Name: __________________________

Block: ___________________

Science 10 Midterm
Plate Tectonics
IB
Lev
el
8

IB Descriptors

What do I have to do?

(from subject guide)

i.
ii.
iii.

describe scientific knowledge

apply scientific knowledge and understanding to solve
problems set in familiar and unfamiliar situations
analyze information to make scientifically supported
judgments.

i.
ii.
iii.

outline scientific knowledge

apply scientific knowledge and understanding to solve
problems set in familiar situations and suggest
solutions to problems set in unfamiliar situations
interpret information to make scientifically supported
judgments.

Level 1-4 plus:

- give correct, longer-answered
(explained) answers, showing
understanding, not just memory.
- Solve problems that you may have
experienced before (or similar).

5
4

- Apply your knowledge to solving

problems in a new context.
- Analyze and evaluate information
presented to you, supporting your
answers with scientific knowledge and
judgment

7
6

Levels 1-6 plus:

i.
ii.
iii.

state scientific knowledge

apply scientific knowledge and understanding to solve
problems set in familiar situations
apply information to make scientifically supported
judgments.

Level 1-2 plus:

- give correct, longer-answered
(explained) answers, showing
understanding, not just memory.
- Solve problems that you may have
experienced before (or similar).

i.
ii.

1
iii.

recall scientific knowledge

apply scientific knowledge and understanding to
suggest solutions to problems set in familiar
situations
apply information to make judgments.

. Correctly answer simple vocab, multichoice or labeling questions.

Has not achieved the above criteria

Forget everything youve studied

POST-TEST REFLECTION

How long did I spend preparing for this

test?

What revision techniques did I use in my

study?

Which question(s) did I find the most

challenging? Why?

Did I make any silly mistakes in this test?

Where? Why? How can I prevent this
happening again?

Given the same questions again, could I

improve my score? How would I do this?

What will I remember for future unit tests/

exams?

Knowledge: Can you explain your scientific knowledge?

Recall

Level 1/2

i.

Correc
t
Letter

1. What evidence was not used by Alfred Wegener to design his

continental drift theory?
A. the jigsaw puzzle fit of the continents

Outline

Level 3/4

Use the diagram below to answer the following question.

7.

For each process listed in the table, give the letter of the location shown on the
diagram and a brief description of the process.

Process

Location

Description

Convection

Slab pull

Level 5/6

Describe

Level 7/8

Explain

Ridge push

Level 5/6

rUnfamilia
Situations Situations
Familiar Familiar
r Unfamilia

Level 3/4 Level 1/2

9. The ages of seafloor rocks and sediments show a regular pattern around a
spreading ridge. Describe the pattern and how this provides evidence for
plate tectonics.
Problem Solving: Can you apply scientific understanding

Level 7/8

ii.

8. Compare and contrast the ground motion of a P-wave and an S-wave

Corr
ect
lette
r

10.What piece of evidence is the best clue to suggest Antarctica was once
located closer to the equator than it is now?
A. its shape
B. Its average temperature is warmer in December than July.
Use the following diagram to answer question 13.

15.The Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii is a research facility run by the U.S.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The graph below
shows the average change in apparent solar transmission (how much
sunlight can enter through our atmosphere) as measured at the Mauna Loa

17.The moon, though smaller than the earth, has a much thicker lithosphere:
the moons radius is only 1, 740 km, yet its lithosphere is about 1,000 km
thick. Would you expect plate-tectonic activity and subduction to occur on

iii.

Evaluating Evidence: Can you be given information and making scientifically

supported judgments?

Interpret

Level 1/2

Use the following to answer the next question

18.How far in kilometers does each of the following seismic waves travel in
8 min?
(a)
Wave

Distance travelled in 8 min

(i) P-wave

(ii) S-wave

(iii) L-wave

(b) Imagine a seismometer station 4000 km away from an earthquake epicentre.

and Interpret
Analyze

Level 5/6

Level 3/4

How long after the arrival of a P-wave would an S-wave arrive? __________

19.Convection cells in the asthenosphere may drive plate motion. Explain.

21.Compare what happens at a continent-continent convergent plate

boundary with what happens at a continent-ocean convergent plate
boundary. How does this help to account for the relative youth of the sea
floor? Use diagrams to help in your explanation

22.The data table below gives the ages of the Galapagos Islands chain of
hot spot volcanoes. Distances are measured from the youngest island,
South Plaza.

Island Name

South Plaza
Espanola
Santa Fe
San Cristobal
Balta
Darwin

Distance in kilometers
eastward from the
youngest island in the
west (Darwin Island)
550
402
330
277
190
0

Estimated Age in Millions

of years.

4.3
3.2
2.7
2.4
1.5
0.7

Evaluate Analyze and

Level 7/8

________________________________________

a. Plot the age of each island (x-axis) versus the distance (y-axis) for each
island. Connect the points with a line of best fit and title your graph.
b. What do you notice about the trend shown in your graph?

c. About what age would you expect an island to be if it were located 250 km
eastward of Darwin Island?

d. The Galapagos Islands were formed when the Nazca plate passed over a hot
spot. Magma broke through a weak part of the lithosphere, forming the
chain of islands. Calculate the average rate of plate movement in km/million
years by determining slope of the line. Show your work!