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Plate Tectonics
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Term | Definition |
---|---|
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. |