Geology and Plate Tectonics Quiz

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Questions and Answers

What technique do geologists use to determine if there has been active movement along faults?

Analyzing rock composition

Mapping ocean currents

Studying historical weather patterns

Repeatedly measuring distances between specific points (correct)

What is a marker rock used for in geological mapping?

To determine the age of the Earth

To study sedimentation rates

To analyze volcanic activity

To match rock formations across plate boundaries (correct)

What is the average rate of plate movement at the Arctic Ridge?

More than 15 cm/year

Less than 1 cm/year

About 10 cm/year

Less than 2.5 cm/year (correct)

What phenomenon allows scientists to calculate the rate of plate movement during a specific time span?

Magnetic polarity events recorded in ocean floor Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is a key assumption of the general theory of plate tectonics?

New oceanic crust is generated along active mid-oceanic ridges Signup and view all the answers

Which location has the fastest rate of plate movement?

East Pacific Rise Signup and view all the answers

What can measuring the distance between offset structures on a plate boundary indicate?

The average rate of plate motion Signup and view all the answers

What is one of the factors that affects the average rates of plate separations?

Duration of magnetic reversal events Signup and view all the answers

What is the term used to describe hotspots that occur over a single plate?

Intraplate setting Signup and view all the answers

Which volcanic eruption is responsible for the formation of the Deccan traps in India?

Reunion hotspot eruption Signup and view all the answers

What geological feature is characterized by the absence of earthquakes?

Aseismic ridges Signup and view all the answers

What is the age range of volcanic eruptions at the Kerguelen hotspot?

118-112 million years ago Signup and view all the answers

Which ridges are mentioned as present in the Bay of Bengal extending into the Indian Ocean?

Ninety Degree East and Eighty Five East ridges Signup and view all the answers

What differentiates hotspot volcanism from mid-oceanic ridges and island arc volcanism?

Relationship with plate boundaries Signup and view all the answers

What do hotspots help to analyze in the context of plate tectonics?

Finite plate motions Signup and view all the answers

Which geological formation is specifically associated with the long, linear elevations found in oceans?

Aseismic ridges Signup and view all the answers

What are aseismic ridges formed by?

Linear topographic ridges from plate movements Signup and view all the answers

Which theory explains the formation of many geotectonic features such as earthquakes and volcanoes?

Theory of plate tectonics Signup and view all the answers

What is a mantle plume primarily responsible for?

Movement of tectonic plates and volcanism Signup and view all the answers

What defines a triple junction in plate tectonics?

A location where three tectonic plates meet Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following features is NOT explained by the theory of plate tectonics?

Tsunamis Signup and view all the answers

How do mantle plumes contribute to seismic activities?

By creating tension in tectonic plates Signup and view all the answers

What characterizes the role of the lithosphere in plate tectonics?

It is a rigid layer that interacts with the asthenosphere. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following tectonic features is associated with plate boundaries?

Mid-ocean ridges Signup and view all the answers

What initiates the upward movement of magma in mantle plumes?

Increase in temperature in the lower mantle or at the core-mantle boundary Signup and view all the answers

What characterizes the head of a mantle plume?

A mushroom-shaped head Signup and view all the answers

What type of magma is primarily generated by rising mantle plume heads?

Basaltic magma Signup and view all the answers

How do mantle plumes affect the upper mantle's connective cell patterns?

They alter the connective cells pattern Signup and view all the answers

What defines the nature of hot spots?

They have independent motion and are stationary in position Signup and view all the answers

What phenomenon results from a continent passing over a hot spot?

Creation of a linear chain of volcanoes Signup and view all the answers

What defines the motion of transform faults?

Plates move parallel but at different rates Signup and view all the answers

What type of fault do transform faults represent?

Strike-slip faults Signup and view all the answers

What occurs at convergent plate boundaries?

Plates are pushed into the mantle. Signup and view all the answers

Which type of convergent boundary involves one oceanic plate subducting beneath another?

