Lesson 3.1.5.2

3.1.5.2 Plate tectonics Quiz: AQA Geography, Unit 1

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 3.1.5.2, Plate tectonics: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Geography (7037), Unit 1: Physical geography, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Which process occurs at a destructive plate margin?

    • Subduction of one plate beneath another
    • Sea-floor spreading that creates new oceanic crust as magma rises and solidifies between two diverging plates
    • Upwelling magma that pushes the crust upward and forms a broad rift valley across a continental interior
    • Plates sliding horizontally past each other along a transform fault with no crust created or destroyed

  2. Which plate boundary is an example of a conservative margin?

    • Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the American and Eurasian plates are moving apart from each other slowly
    • Andes mountain range, where the Nazca plate subducts beneath the South American plate along the western coast
    • San Andreas Fault, California
    • Java Trench, where the Indo-Australian plate descends beneath the Eurasian plate at a steep angle

  3. Which force is slab pull?

    • Magma pushing plates apart from below at a mid-ocean ridge where new crust is being formed continuously
    • The weight of cold, dense subducting oceanic plate pulling the rest of the plate down into the mantle
    • Friction between the base of the plate and the underlying asthenosphere as the plate moves across the mantle
    • Heat from the Earth's core lifting continental crust upward over long periods, creating broad uplifted plateaus

  4. What is the main driver of convection currents in the mantle?

    • The rotation of the Earth on its axis, which drags the mantle around as the planet spins once each day
    • Wind blowing across the surface of the oceans, which transfers momentum into the upper layers of the Earth
    • Heat from the core and radioactive decay causing hot material to rise and cooler material to sink
    • The gravitational pull of the Moon, which stretches the crust and causes the mantle to flow towards it

  5. Sea-floor spreading creates new oceanic crust at which feature?

    • Abyssal plains, which are flat, sediment-covered areas of the deep ocean floor far from any plate boundary
    • Mid-ocean ridges
    • Fold mountain ranges, which form where two continental plates collide and crumple the crust together
    • Deep-sea trenches, which are the deepest parts of the ocean floor where one plate descends beneath another

  6. Hotspots such as Hawaii are best explained by:

    • Sea-floor spreading at a mid-ocean ridge, where magma erupts continuously along a line of volcanoes
    • Subduction of the Pacific plate beneath North America, which melts the overlying crust into magma
    • Collision between two continental plates, which thickens the crust and causes magma to rise through it
    • A magma plume rising from the mantle beneath a fixed point while the plate moves over it

  7. Island arcs such as Japan form at:

    • Conservative margins with transform faults, where plates slide past each other without any volcanic activity
    • Constructive margins at mid-ocean ridges, where new oceanic crust is formed and forced upward by magma
    • Destructive margins where oceanic crust subducts beneath another plate
    • Continental rift zones, where the crust is stretched and thinned as plates pull apart over millions of years

  8. Approximately how fast do tectonic plates typically move?

    • Several metres per day, which would make plate movement obvious to people living on the surface
    • A few centimetres per year
    • Several kilometres per year, which would reshape continents noticeably within a single human lifetime
    • Less than one millimetre per century, which is far too slow to produce any measurable change in the position of continents

  9. The Himalayas formed through which plate process?

    • Subduction of oceanic crust beneath a continent only, which builds volcanic arcs rather than fold mountains
    • Collision of two continental plates, producing fold mountains
    • Transform faulting along a conservative margin, where plates slide past each other with little crustal thickening
    • Sea-floor spreading at a mid-ocean ridge, which creates new oceanic crust rather than mountains on land

  10. The East African Rift Valley is best explained as:

    • A hotspot with no plate movement involved, formed by a rising mantle plume beneath a stationary plate
    • A destructive margin where one plate subducts beneath another and melts to produce volcanoes along the rift
    • A conservative margin where plates slide horizontally past each other along a long transform fault
    • A constructive or divergent margin where continental plates are pulling apart

