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Unit 10
Plate Tectonics
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Continental Crust | Thicker part of Earth’s crust that forms the large land masses. |
| Convergent boundary | Two plates coming together. |
| Divergent boundary | two plates moving apart. |
| Geologic event | a change to the structure of the Earth by tectonic activities. |
| Mid-ocean ridge | undersea mountain range formed where two parts of the Earth’s crust are moving apart. |
| Ocean basin | large bowl shaped depression that holds ocean water; regions of crust below sea level. |
| Oceanic crust | thinner part of Earth’s crust that lies underneath the ocean basins. |
| Plate | distinct sections of the lithosphere which make up the outermost layer of the Earth. |
| Plate boundary | a region where two lithospheric plates meet. |
| Sea-floor spreading | formation of new oceanic crust due to the upwelling of magma at mid-ocean ridges. |
| Subduction | process where one plate slides under another. |
| Tectonics | study of the movement of large masses of rock, known as plates, on the Earth’s surface; includes folds, faults, and plate movement. |
| Theory | an explanation of a set of related observations or events based upon proven hypotheses and verified multiple times by groups of detached researchers; can be used to explain and predict natural phenomena. |
| Theory of plate tectonics | theory that describes plate movement and how it affects Earth’s geologic features. |
| Transform boundary | two plates sliding past each other in opposite directions. |