Free Practice Quiz Question List

4 Plate Tectonics Online Quiz Questions

Use this free practice quiz with 20 questions to review 4 Plate Tectonics, test your knowledge, and prepare for your next test or exam.

20 questions

True or false

1 point

True or false: Every plate boundary is a single, narrow line.

A
True
B
False

Choose one

1 point

Which description best defines a tectonic plate?

A
A continent moving independently through ocean-floor crust
B
A moving slab of crust and strong uppermost mantle
C
A layer of weak mantle beneath the crust
D
A section of oceanic crust only

Fill in the blank

1 point

Lithospheric plates move over the hotter, weaker .

Choose one

1 point

At a mid-ocean ridge, two plates move apart. What process directly forms new crust in the gap?

A
Magma rises into the gap and cools to form new crust
B
One plate is compressed beneath another
C
Plates slide horizontally past one another
D
Continental crust sinks readily into the mantle

Written response

1 point

What is the process called when dense oceanic lithosphere sinks beneath another plate?

Choose one

1 point

Two continents converge. What outcome is most consistent with the behavior of their buoyant crust?

A
The continental crust sinks easily into the mantle
B
New oceanic crust forms between the continents
C
The crust is compressed and uplifted into mountains
D
The plates slide horizontally without deforming the crust

True or false

1 point

True or false: At a subduction zone, the descending weight of old, cold oceanic lithosphere can pull the rest of its plate behind it.

A
True
B
False

Written response

1 point

What is the force called when gravity helps oceanic lithosphere slide away from an elevated mid-ocean ridge as it cools and becomes denser?

Fill in the blank

1 point

At a mid-ocean ridge, new oceanic crust forms and pushes older seafloor away. This process is called .

Choose all

1 point

Which two observations support seafloor spreading? Select all correct choices.

A
Ocean-floor rocks are youngest near ridges and generally older farther away
B
Ocean-floor rocks are all the same age on both sides of a ridge
C
Alternating magnetic bands roughly mirror one another across a ridge
D
Magnetic bands occur only on one side of every ridge

Choose all

1 point

Which factors help drive long-term plate motion? Select all correct choices.

A
Earth’s internal heat sustains mantle circulation
B
Gravity helps oceanic lithosphere move away from elevated ridges
C
The sinking weight of old oceanic lithosphere can pull a plate
D
A single simple conveyor belt passively carries all plates

Choose one

1 point

Which explanation accounts for the widening of the Atlantic Ocean described in the material?

A
The Atlantic widened because continents plowed independently through the ocean floor
B
The Atlantic widened because continental crust sank at every boundary
C
The Atlantic widened because transform boundaries created new crust
D
The Atlantic widened as seafloor spreading carried the Americas away from Europe and Africa

True or false

1 point

True or false: Continents travel as parts of moving plates rather than plowing independently through the ocean floor.

A
True
B
False

Open ended

1 point

Explain why Wegener’s idea that continents had drifted apart was initially not widely accepted, and how later developments helped explain continental movement.

Choose one

1 point

A single moving plate includes part of a continent and part of the adjacent ocean floor. Which description best explains how this is possible?

A
A piece of continental crust only
B
A moving slab of crust and strong uppermost mantle
C
A section of the asthenosphere only
D
A continent together with the ocean basin beside it, always as separate plates

Choose one

1 point

A boundary has horizontal motion between neighboring plates, with no crust created or consumed there. What type of boundary is it?

A
The plates move apart and new crust forms between them
B
One plate sinks beneath another
C
The plates slide horizontally past one another
D
Two continents collide and are uplifted

Written response

1 point

What is the name of the hotter, weaker layer beneath the lithosphere over which tectonic plates move?

Choose one

1 point

Two continents converge, but neither has dense oceanic lithosphere at the boundary to sink beneath the other. What is the likely result?

A
One continent is normally pulled beneath the other into the mantle
B
A new ocean basin opens between the continents
C
The continents slide past each other without changing elevation
D
The crust is compressed and uplifted into mountains

Choose one

1 point

At a mid-ocean ridge, plates separate and magma cools in the gap. How does this process move older seafloor?

A
New oceanic crust forms at a ridge, pushing older seafloor away
B
Old oceanic crust rises from a subduction zone and collects at a ridge
C
Continents move independently and push oceanic crust aside
D
Oceanic crust forms only where two continents collide

Written response

1 point

What is the name of the force in which sinking, dense oceanic lithosphere pulls the rest of its plate behind it?