Grade 8 · Science · Unit 8 of 8
Inside Earth
Layers, plates, earthquakes and volcanoes
What your child practises
The layers of Earth, where Earth's heat comes from, how tectonic plates move, and why earthquakes, volcanoes and mountains form where they do.
Manitoba Curriculum learning outcome: SCI.8.E.10, SCI.8.E.11, SCI.8.E.12 · the structure of Earth, its internal heat and tectonic activity
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Who proposed continental drift in 1912?
- Isaac Newton
- Alfred Wegener
- Albert Einstein
Show answer
Alfred Wegener
Hint: Wegener noticed that continents seem to fit together.
Question 2
Most earthquakes happen…
- in the middle of every plate
- only in summer
- along faults near plate boundaries
- only in the ocean
Show answer
along faults near plate boundaries
Hint: Stress builds up and releases suddenly.
Question 3
Tectonic plates are…
- moving clouds
- layers of the ocean
- parts of the Sun
- large pieces of Earth's crust and upper mantle
Show answer
large pieces of Earth's crust and upper mantle
Hint: They slowly move on the mantle.
Question 4
Magma that flows out onto Earth's surface is called…
- ash
- lava
- magma chamber
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lava
Hint: Magma becomes lava when it erupts.
Question 5
Which layer of Earth is the thickest?
- the crust
- the mantle
- the outer core
Show answer
the mantle
Hint: The mantle makes up most of Earth's volume.
Question 6
Why are the crust and upper mantle together described as rigid plates?
- they are made of water
- they float on air
- they are cool, solid rock that rides on softer mantle below
- they are hotter than the core
Show answer
they are cool, solid rock that rides on softer mantle below
Hint: Below the plates the rock flows slowly.