1. Describe how plant fossils found at Svalbard in Norway gave evidence of drifting continents.(1 point)ResponsesThey were found in glacial deposits.They were found in glacial deposits.They were found only in that one location.They were found only in that one location.They were warm climate plants that would not grow in a cold polar area.They were warm climate plants that would not grow in a cold polar area.They were plants that became extinct millions of years earlier.

Question

2. Geologists found fossils of similar marsupials from the same time period across South America, Africa, Antarctica, India and Australia. What theory is supported by this discovery?(1 point)
Responses The processes happening today are the same processes that have occurred in the past. The processes happening today are the same processes that have occurred in the past. A vast land bridge once connected those continents A vast land bridge once connected those continents. Those continents were once a part of one supercontinent.Those continents were once a part of one supercontinent.Early marsupials were strong swimmers.

3. How were the Himalayas formed?

(1 point)
Responses

due to a sudden shift along a transform boundary
due to a sudden shift along a transform boundary

when a mid-ocean ridge split apart
when a mid-ocean ridge split apart

due to an increase in volcanic activity
due to an increase in volcanic activity

when two plates collided with each other
when two plates collided with each other

4. Which statement describes a volcano that is classified as dormant?(1 point)
Responses

It is expected to erupt soon.
It is expected to erupt soon.

It has never erupted.
It has never erupted.

It is not expected to ever erupt again.
It is not expected to ever erupt again.

It has not erupted recently.

5. Identify the type of plate boundary that created the volcanoes of Iceland.(1 point)
Responses

a convergent boundary on land
a convergent boundary on land

a divergent boundary in the ocean
a divergent boundary in the ocean

a transverse boundary on land
a transverse boundary on land

a divergent boundary on land
a divergent boundary on land

6. Which statement about earthquakes is accurate? Select the two correct answers.(1 point)
Responses

A few hundred earthquakes per year are strong enough to be detected by instruments.
A few hundred earthquakes per year are strong enough to be detected by instruments.

About 100 earthquakes per year are strong enough to cause damage.
About 100 earthquakes per year are strong enough to cause damage.

Fewer than 100,000 earthquakes happen per year.
Fewer than 100,000 earthquakes happen per year.

More than 1 billion earthquakes happen per year.
More than 1 billion earthquakes happen per year.

Most earthquakes are not strong enough to be felt by humans.

7. What main process do all volcanoes have in common, regardless of the specific ways they form?(1 point)
Responses

rising magma
rising magma

plate subduction
plate subduction

hotspots
hotspots

plate divergence

8. Which features would you look for to classify a volcano? Select the three correct answers. (2 points)
Responses

height
height

steepness
steepness

color
color

type of lava
type of lava

presence of foliage
presence of foliage

age of rock

9. What will happen where two continental plates collide at a convergent boundary?(1 point)
Responses

One plate is subducted beneath the other.
One plate is subducted beneath the other.

The direction shifts and it becomes a transform boundary.
The direction shifts and it becomes a transform boundary.

The plates push up, forming a mountain range.
The plates push up, forming a mountain range.

A volcanic island arc is formed.

10. Which information is needed to construct a geomagnetic time scale? Select the two correct answers.(1 point)
Responses

the magnetic direction of rocks along the surface of Earth
the magnetic direction of rocks along the surface of Earth

the average speed of tectonic plates on Earth
the average speed of tectonic plates on Earth

the age of rocks along the surface of Earth
the age of rocks along the surface of Earth

the length of the mid-oceanic ridge

11. At which type of plate boundary would a string of small volcanic islands most likely form?(1 point)
Responses

convergent ocean-land boundary
convergent ocean-land boundary

divergent ocean-ocean boundary
divergent ocean-ocean boundary

transverse boundary
transverse boundary

convergent ocean-ocean boundary

12. In 3-5 sentences, describe how paleomagnetic evidence supports the theory that continents change position (drift) over time.(4 points)

13. Mountain chains in Northern Europe and West Africa match the Appalachian Mountains in terms of their ages and the sequences of rock layers that make them up. In 3–5 sentences, analyze these observations, and explain what conclusions can be drawn from them. (4 points)

14.In 3–5 sentences, identify and describe the fossil evidence Wegener used to support the theories of continental drift and plate tectonics.(4 points)

Answer 1

1. Response: They were warm climate plants that would not grow in a cold polar area.
   This suggests that Svalbard was once located in a much warmer climate, supporting the idea that continents have drifted over time.

2. Response: Those continents were once a part of one supercontinent.
   The discovery of similar marsupial fossils across these continents supports the idea that they were once connected, likely as part of Pangaea.

3. Response: When two plates collided with each other.
   The Himalayas were formed as a result of the collision between the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate.

4. Response: It has not erupted recently.
   A dormant volcano is one that has not erupted in a long time but is still capable of erupting again.

5. Response: A divergent boundary in the ocean.
   The volcanoes of Iceland are primarily formed along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the North American and Eurasian plates are diverging.

6. Response:

   • About 100 earthquakes per year are strong enough to cause damage.
   • Most earthquakes are not strong enough to be felt by humans.

7. Response: Rising magma.
   Regardless of how they form, all volcanoes share the common process of magma rising from beneath the Earth's crust.

8. Responses:

   • Height
   • Steepness
   • Type of lava

9. Response: The plates push up, forming a mountain range.
   When two continental plates collide, they can push against each other, resulting in the formation of mountains.

10. Responses:

    • The magnetic direction of rocks along the surface of Earth
    • The age of rocks along the surface of Earth

11. Response: Convergent ocean-ocean boundary.
    This type of boundary is where oceanic plates collide, often forming volcanic island arcs as a result.

12. Response: Paleomagnetic evidence supports the theory that continents change position over time by examining the magnetic orientation of rocks. As magma cools and solidifies, magnetic minerals within the rocks align with Earth's magnetic field. Through analysis, scientists can determine the historical magnetic orientations of rocks, which indicate how far continents have drifted from their original positions over geological time.

13. Response: The similarity in age and rock layer sequences between mountain chains in Northern Europe, West Africa, and the Appalachian Mountains suggests that these regions were once connected as part of a larger landmass. This evidence supports the idea that continental drift has occurred, which likely resulted from the breakup of a supercontinent. Such geological correspondence indicates a shared geological history and reinforces the theory of plate tectonics.

14. Response: Wegener used fossil evidence such as the Mesosaurus, a freshwater reptile whose fossils were found in both South America and Africa. This finding suggested these continents were once joined since a freshwater creature could not swim across the vast ocean. Additionally, fossils of the Glossopteris plant, found across several southern continents, also supported the idea that these landmasses were connected, enabling the spread of species before drifting apart.