Download Physical Geography Chapter 12 Learning Objectives and Study

Physical Geography
Chapter 12 Learning Objectives and Study Questions
1. Differentiate among Earth’s major parts (core, mantle, continental crust, and oceanic crust)
in terms of location, density, and composition.
2. Describe how Earth’s lithosphere differs from its asthenosphere in terms of composition,
temperature, and strength (rigidity).
3. Briefly describe the key events that occurred in Earth’s history 4560 million years ago and
540 million years ago.
4. Differentiate among divergent, convergent, and shear boundaries and briefly describe the
processes occurring at each.
5. Briefly describe how Earth’s three major types of plate boundaries differ in terms of the
pattern of seismicity and volcanic activity occurring along them.
1. Together, Earth’s crust and the upper rigid part of its mantle comprise the _____.
A. asthenosphere
B. hydrosphere
C. lithosphere
D. mesosphere
E. geosphere
2. Earth’s density, magnetic field, and the compositions of some meteorites suggest the
planet’s core consists primarily of _____.
A. granite
B. basalt
C. peridotite
D. iron-nickel alloy
E. liquid metallic hydrogen
3. Although there are no rocks this old on Earth, radiometric dating of meteorites suggests
Earth formed about ____ ago.
A. 65 million
B. 250 million
C. 540 million
D. 4.6 billion
E. 13.7 billion
4. Mid-ocean ridges, marked by shallow earthquakes, normal faults, and eruptions of basalt
along the ridge axis, are _____ plate boundaries.
A. divergent
B. convergent
C. insurgent
D. resurgent
E. shear
5. Collisional mountain belts, marked by shallow earthquakes and high topography, are
examples of _____ plate boundaries.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
divergent
convergent
insurgent
resurgent
shear
6. Seafloor faults that offset ocean ridges and are marked by shallow earthquakes and age
differences of the ocean crust on opposite sides are examples of _____ plate boundaries.
A. divergent
B. convergent
C. insurgent
D. resurgent
E. shear
7. Here in the Pacific Northwest, plate interactions define a _____.
A. mid-ocean ridge
B. continental rift zone
C. continent-continent collision
D. shear zone
E. subduction zone
8. Based on the offset of the channel of
Wallace Creek, the fault below has _____
displacement.
A. normal
B. reverse
C. right-lateral
D. left-lateral
E. Can’t tell
9. Numerical studies indicate that the
dominant force driving plate motion is due
to _____.
A. ridge push
B. trench pull
C. mantle convection
D. magnetic induction
E. lunar gravity
10. Earth’s last supercontinent, _____, was fully formed about 250 million years ago.
A. Gondwana
B. Rodinia
C. Atlantis
D. Pangaea
E. Laurasia