1. What moves the crustal plates?

The crustal plates are being moved by the powerful convection currents that take place within the mantle.
 

2. What was Pangea?

Pangea was a giant continent that began breaking up over 200 million years ago. The continents on the Earth today can be traced back to Pangea.
 

3. Who was the German that proposed the theory of Continental Drift?

Alfred Wegner first proposed the theory in 1915.
 

4. Describe "hot spots " and give several examples of them.

A hot spot is formed by a rising plume of mantle material that melts some of the crust above it as the crustal plate moves over it. A hot spot stays stationary relative to the mantle, but as the crustal plate moves over it, some crustal material is melted making the crust thinner at that spot. A volcano or some sort of geothermal activity forms over the hot spot. Examples would be the Hawaiian islands and Yellowstone Caldera.
 

5. Describe convection currents.

Convection currents are formed by the heating and cooling of a viscous material. In the Earth's mantle, the material that is close to the core is heated and rises toward the crust. As the material gets closer to the crust, the material cools slightly which makes it more dense. This denser material then starts to sink back towards the core where the cycle is begun again.
 

6. Why do volcanoes form near the edges of crustal plates?

The volcanoes that form near the edges of crustal plates usually form from the crustal material that is being melted as one plate is forced down into the mantle. The lighter material separates and rises, finding weak spots in the material and rising through those spots, eventually finding its way to surface and cooling and becoming part of the earth's crust.
 

7. On the average, the earth's crustal plates are moving at a rate of :

a. 1 to 10 meters per year
b. 10 to 100 cm per year
c. 1 to 10 cm per year
d. 0 to 10 mm per year

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d. although rates in this range are possible, they are too slow for typical plates; these rates are an order of magnitude too small. c. Rates in this range are typical for most plates. The "fast " plates will move about the width of your hand in a typical year. b. Rates at the low end of his range exist in a few places, but are not typical of most plates. a. These rates are much too large. (The units are meters, which are much too large when describing crustal movement.)
 

8. What is a divergent boundary and give the name of one.

A divergent boundary is one where the edges of two crustal plates are moving away from each other. New crustal material is being formed by mantle material that is coming to the surface at the edges of these two crustal plates. This material is cooled and a ridge forms. The mid-ocean ridge in the Atlantic is an example.
 

9. An example of mountains formed by two continental plates colliding with eath other would be:

a. the Appalachian Mountains
b. the Henry Mountains of Utah
c. the Himalayan Mountains
d. The Smoky Mountains

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The Himalayan Mountain range is an example of mountains formed at a convergent boundary.
 

10. Evidence of "Continental Drift" can be found in similarities in fossils found in Africa and South America.

True False

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When Alfred Wegner first proposed the Continental Drift theory in 1924, there were very few scientists that believed it possible. Not only have fossil similarities between South America and Africa been found, but also evidence of similar rock types and formations between South America and Africa.
 

11. Yellowstone National Park is a volcanic caldera that is formed over a hot spot.

True False

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The caldera that is the basis for the geothermal activity in Yellowstone Park is over a hot spot that has moved in a northeasterly direction over the last fifteen million years.
 

12. The two types of crust on the tectonic plates are:

a. light crust and dark crust
b. brittle crust and fluid crust
c. old crust and young crust
d. oceanic crust and continental crust

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While there are variations in crustal makeup, the two types of crust are oceanic crust and continental crust.
 

13. The newest crustal material is found closest fo mid-ocen ridges.

True False

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When the crustal plates spread apart due to the upwelling of material from the mantle, the material cools and forms a ridge on the ocean floor.
 

14. Describe what happens at a subduction zone.

A subduction zone is created where oceanic crust and continental crust converge. The heavier oceanic crust is driven down underneath the continental crust and as it is, the crustal material begins to liquify as it comes in contact with the mantle. The lighter material then begins to separate from it and rise, thus the beginning of a volcano.
 

15. Olympus Mons is an ancient volcano found on:

a. Earth
b. the Moon
c. Mars
d. Venus

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Olympus Mons is an ancient volcano found on Mars.
 

16. The continental plates are moving at a relatively constant rate.

True False

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This answer would be false. An example of proof would be the Hawaiian Islands. When the age of the islands are compared with their distance from one another, one can clearly see that the crustal movement has not been at a constant rate.
 

17. The earth's crust is separated into about ________ sections or plates.

a. 5
b. 7
c. 9
d. 11

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The experts generally agree there are nine crustal plates.
 

18. The famous San Andreas fault is an example of what type of boundary?

a. A convergent boundary
b. A transform boundary
c. A divergent boundary
d. A state boundary

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Since the two plates that form the San Andreas fault a sliding laterally past each other, it is an example of a transform boundary.
 

19. Draw a cross-section of the earth and label the mantle, crust, core.
 

 

20. Deep oceanic trenches are found at what type of boundary?

a. divergent
b. convergent
c. transform
d. subduction

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The mid-ocean trenches are a result of a subduction zone.
 

21. The Yellowstone Caldera is moving in what direction relative to the North American plate?

a. southwest
b. northwest
c. south east
d. northeast

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The Yellowstone Caldera is moving in a northeasterly direction relative to the North American plate.
 

22. What is the conversion for miles to kilometers? _______ miles = ________ km

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one mile equals .62 kilometers
 

23. The Plate and Plate have converged and the _______________ mountains are a result.

a. Himalayan
b. Rockies
c. Andes
d. Sierra Nevadas

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As the plates have collided with each other, the Himalayan mountains were formed.
 

24. The name of the software that is used in the unit to measure distances and areas is called:

a. NIH Image
b. GraphicConverter
c. Sparkle
d. Netscape

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NIH Image is the software that is used to manipulate the pictures of the Yellowstone Caldera and Olympus Mons.

25. Name the four layers of the earth's interior.

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The earth is divided into four parts or layers. The deepest part of the earth (1512 miles deep) is a solid that contains both iron and nickel. It is because of this that the center of the earth is a magnet, a compass. It generates a magnetic field that protects the earth from flying out of orbit. Outside of the inner core lays the outer core (1419 miles deep). This is much like the inner core with the exception that it is a liquid that contains sulfer and oxygen (which lowers the melting point). Occupying 1789 miles of the earth is the magma (iron and magnesium) that makes up the mantle. It is extremely hot and goopy; very plastic-like. This is the weak spot in the upper mantle that allows for intrusions and the shifting of plates.