Chapter 1: Earth Forces Test

Chapter 1: Earth Forces Test

Section A: The Structure of the Earth

Describe how the Earth was formed(4 marks)

Should include:

•from thousands of small pieces of rock orbiting the sun

•about 4.6 billion years these began to collide with one another

•they gradually formed a large mass – the start of Planet Earth

•the outer layer cooled down more quickly and formed a rock skin - the crust.

Complete the table using the words below(3 marks) 1 x each fully correct layer/row

Layer: / Description
crust / outer layer ; 10 to 60km thick; two sections (continental and oceanic)
mantle / middle layer; mainly solid, molten near top; 900-2200oC; 2800km thick; solid magnesium-iron silicates
core / central part of the Earth; two sections (inner and outer); hottest section;
up to 5500oC; 3600km thick; liquid and solid iron and nickel

3600km thick10 to 60km thick2800km thicktwo sections (inner and outer)

outer layercentral part of the Earth900-2200oCsolid magnesium-iron silicates

up to 5500oCmiddle layerhottest sectionmainly solid, molten near top

solid and liquid iron and nickel

two sections (continental and oceanic)

Describe the changes in the Earth’s land masses/continents from 200 million years ago (map 1) to today (map 3). You must use named locations in your answer.(5 marks)

Possible answers may include:

•200 million years ago (map 1)the supercontinent of Pangaea had started to break up e.g. forming Laurasia to the north and Gondwanaland in the south, separated by the Tethys Sea

•By 145 million years ago (map 2)Laurasia had split into two – the North American Plate drifting west and the Eurasian plate drifting east.

•By 65 million years the main plates looked similar to the continents as they are today, although North and South America were not joined and India was a large island. South America, Antarctica and Australia were joined together

Must have named locations as well as changes to gain full marks.

Describe three pieces of evidence which shows that the continents have moved over time.

Any three from:

•The ‘jigsaw’ fit of land masses no longer joined together e.g. Africa and South America. The presence of the same types and ages of rocks in both continents today suggesting they were joined when the rocks formed.

•similar fossils of flora and fauna were the same in what are now different land masses suggesting that they were once joined together e.g. India and Antarctica

•similar deposits of minerals/fossil fuels in continents now apart but which may have been joined when these were formed. Also the presence of glaciers.

•magnetic field = When igneous rocks are formed the direction of the magnetic field at the time is ‘locked’ into them. The magnetic field reverses approximately every half a million years. It creates areas of rock/land with alternating magnetism, helping identify where they were first formed and whether they have moved.

(3 x 2 = 6 marks)

(a)What type of plate boundary is this?(1 mark)

Destructive (subducting)

(b)Add these labels to the correct place on the diagram:(3 marks)

See diagram (above)

1 mark = 3 correct; 2 marks = 4/5 correct; 3 marks = all 6 correct Total = 3 marks.

(c)Name one location where this type ofboundary is found. Name the two plates which meet there.(3 marks)

Wide variety of answers possible – but likely to be the San Andreas fault along the west coast of the USA = Pacific and North American plates

1 mark for location; 1 mark each for two named plates.

______

(Section A total = 25 marks)

Section B:
Tectonics – Earthquakes and Tsunamis

(a)Describe and explain the global distribution of earthquakes (map above)(2 marks)

The majority occur along or close to plate boundaries where moving tectonic plates meet. This movement creates cracks called faults. When land on one or both sides of faults move, earthquakes happen.

(b)

(i)In tectonic terms, what is a fault?(2 marks)

A large crack in the Earth’s crust where land may be displaced e.g. uplifted/sink, slide.

(ii)Describe the location of the San Andreas Fault (on the map (a) above)(1 mark)

On the west (Pacific) coast of the USA / North America.

Add the correct words in the spaces below:(2 marks)

The hypocentreof an earthquake is the exact point underground where it begins.

Liquefactionis when the ground behaves like a liquid during an earthquake.

Today, earthquakes are measured using the Mw (moment magnitude) scale – this tells you howmuch energy was released.

The shockwaves created by an earthquake are called seismic waves.

