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SAGE Test Review: Lithosphere Section
1. A scientist has discovered a reliable what to predict earth quakes. What step should the scientist take
next?
a. Describe the evidence to other geologists to spread the news faster
b. Notify the media about the discovery so they can warn people
c. Educate communities in earthquake-prone areas about preparedness
d. Report to the scientific community so the results can be retested
2. What characteristics of the earth’s surface can be determined by using a topographic map?
a. Hill slope and stream gradients
b. Bedrock erosion and stream velocity
c. Hilltop elevations and bedrock age
d. Soil thickness and benchmark movement
3. Alfred Wegener proposed the idea of continental drift to explain which current theory?
a. Earth is many millions of years old
b. Planets in our solar system revolve around the sun
c. The universe began as a result of an enormous explosion called the big bang
d. All continents were once part of the same landmass
4. Which of the following is NOT evidence used to support the theory that the Earth’s continents were
once connected?
a. The continents can support animal life
b. Similar geological features are found on widely separated continents
c. The coastlines of some continents fit together like puzzle pieces
d. Similar fossils are found on widely separated continents
5. Use the diagram above to answer the question. If the crust that is white in the picture is basalt with
normal magnetic polarity, what does the crust that is colored black represent?
a. Igneous rock with normal magnetic polarity
b. Igneous rock with reversed magnetic polarity
c. Sedimentary rock with normal magnetic polarity
d. Sedimentary rock with reversed magnetic polarity
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6. Use the diagram below to answer the question. The geologic features on the ocean floor in the diagram
resulted from
a. Colliding plates
b. Sinking iron and magnesium
c. Cooler temperatures in the mantle
d. Diverging plates
7. Which diagram on the right represents how the mantle
convection currents are moving beneath two colliding
lithospheric plates?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
8. Which of the following are not caused by plate tectonics?
a. Convection currents
b. Earthquakes
c. Mountains
d. Volcanoes
9. Why are most volcanoes located along the Ring of Fire around the Pacific Ocean?
a. It is an area noted by one main type of magma
b. There are few subduction zones in this area
c. It is an area with many zones of convergence
d. It is an area with many zones of divergence
10. Use the diagram below to answer the question. Why are there more volcanoes where water meets land?
a. Wave action and tsunamis are present
b. The ocean plate is moving away from the land plate
c. The land plate is moving past the ocean plate
d. The ocean plate is colliding with the land plate
11. Which symbol on the map shows evidence of plate movements?
a. Hot spots
b. Active volcanoes
c. Plate boundaries
d. Triangles
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12. Why does molten rock in earth’s mantle rise to earth’s lithosphere in a convection current?
a. Molten rock is more dense than cooler, solid rock around it
b. Molten rock is less dense than cooler, solid rock around it
c. Molten rock is magnetically attracted to the solid rock around it
d. Molten rock is magnetically repelled by the solid rock around it
13. Use the diagram below to answer the question. What is the topographic feature at location A called?
a. Oceanic basin
b. Oceanic rift
c. Spreading center
d. Oceanic trench
14. A volcano in Hawaii erupted with a high temperature and an abundant flow made of basaltic lava. The
flow of lava traveled about 10 km before stopping. The structure of the volcano was broad and flat.
What type of volcano was this?
a. Cinder cone
b. Shield
c. Composite
d. Dome
15. If a tsunami develops during an underwater earthquake, what will most likely occur?
a. Deep-ocean sediments will travel great distances
b. No destruction will occur near the origin of the earthquake
c. The magnitude of the earthquake will determine the direction of the tsunami
d. Severe destruction will occur in some coastal areas
16. The study of how seismic waves change as they travel through earth has revealed that
a. P-waves travel more slowly than S-waves through earth’s crust
b. Seismic waves travel more slowly though the mantle because it is very dense
c. Earth’s outer core is liquid because S-waves are not transmitted through this layer
d. Earth’s outer core is solid because P-waves are not transmitted through this layer
