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Chapter 2

Plate Tectonics and the Ocean Floor

Matching. Match the term or person with the appropriate phrase. You may use each answer once, more than once or not at all.

  1. hydrothermal ventsA. convergent plate boundary
  2. island arcB. divergent plate boundary
  3. mountains
  4. oceanic trench
  5. rift valley
  6. volcanoes

Answers: 1-B, 2-A, 3-B, 4-B, 5-A, 6-B

Key Question: 4

Skill: comprehension

Difficulty: Level 2

  1. ancient precursor of the Pacific OceanA. Gondwanaland
  2. supercontinent 200 million years agoB. Laurasia
  3. depression along ridge axisC. paleogeology
  4. study of changes in the character ofD. paleomagnetism

oceans due to geographic changesE. paleoceanography

  1. study of magnetism over geologic timeF. Pangea

G. Panthalassa

H. rift valley

I. subduction zone

Answers: 7-G, 8-F, 9-H, 10-E, 11-D

Key Question: 4 & 6

Skill: comprehension

Difficulty: Level 2

True-False Questions. Read each question carefully, write “T” if the statement is true, and write “F” if the statement is false.

  1. The relatively young age of the seafloor supports the idea that subduction must take place.

Answer: True

Key Question: 3

Skill: comprehension

Difficulty: Level 2

  1. The magnetic north pole has remained very close to the geographic North Pole through all of geologic time.

Answer: False

Key Question: 3

Skill: comprehension

Difficulty: Level 2

  1. Paleomagnetism confirms that at particular times in the geologic past Earth has had more than one magnetic north pole.

Answer: False

Key Question: 2 & 3

Skill: comprehension

Difficulty: Level 2

  1. New crust is formed at trenches and old crust is subducted at ridges.

Answer: False

Key Question: 4

Skill: comprehension

Difficulty: Level 2

  1. The oldest rocks are located at mid-ocean ridges.

Answer: False

Key Question: 3 & 4

Skill: application

Difficulty: Level 3

  1. Earthquakes are common along fracture zones.

Answer: False

Key Question: 4

Skill: comprehension

Difficulty: Level 2

  1. Deep focus earthquakes are often associated with deep-sea trenches.

Answer: True

Key Question: 4

Skill: comprehension

Difficulty: Level 2

  1. The magnetic field of the Earth reverses itself each time that magma erupts at a mid-ocean ridge.

Answer: False

Key Question: 2 & 3

Skill: comprehension

Difficulty: Level 2

  1. Fast-moving spreading ridges tend to be more gently sloped that slow-moving ridges.

Answer: True

Key Question: 3 & 4

Skill: application

Difficulty: Level 3

  1. Deep-sea trenches are found at convergent plate boundaries.

Answer: False

Key Question: 4

Skill: comprehension

Difficulty: Level 2

  1. At divergent plate boundaries, only shallow focus earthquakes can be found.

Answer: True

Key Question: 4

Skill: comprehension

Difficulty: Level 2

Multiple Choice. Choose the one best answer from the choices provided.

  1. Fossils found in sediments can be used to:
  1. indicate the relative age of the sediments.
  2. provide evidence for plate movement.
  3. suggest ancient climate characteristics.
  4. support the idea that land masses were joined.
  5. all of the above.

Answer: E

Key Question: 1

Skill: application

Difficulty: Level 3

  1. All continents fit together with the least number of overlaps and gaps when the continents are matched along:
  1. contours at around 2000 meters in depth.
  2. current shorelines.
  3. edge of the continental shelf.
  4. edges of the deep sea floor.
  5. oceanic trenches in subduction zones.

Answer: A

Key Question: 1 & 2

Skill: comprehension

Difficulty: Level 2

  1. Fossils of ancient polar plants are currently found near the equator because the:
  1. entire earth had polar conditions at the time the plants were living.
  2. plants lived near the poles, but land masses have drifted to current locations.
  3. plants probably were tolerant of both tropical and polar conditions.
  4. plants were distributed to current locations by ancient glacial ice sheets.
  5. poles were at the equator at times in the geologic past.

Answer: B

Key Question: 1

Skill: application

Difficulty: Level 3

  1. Climate distribution on Earth is primarily controlled by:
  1. Earth’s geologic history.
  2. latitude.
  3. longitude.
  4. presence or absence of glacial debris.
  5. plants and animals that live in an area.

Answer: B

Key Question: 1 & 2

Skill: comprehension

Difficulty: Level 2

  1. All of the following provide evidence for continental drift except:
  1. age of selected continental rocks.
  2. apparent polar wandering.
  3. location of coral reef fossils.
  4. seafloor magnetic pattern.
  5. shape of continental margins.

Answer: D

Key Question: 1

Skill: comprehension

Difficulty: Level 2

  1. Continental drift was confirmed through the use of the:
  1. age of rocks on distant continents.
  2. location of ancient coral reefs.
  3. location of deep sea trenches.
  4. location of magnetic poles through geologic time.
  5. the shape of the continental margins.

Answer: D

Key Question: 2 & 3

Skill: comprehension

Difficulty: Level 2

  1. Which of the following statements best describes the relationship between Earth’s geographic and magnetic poles?
  1. The geographic pole and the magnetic pole are always the same.
  2. The geographic pole wobbles, but stays near the magnetic pole.
  3. The geographic poles have reversed themselves periodically through geologic time.
  4. The location of the magnetic pole is unrelated to the location of the geographic pole.
  5. The magnetic pole wobbles, but stays near the geographic pole.

