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Plate Tectonics

Fun

TermDefinition
Geologist A scientist who studies the forces that make and shape planet Earth.
Rock The material that forms Earth’s hard surface.
Geology The study of planet Earth.
Constructive Force A force that builds up mountains and landmasses on Earth’s surface.
Destructive Force A force that slowly wears away mountains and other features on the surface of Earth.
Continent A great landmass surrounded by oceans
Seismic Wave A vibration that travels through Earth carrying the energy released during an earthquake.
Pressure The amount of force pushing on a surface or area.
Crust The layer of rock that forms Earth’s outer surface.
Basalt A dark, dense, igneous rock with fine texture, found in organic crust.
Granite A usually light-colored rock that is found in continental crust.
Mantle The layer of hot, solid material between Earth’s crust and core.
Lithosphere A rigid layer made up of the uppermost part of the mantle and the crust.
Asthenosphere The soft layer of the mantle on which the lithosphere floats.
Outer Core A layer of molten iron and nickel that surrounds the inner core of Earth.
Inner Core A dense sphere of solid iron and nickel in the center of the Earth.
Heat Transfer The movement of energy from a warmer object to a cooler object.
Radiation The transfer of energy through empty space.
Conduction The transfer of heat by direct contact of particles of matter.
Convention The transfer of heat by movements of a heated fluid.
Density The amount of mass in a given space; mass per unit volume.
Convection Current The movement of fluid, caused by differences in temperature, that transfers heat from one part of the fluid to another.
Pangea The name of the single landmass that broke apart 200 million years ago and gave rise to today’s continents.
Continental Drift The hypothesis that the continents slowly move across Earth’s surface.
Fossil A trace of an ancient organism that has been preserved in rock.
Mid-Ocean Ridge The undersea mountain chain where new ocean floor is produced; a divergent plate boundary.
Sonar A device that determines the distance of an object under water by recording echoes of sound waves.
Sea-Floor Spreading The process by which molten material adds new oceanic crust to the ocean floor.
Deep-Ocean Trench A deep valley along the ocean floor through which oceanic crust slowly sinks towards the mantle.
Subduction The process by which oceanic crust sinks beneath a deep-ocean trench and back into the mantle at a convergent plate boundary.
Plate A section of the lithosphere that slowly moves over the asthenosphere, carrying pieces of continental and oceanic crust.
Scientific Theory A well-tested concept that explains a wide range of observations.
Plate Tectonics The theory that pieces of Earth’s lithosphere are in constant motion, driven by convection currents in the mantle.
Fault A break in Earth’s crust where slabs of rock slip past each other.
Transform Boundary A plate boundary where two plates move past each other in opposite directions.
Divergent Boundary A plate boundary where two plates move away from each other.
Rift Valley A deep valley that forms where two plates move apart.
Convergent Boundary A plate boundary where two plates move toward each other.
Created by: 19328
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