Earth’s structure & plate boundaries

1. What ocean wave can be triggered when a powerful submarine earthquake vertically displaces the seafloor: a tsunami or a spring tide?

2. What do we call molten rock while it is still beneath Earth’s surface, before it erupts as lava: magma or shale?

3. What class of rock forms when molten magma or lava cools and solidifies (e.g. basalt and granite): igneous or sedimentary?

4. What process breaks rocks down in situ at Earth’s surface through rain, frost and plant roots before erosion transports the fragments: weathering or subduction?

5. Which two metallic elements make up most of Earth’s dense core: iron and nickel, or sodium and potassium?

6. What generates Earth’s global magnetic field (magnetosphere): convection of liquid metal in the outer core, or ocean tides?

7. What do we call the horseshoe-shaped belt around the Pacific Ocean where many earthquakes and volcanoes occur: the Ring of Fire or the Mid-Atlantic Ridge?

8. What is the point on Earth’s surface directly above the underground focus (hypocentre) of an earthquake called: the epicentre or the crater?

9. Which type of crust is denser and thinner, causing it to subduct beneath continental crust: oceanic crust or continental crust?

10. Which seismic body waves travel fastest through the Earth and can pass through both solids and liquids: P-waves (primary) or S-waves (secondary)?

11. What type of plate boundary occurs where two plates collide, forming fold mountains or subduction trenches: convergent or transform?

12. What class of rock forms from the compaction and cementation of deposited layers of sand, silt or shells (e.g. sandstone and limestone): sedimentary or metamorphic?