Answer: E

Key Question: 3

Skill: application

Difficulty: Level 3

  1. Vine and Matthews determined that new ocean floor was being produced at ocean ridges by examining:
  1. apparent polar wandering.
  2. fossils in marine sediments.
  3. glacial debris at various locations.
  4. the location of ancient coral reefs.
  5. the magnetic pattern on the seafloor.

Answer: E

Key Question: 3

Skill: comprehension

Difficulty: Level 2

  1. Confirmation of seafloor spreading was supported by the:
  1. age of seafloor.
  2. apparent polar wandering.
  3. magnetic reversals found in continental rocks.
  4. match of rocks from distant continents.
  5. sediment analysis from different areas of the seafloor.

Answer: A

Key Question: 2 & 3

Skill: comprehension

Difficulty: Level 2

  1. The seafloor magnetic pattern is be best described as:
  1. not related to the location of oceanic ridges.
  2. parallel to and symmetric about ocean ridges.
  3. parallel to, but not symmetric about ocean ridges.
  4. perpendicular to and symmetric about ocean ridges.
  5. perpendicular to, but not symmetric about ocean ridges.

Answer: B

Key Question: 3

Skill: comprehension

Difficulty: Level 2

  1. Oceans become deeper moving away from ridges due to:
  1. decreasing thickness of the lithosphere.
  2. increasing density of oceanic basalts.
  3. increases in sediment accumulations.
  4. polar wandering.
  5. thermal contraction of hot asthenosphere.

Answer: E

Key Question: 3

Skill: comprehension

Difficulty: Level 2

  1. Differences in height between continental crust and oceanic crust are explained by:
  1. continental drift.
  2. density.
  3. isostasy.
  4. ophiolites.
  5. paleomagnetism.

Answer: C

Key Question: 4 & 5

Skill: comprehension

Difficulty: Level 2

  1. Which of the following statements is true of the asthenosphere?
  1. The asthenosphere is composed of continental and oceanic plates.
  2. The asthenosphere is composed of outer mantle material.
  3. The asthenosphere is composed of the crust and a portion of the outer mantle.
  4. The asthenosphere is composed of the inner portion of the mantle and the outer core.
  5. The asthenosphere is composed only of crust.

Answer: B

Key Question: 2 & 3

Skill: comprehension

Difficulty: Level 2

  1. Which of the following statements is true of the lithosphere?
  1. The lithosphere is composed of outer mantle material.
  2. The lithosphere is composed of igneous rock.
  3. The lithosphere is composed of metamorphic rock.
  4. The lithosphere is composed of the crust and the topmost portion of the outer mantle.
  5. The lithosphere is composed of the inner portion of the mantle and the outer core.

Answer: D

Key Question: 2 & 3

Skill: comprehension

Difficulty: Level 2

  1. Moving from oceanic ridge to oceanic trench, the thickness of the lithosphere:
  1. decreases in proportion to the distance.
  2. is unrelated to the distance from the ridge.
  3. increases in proportion to the distance.
  4. randomly varies.
  5. remains the same.

Answer: C

Key Question: 3

Skill: comprehension

Difficulty: Level 2

  1. Deep ocean trenches are associated with:
  1. rift valleys.
  2. subduction zones.
  3. submarine canyons.
  4. transform faults.
  5. turbidity currents.

Answer: B

Key Question: 4

Skill: application

Difficulty: Level 3

  1. The Hawaiian Islands are located where the Pacific plate is:
  1. being subducted beneath the North American plate.
  2. being subducted beneath Japan.
  3. being thrust over the North American plate.
  4. diving under Japan.
  5. moving over a hot spot.

Answer: E

Key Question: 5

Skill: comprehension

Difficulty: Level 2

  1. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is an example of a:
  1. convergent boundary (continent-continent).
  2. convergent boundary (continent-oceanic).
  3. convergent boundary (oceanic-oceanic).
  4. divergent boundary.
  5. transform fault boundary.

Answer: D

Key Question: 4

Skill: knowledge

Difficulty: Level 1

  1. Which of the following is associated with convergent plate boundaries on the seafloor?
  1. crest of the mid-ocean ridge
  2. deep sea trenches
  3. deep focus earthquakes
  4. island arcs
  5. offset of the mid-ocean ridge

Answer: A

Key Question: 4

Skill: comprehension

Difficulty: Level 2

  1. Which of the following is characteristic of oceanic-oceanic convergent plate boundaries?
  1. andesitic volcanoes
  2. fracture zones
  3. hot spots
  4. mid-ocean ridges
  5. volcanic island arcs

Answer: E

Key Question: 4

Skill: knowledge

Difficulty: Level 1

  1. Which of the following is characteristic of oceanic-continental convergent plate boundaries?
  1. andesitic volcanoes
  2. fracture zones
  3. hot spots
  4. mid-ocean ridges
  5. volcanic island arcs

Answer: A

Key Question: 4

Skill: knowledge

Difficulty: Level 1

Word Analysis. Examine the five words and/or phrases and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the one option that does not fit the pattern.

  1. a. hydrothermal vents b. island arcc. mountainsd. oceanic trenche. volcanoes

Answer: A

Key Question: 4 & 5

Skill: application

Difficulty: Level 4

  1. a. Aleutian Islandsb. Andes Mountainsc. Hawaiian Islandsd. Japane. Mariana Trench

Answer: C

Key Question: 4 & 5

Skill: application

Difficulty: Level 4

  1. a. hydrothermal ventsb. rift valleyc. oceanic ridged. oceanic trenche. spreading center

Answer: D

Key Question: 4

Skill: application

Difficulty: Level 4

  1. a. Gondwanalandb. Panamericac. Pangead. Panthalassae. Tethys Sea

Answer: B

Key Question: 6

Skill: application

Difficulty: Level 4

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