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vocabulary
Question | Answer |
---|---|
the dense center of the earth made of solid and molten iron and nickel | core |
the layer of earth that surrounds the core; made of both molten magma and solid rock | mantle |
the thin, solid, rocky outermost layer of the earth | crust |
the process of earth materials separating and sorting by density resulting in a layered structure with the densest material(Fe & Ni) setting in the core | Differentiation |
a large section of the earth's crust that moves and caries everything on it | tectonic plate |
a stationary, high temperature area of melting within the earth's mantle that can last for several millions of years where super heated mantle magma rises towards the surface | hotspot |
a long, narrow rip or opening , made by the stretching , pulling or splitting apart of the earth's crust through which mantle magma reaches the surface adding new crust to the edge of a tectonic plates | rift valley |
the theory that oceans widen (open up) and continent are pushed apart as new crust is formed at mid-ocean ridges | seafloor spreading |
the theory that the earth's surface is made of large sections of crust that move and interact with each other | plate tectonic |
the theory that the major landmasses of the earth were once part of one large single super continent that broke apart 200 million years ago | continental drift |
a long underwater mountain range that is split by a rift valley where mantle magma rises and forms new oceanic crust | mid oceanic ridge |
the circular flow of magma within the molten part of the mantle as it heats up and cools down | convection current |
a type of vibrating or shaking activity produced by the movement of earth's tectonic plate | seismic wave |
a record of the earth's magnetic field preserved by the alignment of magnetic minerals on the rocks of earth's crust at the time that the rocks were formed at mid-ocean ridges | paleomagnetic |
he points inside the earth where rock first, moves starting an earthquak | focus |
the points on the earth's surface directly over the focus of an earthquake | epicenter |
the scale used to measure the magnitude or strength of an earthquake | richter scale |
the process of physically changing the earth's crust as a result of tectonic forces | deformation |