Continental Drift Assessment

Based on the theory of plate tectonics, it is inferred

that over the past 250 million years North America

has moved toward the

• northwest

• southwest

• southeast

• northeast

The inferred latitude of Pennsylvania 362 million

years ago was closest to

• where it is now

• the North Pole

• the Equator

• 45° south

According to plate tectonic theory, during which

geologic time interval did the continents of North

America and Africa separate, resulting in the initial

opening of the Atlantic Ocean?

• Mesozoic Era

• Paleozoic Era

• Proterozoic Eon

• Archean Eon

Which mantle hot spot is correctly matched to its overlying tectonic plate?

• Tasman Hot Spot-Pacific Plate

• Canary Island Hot Spot-Eurasian Plate

• St. Helena Hot Spot-South American Plate

• Yellowstone Hot Spot-North American Plate

The diagram shows a tectonic plate boundary. Which mantle hot spot is at a plate boundary like the one shown in this diagram?

• Hawaii Hot Spot

• Yellowstone Hot Spot

• Galapagos Hot Spot

• Canary Hot Spot

The map shows California and a section of the San Andreas Fault. What is the primary geologic process occurring along

the San Andreas Fault?

• transform movement

• spreading movement

• subduction

• convergence

The diagram shows the magnetic polarity preserved by minerals within the bedrock of the oceanic crust near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Letters A, B, C, and D represent locations in the ocean-floor bedrock.

The most recently formed bedrock is found at location

• A

• B

• C

• D

The formation of the Canary Islands was primarily caused by their location near a

• subduction zone

• mantle hot spot

• divergent boundary

• transform fault

Which evidence causes most scientists to believe that seafloor spreading occurs at the mid-Atlantic Ridge?

• Oceanic crust is oldest at the ridge.

• Large sedimentary folds exist in the mantle near

  the ridge.

• Oceanic crust on both sides of the ridge is less

  dense than continental crust.

• Oceanic crust on both sides of the ridge shows matching patterns of reversed and normal magnetic polarity.

At the Aleutian Trench and the Peru-Chile Trench, tectonic plates are generally

• moving along a transform boundary

• moving over a mantle hot spot

• diverging

• converging