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S4 Geography: Plate Tectonics Practice Paper 1 (10 questions with answers)
S4 Geography: Plate Tectonics Practice Paper 1 (10 questions with answers)
Ten items to check the basics of Earth structure and the three plate margin types; name the plates and the direction of movement.
Direct answer Plates are fragments of the lithosphere driven by mantle convection; margins are divergent, convergent or transform.
01 Paper details (check answers afterwards)
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Questions | 10 items |
| Suggested time | 20 to 25 minutes |
| Difficulty mix | Foundation 3 · Intermediate 4 · Challenge 2 · Error redo 1 |
| Chapter | Chapter: S4 Geography: Plate Tectonics – Tutor Lesson Plan |
| Level | S4 (DSE Geography) |
02 Questions (10 items)
- FoundationWhich layer of the Earth is liquid?
- FoundationWhich two parts make up the lithosphere?
- FoundationThe Pacific Plate moves about 10 cm per year. How far does it move in 10 000 years?
- IntermediateEach side of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge spreads 2.5 cm per year. How much wider is the ocean floor after one million years?
- IntermediateWhy does an oceanic plate subduct beneath a continental plate?
- IntermediateThe Himalayas formed at which type of plate margin?
- IntermediateWhy does Iceland have both volcanoes and long fissures?
- ChallengeP-waves travel at 6 km/s in the crust. For an epicentral distance of 300 km, how long do they take?
- ChallengeHow do Hawaiian volcanoes differ from volcanoes at plate margins?
- Error redoA student wrote that all earthquakes happen at plate margins. What is wrong?
03 Answers and one-line notes
| # | Answer | One-line note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The outer core | S-waves cannot pass through liquid, and seismic records are the evidence that the outer core is fluid. |
| 2 | The crust and the uppermost mantle | The lithosphere rides on the weaker asthenosphere, and plates are fragments of it. |
| 3 | 1 km | 10 cm times 10 000 gives 100000 cm, which is 1 km. |
| 4 | 50 km | The two sides separate by 5 cm a year, so after one million years the gain is 5000000 cm, or 50 km. |
| 5 | The oceanic plate is thinner and denser, so it sinks beneath the other plate | Density is the key: older, colder plates are denser and subduct more readily. |
| 6 | A continental to continental collision zone | Two continental blocks are squeezed together and the crust thickens, so there is no subduction volcanism. |
| 7 | It lies where the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a divergent margin, rises above sea level | Magma rises to make new crust, so fissure eruptions and basaltic lava are typical. |
| 8 | 50 s | Time equals distance divided by speed: 300 divided by 6 gives 50 s. |
| 9 | They sit within a plate and are fed by a mantle plume, a hot spot | The hot spot stays put while the plate moves, leaving an age-progressive chain, which is evidence of plate motion. |
| 10 | Intra-plate earthquakes also occur, at hot spots and along reactivated old faults, though they are fewer | Margin earthquakes are the majority but not the whole, so the answer should say mainly, not all. |
04 What to do after marking
- After marking, redo only the wrong items and write down which step went wrong (formula, unit, or misread number).
- Repeat the same item two days later; move to the next paper only when both attempts are correct.
- Parents only need the answer and note columns; there is no need to explain every item.
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Questions and answers are written originally by the TutorZone team and are not taken from any school, publisher or examination authority paper. Every value is checked by computer.
