Ten questions on the structure and history of the Earth, each linking a surface feature to the process behind it.
This quiz covers the physical planet: its internal layers, the rock types and what each one records, and the plate tectonics that ties earthquakes, volcanoes and mountain ranges into a single explanation. It also touches how geologists read the record, since fossils and rock layers are essentially a filing system. The explanations connect what is visible at the surface to what is happening far below, which is where most geological features actually originate.
Every question in this quiz is listed below with its correct answer and the reasoning behind it. Play first if you would rather not see the answers — or read through as a study sheet.
Play it insteadAnswer: D. The crust
Why: The crust is thin relative to the planet, only a few tens of kilometres deep. The lithosphere, often confused with it, includes the crust plus the rigid upper mantle.
Answer: A. Diamond
Why: Diamond sits at the top of the Mohs hardness scale. It is pure carbon, arranged in an exceptionally rigid crystal structure.
Answer: D. Cooled molten rock
Why: Igneous rock solidifies from magma or lava. Sedimentary rock forms from compressed particles, and metamorphic rock from existing rock altered by heat and pressure.
Answer: C. Sedimentary
Why: Sediment settles gently in layers, which can preserve remains. Igneous rock forms from molten material, which destroys anything organic.
Answer: A. Alfred Wegener
Why: Wegener proposed it in 1912 and was widely dismissed for lacking a mechanism. Seafloor spreading, described decades later, supplied the missing explanation.
Answer: A. A supercontinent
Why: Pangaea assembled most of the world's landmass into one continent around 300 million years ago. Its breakup produced the arrangement seen today.
Answer: D. Iron and nickel
Why: The core is largely iron with some nickel, liquid in its outer part and solid at the centre. Motion in the liquid outer core generates Earth's magnetic field.
Answer: D. About 70 per cent
Why: Oceans cover close to 71 per cent of the surface. Much of the seafloor remains less thoroughly mapped than the surface of Mars.
Answer: D. Geothermal heat
Why: Groundwater is heated by hot rock below until pressure forces it upward. They occur only where a specific plumbing arrangement and heat source coincide.
Answer: B. Hardness
Why: It ranks minerals by which can scratch which, from talc at 1 to diamond at 10. It is comparative rather than a measure of absolute strength.
Rocks, Plates & Deep Time has 10 questions and takes about 7 minutes to finish. It is rated Medium and sits in our Geology & Earth Science category.
Each of the 10 correct answers adds 10 XP, up to 100 XP for a clean run. Wrong answers cost you nothing, and your full question-by-question review is shown at the end.
Yes. All 10 questions carry a written explanation of why the correct answer is right, so the quiz works as a study sheet as well as a test.
Yes, as often as you like. The questions and the answer options are reshuffled on each run, and you can use Practice Mistakes afterwards to retry only the ones you missed. No account is needed to play.
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