Name: Practice Test Plate Tectonics

1. The Hawaiian Islands were formed as a result of

A) lava flowing over Earth's surface where two
tectonic plates move apart
B) an oceanic plate moving over a mantle hot
spot
C) two oceanic plates colliding to form an island arc
D) tectonic plates sliding past each other
2. Which block diagram represents the plate motion that causes the earthquakes that occur along the San
Andreas Fault in California?

A) B)

C) D)

3. Which tectonic feature is associated with a complex

or uncertain plate boundary?
A) Southwest Indian Ridge
B) East African Rift
C) Mariana Trench
D) Galapagos Hot Spot
 Practice Test Plate Tectonics

Base your answers to questions 4 and 5 on the passage and diagram below and on your knowledge of
Earth science. The passage describes geologic studies of the Moon. The diagram represents the
Moon's surface and interior, showing the inferred depth of each layer below the Moon's surface.
Moon Studies

Scientific instruments left on the Moon's surface recorded 12,558 moonquakes in eight years.
Most of these moonquakes originated between 700 km and 1200 km below the Moon's surface.
Scientists infer that most moonquakes are caused by the gravitational forces between the Moon,
Earth, and the Sun.

4. What is the inferred thickness of the Moon's mantle?

A) 60 km B) 638 km C) 1040 km D) 1738 km
5. The same type of evidence was used to find the inferred depths of both the Moon's interior layers and
Earth's interior layers. What evidence was used to determine the inferred depth of the boundary
between the Moon's mantle and core?
A) seismic data recorded on the Moon's surface
B) magnetic data measured on the Moon's surface
C) convection currents mapped in the Moon's mantle and core
D) temperatures measured in the Moon's mantle and core
 Practice Test Plate Tectonics

6. On the map below, points A through D represent locations on Earth's surface.

Which location is positioned over a mantle hot spot?

A) A B) B C) C D) D
Base your answers to questions 7 and 8 on the map below and on your knowledge of Earth science.
The map shows the coast of the northwestern United States. The Explorer and Gorda ridges and plates
are parts of the Juan de Fuca tectonic system.

7. The Explorer Ridge is the boundary between the Explorer Plate and the
A) North American Plate B) Pacific Plate
C) Juan de Fuca Plate D) Gorda Plate
 Practice Test Plate Tectonics

8. The arrow on which map best shows the direction of movement of the Juan de Fuca Plate in relation to
the Juan de Fuca Ridge?
A) B)

C) D)

9. Which geologic feature is composed of the youngest

crustal bedrock?
A) Peru-Chile Trench
B) Mid-Atlantic Ridge
C) Adirondack Mountains
D) San Andreas Fault
 Practice Test Plate Tectonics

10. The diagram below shows the magnetic polarity preserved by minerals within the bedrock of the
oceanic crust near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Letters A, B, C, and D represent locations in the
ocean-floor bedrock.

The most recently formed bedrock is found at location

A) A B) B C) C D) D
11. The Indian-Australian tectonic plate is moving 12. On what other landmass would you most likely find
fossil remains of the late Paleozoic reptile called
A) away from the Philippine Plate
Mesosaurus shown below?
B) away from the Fiji Plate
C) toward the Pacific Plate
D) toward the Antarctic Plate

A)

B)

C)
D)
 Practice Test Plate Tectonics

13. The block diagram below represents the present ocean floor. The white arrows show the movement of
the ocean floor and the black arrows show the movement of the asthenosphere.

Which characteristic of the ocean-floor bedrock is best described by the plus and minus symbols in
the diagram?
A) plus = older age; minus = younger age
B) plus = younger age; minus = older age
C) plus = reversed magnetic polarity; minus = normal magnetic polarity
D) plus = normal magnetic polarity; minus = reversed magnetic polarity
14. Which evidence supports the theory of ocean floor
spreading?
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.
Base your answers to questions 15 through 18 on the information below and on your knowledge of
Earth science.
Adirondack Earthquake
On October 7, 1983, a magnitude 5.3 earthquake occurred in New York State's Adirondack
region. The earthquake's epicenter was at Blue Mountain Lake, which is located approximately 32
miles (50 Kilometers) southwest of Mt. Marcy.
15. Perth, Australia, is located almost directly on the opposite side of Earth from the epicenter of this
earthquake. A seismograph in Perth received P-waves but not S-waves from this earthquake. Identify
the interior layer of Earth and the characteristic of this layer that prevented the S-waves from arriving
at Perth

16. Identify one type of metamorphic surface bedrock where this earthquake epicenter was located.
 Practice Test Plate Tectonics

17. Determine how long it took the first P-wave to travel from the Blue Mountain Lake to a seismic
station 1200 kilometers away.

18. Circle the New York State location (Old Forge or New York City) that recorded the greater amount of
time between the arrival of the first P-wave and the arrival of the first S-wave from the Blue
mountain Lake earthquake. Explain why this location had the greater difference between the P-wave
and S-wave arrival times.
 Answer Key
new plate tectonics practice

1. B 18. — New York City is

2. D farther from the
epicenter, so there is
3. B a greater difference
4. C between the arrival
of the first P-wave
5. A
and the first S-wave.
6. A — As distance to the
7. B epicenter increases,
the difference in
8. A arrival times
9. B increases. — Old
10. C Forge is closer to the
epicenter near Blue
11. C Mountain Lake (or
12. B Mt. Marcy) so the
arrival times are
13. D
closer together.
14. C
15. — Outer core
Characteristic of this
layer: — liquid/fluid
— molten rock —
melted iron and
nickel —
temperature greater
than melting point
16. — gneiss —
quartzite — marble
— anorthositic rocks
17. 2 min 30 s to 2 mins
40 s