1 mark for 3 correct, 2 marks for all 4 correct. Total = 2 marks

Why does Haiti suffer from earthquakes (like the one in March 2010)?(2 marks)

It is close to the northern boundary of the Caribbean tectonic plate. Intense tectonic activity (earthquakes and volcanic eruptions) occurs frequently here.

(a)Describe:

(i)Three short term effects of the Earthquake of 2010(3 x 1 mark. Total = 3 marks)

A range of answers possible. May include:

•Approximately 250,000 killed, 300,000 injured

•3 million affected altogether, half of whom were made homeless

•60% government buildings; thousands of schools; hospitals and historic buildings damaged or destroyed

•Streets blocked by rubble

•Communication and power lines brought down

(ii)Two long term effects(2 x 1 mark. Total = 2 marks)

May include:

•Cholera outbreak

•Poor access to water, sanitation or power in many areas

•3 years after the quake 300,000 people still living in temporary shelters

•Many buildings not yet rebuilt; piles of rubble still visible

(b)Explain why Haiti finds it difficult to cope with / respond to natural hazards like these. Use these words in your answer: vulnerable, resources, economy.(3 marks)

Wide range of answers, but main emphasis should be on the vulnerability of those living in Haiti which is one of the poorest 30 countries in the world, so has limited capacity to cope with such disasters.

Must use all three words given to gain full marks.Total =3 marks

Describe how tsunamis are formed.(2 marks)

When the sea floor or ocean bed slips or is displaced, sometimes because of landslides or volcanic activity, but usually because of an earthquake.

1 mark for displacement and 1 for how this happens. Total = 2 marks

(a)Which part of Japan was affected by the tsunami of March 2011? (give named locations)
(2 marks)

The north-east coast of Japan’s main island (Honshu) in the Tohoku region around Sendai.

Should give general and specific locations for full marks. Total = 2 marks

(b)Give three reasons why it killed so many (16,000+) people(3 marks)

May include:

•Although warnings were sounded, many people thought they were safe – but they weren’t

•The seawalls were up 10 metres high in places and people believed this would prevent flooding. However, the tsunami was big enough to pour over the walls

•Parts of the land along the coast subsided by up to 1.5 metres, making it more vulnerable to flooding

•The earthquake which caused the tsunami was quite close to the coast – so wave arrived very quickly.

•The coast here has many deep inlets and bays which trapped the water and funnelled it much further inland

3 x 1 mark. Total = 3 marks

Describe what happened at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power plant, when the tsunami arrived and afterwards. Use these words in your answer: reactor, generator, gas, radioactive, exclusion zone, contamination.(6 marks)

The detail of student answers will vary (allocate marks accordingly), but the main events and the sequence in which they happened are both important. As a guide:

•• Tsunami warning activated automatic shutdown of reactors

•• Seawater poured over the top of the power plant’s sea walls. They flooded the back-up generators which then failed

•• The reactor cooling systems then failed and the water turned to steam. As a result hot nuclear fuel rods reacted with steam to produce hydrogen gas

•• Fuel rods melted in three of the six reactors, damaging the buildings they were in

•• When engineers tried to release the pressure building up, the hydrogen exploded and radioactive material began to escape

•• Fire broke out in the 4th reactor

•• The government introduced a 20km exclusion zone

Need to use all the words in the question for full marks. Total = 6 marks

(Section B total = 30 marks)

Section C: Tectonics – Volcanic Activity and Mountain Building

Study the two diagrams below showing two different types of volcano.

Type: Ash-cinder volcano Type: Shield volcano

(a)Name the type of volcano and label the main features of each diagram (1 mark for correct identification / title of each type; 1 mark each for correct/complete labelling. 2 x 2 marks. Total = 4 marks)

(b)Explain how and why the two volcanoes are different shapes.(3 marks)

Shield volcanoes are low because they are formed from fairly runny, basaltic lava which spreads out over a large area.

Ash-cinder volcanoes have much higher, steeper cones because they are made from layers of ash and cinder fragments – more solid than the material in shield volcanoes – so build upwards not outwards.

