Plate Tectonics MCQs Quiz Multiple Choice Questions & Answers

1. A boundary where plates move away from each other is called:

1. convergent
2. transform
3. shear boundary
4. divergent

2. A deep crack in the earths surface is called a:

1. fault
2. plate
3. mountain
4. ridge

3. A stationary source of magma located away from a plate boundary

1. hotspot
2. lava dome
3. magma score
4. magma pool

4. An example of a transform/shear/sliding boundary is a:

1. mid-ocean ridge
2. deep-sea trench
3. fault
4. volcano

5. Earthquakes occur at this boundary

1. convergent
2. transform
3. divergent
4. aesthonosphere

6. Hot magma ......... and cool magma ............

1. rises and sinks;only rises
2. sinks;rises
3. rises;sinks
4. rises;rises

7. How do the plates move at a transform boundary?

1. They move away from each other.
2. They move past each other.
3. they do not move.
4. They move toward each other.

8. Large pieces of the lithosphere that float on the asthenosphere are called:

1. the mid-ocean ridge
2. deep-sea trenches
3. tectonic plates
4. asthenosphere

9. Most earthquakes happen along the

1. volcanic mountains
2. Pacific Ring of Fire
3. mid-ocean ridge
4. fault

10. Mountains form at this boundary as plates push together

1. strike slip fault
2. convergent
3. divergent
4. transform

11. Plates continually move a little bit each year

1. theory of relativity
2. law of superposition
3. law of newton
4. theory of plate tectonics

12. Plates move on the surface of the Earth because of

1. hotspot
2. convention
3. convection
4. megma melting

13. Tectonics plates float on the .................

1. Inner core
2. asthenosphere or mantle
3. lithosphere
4. outer core

14. The in the asthenosphere is described as a giant conveyor belt.

1. convection
2. spinning
3. lithosphere
4. magma

15. The 12,000 mile long chain of underwater mountains that formed at a divergent boundary is

1. Mid-Atlantic Ridge
2. Seafloor Spreading
3. Subduction
4. Mid-Pacific Ridge

16. The border between two tectonic plates

1. border
2. fault
3. joint
4. boundary

17. The boundary where two plates come together

1. convergent
2. divergent
3. all of the above
4. transform

18. The boundary where two plates pull apart

1. transform
2. divergent
3. none of the above
4. convergent

19. The boundary where two plates slide past each other

1. uplift
2. divergent
3. transform
4. convergent

20. The evidence that rocks closer to mid ocean ridges are younger than rocks farther away supports the theory of:

1. subduction
2. plate tectonics
3. Big Bang theory
4. sea floor spreading

21. The giant landmass where all continents were connected

1. Pangaea
2. Pandwana
3. Laurasia
4. Gondwana

22. The Hawaiian Islands are an example

1. hotspot
2. convergent boundary
3. transform boundary
4. vacation destination

23. The layer that supports and moves the tectonic plates is

1. core
2. lithosphere
3. crust
4. aesthenosphere

24. The lithosphere is part of the

1. core
2. crust
3. asthenosphere
4. mantle

25. The oldest crust (rocks) are found ................. the mid-ocean ridge.

1. nearest
2. along
3. away
4. farthest

26. The partly-melted lower mantle is called:

1. the lithosphere
2. the core
3. the asthenosphere
4. magma

27. The process of one plate sliding under another plate at a convergent boundary is

1. convection
2. subduction
3. seafloor spreading
4. transformation

28. The theory of plate tectonics combine which two other theories?

1. sea floor spreading and tidal theory
2. continental drift and fossil theory
3. continental drift and Big Bang theory
4. sea floor spreading and continental drift

29. The youngest crust( rocks) are found ................. the mid-ocean ridge.

1. nearest
2. along
3. away
4. farthest

30. This process makes new crust at the bottom of the ocean at a divergent boundary

1. Seafloor Spreading
2. Hotspot
3. Subduction
4. Mid-Atlantic Ridge

31. This process of old crust being pulled down and remelted is called:

1. drifting
2. plate tectonics
3. subduction
4. sea floor spreading

32. Volcanoes form at this boundary as plates pull apart

1. transform
2. transform and convergent
3. divergent
4. convergent

33. What evidence did Wegener have for his theory of continental drift?

1. He knew that plant and animal fossils, as well as rock layers, matched on the two continents of Africa and South America.
2. He explained how continents moved apart.
3. He had no evidence.

34. What evidences do scientists use to support the continental drift theory?

1. rocks, fossils, climate
2. rocks, water, ice
3. rocks, fossils, human beings
4. rocks, fossils, air

35. What kind of plate boundary causes old and heavy crust ( rocks ) to sink into the mantle ( subduction)?

1. divergent boundary
2. transform or shear boundary
3. convergent boundary

36. What kind of plate boundary causes sea floor spreading like the one causing the Atlantic Ocean to widen?

1. divergent boundary
2. transform or shear boundary
3. convergent boundary

37. What kind of plate boundary results to the formation of a fault line like the San Andreas fault in California?

1. transform or shear boundary
2. convergent boundary
3. divergent boundary

38. What kind of plate boundary results to the formation of a mountain range like the Himalayas and the Appalachian mountains?

1. transform or shear boundary
2. convergent boundary
3. divergent boundary

39. What kind of plate boundary results to the formation of a trench like the Marianas trench?

1. divergent boundary
2. transform or shear boundary
3. convergent boundary

40. What kind of plate boundary results to the formation of an Island arc?

1. transform or shear boundary
2. convergent boundary
3. divergent boundary

41. What kind of plate boundary results to the formation of most volcanoes?

1. divergent boundary
2. transform or shear boundary
3. convergent boundary

42. What material forms new ocean floor?

1. magma
2. plates
3. rocks
4. sediment

43. Where does sea floor spreading happen?

1. at deep sea trenches
2. at the Ring of Fire
3. at the Pacific Ocean
4. at the rift valley along the mid-ocean ridges

44. Where is old crust melted back into magma?

1. along plate boundaries
2. at deep-sea trenches
3. volcano
4. at the mid-ocean ridge

45. Which of the following is not a TYPE of plate boundary?

1. transform
2. divergent
3. subduction
4. convergent

46. Who came up with the theory of sea floor spreading?

1. Harry Hess
2. ancient Greeks
3. Albert Einstein
4. Alfred Wegener

47. Why is a divergent boundary also called a constructive boundary?

1. Old ocean floor is re-melted into magma
2. Animals in the ocean construct nests there.
3. Pacific Ocean becomes wider
4. Magma flows up between the plates and forms new crust.

48. Why is Earth not growing in spite of sea floor spreading?

1. because of subduction in the Indian Ocean.
2. because of subduction the Pacific Ocean.
3. because of subduction in the Gulf of Mexico.
4. because of subduction in the Atlantic Ocean.

49. Why was Wegeners theory forgotten?

1. It was not a good theory.
2. He did not publish his theory.
3. He did not have money.
4. He could not explain how the continents could move.