Download pssa questions- plate tectonics and earthquakes

PSSA QUESTIONS- PLATE TECTONICS AND EARTHQUAKES
1. Alfred Wegener’s Theory of Continental Drift was not widely accepted because he
could not say what force(s) could be large enough to move continents. Current theoris
explain movement with
a. asteroids hitting the earth
b. hot spots forming on continents
c. magnetic reversals of the north and south poles
d. convection currents in the mantle
2. Identify the 2 types of Earth’s tectonic plates and what happens when they collide?
3. Glossopteris, a fossilized fern that grows in tropical climates, can be found in
Pennsylvania. Which of the following can be inferred about Pennsylvania’s past.
a. Pennsylvania was once located at a lower latitude.
b. Pennsylvania was farther away from the sun that it is today.
c. Pennsylvania was an island.
d. Pennsylvania was more geographically active than it is today.
4. Most scientists believe that Earth’s crust is composed of plates. There are 2 kinds of
crust. Oceanic crust is more dense, on average, than continental crust. Accordingly,
what would most likely happen if a plate of oceanic crust and a plate of continental crust
collided?
a. The oceanic crust would sink below the continental crust.
b. The oceanic crust would ride above the continental crust.
c. The continental crust would sink below the oceanic crust.
d. The continental crust would become thinner that the oceanic crust.