Oceanic-oceanic convergence Signup and view all the answers

What is a common geological feature associated with oceanic-continental convergence?

Oceanic trench Signup and view all the answers

What happens during continent-continent convergence?

Neither plate subducts; they form mountains. Signup and view all the answers

What defines the process occurring at divergent plate boundaries?

Plates are separated by rifts. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is NOT a type of convergent boundary?

Transform convergence Signup and view all the answers

What is often formed as a result of oceanic-continental convergence?

Oceanic trenches Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following statements about plate tectonics is true?

Divergent boundaries can create new crust. Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary location for the formation of new oceanic lithosphere?

At Mid-Ocean Ridges Signup and view all the answers

How does the age of oceanic lithosphere at the Mid-Ocean Ridges compare to that of continental lithosphere?

Oceanic lithosphere is younger than continental lithosphere Signup and view all the answers

What causes the symmetrical pattern of magnetic stripes along mid-ocean ridges?

The periodic change in Earth's magnetic polarity Signup and view all the answers

What geological phenomenon marks the initiation of a divergent plate boundary in continental regions?

Basaltic volcanic eruption Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary process that leads to the recycling of oceanic lithosphere?

Subduction zones Signup and view all the answers

What occurs to oceanic lithosphere as it moves away from an oceanic ridge?

It gradually cools and heat flow decreases Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary result of the stretching and thinning of continental crust during rifting?

Development of shallow-focus earthquakes Signup and view all the answers

What happens to lava that exudes at the Mid-Ocean Ridge axis?

It cools and becomes permanently magnetized Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Block 4: Plate Tectonics and Movements

This block covers the theory of plate tectonics and its application to continental drift, sea-floor spreading, and palaeomagnetism.
It details lithosphere and asthenosphere
Explores different types of plate movements
Discusses plate boundary processes (convergent, divergent, and transform).
Examines the movement of the Indian plate and its interaction with the Asian plate.
Highlights major tectonic features of Peninsular India (cratons, mobile belts, suture zones, and rifts).

Unit 14: Plate Tectonics

Introduces the theory of plate tectonics, outlining its development through continental drift, seafloor spreading, and paleomagnetism.
Defines lithosphere and asthenosphere.
Explains different types of plate movements (divergent, convergent, and transform).
Describes associated tectonic features and mechanisms of plate tectonics.

Unit 15: Plate Boundary Processes

This unit discusses different types of plate boundaries: convergent, divergent, and transform.
Examines processes at convergent boundaries (island arcs, volcanic arcs, trenches, marginal basins, and collision).
Details processes at divergent boundaries (ocean ridges, rift valleys, and magmatism).
Explores processes occurring along transform faults.
Explains ophiolites and their emplacements.

Unit 16: Movement of the Indian Plate

Details the separation of the Indian plate from Gondwana.
Describes the northward drift of the Indian plate.
Outlines the collision of the Indian plate with the Asian plate.
Discusses the geotectonic features of the Himalaya.
Examines the Indian Ocean features resulting from the plate's movement.

Unit 17: Major Tectonic Features of Peninsular India

Focuses on the Precambrian geotectonic features of Peninsular India.
Details cratons, mobile belts, suture zones, and rifts.
Provides geological time scales and correlates them with geological events.

Glossary

Provides definitions of key terms used throughout the block, including asthenosphere, basalt, Himalayan frontal thrust, hotspots, Indus-Tsangpo suture zone, lineament, lithosphere, lithospheric/tectonic plates or plates, main boundary thrust, main central thrust, mantle plume, microplate, neotectonics, ocean floor, ophiolites, peninsula, plate boundary/margin, plate tectonics, rift valley, suture zone, and triple junction.

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Description

Test your knowledge on geological techniques, plate movements, and key assumptions of plate tectonics. This quiz covers various aspects of geological mapping, hotspot phenomena, and volcanic activity. Explore how these concepts interconnect to shape our understanding of Earth's dynamic processes.