Earth’s geothermal gradient is the rate of temperature change that would be observed if

one could move in which of the following ways?

increasing altitude in the atmosphere
increasing depth at ocean trenches
traversing from either pole toward the
equator
traversing down within Earth’s interior
Which plant genus dominated glaciated regions during the Late Paleozoic and Early
Mesozoic?
Ginkgo
Glossopteri
s
Neuropteris
Quercas
Marine magnetic anomaly belts run parallel to ____________.
mid-ocean ridges
fracture zones
continental coastlines
continental shelve

According to Wegener, puzzle pieces are to a jigsaw puzzle as ____________ is/are to

Pangaea.
Continents

 a jigsaw puzzle

Deep-ocean trenches are found predominantly along the perimeter of the

_____________ and can reach depths up to ____________, deep enough to swallow
Mt. Everest.
Pacific Ocean; 4–10 km
Pacific Ocean; 8–12 km
Atlantic Ocean; 4–10 km
Atlantic Ocean; 8–12 km
All lithospheric plates are approximately the same size and contain a combination of
oceanic and continental crust.
true
False

Hot, liquid rock beneath the surface of the Earth is termed ____________.
magma
Waves that are “blue shifted” have shorter wavelengths than those that are “red shifted.”

true

Continental coastlines that occur within the interior of a tectonic plate are called
____________.
internal margins
passive margins
active margins
inert margins
Slab pull occurs because subducting slabs are ____________.
less mafic, and therefore less dense, than surrounding asthenosphere
cooler, and therefore more dense, than surrounding asthenosphere
hotter, and therefore more dense, than surrounding asthenosphere
cooler, and therefore less dense, than surrounding asthenosphere
Tectonic plates move at rates that are approximately ____________.
1 to 5 cm every 1,000 years
1 to 15 cm/year
1 to 15 m/year
10 to 100 m/year
Volatile materials can exist as a gas at Earth’s surface. Which of the following is
NOT a volatile material?
water
iron
hydrogen
carbon
dioxide
According to Archimedes’ principle of buoyancy, an iceberg sinks until
_____________.

the total mass of the water displaced equals the total mass of the
whole iceberg
the total mass of the iceberg is underwater
about 60% of the iceberg is underwater
the total mass of the water displaced equals 80% of the mass of
the iceberg
Deformed (bent, stretched, or cracked) lithosphere occurs
____________.
randomly over the surface of Earth
only at transform plate boundaries
 on the margins of tectonic plates
only at divergent plate boundaries
Spreading rates along mid-ocean ridges have ____________.
been remarkably constant through time
changed through time, but are the same everywhere on Earth
today
changed through time, and today vary between 1 and 10 m/yr
changed through time, and today vary between 1 and 10 cm/yr
All basalts younger than 700,000 years old ____________.
have normal magnetic polarity
have reverse magnetic polarity
are found on the ocean floor very far from mid-ocean ridges
are found on the continents
Why is the ocean deeper over older ocean floor than younger ocean
floor?
The deeper ocean floor is below 1,280°C.
The deeper ocean floor is older than 80 million years old.
The deeper ocean floor is thick and dense.
All of the above are correct.
Earth’s surface is protected from solar wind and cosmic radiation by
____________.
Earth’s gravitational field
Earth’s magnetic field
a large, metallic shield launched into orbit by NASA in the 1960s
a powerful stream of ions emitted by the Sun
A compass today points directly to geographic north.
true
false
Continental lithosphere ____________.
is thicker than oceanic lithosphere
contains more mafic rocks than oceanic lithosphere
is denser than oceanic lithosphere
contains no crustal material, consisting solely of lithified upper
mantle
Around 1929, Hubble and other astronomers discovered that the light
of distant galaxies displayed red shifts relative to the light of nearby
stars. This means that ___________________.
all distant galaxies are moving away from the Milky Way galaxy
these galaxies are moving away from a fixed light source
 the whole Universe is expanding
All of the above are correct.
Both a and c are correct.
Beneath a blanket of sediments, oceanic crust is primarily composed
of two rocks, ____________ and ____________.
granite; diorite
gabbro; basalt
sandstone; shale
slate; gneiss
The most common minerals within Earth are ____________.
silicates
carbonates
oxides
hydroxides
Consult the figure below. Most of the pulling force driving plate motion
is produced ____________.

at mid-ocean ridges
at subduction zones
at collision zones
in the interiors of continental
plates
On average, continental crust is approximately ____________ as
oceanic crust.

equally thick
half as thick
five times as thick
20 times as thick
A great boost in sea-floor exploration and a greater understanding of
sea-floor bathymetry were a result of _______________.
scientific advances in the 1950s
scientific advances in the 1920s
military needs in World War I
military needs in World War II
First-generation stars tend to be _________________________.
small and cool
large and cool
small and hot
 large and hot
Earthquakes are most frequent near coastlines that are termed
____________.
active margins
passive margins
aseismic margins
geodesic
margins
It is not the continents that move relative to a fixed pole, but rather it is the pole that moves
relative to fixed continents.
false

Consult the figure below. Hawaii is an example of 

hot spot volcanism


Hot spots are caused by ____________.
 Question 2
Mid-ocean ridges are ____________.

 Question 3
It is not the continents that move relative to a fixed pole, but rather it is the pole
that moves relative to fixed continents.

 Question 4
A fracture in the crust, where rocks slide past one another, is termed a
____________.

 Question 5
The boundary between the crust and the mantle is marked by a seismic-velocity
discontinuity called ____________.

 Question 6
The theory of plate tectonics is a theory because it _____________.

 Question 7
 The densest layer of Earth is the ____________.

 Question 8
According to Archimedes’ principle of buoyancy, an iceberg sinks until
_____________.

 Question 9
Why don’t earthquakes occur everywhere?

 Question 10
In our current understanding of the Big Bang, ____________.

 Question 11
The magnetic field of Earth in the geologic past is ____________.

 Question 12
Of the three primary chemical layers of the Earth (crust, mantle, core), which is
the thickest layer?

 Question 13
Deep-ocean trenches are found predominantly along the perimeter of the
_____________ and can reach depths up to ____________, deep enough to
swallow Mt. Everest.
 Question 14
Why do stars and constellations change location over the course of one night?

 Question 15
Volcanoes that have submerged beneath the surface of the sea are termed
____________.

 Question 16
Why is Earth round?

 Question 17
The volcanoes of the Cascades Mountains are related to melting of rock
associated with a ____________-plate boundary.

 Question 18
As compared to the asthenosphere, the lithosphere is ____________.

 Question 19
Deformed (bent, stretched, or cracked) lithosphere occurs ____________.

 Question 20
Evidence of paleomagnetism can be found in _________________.

 Question 21
Large, thick, nonvolcanic mountain belts, like the Himalayas, have features
associated with ____________-plate boundaries.

 Question 22
Sea-floor spreading is driven by volcanic activity ____________.

 Question 23
All rock produced at the mid-ocean ridges consists of basalt.

 Question 24
The Big Bang theory states that ____________.

 Question 25
Deep-oceanic trenches are features of ____________-plate boundaries.

 Question 26
Without which of the following principles would it be impossible to drive plate
motion?
 Question 27
According to the figure below, Earth’s magnetic poles move constantly, but don’t
seem to stray farther than about ____________ from the geographic poles.

 Question 28
The metal alloy that makes up the core of Earth is ____________, as compared
to the rocky mantle.

 Question 29
A guyot is ____________.

 Question 30
About 4.53 Ga, the Moon formed. Which of the following is NOT correct about
that event?