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Science Vocab
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Fossil | the preserved remains or traces of ancient organisms |
Pangaea | the single giant landmass that existed more than 200 million years ago and that gave rise to the present day continents |
Theory of Continental Drift | the theory, proposed by Alfred Wegener, that the continents were once joined together and have since drifted apart |
Mid-ocean Ridge | an undersea mountain chain where new ocean floor is produced; a constructive (divergent) plate boundary |
Ocean Floor Spreading | the process in which old ocean floor is pushed away from a mid-ocean ridge by the formation of new ocean floor |
Transform Fault | a fault that runs across a mid-ocean ridge |
Trench | a V-shaped valley on the ocean floor where old ocean floor is subducted; a destructive (convergent) plate boundary |
Subduction | the process in which crust plunges back into the interior of the Earth |
Theory of Plate Tectonics | the theory that links together the ideas continental drifting and ocean floor spreading and explains how the Earth has changed over time |
Tectonics | the branch of geology that deals with the movements that shape the Earth's crust |
Lithosphere | the topmost solid part of the Earth, which is composed of the crust and some of the mantle |
Divergent Boundaries | a plat boundary at which plates move apart |
Convergent Boundaries | a plate boundary at which plates come together |
Strike-slip Boundaries | a plate boundary at which two plates slip past one another horizontally |
Convection Currents | a movement of materials caused by differences in temperature |