Earth's Layers and Plate Tectonics Quiz

Grade 10 · Science · Quiz

Test your knowledge of Earth's internal structure and how tectonic plates interact to shape our planet.

Questions

Which layer of Earth is responsible for generating the planet's magnetic field?
1. Inner core
2. Outer core
3. Mantle
4. Crust
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Answer: Outer core
The liquid iron-nickel outer core moves in convection currents, creating electrical currents that generate Earth's magnetic field through a dynamo effect.
The Himalayas formed at a divergent boundary.
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Answer: False
The Himalayas formed at a convergent boundary where the Indian Plate collided with the Eurasian Plate. Two continental plates colliding push upward, forming mountain ranges.
At a transform boundary, plates:
1. Collide head-on
2. Move apart
3. Slide horizontally past each other
4. One sinks beneath the other
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Answer: Slide horizontally past each other
Transform boundaries are characterized by horizontal shearing motion. The San Andreas Fault in California is a classic example, responsible for frequent earthquakes.
The rigid outer layer of Earth, including the crust and upper mantle, is called the ___.
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Answer: lithosphere
The lithosphere includes the crust and the rigid uppermost mantle. It is broken into tectonic plates that 'float' and move on the semi-fluid asthenosphere below.
Which type of crust is denser?
1. Continental
2. Oceanic
3. They are equal in density
4. It depends on age
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Answer: Oceanic
Oceanic crust is made of denser basaltic rock (~3.0 g/cm³) while continental crust is made of less dense granitic rock (~2.7 g/cm³). This is why oceanic crust subducts under continental crust.
Seafloor spreading produces new oceanic crust at mid-ocean ridges.
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Answer: True
At mid-ocean ridges, diverging plates create gaps that are filled by upwelling magma, which solidifies to form new oceanic crust — a process confirmed by magnetic striping patterns.
What drives the movement of tectonic plates?
1. Earth's rotation
2. Gravity alone
3. Convection currents in the mantle
4. Solar radiation
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Answer: Convection currents in the mantle
Heat from Earth's core causes rock in the mantle to flow in slow convection currents. These currents drag the overlying tectonic plates along, causing their movement.
When an oceanic plate sinks beneath a continental plate, the process is called ___.
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Answer: subduction
Subduction occurs when a denser plate descends into the mantle at a convergent boundary. Subducted oceanic crust melts, often fueling volcanic activity.
Most earthquakes and volcanoes are concentrated along tectonic plate boundaries.
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Answer: True
Plate boundaries are zones of intense geological activity. Plates interacting (colliding, separating, or sliding) generates the stress, heat, and magma that produce earthquakes and volcanoes.
Alfred Wegener's evidence for continental drift included:
1. GPS measurements showing plate movement
2. Only the fit of coastlines
3. Matching fossils, rock types, and coastline shapes across continents
4. Seismograph data from oceanic trenches
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Answer: Matching fossils, rock types, and coastline shapes across continents
Wegener gathered multiple lines of evidence: jigsaw-like fit of coastlines, identical fossils on now-separated continents, matching geological formations across oceans, and paleoclimate evidence.

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