Lesson 6.

4: True or False
Name___________________ Class______________ Date________

Write true if the statement is true or false if the statement is false.

_____ 1. The locations of earthquakes have been used to identify plate boundaries.

_____ 2. The movement of Earth’s plates is called plate tectonics.

_____ 3. The lithosphere is divided into just three major plates.

_____ 4. Most geologic activity takes place far from plate boundaries.

_____ 5. Mid-ocean ridges occur at convergent plate boundaries.

_____ 6. Many volcanoes occur along subduction zones.

_____ 7. The tallest mountains in the world formed at a transform plate boundary.

_____ 8. Geologic features called faults occur at divergent plate boundaries.

_____ 9. Scientists think that Pangaea was the first supercontinent.

_____ 10. The Aleutian Islands formed at a plate boundary.

Lesson 6.4: Critical Reading

Name___________________ Class______________ Date________

Read this passage based on the text and answer the questions that follow.

Hot Spots

Most geologic activity takes place at tectonic plate boundaries. But some activity does not.
Instead, it occurs within plates. This is called intraplate activity. Much intraplate activity is found
at hot spots. A hot spot is a fixed location where magma rises up through the crust.

As an oceanic plate moves over a hot spot, it forms a chain of volcanoes. If the volcanoes are
large enough, they form a chain of volcanic islands. This is how the Hawaiian Islands formed.
Why does a chain of volcanic islands—rather than just a single volcanic island—form over a hot
spot? At a hot spot, magma erupts through the plate, forming a volcanic island. Because the plate
is moving, the volcanic island gradually moves away from the hotspot. Then magma erupts at the
hot spot again, forming a new volcanic island. As the plate continues to move over the hot spot, a
chain of volcanic islands forms. The youngest island in the chain is closest to the hot spot, and
the oldest island is farthest from the hot spot.
Hot spots are also found under continental plates. However, it is more difficult for magma to rise
up through the much thicker crust of a continent. Therefore, hot spot volcanic eruptions are less
common in continental than oceanic crust. An exception is the Yellowstone hot spot. In the past,
this very active hot spot produced enormous volcanic eruptions. Now it causes the region’s
famous hot geysers, including the geyser named “Old Faithful.”

Questions

1. What are hot spots?

2. Explain how a hot spot forms a chain of volcanic islands.

3. Why are hot spot volcanoes less common in continental than oceanic plates.

Lesson 6.4: Multiple Choice

Name___________________ Class______________ Date________

Circle the letter of the correct choice.

1. Plate tectonics helps to explain

a. how mountains form.

b. where new seafloor is created.

c. why earthquakes occur where they do.

d. all of the above

2. The Pacific Ring of Fire is a ring around the Pacific ocean where

a. volcanoes are common.

b. tectonic plates interact.

c. many hot spots occur.

d. two of the above

3. Plates move over Earth’s surface at a rate of

a. 100 kilometers per year.

b. a few kilometers per year.

c. a few centimeters per year.

d. a couple of millimeters per year.

4. Plates move over Earth’s surface because of

 a. conduction within the crust.

b. subduction in the outer core.

c. radiation from the inner core.

d. convection within the mantle.

5. Magma from the mantle rises up through Earth’s crust at

a. deep-sea trenches.

b. mid-ocean ridges.

c. hot spots.

d. all of the above

6. The edge of a plate sinks into the mantle

a. where two plates diverge.

b. at a subduction zone.

c. at a transform boundary.

d. none of the above

7. Continental plates do not subduct because they

a. are very thick and low in density.

b. do not collide with other plates.

c. have only intraplate activity.

d. two of the above

Lesson 6.4: Matching

Name___________________ Class______________ Date________

Match each definition with the correct term.

Definitions

_____ 1. where two plates slide past each other in opposite directions

_____ 2. fixed place under a plate where magma rises and may create volcanoes

_____ 3. where two plates move away from each other

_____ 4. process in which an oceanic plate sinks beneath another plate

_____ 5. slab of lithosphere that can move on the planet’s surface

_____ 6. where two plates move toward each other

_____ 7. divergent plate boundary that occurs within a continent

Terms

a. tectonic plate

b. divergent plate boundary

c. continental rift

d. convergent plate boundary

e. hot spot

f. transform plate boundary

g. subduction

Lesson 6.4: Fill in the Blank

Name___________________ Class______________ Date________

Fill in the blank with the appropriate term.

1. Earth’s lithospheric plates interact at __________.

2. A rift valley forms at a(n) __________ plate boundary.

3. Subduction occurs at a(n) __________ plate boundary.

4. The Himalayan Mountains formed where two continental plates __________.

5. Crust is neither created nor destroyed at a(n) __________ plate boundary.

6. A volcanic mountain range that forms where oceanic crust collides with a continent is
called a(n) __________.

7. The San Andreas fault in California occurs at a(n) __________ plate boundary.

Lesson 6.4: Critical Writing

Name___________________ Class______________ Date________

Thoroughly answer the question below. Use appropriate academic vocabulary and clear and
complete sentences.

Compare and contrast convergent and divergent plate boundaries and the geologic activity
associated with them.