Explain each of the following:

(i)Extrusive volcanic activity:where magma from the mantle reaches the Earth’s surface e.g. lava during a volcanic eruption

(i)Intrusive volcanic activity: where magma pushes into rocks underground without directly reaching the surface – though they may later be uncovered by erosion

(ii)igneous rocks : rocks formed when lava or magma cools and becomes solid e.g. granite

(iii)sedimentary rocks : rocks formed from eroded or weathered particles of other rocks and deposited as layers of sediments

4 x 1 mark each. Total = 4 marks

Complete the table below about living near a volcano. (4 x 1 mark)

Advantages: / Disadvantages:
e.g.

Soils are often very fertile
Spectacular scenery / attracts tourists and income for locals
May have features such as hot springs, geysers etc.

/ e.g.

Danger of eruptions – lava flows, pyroclastic flows, ash and steam
Unpredictability

Several possible answers – need 2 of each. 4 x 1 mark each answer. Total = 4 marks

Study the photo below. It shows part of Plymouth, the now abandoned former capital of Montserrat. Add your own annotations to explain the damage caused by the eruption of Chances Peak.(3 marks)

Student choice / own ideas

1 mark for each detailed, correct annotation (up to 3 marks). Up to 2 marks for less detailed responses. A variety of answers are possible. Total = 3 marks

A pyroclastic flow was responsible for most of the 19 deaths near Chances Peak on Montserrat on 25 June.

(a)What is a pyroclastic flow? (2 marks)

Super-heated clouds of steam, gas and ash which can travel over 120kph and reach temperatures of over 200ºC, destroying everything in its path.

(b)Why is it so dangerous? (2 marks)

High temperatures burn everything in the way e.g. strips forests/vegetation; kills animals and people. Can mix with water (rivers, snow and ice) to create destructive mudflows called lahars.

(c)Explain why people were still living next to the volcano which had been showing signs of activity for some time.(3 marks)

They had been evacuated before and nothing much had happened, so they moved back despite new warnings as they thought they were safe.

(a)Complete the statements about Iceland by adding the correct missing words.(3 x 1 mark)

Iceland is on the north westedge of Europe with theArcticOcean

to the north and Atlantic Ocean to the south.

The country sits on the Mid Atlantic Ridge, adivergentplate boundary where the Eurasian tectonic plate and North American tectonic plate are moving apart.

Iceland has about 100 volcanoes, but only about 10 are active at anyone time.

1 mark for each correctly fully completed statement. Total = 3 marks

(b)Explain how heat from tectonic activity underground is used to produce over 60% of Iceland’s energy. You may present your answer as a flow chart if you prefer.(4 marks)

Student choice / own answers

The following questions are about mountain building. Underline the correct answer or answers.NB There may be one or more correct answers.(6 marks)

A. Fold mountains are formed at which types of plate boundaries:

a)constructive

b)collision

c)destructive

d)conservative

B. Which of these is not a range of fold mountains:

a)Alps

b)Rockies

c)Himalayas

d)Vosges

C. The world’s highest mountains today are the Himalayas. How high were they uplifted?

a)3km

b)6km

c)9km

d)12km

D. The steeper side of a block mountain is called a:

a)scarp

b)horst

c)graben

d)rift

E. Once mountains have been formed they can be:

a)eroded

b)weathered

c)uplifted

d)compressed

e)folded

F. Which of these volcanic cones / mountains formed over a hot spot:

a)Mount Fuji (Japan)

b)Mount Vesuvius (Italy)

c)Kilauea (Hawaii, USA)

d)Mount Everest (Nepal)

Must underline all correct answers for each question for 1 mark: 6 x 1. Total = 6 marks

Write an eye-witness account from the point of view of a survivor or rescue worker who experienced either the earthquake in Haiti in 2010 or the tsunami in Japan in 2011. You will be given credit for using data, place names and other appropriate factual information in your answer.(8 marks)

Student choice / own answer

(Section C total = 45 marks)

Section A = 25 marks

Section B = 30marks

Section C = 45 marks

Total = 100 marks