Name __________________________________________ I.D.

Number __________________________

Unit 4 Evaluation
Evaluation 04
Earth Science (SCIH 041 055)
This evaluation will cover the lessons in this unit. It is open book, meaning you can use your
textbook and other course materials. You will need to understand, analyze, and apply the
information you have learned in order to answer the questions correctly. To submit the evaluation by
mail, follow the directions on the Information Sheet that came with your mail processing materials.
To take the evaluation online, access the online version of your course and follow the directions
provided.
Select the response that best completes the statement or answers the question.

____ 1. Early mapmakers thought continents might have moved based on their observations of

a. magnetism.
b. rock and fossil evidence.
c. matching coastlines.
d. earthquakes and floods.

____ 2. To support his hypothesis of continental drift, Alfred Wegener did NOT use

a. ancient climatic evidence.

b. magnetic field data.
c. data on ancient reptiles and ferns.
d. evidence from rock formations.

____ 3. Fossils of aquatic reptiles found in freshwater rocks suggested to Wegener that these
reptiles

a. swam the great distances between continents.

b. ate Glossopteris.
c. once lived in Earth’s oceans.
d. probably did not cross the oceans.

____ 4. Most scientists at the time rejected Wegener’s hypothesis of continental drift because he

a. had collected little evidence to support his hypothesis.

b. would not state his hypothesis publicly.
c. couldn’t explain how or why the continents moved.
d. insisted that Earth’s axis of rotation had changed.

Unit 4 Evaluation SCIH 041

____ 5. Each cycle of spreading and intrusion of magma during seafloor spreading results in

a. magnetic reversals.
b. new ocean crust.
c. new continents.
d. reversed polarity.

____ 6. What is defined as the study of the history of Earth’s magnetic field?

a. Pangaea
b. Paleomagnetism
c. Magnetic symmetry
d. Isochronology

____ 7. The magnetic pattern of ocean-floor rocks on one side of an ocean ridge is

a. a mirror image of that of the other side.

b. younger than on the other side.
c. much different from the magnetic pattern found in rocks on land.
d. at right angles to the ocean ridge.

____ 8. Isochron maps of the seafloor indicate that ocean crust is

a. oldest near ocean ridges.

b. youngest at deep-sea trenches.
c. thinnest in subduction zones.
d. youngest near ocean ridges.

____ 9. Which theory states that Earth’s crust and rigid upper mantle move in different directions
and at different rates over Earth’s surface?

a. ridge push and slab pull

b. seafloor spreading
c. continental drift
d. plate tectonics

Unit 4 Evaluation SCIH 041

____ 10. What can happen when two oceanic plates converge and one is subducted into the
mantle?

a. Melted magma erupts and forms an arc of islands.

b. The colliding plate edges become crumpled to form a mountain range.
c. The lithosphere splits to create a divergent plate boundary on land.
d. A continent splits to form a new ocean basin.

____ 11. Which of the following landforms results from divergence of continental crust?

a. a mountain range
b. a rift valley
c. a deep-sea trench
d. a long fault

____ 12. Which of the following is NOT associated with transform boundaries?

a. deformed and fractured crust

b. shallow earthquakes
c. long faults
d. volcanoes

____ 13. The downward part of a convection current causes a sinking force that

a. pulls tectonic plates toward one another.

b. moves plates apart from one another.
c. lifts and splits the lithosphere.
d. creates a divergent boundary.

____ 14. Lava erupts through an opening in Earth’s crust called a

a. vent.
b. crater.
c. caldera.
d. volcano.

Unit 4 Evaluation SCIH 041

____ 15. The most explosive volcanoes are

a. hot spots.
b. cinder cones.
c. composite volcanoes.
d. shield volcanoes.

____ 16. Volcanoes that form far from plate boundaries, such as those that formed the Hawaiian
islands, are associated with

a. subduction zones.
b. ocean ridges.
c. divergent boundaries.
d. hot spots.

____ 17. When a large depression forms on the top of a volcano, it is called a

a. magma chamber.
b. dike.
c. caldera.
d. pyroclastic flow.

____ 18. When magma reaches Earth’s surface, it is called

a. pyroclastic flow.
b. tephra.
c. lava.
d. caldera.

____ 19. The physical property that describes a material's resistance to flow is called

a. viscosity.
b. pyroclastic flow.
c. density.
d. explosivity.

Unit 4 Evaluation SCIH 041

____ 20. This type of volcano forms when small pieces of magma are ejected into the air, then fall
back to Earth and pile up around a vent.

a. shield
b. cinder cone
c. composite
d. hot spot

____ 21. ___________ is a mixture of molten rock, suspended minerals and gases.

a. Magma
b. Tephra
c. Pyroclastic flow
d. Lava

____ 22. Which of the following is generally true of magma with high silica content?

a. It tends to be thin and runny and produce quiet eruptions.

b. It tends to be thin and runny and produce explosive eruptions.
c. It tends to be thick and sticky, and produce quiet eruptions.
d. It tends to be thick and sticky, and produce explosive eruptions.

____ 23. Which type of pluton forms when magma intrudes into parallel rock layers close to Earth's
surface causing surface rock to bow upwards?

a. batholith
b. laccolith
c. sill
d. dike

____ 24. Which type of pluton is created when magma is forced into cracks and fissures parallel to
layers of rock?

a. batholith
b. laccolith
c. sill
d. dike

Unit 4 Evaluation SCIH 041

____ 25. Many plutons form as a result of

a. continental-continental convergent plate boundaries.

b. hot spots.
c. divergent oceanic plate boundaries.
d. lateral eruptions along the base of volcanoes.

