Question 1

The Pacific "ring of fire" refers to the________ .

Accepted Answer

The Pacific "ring of fire" refers to the chain of volcanoes and seismic activity surrounding the Pacific Ocean, primarily due to tectonic plate boundaries and subduction zones.

Question 2

Which of the following is closely associated with the large system of ridges on the ocean floors?

Accepted Answer

The large system of ridges on the ocean floors is associated with rift zones, upwelling of magma, and seafloor spreading, as these processes contribute to the formation and expansion of oceanic ridges.

Question 3

Similar in nature to a batholith but much smaller in size is a -________.

Accepted Answer

A stock is similar to a batholith but smaller in size, both being large, intrusive igneous rock bodies.

Question 4

A ___________ is another name for a volcanic mudflow.

Accepted Answer

A lahar is a volcanic mudflow that is composed of a mixture of water, ash, and rock fragments.

Question 5

The Appalachian Mountains are famous for their _________ structure.

Accepted Answer

The Appalachian Mountains are known for their ridge and valley structure, characterized by a series of parallel ridges and valleys formed by folding and erosion.

Question 6

The state having the greatest extent of flood basalts is_________ .

Accepted Answer

Washington is home to the Columbia River Basalt Group, which is one of the largest flood basalt provinces in the world.

Question 7

Which of the following is NOT a landscape caused by faulting?

Accepted Answer

Crater Lake, Oregon, is a caldera formed by volcanic activity, not by faulting.

Question 8

Which of the following is one of the reasons scientists strongly believe in plate tectonics?

Accepted Answer

Plate tectonics is a comprehensive theory that explains the formation of midoceanic ridges, oceanic trenches, earthquake zones, and volcanic zones, making it a unifying explanation for these geological phenomena.

Question 9

Where UNDER the surface of the Earth would one expect a convection current directed towards the surface?

Accepted Answer

Convection currents directed towards the surface are typically found under midocean ridges, where upwelling of mantle material occurs, leading to seafloor spreading.

Question 10

What is the term for a piece of crust which has been in a collision along a convergent crustal boundary and become accreted to another crustal plate?

Accepted Answer

A terrane is a fragment of crustal material formed on, or broken off from, one tectonic plate and accreted or sutured to crust lying on another plate.

Question 11

Where is one plate being subducted under another plate?

Accepted Answer

The Aleutian Trench is a subduction zone where the Pacific Plate is being subducted under the North American Plate.

Question 12

Crustal plates are on the order of ____________ kilometer(s) thick.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Crustal plates are on the order of...

Question 13

The_________ is an igneous intrusion which has a surface area of at least 100 square kilometers.

Accepted Answer

A batholith is a large igneous intrusion with a surface area of at least 100 square kilometers.

Question 14

Which of the following is most closely associated with a mantle plume?

Accepted Answer

The Hawaiian Islands are formed by volcanic activity associated with a mantle plume, which is a column of hot rock rising through the mantle.

Question 15

Which of the following numbers is CLOSEST to the number of active volcanoes on Earth?

Accepted Answer

There are approximately 1,500 active volcanoes on Earth, but around 550 of them are considered to be erupting or potentially active at any given time.

Question 16

An uplift of a block of land between two parallel faults is a _______.

Accepted Answer

An uplift of a block of land between two parallel faults is called a horst.

Question 17

The mechanism of formation of the Hawaiian Islands is directly responsible for the _______island being the youngest and having current volcanic activity.

Accepted Answer

The Hawaiian Islands are formed by a volcanic hotspot in the Pacific Plate. As the plate moves northwest, new islands form over the hotspot. Therefore, the southeastern-most island, which is currently over the hotspot, is the youngest and has active volcanic activity.

Question 18

Since the 1960s, the cause of plate tectonics has been identified to be________ .

Accepted Answer

Convection currents in the Earth's mantle are responsible for the movement of tectonic plates, which is the primary cause of plate tectonics.

Question 19

The world system of interconnected ocean bottom ridges comes to a total of about _________kilometers.

Accepted Answer

The interconnected ocean bottom ridges, also known as the mid-ocean ridge system, extend for about 60,000 kilometers across the globe.

Question 20

Relatively cooler magma in an erupting volcano is apparently the result of________ .

Accepted Answer

Silica content affects the viscosity and temperature of magma. High silica content results in cooler, more viscous magma.

Quiz 14: The Internal Processes