Earth and Space Sciences Regents, June 2025, question 46

The passage says the Hawaiian Islands are near the center of the Pacific Plate and are volcanic peaks. It says the island of Hawaii is over a hotspot, where a magma source in the mantle pushes upward to Earth's surface creating active volcanoes. The model shows three stages of volcanoes forming over a magma source on the Pacific Plate, with an arrow showing the plate's motion. Each answer choice is a small table with two columns, Earth Process and Surface Feature: (1) sinking magma, mid-ocean ridge; (2) rising magma, volcanoes; (3) tectonic uplift, volcanoes; (4) tectonic subduction, oceanic trench.

Figure 2 of 2. It is described together with the first figure.

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What the figure shows

The passage says the Hawaiian Islands are near the center of the Pacific Plate and are volcanic peaks. It says the island of Hawaii is over a hotspot, where a magma source in the mantle pushes upward to Earth's surface creating active volcanoes. The model shows three stages of volcanoes forming over a magma source on the Pacific Plate, with an arrow showing the plate's motion. Each answer choice is a small table with two columns, Earth Process and Surface Feature: (1) sinking magma, mid-ocean ridge; (2) rising magma, volcanoes; (3) tectonic uplift, volcanoes; (4) tectonic subduction, oceanic trench.

How to think about it

Read the passage for how a hotspot works and what it builds at the surface. Then check both cells of each table: the process and the feature must both match the passage and the model.

Which table correctly pairs the Earth process with the surface feature that created the Hawaiian Islands chain?

Topic: Hotspots and volcanic island chains

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