____ 26. The stress which causes a material to pull apart is known as

a. strain.
b. compression.
c. tension.
d. shear.

____ 27. The deformation of materials in response to stress is called

a. strain.
b. tension.
c. shear.
d. compression.

____ 28. A ____________ fault is the result of horizontal shear.

a. normal
b. reverse
c. strike-slip
d. blind

____ 29. A seismic wave that causes the ground to move in two directions: both up and down and
sideways, is a

a. P-wave.
b. S-wave.
c. surface wave.
d. tsunami.

Unit 4 Evaluation SCIH 041

____ 30. An instrument that records earthquake vibrations is a

a. moment magnitude scale.

b. modified Mercalli scale.
c. seismogram.
d. seismometer.

____ 31. Which of the following measures the magnitude of an earthquake by determining the
amplitude of the largest seismic waves?

a. moment magnitude scale

b. modified Mercalli scale
c. Richter scale
d. epicentral distance scale

____ 32. Which of the following measures the intensity of an earthquake by rating the amount and
types of damage caused by the earthquake?

a. moment magnitude scale

b. modified Mercalli scale
c. Richter scale
d. epicentral distance scale

____ 33. What is true about the focus?

a. It is the point where the most surface damage will occur.

b. It is the point where the surface waves originate and spread out.
c. It is the point where the waves are attracted.
d. It is the point of failure where the waves originate.

____ 34. What happens when seismic vibrations cause subsurface materials to liquefy and behave
like quicksand?

a. seismic gaps
b. tsunamis
c. liquefaction
d. plastic deformation

Unit 4 Evaluation SCIH 041

____ 35. An underwater earthquake causes the movement of a column of water, resulting in

a. liquefaction.
b. a tsunami.
c. a seismic wave.
d. a fault plane.

____ 36. Which of the following is needed to locate an earthquake's epicenter?

a. data from at least three seismic stations

b. location of the nearest seismic gap
c. the intensity of the earthquake
d. the location of the nearest seismic belt

____ 37. Sections along an active fault that have not experienced significant earthquakes for a long
period of time are

a. seismic gaps.
b. seismic fault planes.
c. seismograms.
d. elastic deformation zones.

____ 38. Oceanic crust is made of

a. basalt and is denser than continental crust.

b. granite and is denser than continental crust.
c. basalt and is less dense than continental crust.
d. granite and is less dense than continental crust.

____ 39. Approximately how much of Earth’s surface is above sea level?

a. 10 percent
b. 30 percent
c. 70 percent
d. 90 percent

Unit 4 Evaluation SCIH 041

____ 40. The Himalayas are one of Earth’s tallest mountain ranges. Marine sedimentary rock can be
found at the top of some of the individual peaks in the Himalayas. These characteristics
would allow you to classify the creation of the Himalayas as being created by which type of
tectonic activity?

a. oceanic-oceanic convergent
b. oceanic-continental convergent
c. continental-continental convergent
d. oceanic-oceanic divergent

____ 41. A good model for isostasy is

a. a collision between two cars.

b. the water line of a boat when someone boards or leaves it.
c. scraping food off a plate.
d. stretching a cracked, old rubber band.

____ 42. Which factor would be most useful in predicting the amount of mantle a certain volume of
crust will displace?

a. temperature of the mantle

b. temperature of the crust
c. chemical composition of the mantle
d. density of the crust

____ 43. After millions of years of erosion, the Appalachian Mountains still exist because of

a. continental drift.
b. orogeny.
c. erosion.
d. isostatic rebound.

____44. Which of the following is NOT true about uplifted mountains?

a. They form when a large region of Earth’s crust rises up as a unit.

b. They have rocks that are not very deformed.
c. They only form at oceanic-oceanic convergent boundaries.
d. They are the result of erosional forces.

Unit 4 Evaluation SCIH 041

____ 45. Fault-block mountains form

a. when two continental plates collide.

b. when a large pieces of crust are dropped between large faults.
c. when large regions of Earth have been slowly forced upward as a unit.
d. above a subduction zone.

____ 46. A cycle of processes that forms mountain ranges is

a. orogeny.
b. isostasy.
c. isostatic rebound.
d. plateau ecology.

____ 47. A chain of individual underwater volcanic mountains is called a(n)

a. ocean ridge.
b. seamount.
c. island arc.
d. fault-block mountain.

____ 48. Mountain building at convergent plate boundaries is due to

a. compressive forces.
b. uplifting forces.
c. shear forces.
d. tension forces.

____ 49. Convergence between oceanic to oceanic plates can result in the formation of individual
volcanic peaks that rise above sea level to create

a. seamounts.
b. ocean ridges.
c. island arcs.
d. plateaus.

Unit 4 Evaluation SCIH 041

____ 50. Divergence at ocean plate boundaries can form __________________ which include the
world's longest mountain chain at 65,000 km long.

a. ocean ridges
b. island arcs
c. fault-block mountains
d. uplifted mountains

Carefully check your answers on this evaluation and make any corrections you feel are
necessary. When you are satisfied that you have answered the questions to the best of your
ability, transfer your answers to an answer sheet.

Unit 4 Evaluation SCIH 041

Unit 4 Evaluation SCIH 041