sea-floor spreading rates are relatively rapid 
C)  sea-floor spreading rates are relatively slow 
A)  continents are joined to form supercontinents 
B)  sea-floor spreading rates are relatively rapid 
C)  sea-floor spreading rates are relatively slow

Question 19

Which of the following would NOT render the volcanoes on Hawaii's big island inactive?

Accepted Answer

A)  the Pacific plate moving farther to the northwest 
B)  the mantle plume below Hawaii moving farther to the northwest 
C)  the mantle plume below Hawaii decreasing in temperature 
D)  All of the other choices would render the volcanoes on Hawaii's big island inactive. 
A)  the Pacific plate moving farther to the northwest 
B)  the mantle plume below Hawaii moving farther to the northwest 
C)  the mantle plume below Hawaii decreasing in temperature 
D)  All of the other choices would render the volcanoes on Hawaii's big island inactive.

Question 20

Deep-ocean trenches are found predominantly along the perimeter of the _____________ and can reach depths up to ____________,deep enough to swallow Mt.Everest.

Accepted Answer

A)  Pacific Ocean; 4-10 km 
B)  Pacific Ocean; 8-12 km 
C)  Atlantic Ocean; 4-10 km 
D)  Atlantic Ocean; 8-12 km 
A)  Pacific Ocean; 4-10 km 
B)  Pacific Ocean; 8-12 km 
C)  Atlantic Ocean; 4-10 km 
D)  Atlantic Ocean; 8-12 km

Exam 2: The Way the Earth Works: Plate Tectonics

The theory of plate tectonics ____________.

The lithosphere of the Earth is generally thinnest at and near ____________ plate boundaries.

At a transform-plate boundary (shown below),two opposed plates ____________.

According to the figure below,the Earth's magnetic reversals are likely due to ______________.

The oldest oceanic crust is approximately ____________ years old.

Continental coastlines that occur within the interior of a tectonic plate are called ____________.

Consult the figure below.The Wadati-Benioff zone is a belt of earthquakes found ____________.

Consult the figure below.Abundant swamps led to the formation of coal during the Late Paleozoic in which of the following places?

A great boost in sea-floor exploration and a greater understanding of sea-floor bathymetry were a result of _______________.

The thickness of oceanic lithosphere is ____________.

Evidence of paleomagnetism can be found in _________________.

All rock produced at the mid-ocean ridges consists of basalt.

Slab pull occurs because subducting slabs are ____________.

Marine magnetic anomalies result from sea-floor spreading in conjunction with ____________.

As lithosphere cools to the sides of a mid-ocean ridge,it begins to ____________.

The term and concept of sea-floor spreading (see figure below)was developed by _____________.

The apparent tendency of the north (or south)magnetic pole to vary in position over time is termed ____________.

Consult the figure below.Marine magnetic anomaly belts are widest when and where ____________.

Which of the following would NOT render the volcanoes on Hawaii's big island inactive?

Deep-ocean trenches are found predominantly along the perimeter of the _____________ and can reach depths up to ____________,deep enough to swallow Mt.Everest.

The Earth in Context

Patterns in Nature: Minerals

Up From the Inferno: Magma and Igneous Rocks

The Wrath of Vulcan: Volcanic Eruptions

Pages of Earths Past: Sedimentary Rocks

Metamorphism: a Process of Change

A Violent Pulse: Earthquakes

Crags, cracks, and Crumples: Crustal Deformation and Mountain Building

Deep Time: How Old Is Old

A Biography of Earth

Riches in Rock: Energy and Mineral Resources

Unsafe Ground: Landslides and Other Mass Movements

Streams and Floods: the Geology of Running Water

Restless Realm: Oceans and Coasts

A Hidden Reserve: Groundwater

Dry Regions: the Geology of Deserts

Amazing Ice: Glaciers and Ice Ages

Global Change in the Earth System

Rock Groups

A Surface Veneer: Sediments and Soils

The Rock Cycle

The Earths Interior Revisited: Insights From Geophysics

Memories of Past Life: Fossils and Evolution

An Introduction to Landscapes and the Hydrologic Cycle

Filters

Deep-ocean trenches are found predominantly along the perimeter of the _ and can reach depths up to ,deep enough to swallow Mt.Everest.