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Inside the Earth
| Term | Definition | null |
|---|---|---|
| CRUST | The crust is 5 to 100km thick. It is the thinnest layer of the earth. | |
| MANTLE | The mantle is much thicker than the crust and contains most of the earths mass. The layer of rock between the earths crust and core | |
| CORE | The Central part of the earth below the mantle. | |
| Lithosphere | The solid outer layer of the earth that consist of the crust and the rigid upper part of the mantle. | |
| Asthenosphere | The soft layer of the mantle on which the tectonic plates move. | |
| Mesosphere | The strong. Lower part of the mantle between the asthenosphere and the outer core. | |
| TECTONIC PLATES | A block of lithosphere that consist of the crust and the rigid outermost part of the mantle. | |
| CONTINENTAL DRIFT | ||
| The hypothesis that states that the continents once formed a single landmass broke up and drifted to their present locations. | ||
| SEA FLOOR SPREADING | ||
| The process by which new oceanic lithosphere forms as magma rises toward the surface and solidifies. | ||
| PLATE TECTONICS | The theory that explains how large pieces of the earths outermost layer called tectonic plates move and change shape. | |
| CONVERGENT BOUNDARY | The boundary formed by the collision of two lithospheric plates. | |
| DIVERGENT BOUNDARY | The boundary between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other. | |
| TRANSFORM BOUNDARY | The boundary between tectonic plates that are sliding past each other horizontally. | |
| COMPRESSION | Stress that occurs when forces act to stretch an object. | |
| FOLDING | The bending of rock layers due stress. | |
| FAULT | A break in a body of rock along which one block slides relative to another. | |
| UPLIFT | The rising of regions of the earths crust to lower elevations. | |
| SUBSIDENCE | The sinking of regions of the earths crust to lower elevations. | |
| TENSION | Stress that occurs when forces act to stretch an object. |