Shaping of the Earth's Surface — Practice

Question 1

Name the three main layers of the Earth's interior.

Accepted Answer

✦ Answer: the crust, the mantle and the core.

Question 2

Give one example each of an endogenic and an exogenic force.

Accepted Answer

✦ Answer: endogenic — a volcano/earthquake (or folding); exogenic — weathering/erosion by a river or wind.

Question 3

How are fold mountains formed?

Accepted Answer

By the collision of two tectonic plates, which crumples the crust upward into folds.

✦ Answer: by the collision (convergence) of tectonic plates.

Question 4

What is the theory of plate tectonics? Name one result of plate movement.

Accepted Answer

Step 1 — The Earth's outer shell (lithosphere) is divided into large plates that float on the semi-molten mantle and move slowly.

Step 2 — Their movement causes earthquakes, volcanoes, the formation of fold mountains, and the drift of continents (any one).

✦ Answer: moving plates on the mantle; results include earthquakes/volcanoes/mountains/continental drift.

Question 5

Differentiate between weathering and erosion.

Accepted Answer

Step 1 — Weathering is the breaking down of rocks in their place by temperature changes, water, plants and chemicals.

Step 2 — Erosion is the wearing away and removal/transport of the broken rock and soil by agents like running water, wind, glaciers and waves.

✦ Answer: weathering = breakdown in place; erosion = removal/transport of the material.

Question 6

State what happens at a converging and at a sliding plate boundary.

Accepted Answer

Step 1 — Converging: plates collide and the crust is pushed up into fold mountains (or one plate slides under another).

Step 2 — Sliding: plates move past each other, releasing energy that causes earthquakes.

✦ Answer: converging → fold mountains; sliding → earthquakes.

Question 7

Explain how endogenic and exogenic forces together shape the Earth's surface.

Accepted Answer

Step 1 — Endogenic (internal) forces, driven by the Earth's heat and plate movement, build up the surface — raising mountains and plateaus and causing volcanoes and earthquakes.

Step 2 — Exogenic (external) forces, driven by the Sun and gravity, wear the surface down through weathering, erosion and deposition.

Step 3 — The landscape at any time is the balance between building up and wearing down.

✦ Answer: endogenic forces build, exogenic forces wear down; landforms reflect the balance of the two.

Question 8

Compare how mountains, plateaus and plains are formed and one use of each.

Accepted Answer

Step 1 — Mountains: mostly fold mountains from colliding plates; used for rivers/glaciers, forests, tourism and defence.

Step 2 — Plateaus: raised flat tablelands, often old worn-down land or lava; rich in minerals.

Step 3 — Plains: flat low land built by rivers depositing silt; ideal for agriculture and dense settlement.

✦ Answer: mountains (plate collision, water/forests), plateaus (uplift/lava, minerals), plains (river deposition, farming).

Question 9

Name the three types of rocks and explain how they can change from one to another.

Accepted Answer

Step 1 — Igneous rocks form when molten magma cools and solidifies.

Step 2 — Sedimentary rocks form when sediments (from weathered/eroded rock) are deposited, compacted and cemented — often containing fossils.

Step 3 — Metamorphic rocks form when existing rocks are changed by great heat and pressure.

Step 4 — Over long time these transform into one another (the rock cycle): e.g. igneous rock weathers into sediments → sedimentary rock → heat/pressure → metamorphic rock → melting → magma → igneous rock again.

✦ Answer: igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks continuously transform through the rock cycle.

Practice — Shaping of the Earth's Surface

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