17. Use the diagram below to answer the question. What type of mountain building is shown?
a. Oceanic-oceanic convergence
b. Oceanic-continental convergence
c. Continental-continental convergence
d. Divergence
18. Use the diagram to answer the question. Where
the oceanic plate is begin dragged below the
continental plate, the area is called
a. A deep ocean trench
b. A subduction zone
c. A mid-ocean ridge
d. A rift valley
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19. Evidence suggests that Earth is about 4.6 billion years old, even though no Earth rocks have been found
that can be dated at more than 4 billion years old. This discrepancy is most likely caused by earth’s
original crust being
a. Difficult to date so precisely
b. Subject to extensive erosion
c. Blasted away during earth’s formation
d. Destroyed by solar radiation
20. Which of the following provides evidence for plate tectonics?
a. Sea-floor topography
b. Ocean currents
c. Coriolis forces
d. Atmospheric temperatures
21. Which energy source is most likely to be abundant in California due to its position on a plate boundary?
a. Hydroelectric energy
b. Nuclear energy
c. Geothermal energy
d. Solar energy
22. Scientists have found fossils of tropical plants in Antarctica. How could tropical plants have grown in
Antarctica?
a. At one time, earth’s entire surface was a tropical rain forest
b. At one time, Antarctica was located closer to the equator
c. The rotation of earth has increased, causing cooling of the atmosphere
d. Catastrophic volcanic eruptions melted the ice and exposed the soil to sunlight
23. Scientists studying plate tectonics compiled the chart to the right showing
the distance that the North American continent moves from year to year.
Based on this information, how far will the continent have moved from
the first measurement in the year 2001?
a. 10.4 cm
b. 15.6 cm
c. 20.8 cm
d. 26.0 cm
Year
1998
1999
2000
2001
24. Which has been the greatest benefit of studying and measuring seismic waves?
a. Prevention of all earthquakes
b. Prediction of all earthquakes
c. Mapping of the earth’s internal structure
d. Understanding tsunamis
25. The Northridge, California, earthquake in 1994 caused this building to sink
then collapse. Which process was responsible for weakening the soil
underneath the building?
a. Sedimentation
b. Weathering
c. Seismosis
d. Liquefaction
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Distance moved
from first
measurement
5.2
10.4
15.6
?
26. Use the diagram to answer the question. The most likely cause of
volcanic activity on the island of Iceland is
a. The strength of the Atlantic Ocean’s currents
b. The pulling apart of the tectonic plates
c. The colliding of the tectonic plates
d. A hot spot under a tectonic plate
27. Four recent earthquakes in California were recorded with this
seismograph. Which of these earthquakes do you think most likely
caused the largest change to the landscape?
a. S
b. T
c. U
d. V
28. Determining how the sea floor changes over time give scientists clues about what?
a. The circulation of solar energy
b. The patterns of carbon movement around earth
c. The formation rate of the ocean crust
d. The impact of the atmosphere on ocean depth
29. How was Alfred Wegener’s theory accepted in 1912?
a. Very well, scientists saw how the continents could have fit together
b. Reasonably well, some scientists questioned the rock types
c. Poorly, most people thought that earthquake data was wrong
d. Not at all, there was no way to explain how a continent could move
30. Using the diagram below, which area is the least likely to have an earthquake?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
31. Use the diagram to answer the following question. At which number would you find the youngest
lithospheric crust?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
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32. The epicenter of an earthquake is
a. The earthquakes point of origin
b. The point where the strain in the ground is released
c. The place in the ground where a rift valley occurs
d. The point on earth’s surface directly above the point where the strain is released
33. Use the diagram to answer the question. Which is the order of volcanoes, from the youngest to the
oldest, which were formed by the motion of this tectonic plate?
a. Q,R,S,T
b. T,S,Q,R
c. Q,T,S,R
d. T,S,R,Q
34. The observed difference in density between oceanic crust and continental crust is most likely due to
differences in their
a. Thickness
b. Composition
c. Porosity
d. Rate of cooling
35. Below is a map of the major tectonic plates. Which way is the North American plate moving?
a. Northeast
b. Northwest
c. Southeast
d. Southwest
36. Based on the movement of the plates shown in the diagram, the Pacific plate is moving towards which
plate?
a. The Nazaca Plate
b. The South American Plate
c. The North American Plate
d. The Indo-Australian Plate
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