ACTUAL Exam Questions and CORRECT
Answers
What does the world look like in the Early Triassic? - CORRECT ANSWER - Almost all
continental crust is within Pangaea, single worldwide ocean, the huge continent causes heat to
build in the upper mantle, new convection cells develop to remove heat, Pangaea starts to
fracture
Rifting - CORRECT ANSWER - Tectonic plate is split, starts to pull apart
Where does rifting being? - CORRECT ANSWER - Center and continues north and
southward
What happens during rifting? - CORRECT ANSWER - Crust breaks into separate blocks
that tilt and slide past each other
Where do valleys form? - CORRECT ANSWER - Between blocks or on top of sinking
blocks
What is common in rift valleys? - CORRECT ANSWER - Large lakes and volcanic
activity
What is the world like during the early Jurassic? - CORRECT ANSWER - Ocean water
seeps into the rift, evaporates periodically, evaporites get deposited
What was the world like during the late Jurassic? - CORRECT ANSWER - North Atlantic
is widening (North America going west, Europe going east), Antarctica and Australia remain
together, India beginning to rift
, What was the world like during the early Cretaceous? - CORRECT ANSWER - North
American and Europe moving apart, Rifting moves south and South America and Africa
separate, India begins a rapid move to the north, Antarctica over the South pole
What was the world like during the end of the Cretaceous? - CORRECT ANSWER - India
and Australia heading north together, Antarctica stuck and south pole, North and South Atlantic
oceans getting bigger, Pacific shrinking, modern ocean basins are taking shape
What was the climate of the Early Triassic? - CORRECT ANSWER - Huge region of
hot/dry climate, strong monsoons around Tethys
What was the climate of the Late Cretaceous? - CORRECT ANSWER - Strong north-
south ocean circulation keeps global climate warm, seasonality is increasing
What was the Early Triassic sea levels like? - CORRECT ANSWER - Sea level changing
dramatically, starts low/ends high, only a few shallow regions
What was the Early Cretaceous sea levels like? - CORRECT ANSWER - Many new
MORs, Sea level rises and much of continental interiors flood
Chalk - CORRECT ANSWER - Shells of microplankton
What causes North America to move westward in the Early Jurassic? - CORRECT
ANSWER - Subduction zone
What happens to anything in the subduction zone? - CORRECT ANSWER - Collisions
Island Arcs - CORRECT ANSWER - Linear chains of volcanoes above a subduction zone
Exotic Terrains - CORRECT ANSWER - Fragments of continents, some very far travelled