  11. Which evidence best supports the theory of sea-floor spreading?

    • Uniform sediment thickness across all ocean floors, which shows that the seabed has remained undisturbed for long periods
    • Ocean floor rock that is oldest at the ridge and youngest at the margins, showing that crust forms at the ridge
    • Magnetic stripes that are symmetrical either side of mid-ocean ridges
    • Ocean trenches located only along mid-ocean ridges, where the seabed is being pushed upward by magma

  12. Which layer of the Earth forms the rigid outer shell that makes up the tectonic plates?

    • Outer core, a layer of liquid iron and nickel that generates the Earth's magnetic field through convection
    • Asthenosphere, a partially molten layer beneath the plates that allows them to move slowly over its surface
    • Lithosphere
    • Inner core, a solid sphere of iron and nickel at the centre of the Earth under extreme pressure

  13. The asthenosphere is best described as:

    • A partially molten, weak and ductile layer beneath the lithosphere that allows plates to move
    • A liquid iron layer at the Earth's centre that generates the magnetic field through electric currents
    • A solid, rigid crust that forms the continents and the ocean floor and is broken into individual plates
    • A thin surface layer of sedimentary rock formed by the deposition of material eroded from mountain ranges

  14. When an oceanic plate meets a continental plate, which plate sinks?

    • The continental plate, because it is thicker and therefore heavier than the oceanic plate beneath it
    • Both plates sink equally at the margin, with neither plate being forced beneath the other at the boundary
    • Whichever plate is warmer at the time of the collision, since warm rock is more likely to be subducted
    • The oceanic plate, because it is denser than the continental plate

  15. A plate moves at 4 cm per year. Approximately how far does it move in 1 million years?

    • 4,000 km, which would be the distance moved if the plate were moving at 40 cm per year
    • 4 km, which would be the distance moved if the plate moved only once every hundred thousand years
    • 40 km
    • 400 km, which would be the distance moved if the plate were moving ten times faster than this

  16. Which evidence would indicate that a plate margin is destructive?

    • Mid-ocean ridges with rising magma that creates new oceanic crust and pushes plates apart from one another
    • Symmetrical magnetic stripes on the ocean floor, which show that new crust is being formed at a mid-ocean ridge
    • Parallel rift valleys across a continent, which show that the continental crust is being stretched and thinned
    • Earthquake foci that become deeper with distance inland beneath a volcanic arc

  17. Which margin type is associated with the formation of young fold mountains such as the Andes?

    • Destructive margin
    • Constructive margin, where new crust is formed and the plates move apart from one another over time
    • Conservative margin, where plates slide past one another and crust is neither created nor destroyed
    • Hotspot, where a mantle plume produces a chain of volcanic islands as the plate moves over it

  18. Which pairing of plate margin and associated hazard or landform is correct?

    • Destructive margin: volcanoes and earthquakes
    • Conservative margin: ocean ridges and volcanoes, which form when plates slide past each other at depth
    • Constructive margin: deep-sea trenches and tsunamis, which form when oceanic crust is pulled down into the mantle
    • Destructive margin: rift valleys and lava plateaus, which form when continental crust is stretched and split apart

  19. Why do destructive margins with oceanic-continental subduction often produce explosive volcanoes?

    • Water released from the subducting plate lowers the mantle melting point, producing viscous, gas-rich magma
    • Sea-floor spreading injects magma directly into the continental crust above the subduction zone, causing rapid eruptions
    • Continental crust is hotter than oceanic crust, so magma rises more rapidly through it and erupts with great force
    • Plates grinding together create friction that melts the surrounding rock directly, producing a thin, runny lava

  20. Which of these best describes a constructive plate margin?

    • Plates slide past each other horizontally without any volcanic activity or creation of new crust
    • Plates move together and one plate is forced beneath the other, where it melts and is destroyed in the mantle
    • Plates move apart and new crust forms as magma rises to fill the gap
    • Plates collide and the crust is thickened into fold mountains that gradually rise above the surrounding land

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