Question 1

In the whole-mantle convection model, what feature balances the deeply descending lithosphere by transporting hot material toward the surface?

Accepted Answer

A) Kimberlites 
B) Decompression melting 
C) Mantle plumes 
D) Rift zones

Question 2

The Hawaiian mantle plume is a classic example of a long-lived mantle plume being used to demonstrate how the motion of a tectonic plate has changed over time.Which hot spot would be an even better indicator of the Pacific plate's motion over time?

Accepted Answer

A) Cape Verde mantle plume 
B) Easter Island 
C) Yellowstone 
D) Caroline 
E) Pitcairn

Question 3

Lava lamps are commonly used to illustrate how convection cells in the mantle convey heat from the core to the exterior of the Earth.Explain how convection works, using a lava lamp as a proxy for the Earth.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Lava lamps are commonly used to illustrate...

Question 4

All of the following offer additional evidence supporting the theory of plate tectonics except for ________.

Accepted Answer

A) changes in the Moon's orbit due to shifting plates 
B) ocean floor sediment cores 
C) hot spots 
D) measurements of plate motions

Question 5

As the island of Hawaii continues to move away from the mantle plume, a new submarine volcano will be created.Off which coast would you expect the new submarine volcano to be forming?

Accepted Answer

A) North coast 
B) Southwest coast 
C) Northeast coast 
D) Southeast coast

Question 6

In which layer of the Earth does the convection necessary for plate motion occur?

Accepted Answer

A) Crust 
B) Mantle 
C) Outer core 
D) Inner core

Question 7

Which type of convergence will result in a volcanic island arc?

Accepted Answer

A) Oceanic-continental 
B) Oceanic-oceanic 
C) Continental-continental

Question 8

During what time period did scientists first notice the jigsaw puzzle fit of the southern continents?

Accepted Answer

A) 1600s 
B) 1750s 
C) 1800s 
D) 1910s

Question 9

Which two continents did Wegener cite as having the best evidence of a close coastline fit?

Accepted Answer

A) North America and Europe 
B) South America and Africa 
C) Europe and Africa 
D) India and Asia

Question 10

Samples from the seafloor around the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the East Pacific Rise show that both areas have been creating new material in the last five million years.Samples from the East Pacific Rise show the five-million-year-old seafloor is three times as wide as similarly aged material from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.What does this say about the rate of seafloor spreading in the East Pacific?

Accepted Answer

A) The seafloor at both sites is growing at the same rate. 
B) The seafloor at the East Pacific Rise is growing more slowly. 
C) The seafloor at the Mid-Atlantic is growing more quickly. 
D) The seafloor at the Mid-Atlantic is growing more slowly.

Question 11

Which of the following statements best describes the tectonic setting for Mount St.Helens and the other Cascade volcanoes?

Accepted Answer

A) A chain of young, active volcanoes built on a continental margin above a sinking slab of oceanic lithosphere 
B) A chain of old, inactive volcanoes built while western North America moved over a mantle plume 
C) Old, deeply eroded volcanoes built before the Pacific Ocean existed 
D) Young, deeply eroded, basaltic volcanoes built when western North America was over the present-day site of the Hawaiian hot spot

Question 12

A ________ is a geographic low, which marks the location where oceanic lithosphere descends into the mantle.

Accepted Answer

A) fold and thrust mountain 
B) deep-ocean trench 
C) seismic zone 
D) mid-ocean rift

Question 13

A typical rate of seafloor spreading in the Atlantic Ocean is ________.

Accepted Answer

A) 2 meters per year 
B) 0.1 inches per year 
C) 20 feet per year 
D) 2 centimeters per year

Question 14

Why are the mid-ocean ridges higher in elevation than the surrounding ocean floor?

Accepted Answer

A) The force of magma extruding from the fissure pushes the seafloor up. 
B) Warmer material near the ridge is less dense, so it is more buoyant on the mantle. 
C) The collision of the tectonic plates is forcing material higher. 
D) Thermal springs developing in stress fractures are depositing large volumes of material, increasing the height.

Question 15

Where are the majority of transform faults located?

Accepted Answer

A) Southern California 
B) On the ocean floor offsetting segments of oceanic ridge 
C) Radiating from convergent boundaries as stress fractures 
D) Along mountain ranges that have been thrust up due to collision

Question 16

Explain how geologists regarded the positions of the ocean basins and the continents prior to the advent of plate tectonics and how that perspective differs from how modern geologists regard those same features.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain how geologists regarded the positions of...

Question 17

How can the orientation of transform faults provide information about the direction of plate motion?

Accepted Answer

A) Transform faults are oriented perpendicular to the direction of plate motion. 
B) Transform faults radiate out from the rift zone located in the center. 
C) Transform faults are parallel to the direction of plate motion. 
D) Transform faults are parallel to convergent boundaries.

Question 18

Which of the following best explains the global distribution of plant species, such as the Glossopteris, during the Mesozoic?

Accepted Answer

A) Seeds were small, so they could be carried by the wind. 
B) Seeds were ingested by animals and later deposited in scat. 
C) The landmasses were joined and the plant had a large geographic extent. 
D) Oceans that transgressed on the continents carried the seeds to different locations.

Question 19

How did researchers in the mid-twentieth century obtain ocean floor samples in order to determine the age of the seafloor?

Accepted Answer

A) Satellite imagine images 
B) Deep-diving manned submersibles 
C) Hydraulic vacuum tubes 
D) Drilling ships

Question 20

________ and ________ drive water from the pores of a subducted oceanic plate, which leads to partial melting.

Accepted Answer

A) Compression; tension 
B) Air; heat 
C) Heat; pressure 
D) Salt; oil

Exam 2: Plate Tectonics: a Scientific Revolution Unfolds