Chapter 8: The Dynamic Earth

1. Which impact of volcanic eruptions causes problems for society?

a. Red sunsets
b. Pollution of the atmosphere
c. Cyclones
d. Tsunamis
2. 225 million years ago, all continents were joined to form a super continent called:
a. Pangaea.
b. Gondwana.
c. Laurasia.
d. Tethys
3. Which of the following layers of the Earth is solid and comprised mostly of iron?
a. Crust
b. Mantle
c. Outer core
d. Inner core
4. Which of the following can be explained by the theory of plate tectonics?
a. The slow movement of the continents
b. The San Andreas fault
c. The growth of the Himalayas
d. All of the above
5. A subduction zone is formed when:
a. two plates slide past each other.
b. an oceanic plate slides under a continental plate.
c. two plates move apart from each other.
d. All of the above.
6. Which of the following events do not take place in the Earths crust?
a. Convection currents
b. Earthquakes
c. Faulting
d. Folding
7. The folding process is caused by:
a. the bending of rock as a result of forces beneath the surface.
b. a crack in rocks due to the forces beneath the surface.
c. the slipping of blocks of crust past each other.
d. the action of volcanoes and earthquakes.

Chapter 8: The dynamic Earth

A
B
C
D

8. Synclines and anticlines are examples of:

faults.
folds.
horsts.
ocean ridges.

A
B
C
D

9. What major continental event happened 65 million years ago?

Laurasia formed
Gondwana split from Laurasia
Australia separated from Antarctica
Gondwana began to break up

A
B
C
D

10. Select the true statement from the following.

Continental crust is thicker than oceanic crust.
Continental crust is denser than oceanic crust.
Subduction zones occur where two plates of continental crust collide.
Sliding plates occur along the west coast of South America.

A
B
C
D

11. Which of the following features of the Earth have been caused by folding?
The Grand Canyon
The Himalayas
The San Andreas Fault
Yorke Peninsula, South Australia

A
B
C
D

12. Basalt is:

an igneous rock formed from molten lava.
an igneous rock formed gradually under the ground.
a sedimentary rock formed as a result of pressure from rocks above.
a sedimentary rock formed from the remains of marine life.

A
B
C
D

13. A volcano is said to be extinct if it:

is erupting or may erupt at any time.
is not active, but may erupt again in the future.
has shown no sign of erupting for at least ten years.
has shown no signs of erupting for thousands of years.

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Chapter 8: The dynamic Earth

A
B
C
D

14. Which of the following statements is correct?

All volcanoes are found at the boundaries of tectonic plates.
Many volcanoes are found at the boundaries of tectonic plates.
Few volcanoes are found at the boundaries of tectonic plates.
No volcanoes are found at the boundaries of tectonic plates.
15. Which mountains in Queensland are examples of extinct volcanoes?

Cookie Mountains
16. What is a dormant volcano?
A volcano that has erupted recently, is not erupting now but it supposed to erupt later
17. An earthquake has occurred and two points are labelled in the diagram. Identify X and Y.

Y- focus
X- epicentre
18. What is lava and how is it different from magma?

19. State briefly (in a single sentence) what the theory of plate tectonics suggests about the Earths crust.
20. The diagram below illustrates a normal fault. Draw a diagram to illustrate a reverse fault.

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Chapter 8: The dynamic Earth

21. Use a diagram to show the difference between an anticline and a syncline.
22. Name two of the gases that emerge from volcanoes.

23. Complete the following sentence.

Mid-ocean ridges form when ............................. spews up to the surface between plates that
are.................................
24. Identify the two geological features labelled A and B

25. List four different impacts of earthquakes.

26. Complete the labelling to show the four layers of the Earth.

27. An earthquake registers 5.2 on the Richter scale. Describe the effects of such a quake.

28. The following diagram shows tsunami waves approaching the coast.

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Chapter 8: The dynamic Earth

(a) Identify the cause of the tsunami.

(b) Explain why the wave height gets greater near the shore.

29. List three major observations that provide evidence for the theory of plate tectonics.
30. The following map shows the location of volcanoes near Australia.

(a) Explain why the volcanoes are found in these locations.

(b) Explain why there are no active volcanoes in Australia.
31. Explain how convection currents and gravitational forces account for the movement of the Earths
plates.
32. Complete the following Richter scale table for earthquakes effects by inserting the correct
descriptions from the list below.
Great earthquake
Can be noticed by humans
Can be destructive over a 100 km wide area
Detectable by seismometer
Objects on shelves may rattle or fall down
Richter
magnitude
1.0
2.0
5.0
6.5
9.0

Description of effects

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Chapter 8: The dynamic Earth

33. Use the terms below to create an affinity diagram on the Earth's crust.
active
Himalayas
anticlines
hot spots
coal
minerals
continental drift
ocean ridges
crumpling
oils
dormant
ores
earthquakes
subduction
extinct
synclines

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