Quiz prepared by Leslie J. Sonder, Dartmouth College.

1		The zone of the earth that is divided into rigid plates is the ____________.
			A)	atmosphere
			B)	lithosphere
			C)	tectosphere
			D)	biosphere
			E)	asthenosphere
			F)	hydrosphere
2		The collision zones between two continental masses are typically marked by ___________________.
			A)	volcanoes
			B)	mountain belts and thrust faults
			C)	earthquakes with small, nondestructive earthquakes
			D)	rift valleys
			E)	transform faults
3		You have just heard a report on the radio of a series of very destructive earthquakes that occurred from 5 to 150 kilometers below the surface of the Earth and affected an area 1000 kilometers long and several hundred kilometers wide. At what type of tectonic boundary did these earthquakes most likely occur?
			A)	transform boundary
			B)	subduction zone
			C)	spreading zone
			D)	triple junction
			E)	continent-continent collision
4		Subduction zones are commonly marked by ________________.
			A)	chains of volcanoes
			B)	an inclined plane, extending hundreds of kilometers into the Earth, of earthquake locations
			C)	a deep ocean trench
			D)	answers A and B
			E)	answers A, B, and C
5		Uniformitarianism is __________________.
			A)	the idea that the layers of the earth are exactly the same thickness everywhere on earth.
			B)	the idea that the earth has changed through small gradual processes occurring over very long times.
			C)	the idea that the same processes occur on the Earth's surface as on every other planet.
			D)	the idea that the earth is exactly the same as it was when it was first formed.
6		A geologist in the 1997 movie Volcano states that, "continents sit on tectonic plates, great big rafts floating over an ocean of molten rock." What is wrong with this statement?
			A)	The mantle beneath the plates is solid rock except for the weaker, partially melted asthenosphere.
			B)	The mantle everywhere beneath the plates is strong, rigid rock.
			C)	The entire mantle beneath the plates is weak and "plastic-like" due to partial melting.
			D)	The mantle beneath the plates is made of large pockets of solid, rigid rock and molten magma.
			E)	The mantle beneath the plates contains magma and large pockets of water enclosed in solid rock.
7		In the concept of plate tectonics the term "plates" refers to the ________________.
			A)	continental crust
			B)	crust and the entire mantle
			C)	rigid earth above the asthenosphere
			D)	oceanic crust
			E)	earth from the surface to the base of the asthenosphere
8		The theory of plate tectonics states that rigid "plates" are driven by forces within the Earth and interact by ___________________.
			A)	colliding with each other
			B)	pulling apart from each other
			C)	sliding past each other
			D)	A and B
			E)	answers A, B, and C
9		When two tectonic plates diverge (pull apart) the earth is thinned. In this scenario, considering the concept of isostasy, we can predict that the asthenosphere will ________________.
			A)	rise
			B)	sink
			C)	rise then sink
			D)	sink then rise
			E)	undergo no change
10		Evidence that supports the concept of sea-floor spreading includes _______________.
			A)	the chains of volcanoes at zones of spreading
			B)	magnetic polarity reversal patterns
			C)	the fit of continental margins
			D)	the ages of volcanic rocks in ocean basins
			E)	all of the above
11		Most of the earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain belts of the Earth occur _______________.
			A)	within tectonic plates far from their edges
			B)	in ocean basins
			C)	at the edges of tectonic plates
			D)	at zones where tectonic plates slide horizontally past each other
			E)	above hot spots
12		If you were interested in studying the record of sediments and fossils in the ocean over the greatest period of time the most complete record would be found _________________.
			A)	at the mid-ocean ridge
			B)	at the margins of oceans
			C)	between the ocean ridges and margins of the oceans
			D)	at hot spots
			E)	at any point on the ocean floor
13		The mechanisms that drive plate tectonic motion are ________________.
			A)	gravitational push on oceanic crust from the topographically high mid-ocean ridges
			B)	convective flow of heat in the mantle
			C)	gravitational pull of oceanic crust in subduction zones
			D)	all of the above
14		If there are no subduction zones at the margins of an ocean basin then the basin will most likely _____________.
			A)	stay the same size
			B)	become smaller
			C)	become larger
			D)	become larger and then smaller
			E)	become smaller and then larger
15		Los Angeles is located on the Pacific Plate. San Francisco lies on the North American Plate and is about 600 kilometers north of Los Angeles. The Pacific Plate is moving north relative to the North American Plate along the San Andreas fault zone. If it takes 10.7 million years before Los Angeles and San Francisco become neighbors what is the rate of tectonic movement along the San Andreas?
			A)	560 millimeters per year
			B)	5.6 millimeters per year
			C)	5.6 kilometers per year
			D)	56 kilometers per million years
			E)	56 meters per year
16		The lithosphere is broken into rigid plates that move from, past, and into other rigid plates. The numerous cracks in the Earth that are common along the boundaries of plates are known as ______________.
			A)	faults
			B)	transform zones
			C)	collision zones
			D)	breaks
			E)	slices
17		The Lisbon earthquake of 1755 caused damage to the city by _____________.
			A)	volcanic eruptions
			B)	collapse of buildings
			C)	fires
			D)	quake-related sea waves
			E)	all of the above except answer A