Q.1
Which of the layers of the Earth is the hottest?
  • Core
  • Mantle
  • Crust
  • Atmosphere
Q.2
What is thought to cause the plates to move around?
  • The spinning of the Earth
  • The Earth orbiting the Sun
  • Convection currents in the mantle
  • The Earth is shrinking
Q.3
When seen in cross section, the core accounts for about how much of the Earth?
  • 20%
  • 33%
  • Just under a half
  • Just over a half
Q.4
Alfred Wegener suggested that the continents moved around on the surface of the Earth. Which of the following is one of the observations he used?
  • The same types of fossilised plants and animals are found in South America and Africa
  • Madagascar fits the east coast of Africa
  • Africa and South America fit together like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle
  • Matching rock formations and mountain chains are found in South America and Africa
Q.5
Wegener put forward his theory early in the twentieth century but scientists at the time refused to accept his idea until the 1960s. Why?
  • He was not a geologist
  • His ideas contradicted what the experts of the time believed
  • He could not explain how it occured
  • All of the above
Q.6
Wegener used the similarities between fossil animals and plants as evidence for his theory. How did his critics explain it?
  • They were accidentally transported round the world on ships
  • The animals swam and plant seeds were blown on the wind
  • There were once land bridges linking the continents
  • It was a mistake and the fossil animals and plants were not actually the same
Q.7
What was the main piece of evidence that convinced scientists that continental drift was right?
  • They discovered that the land bridges didn't exist
  • They measured the distance between America and Britain and found it was further than the last time they measured
  • They used sensitive equipment buried in the ground to observe the movement of the plates
  • Evidence from magnetism in the ocean floor showed that the seafloors were spreading by a few centimetres each year
Q.8
Read the following passage. Choose the answer that has the missing words in the correct order. Where the _______ meet, the Earth's crust becomes unstable as the plates push against each other, or ride under or over each other. __________ and volcanic eruptions happen at the _________ between plates, and the crust may ‘crumple’ to form __________ ranges.
  • segments, volcanoes, centre, mountain
  • boundaries , mountain, plates, earthquakes
  • plates, earthquakes, boundaries , mountain
  • mountains, volcanoes, plates, segments
Q.9
Why is it so difficult to predict when, where and how strong an Earthquake will be?
  • Because the Earth rotates
  • Because convection currents in the mantle happen at random times
  • Because seismometers aren't sensitive enough
  • Because the plates don't move smoothly
Q.10
Why do major earthquakes and volcanoes occur in very narrow and well defined areas?
  • They only occur at plate boundaries
  • They only occur near the centre of plates
  • They only occur where you find certain types of rock
  • They only occur where mountains meet the sea
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