Plate Motion Assessment

What is a tectonic plate?

• A cloud formation

• A rigid section of Earth’s lithosphere that moves over the mantle

• A liquid part of the outer core

• A type of rock formed in water

What is subduction?

• When two plates move apart

• When magma rises to form a volcano

• When one plate sinks beneath another

• When plates slide past each other

What is a plate boundary?

• The edge of a continent

• The area where two tectonic plates meet

• A fault in the middle of a plate

• A break in the atmosphere

What is the mantle?

• The outermost layer of the Earth

• The core of the Earth

• The layer beneath the crust where convection occurs

• A type of volcano

What is a convection current?

• The movement of water in the ocean

• The circular movement of molten rock in the mantle that causes plate movement

• Wind patterns in the atmosphere

• The motion of tectonic plates sliding past each other

At a transform boundary, two plates:

• Move toward each other

• Move away from each other

• Slide past each other

• Stay completely still

Which feature forms at a divergent boundary?

• Ocean trench

• Rift valley or mid-ocean ridge

• Mountain range

• Earthquake zone only

What usually occurs at convergent boundaries where subduction happens?

• Rift valleys

• Earthquakes and volcanoes

• New crust formation

• No geologic activity

Which evidence supports the theory of plate tectonics?

• The color of ocean water

• Similar fossils found on different continents

• The location of forests

• The rotation of the moon

Why do earthquakes often occur at plate boundaries?

• The plates are smooth

• Pressure builds as plates interact

• The crust melts completely

• Wind pushes the plates