DYNAMIC CRUST: Unit 4 Exam NAME:___________________________
Plate Tectonics and Earthquakes BLOCK:____ DATE:_______________
1. Base your answer to the following question on The block diagram below shows the boundary between two tectonic plates.
A) divergent B) convergent C) transform D) complex Which type of plate boundary is shown?
2. Base your answer to the following question on the cross section below, which shows the boundary between two lithospheric plates. Point X is a location in the continental lithosphere. The depth below Earth's surface is labeled in kilometers.
A) South American Plate and African Plate B) Scotia Plate and Antarctic Plate C) Nazca Plate and South American Plate D) African Plate and Arabian Plate Between which two lithospheric plates could this boundary be located?
A) 4:24 p.m. B) 4:29 p.m. C) 4:36 p.m. D) 4:56 p.m.
3. If a seismograph recording station located 5,700 kilometers from an epicenter receives a P-wave at 4:45 p.m., at which time did the earthquake actually occur at the epicenter?
4. The diagram below shows some features of Earth’s crust and upper mantle.
A) B)
C) D)
Which model most accurately shows the movements (arrows) associated with the surface features shown in the diagram?
5. The diagram below shows the collision of an oceanic plate and a continental plate.
A) hot liquid magma in the inner core B) convection currents in the mantle C) volcanic eruptions along coastlines D) meteor impacts in the ocean basins Collisions between oceanic plates and continental plates are thought to result primarily from
6. The block diagram below shows the bedrock age as measured by radioactive dating and the present location of part of the Hawaiian Island chain. These volcanic islands may have formed as the Pacific Plate moved over a mantle hot spot.
A) south B) east C) southwest D) northwest
This diagram provides evidence that the Pacific Crustal Plate was moving toward the
A) in regions of glacial activity B) in the interior areas of continents C) at locations with many lakes
D) at interfaces between moving parts of the crust 7. Where does most present-day faulting of rock occur?
A) The rocks of the ocean floor and the continents have similar origins.
B) In the ocean floor, rocks near the mid-ocean ridge are cooler than rocks near the continents.
C) The pattern of magnetic orientation of rocks is similar on both sides of the mid-ocean ridge.
D) The density of oceanic crust is greater than the density of continental crust.
8. Which evidence supports the theory of ocean floor spreading?
9. The circles on the map below show the distances from three seismic stations, X, Y, and Z, to the epicenter of an earthquake.
A) A B) B C) C D) D
Which location is closest to the earthquake epicenter?
A) the mid-Atlantic ridge B) the Aleutian trench
C) the Atlantic-Indian ridge D) the Pacific/North American plate boundary 10. Which of the following locations is the site of a convergent plate boundary?
11. In the diagram below, letters A and B represent locations near the edge of a continent.
A) more granite B) more basalt
C) more fossils D) the same minerals and fossils
A geologist who compares nonsedimentary rock samples from locations A and B would probably find that the samples from location A contain
A) 7 min 35 sec B) 9 min 20 sec C) 13 min 10 sec D) 17 min 00 sec
12. The epicenter of an earthquake is 6,000 kilometers from an observation point. What is the difference in travel time for the P-waves and S-waves?
13. Which map best represents the general pattern of magnetism in the oceanic bedrock near the mid-Atlantic Ridge?
A) B) C) D)
14. The cross section below shows the ocean floor between two continents. Points A through D represent locations on the ocean floor where samples of oceanic crust were collected.
A) A B) B C) C D) D
The youngest rock sample most likely was collected from location
15. Letters A through D shown on the map below are locations on Earth’s surface.
A) A B) B C) C D) D
Which location is closest to a major zone of frequent earthquakes and volcanic activities?
Base your answers to questions 16 through 19 on the map below, which shows seismic stations X, Y, and Z that have recorded seismic waves from the same earthquake. The distances from seismic stations X and Y to the earthquake epicenter have been drawn on the map. Locations A, B, C, and D represent possible earthquake epicenters. The distance from seismic station Z to the earthquake epicenter has been deliberately omitted.
A) 2 min 10 sec B) 3 min 40 sec C) 4 min 0 sec D) 5 min 40 sec 16. How long did the P-wave take to travel from the earthquake epicenter to station Y?
A) 5,200 km B) 2,400 km C) 3,000 km D) 4,000 km
17. How far is station X from the earthquake epicenter?
A) A B) B C) C D) D
18. Station Z recorded a time difference of 6 minutes 40 seconds between the arrival of the P-waves and the arrival of the S-waves. The earthquake epicenter was located closest to location
A) lithosphere B) asthenosphere C) stiffer mantle D) outer core
19. If the earthquake's focus was 2 kilometers below Earth's surface, the earthquake occurred in the
20. The cross section below shows the location of earthquakes near a plate boundary.
A) a transform fault B) a mantle hot spot
C) subduction of a crustal plate D) divergence of crustal plates This distribution of earthquakes near the plate boundary is most likely caused by
A) less dense, more mafic, and thinner B) less dense, more felsic, and thicker C) more dense, more mafic, and thinner D) more dense, more felsic, and thicker 21. Compared to continental crust, oceanic crust is
22. The seismogram below shows the arrival times of an earthquake's P-wave and S-wave recorded at a seismic station in Portland, Oregon.
A) 1800 km B) 2500 km C) 3200 km D) 4100 km
What was the distance from Portland to the earthquake's epicenter?
A) liquid, with an average density of approximately 4 g/cm3 B) liquid, with an average density of approximately 11 g/cm3
C) solid, with an average density of approximately 4 g/cm3 D) solid, with an average density of approximately 11 g/cm3 23. Earth’s outer core is best inferred to be
24. Base your answer to the following question on The diagram below shows land features that have been disrupted by an earthquake.
A) vertical lifting of surface rock B) folding of surface rock
C) down-warping of the crust D) movement along a transform fault
Which type of crustal movement most likely caused the displacement of features in this area?
25. Which cross section below best represents the crustal plate motion that is the primary cause of the volcanoes and deep rift valleys found at mid-ocean ridges?
A) B)
C) D)
Answer Key
DYNAMIC CRUST: PLATE TECTONICS AND EARTHQUAKES
1. B
2. C
3. C
4. A
5. B
6. D
7. D
8. C
9. B
10. B
11. A
12. A
13. D
14. C
15. A
16. D
17. D
18. B
19. A
20. C
21. C
22. A
23. B
24. D
25. C