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Blaine Sci Ch 10 Voc
PlatebTectonics
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Lithosphere | Rigid layer of earth about 100 km thick made of the crust and part of the upper mantle |
Asthenophere | Plastic like layer of earth on which the lithospheric plates float and move around |
Density | Differences in this cause not plastic-like rock to be forced upward toward the surface |
Convection current | Current in Earth's mantle that transfers heat in Earth's interior and is the driving force for plate tectonics |
Continent | One of the 6 or 7 great divisions of land on the globe |
Continental drift | Wegner's hypothesis that all continents were once connected in a single large landmass that broke apart about 200 million years ago and drifted slowly to their current positions. |
Pangaea | Large ancient landmass that was composed of all the continents joined together |
Sea floor | Portioin of Earth's crust that lies beneath ocean waters |
Sea floor spreading | Hess's theory that new sea floor is formed when magma is forced upward toward the surface at mid-ocean range |
Converge | To come together |
Diverge | To move apart |
Transform | To covert or change |
Plate tectonics | Theory that Earth's crust and upper mantle are broken into plates that float and move around on a plastic-like layerof the mantle |
Plate | A large section of Earth's oceanic or continental crust and rigid upper mantle that moves around on the asthenosphere |