Lesson Y8-U01-L02

Tectonic Plates and How They Move Quiz: KS3 Geography, Unit 7

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson Y8-U01-L02, Tectonic Plates and How They Move: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 Geography (National Curriculum), Unit 7: Year 8: Restless Earth: Tectonic Hazards, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Roughly how many major tectonic plates are there?

    • About 3
    • About 150
    • About 50
    • About 15

  2. What name is given to the zone where two tectonic plates meet?

    • Plate boundary
    • Continental shelf
    • Tectonic fault line
    • Seismic trench

  3. About how fast do tectonic plates move each year?

    • About 20 to 50 metres
    • About 2 to 5 metres
    • About 2 to 5 cm
    • About 2 to 5 kilometres

  4. What is molten rock located beneath the Earth's surface called?

    • Basalt
    • Magmatic ash
    • Lava
    • Magma

  5. Which Earth layer provides the heat that drives mantle convection currents?

    • The core
    • The ozone layer
    • The atmosphere
    • The crust

  6. Which layer do the Earth's tectonic plates float and move upon?

    • The mantle
    • The inner core
    • The outer core
    • The atmosphere

  7. Which country sits on the Eurasian Plate?

    • Chile
    • Brazil
    • The UK
    • Nigeria

  8. Which major tectonic plate underlies most of the African continent?

    • Eurasian Plate
    • Antarctic Plate
    • Indo-Australian Plate
    • African Plate

  9. If plates move 3 cm each year, about how far do they move in 100 years?

    • 30 metres
    • 300 metres
    • 30 centimetres
    • 3 metres

  10. Two plates are moving apart at a boundary, with magma rising into the gap. Which type of boundary is this?

    • Constructive
    • Destructive
    • Conservative
    • Dormant

  11. What forms where two tectonic plates push directly towards each other?

    • Conservative boundary
    • Constructive boundary
    • Transform fault
    • Destructive boundary

  12. Two plates slide past each other without any crust being made or destroyed. Which boundary type is this?

    • Hot spot
    • Constructive
    • Conservative
    • Destructive

  13. What is the primary driving force behind the movement of tectonic plates?

    • Mantle convection currents
    • Strong wind patterns
    • Ocean surface waves
    • Earth's daily rotation

  14. Why do tectonic plate boundaries fail to align with national borders?

    • Fixed by climate zones
    • Set by ancient treaties
    • Drawn by cartographers
    • Driven by natural geology

  15. Where new crust is formed, what type of plate boundary is involved?

    • Constructive boundary
    • Collision boundary
    • Conservative boundary
    • Destructive boundary

  16. Why do the shapes of the continents appear to fit together?

    • Continental drift
    • Tidal forces
    • Sea level change
    • Global cooling

  17. What forms when a subducting plate melts at a destructive boundary?

    • Sediment
    • Limestone
    • Magma
    • Saltwater

  18. How do tectonic plates move at a constructive boundary?

    • Sideways
    • Apart
    • Upwards
    • Together

  19. What is the typical annual rate of tectonic plate movement?

    • 20 to 50 cm
    • 2 to 5 cm
    • 2 to 5 km
    • 2 to 5 m

  20. Which process in the mantle drives the movement of tectonic plates?

    • Ocean currents
    • Magnetic fields
    • Solar radiation
    • Convection currents

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