Download Plate Tectonics Study Guide

Name ______________________________________________ Date _________ Period ______
Physics of the Earth CP – Plate Tectonics / Geologic Age Test
Study Guide
Test Date: ___________
1.
What was Abraham Ortelius’ contribution to continental drift? Eduard
Suess’ contribution?
2.
What is the theory of continental drift and who is credited with the theory?
3.
Describe the three pieces of evidence for continental drift.
4.
What were the two major flaws to the theory of continental drift?
5.
What is the theory of plate tectonics? How many plates are there on Earth?
6.
List Earth’s layers starting from where you are presently.
7.
What are the inner and outer core made out of?
8.
What happens at a divergent plate boundary? How do the plates move?
What geologic landforms are present at a divergent plate boundary?
9.
What happens at a convergent plate boundary? How do the plates move?
What geologic landforms are present at a convergent plate boundary? (Hint:
there are three types of convergent plate boundaries)
10.
What happens at a transform plate boundary? How do the plates move?
What geologic processes occur at a transform plate boundary?
11.
What technology allows us to map the ocean floor? How does it work?
12.
What is an ocean ridge? What process occurs at a mid-ocean ridge?
13.
What is a deep sea trench? What process occurs at a deep sea trench?
14.
Explain how crust is created and destroyed in the process of seafloor
spreading.
15.
How can seafloor spreading study the magnetic field of Earth?
16.
How did seafloor spreading solve the problems with Wegener’s theory of
continental drift?
17.
What are the two kinds of dating that geologists use? Compare and contrast
the two.
18.
What is uniformitarianism? How does it work against early theories of
continental drift?
19.
What is superposition? Original horizontality?
20.
If a fault or intrusion cuts through rock, which is older? What kind of
relationship is this?
21.
How do geologists use radiometric dating? What is the relationship between
a daughter and parent atom?
22.
What is an atom’s half-life? How is it useful?
23.
What are some other dating methods that geologists may use?
24.
What does the geologic time scale correlate?
25.
Why do we study fossils?
26.
Be able to interpret the geologic time scale. Make sure you can complete the
homework sheet!