Geology Unit Pretest

1. Mid-ocean ridges are

A) located along the coast.
B) found only in the Pacific Ocean.
C) long deep-ocean trenches.
D) found in all of Earth's ocean's.

2. Most geologists think that the movement of Earth's plates is caused by

A) conduction.
B) earthquakes.
C) convection currents.
D) Earth's magnetic field.

3. A place where two plates slide past each other, moving in opposite directions, is known as a

A) convergent boundary.
B) rift valley.
C) divergent boundary.
D) transform boundary.

4. 4. Where can most earthquake epicenters and volcanoes be found?

A) At the equator
B) At plate boundaries
C) At the North Pole

5. What type of earthquake wave can travel through solids, liquids, and gases?

A) s waves
B) rift valley.
C) surface waves
D) p waves.

6. If geologists detect small earthquakes in an area near a volcano, what can they infer about the volcano?

A) It is dormant.
B) It is probably ready to erupt.
C) It is a good source of energy.
D) It is extinct.

7. Sedimentary rocks are _____.

A) a type of foliated igneous rock
B) formed from already existing rocks that are weathered and eroded
C) formed below Earth’s surface as magma
D) formed by great heat

8. What is the correct order of the Earth's layers (starting at the surface)?

A) crust, mantle, outer core, inner core
B) outer core, mantle, inner core , crust
C) mantle, core, crust, inner core
D) crust, outer core, mantle, inner core

9. Before lava reaches the surface, the molten material is called

A) fire.
B) volcanic ash.
C) magma.
D) rock.

10. The place where two plates collide or compress together is known as a

A) transform boundary.
B) divergent boundary.
C) convergent boundary.
D) rift valley.

11. The process by which the ocean floor sinks beneath a deep-ocean trench and back into the mantle is known as

A) subduction.
B) convention.
C) conduction.
D) continental drift.

12. During sea-floor spreading, molten material rises from the mantle and erupts

A) along mid-ocean ridges.
B) at the north and south poles.
C) along the edge of the continents.
D) along the edges of the coast.

13. The type of seismic waves that occur first are called

A) q waves.
B) surface waves.
C) p waves.
D) s waves.

14. A collision between two pieces of continental crust at a converging boundary forms

A) mountains.
B) rifts.
C) valleys.
D) trenches.

15. The geological theory that states that pieces of the Earth's lithosphere are in constant, slow motion is the theory of

A) boundary.
B) plate tectonics.
C) subduction.
D) sea-floor spreading

16. Geologists cannot yet predict earthquakes because

A) there are too many faults to monitor.
B) they don't know what an earthquake is.
C) they can't be sure of when or where the stress will be released along the fault.
D) they have too much data.

17. What is Pangaea?

A) name of a continent.
B) the name of the supercontinent that is believed to have existed millions of years ago.
C) the name of an ancient fossil.
D) the name of a scientist.

18. Earth's INNER core is

A) layer of hot magma.
B) a layer of cooled rock.
C) a dense ball of iron and nickel.
D) empty.

19. This type of rock is formed by the solidification of molten magma:

A) Metamorphic
B) Chemical
C) Sedimentary
D) Igneous

20. The plates move/float on top of the ________________

A) Crust
B) Mantle
C) Asthenosphere
D) Core

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