Grade 8 Plate Tectonics worksheet
from Gradelings · Name: ______________________
How to explain it
- Earth has a crust, mantle, outer core and a solid inner core of iron and nickel.
- Convergent boundaries collide, divergent ones pull apart, transform ones slide past each other.
- In an earthquake: drop, cover and hold on. Near the coast, go to high ground after strong shaking.
Example: Two plates pull apart and new crust forms. Which type of boundary is this? “Diverge” means to move apart. Answer: divergent
Question 1
What happens at a subduction zone?
- A plate melts above ground.
- Two plates slide sideways.
- Two plates move apart.
- One plate slides beneath another into the mantle.
One plate slides beneath another into the mantle.
Hint: Denser oceanic crust usually sinks beneath lighter continental crust.
Question 2
Tectonic plates move because…
- rivers carry them
- heat inside the Earth drives slow movements in the mantle
- the Moon pulls them
- winds push them
heat inside the Earth drives slow movements in the mantle
Hint: Convection in the hot mantle drags and pushes the plates, a few centimetres per year.
Question 3
Which type of plate boundary is it? Sort each description.
Sort into: ↔️ Divergent · ➡️⬅️ Convergent · ↕️ Transform
- 🌊new crust forms at a mid-ocean ridge
- 🏔️two continents collide to build mountains
- 🏜️plates pull apart in a rift valley
- ⚡plates grind sideways past each other
- 🌉the San Andreas Fault
- 🌋an oceanic plate sinks under a continent
↔️ Divergent: new crust forms at a mid-ocean ridge, plates pull apart in a rift valley · ➡️⬅️ Convergent: two continents collide to build mountains, an oceanic plate sinks under a continent · ↕️ Transform: plates grind sideways past each other, the San Andreas Fault
Hint: Divergent boundaries pull apart (new crust). Convergent boundaries push together (mountains, subduction). Transform boundaries slide past each other.
Question 4
Where plates slide past each other sideways, the boundary is called…
- convergent
- divergent
- transform
- subduction
transform
Hint: The San Andreas Fault in California is a transform boundary.
Question 5
Which kind of crust is denser?
- Continental crust
- It depends on the season
- Oceanic crust
- Both are exactly the same
Oceanic crust
Hint: Because it is denser, oceanic crust usually sinks under continental crust.
Question 6
The Queen Charlotte Fault off Haida Gwaii is a boundary where plates…
- slide sideways past each other
- sink into the core
- pull apart to make a new ocean
- collide to make a mountain range
slide sideways past each other
Hint: It is a transform boundary between the Pacific and North American plates.
Question 7
Mid-ocean ridges are found at…
- hot spots only
- convergent boundaries
- divergent boundaries
- transform boundaries
divergent boundaries
Hint: New oceanic crust forms where plates pull apart.
Question 8
About how fast do tectonic plates move?
- a few metres a day
- a few kilometres an hour
- they don't move
- a few centimetres a year
a few centimetres a year
Hint: Plates move about as fast as fingernails grow.
Question 9
What is at the very centre of the Earth?
- a lake of water
- a solid inner core of iron and nickel
- a layer of sand
- a hollow space
a solid inner core of iron and nickel
Hint: The inner core is extremely hot, but the pressure keeps it solid.
Question 10
Where plates push toward each other, the boundary is called…
- stable
- divergent
- convergent
- transform
convergent
Hint: Convergent boundaries are collisions. Divergent boundaries pull apart.
Answer key
- 1. One plate slides beneath another into the mantle.
- 2. heat inside the Earth drives slow movements in the mantle
- 3. ↔️ Divergent: new crust forms at a mid-ocean ridge, plates pull apart in a rift valley · ➡️⬅️ Convergent: two continents collide to build mountains, an oceanic plate sinks under a continent · ↕️ Transform: plates grind sideways past each other, the San Andreas Fault
- 4. transform
- 5. Oceanic crust
- 6. slide sideways past each other
- 7. divergent boundaries
- 8. a few centimetres a year
- 9. a solid inner core of iron and nickel
- 10. convergent
Want more than 10 questions?
In Gradelings the questions change every time and adjust to your child, with hints and kind feedback.