GEOG 1113L Lab 2: The Dynamic Planet Exam 2026 Questions and
Answers 100% PASS-GSU
1. Which layer of the Earth is primarily composed of liquid iron and nickel?
A. Crust
B. Inner Core
C. Mantle
D. Outer Core
Answer: D
Rationale: The Earth’s outer core is a fluid layer about 2,260 km thick, composed mostly of
iron and nickel that lies above Earth’s solid inner core and below its mantle.
2. What type of plate boundary is characterized by plates sliding past each other
horizontally?
A. Transform
B. Divergent
C. Convergent
D. Subduction
Answer: A
Rationale: At transform boundaries, tectonic plates slide past each other. The San Andreas
Fault is a famous example.
,3. The concept that the lithosphere is divided into several rigid sections is
known as:
A. Continental Drift
B. Plate Tectonics
C. Seafloor Spreading
D. Isostasy
Answer: B
Rationale: Plate tectonics is the scientific theory describing the large-scale motion of seven
large plates and the movements of a larger number of smaller plates of Earth’s lithosphere.
4. Which seismic wave travels the fastest and is the first to be recorded by a
seismograph?
A. P-wave
B. Love wave
C. Rayleigh wave
D. S-wave
Answer: A
Rationale: Primary (P) waves are longitudinal waves that travel fastest through the Earth
and are the first signals from an earthquake to arrive at a seismograph station.
5. What is the name of the process where one tectonic plate sinks beneath
another into the mantle?
A. Accretion
B. Rifting
C. Subduction
D. Convection
Answer: C
Rationale: Subduction occurs at convergent boundaries where a denser plate (usually
oceanic) sinks beneath a less dense plate.
, 6. New oceanic crust is created at which type of geological feature?
A. Mid-ocean ridges
B. Deep-sea trenches
C. Island arcs
D. Transform faults
Answer: A
Rationale: Mid-ocean ridges are divergent plate boundaries where magma rises from the
mantle to create new seafloor as the plates pull apart.
7. The San Andreas Fault in California is an example of which type of plate
boundary?
A. Convergent
B. Divergent
C. Transform
D. Continental Rift
Answer: C
Rationale: The San Andreas Fault is a transform boundary where the Pacific Plate and the
North American Plate slide past each other.
8. Which layer of Earth is the thinnest?
A. Crust
B. Mantle
C. Outer Core
D. Inner Core
Answer: A
Rationale: The crust is the outermost and thinnest layer of the Earth, ranging from about 5
km in the oceans to 70 km in mountain ranges.
Answers 100% PASS-GSU
1. Which layer of the Earth is primarily composed of liquid iron and nickel?
A. Crust
B. Inner Core
C. Mantle
D. Outer Core
Answer: D
Rationale: The Earth’s outer core is a fluid layer about 2,260 km thick, composed mostly of
iron and nickel that lies above Earth’s solid inner core and below its mantle.
2. What type of plate boundary is characterized by plates sliding past each other
horizontally?
A. Transform
B. Divergent
C. Convergent
D. Subduction
Answer: A
Rationale: At transform boundaries, tectonic plates slide past each other. The San Andreas
Fault is a famous example.
,3. The concept that the lithosphere is divided into several rigid sections is
known as:
A. Continental Drift
B. Plate Tectonics
C. Seafloor Spreading
D. Isostasy
Answer: B
Rationale: Plate tectonics is the scientific theory describing the large-scale motion of seven
large plates and the movements of a larger number of smaller plates of Earth’s lithosphere.
4. Which seismic wave travels the fastest and is the first to be recorded by a
seismograph?
A. P-wave
B. Love wave
C. Rayleigh wave
D. S-wave
Answer: A
Rationale: Primary (P) waves are longitudinal waves that travel fastest through the Earth
and are the first signals from an earthquake to arrive at a seismograph station.
5. What is the name of the process where one tectonic plate sinks beneath
another into the mantle?
A. Accretion
B. Rifting
C. Subduction
D. Convection
Answer: C
Rationale: Subduction occurs at convergent boundaries where a denser plate (usually
oceanic) sinks beneath a less dense plate.
, 6. New oceanic crust is created at which type of geological feature?
A. Mid-ocean ridges
B. Deep-sea trenches
C. Island arcs
D. Transform faults
Answer: A
Rationale: Mid-ocean ridges are divergent plate boundaries where magma rises from the
mantle to create new seafloor as the plates pull apart.
7. The San Andreas Fault in California is an example of which type of plate
boundary?
A. Convergent
B. Divergent
C. Transform
D. Continental Rift
Answer: C
Rationale: The San Andreas Fault is a transform boundary where the Pacific Plate and the
North American Plate slide past each other.
8. Which layer of Earth is the thinnest?
A. Crust
B. Mantle
C. Outer Core
D. Inner Core
Answer: A
Rationale: The crust is the outermost and thinnest layer of the Earth, ranging from about 5
km in the oceans to 70 km in mountain ranges.
