Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
Review Questions
1. The man credited with developing the continental drift
hypothesis is
a. _____ Wilson;
b. _____ Wegener;
c. _____ Hess;
d. _____ du Toit;
e. _____ Vine.
2. The southern part of Pangaea, consisting of South
America, Africa, India, Australia, and Antarctica, is
called
a. _____ Laurasia;
b. _____ Gondwana;
c. _____ Panthalassa;
d. _____ Laurentia;
e. _____ Pacifi ca.
3. Hot spots and aseismic ridges can be used to deter-
mine the
a. _____ location of divergent plate boundaries;
b. _____ absolute motion of plates;
c. _____ location of magnetic anomalies in oceanic
crust;
d. _____ relative motion of plates;
e. _____ location of convergent plate boundaries.
4. Along what type of boundary does subduction occur?
a. _____ divergent;
b. _____ transform;
c. _____ convergent;
d. _____ answers a and b;
e. _____ answers a and c.
5. The Himalayas are a good example of what type of
plate boundary?
a. _____ continental-continental;
b. _____ oceanic-oceanic;
c. _____ oceanic-continental;
d. _____ divergent;
e. _____ transform.
6. The most common biotic province boundaries are
a. _____ geographic barriers;
b. _____ biologic barriers;
c. _____ climatic barriers;
d. _____ answers a and b;
e. _____ answers a and c.
7. Magnetic surveys of the ocean basins indicate that
a. _____ the oceanic crust is youngest adjacent to
mid-oceanic ridges;
b. _____ the oceanic crust is oldest adjacent to
mid-oceanic ridges;
c. _____ the oceanic crust is youngest adjacent to the
continents;
d. _____ the oceanic crust is the same age everywhere;
e. _____ answers b and c.
8. Convergent plate boundaries are areas where
a. _____ new continental lithosphere is forming;
b. _____ new oceanic lithosphere is forming;
c. _____ two plates come together;
d. _____ two plates slide past each other;
e. _____ two plates move away from each other.
9. Iron-bearing minerals in magma gain their magnetism
and align themselves with the magnetic fi eld when they
cool through the
a. _____ Curie point;
b. _____ magnetic anomaly point;
c. _____ thermal convection point;
d. _____ hot spot point;
e. _____ isostatic point.
10. The San Andreas fault is an example of what type of
plate boundary?
a. _____ divergent;
b. _____ convergent;
c. _____ transform;
d. _____ oceanic-continental;
e. _____ continental-continental.
11. Using the age for each of the Hawaiian Islands in
Figure 2.22 and an atlas in which you can measure the
distance between islands, calculate the average rate
of movement per year for the Pacifi c plate since each
island formed. Is the average rate of movement the same
for each island? Would you expect it to be? Explain
why it may not be.
12. What evidence convinced Wegener and others that
continents must have moved in the past and at one
time formed a supercontinent?
13. Estimate the age of the seafl oor crust and the age and
thickness of the oldest sediment off the East Coast of
the United States (e.g., Virginia). In so doing, refer to
Figure 2.13 for the ages and to the deep-sea sediment
accumulation rate stated in this chapter.
14. In addition to the volcanic eruptions and earthquakes
associated with convergent and divergent plate bound-
aries, why are these boundaries also associated with the
formation and accumulation of various metallic ore
deposits?
15. If the movement along the San Andreas fault, which
separates the Pacifi c plate from the North American
plate, averages 5.5 cm per year, how long will it take
before Los Angeles is opposite San Francisco?
16. Plate tectonic theory builds on the continental drift
hypothesis and the theory of seafl oor spreading. As
such, it is a unifying theory of geology. Explain why it
is a unifying theory.
17. Why is some type of thermal convection system
thought to be the major force driving plate movement?
How have slab-pull and ridge-push, both mainly
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