Earth’s structure & plate boundaries

1. Why are fossils almost always found in sedimentary rock rather than igneous rock: molten magma destroys organic remains, or sedimentary rock forms in volcanoes?

2. What instrument records the ground vibrations (seismic waves) produced by an earthquake: a seismometer or a barometer?

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

4. Which underwater mountain system runs down the centre of the Atlantic Ocean along a divergent boundary: the Mid-Atlantic Ridge or the Mariana Trench?

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

6. 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?

7. What do we call the rigid outer shell of Earth comprising the crust and uppermost solid mantle: the lithosphere or the stratosphere?

8. Which thick layer lies directly beneath Earth’s crust and makes up most of Earth’s volume: the mantle or the outer core?

9. When slow-cooling magma solidifies deep underground (such as granite), does it form large visible crystals or no crystals?

10. What is the thin, outermost rocky layer of the Earth called: the crust or the inner core?

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

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