Grade 6 · Science

6th grade Moving plates, and the clues that they move worksheet

6 printable versionsBuilding Confidence10 questions · answer keyFree · no account

Level: Building Confidence · On Level · Challenge Me

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Moving plates, and the clues that they move

Grade 6 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.
Cross-section, not to scale. Ari's cross-section shows two plates with arrows pointing away from each other and magma rising between them. Which kind of boundary is it?
- No boundary; plates don't move
- Divergent: plates pull apart
- Convergent: plates push together
- Transform: plates slide past
2.
Seen from above, Kira's map shows two plates with arrows pointing in opposite directions along their shared edge. Which kind of boundary is it?
- Convergent: plates push together
- Transform: plates slide past each other
- No boundary; the ground is just cracked
- Divergent: plates pull apart
3.
The coasts of South America and Africa fit together like puzzle pieces. What does Jun conclude?
- Sea water carved them to match
- They are rushing toward each other right now
- It is just a coincidence
- They were once joined and have moved apart
4.
Fossils of the same ancient plant, Glossopteris, appear in South America, Africa, India, Antarctica and Australia. What does Milo conclude?
- Those lands were once joined together
- Each land grew it separately by chance
- Its seeds blew across the oceans
- Those lands are still joined today
5.
Noah reads the USGS page on plates. About how fast do plates move?
- A few kilometers a year
- They don't move
- A few centimeters a year
- A few meters a day
6.
USGS compares the speed of plates with something that grows on Pia's own hands. What is it?
- A car on a highway
- Nothing; plates are fixed
- Fingernails growing
- A snail crawling
7.
Ren wonders why nobody notices the continents moving. Which answer is right?
- They move just at night
- They don't move
- They move too fast to see
- They move just a few centimeters a year
8.
An ocean plate bending down under another plate, with the place where they meet unlabeled. Where an ocean plate sinks under another plate, what forms? Tala checks the cross-section.
- A lava ocean opening up
- A long sliding fault
- A tall ridge of brand-new seafloor rock
- A deep trench, with volcanoes nearby
9.
Cross-section, not to scale: two ocean plates moving apart, with magma rising between them under the sea floor. Where two ocean plates pull apart, what forms on the sea floor, according to Zee's book?
- A trench, where crust sinks
- A ridge, where magma makes new crust
- Tall mountains pushed up by crashing plates
- An open gap down to liquid lava
10.
Where two plates grind sideways past each other, what does Esme expect to find?
- A new ridge
- A deep trench
- Nothing, since plates are fixed
- Earthquakes along a long fault

6th grade Moving plates, and the clues that they move worksheet – printable — Print: 1 2 3 4 5 6

About this worksheet

Moving plates, and the clues that they move. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

I can name divergent, convergent and transform boundaries and what forms at each.
I can use fitted coasts, matching fossils and rocks, and seafloor ages as evidence that plates move.
I can work out how far plates move over time at a few centimeters a year.

Standard: MS-ESS2-3

Words to know

plate: A huge, rigid slab of the crust and upper mantle

divergent boundary: Where plates pull apart; ridges and rift valleys form

convergent boundary: Where plates push together; mountains, trenches and volcanoes form

transform boundary: Where plates slide past each other; faults and earthquakes

seafloor spreading: New ocean floor forming at a ridge and moving outward

Pangaea: The supercontinent that began to break up about 200 million years ago

Common mistakes

Your child mixed up the kinds of plate boundaries. Pull apart: ridges and rifts. Push together: mountains and trenches. Slide past: faults and earthquakes.

Your child thought the continents do not move. They move a few centimeters a year, which adds up over millions of years.

Your child pictured plates moving fast. They move only a few centimeters a year; big changes take millions of years.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with moving plates, and the clues that they move?

Your child mixed up the kinds of plate boundaries. Pull apart: ridges and rifts. Push together: mountains and trenches. Slide past: faults and earthquakes.

Are these 6th grade science worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

More grade 6 science

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