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UVA Module 7 Review
UVA Module 7 Vocabulary
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Carbon | An element present in all living things, like plants and animals |
Deposition | The process by which sediments, soil, rocks, or other Earth debris are added to a landform |
Half-life | The time taken for the radioactive decay of an element to occur |
Index Fossil | Remains of organisms that existed only for a specific period of time and are used as guides for age analysis |
Law of superposition | Rocks are deposited in sequence with the oldest rock layers on the bottom and the youngest rock layers on the top |
Asthenosphere | A transition zone beneath the lithosphere that is semi-fluid, sometimes referred to as the plastic layer |
Continental Crust | All the parts of Earth's crust that are not beneath the ocean |
Oceanic Crust | The parts of Earth's crust located beneath the ocean that make up the seafloor |
Convection Currents | Movement of liquid or gaseous matter in a circular motion caused by a difference in temperature; warm rises and cool sinks, causing a circular current |
Crust | The hard, rigid outermost layer of Earth |
Mantle | The layer that is directly below Earth's crust and is divided into three parts: lithosphere, asthenosphere, and mesosphere |
Outer Core | The liquid layer located between the mantle and the inner core |
Inner Core | The inner most solid layer of Earth |
Lithosphere | The rigid, solid upper mantle connected to Earth's crust |
Mesosphere | The solid lower layer of the mantle |
Pressure | The amount of force on a substance |
Seismograph | Instrument used to measure earthquake waves |
Tectonic plates | The layer of Earth that is split into large pieces; it floats on the asthenosphere and moves due to convection currents |
Continental drift | States that all of the continents were once joined together into a single, giant landmass named Pangea; now called the theory of plate tectonics |
Convergent boundary | Occurs when tectonic plates move towards each other and slowly collide |
Divergent boundary: | Occurs when tectonic plates move apart from one another |
Transform boundary | Occurs when tectonic plates slide past each other |
Fault | A deep crack in the ground that extends deep in Earth's crust; found at areas where the tectonic plates meet |
Pangea | An ancient, single landmass composed of all the continents |
Seafloor spreading | Divergent boundaries in plates under the sea |
Subduction zone | The boundary where two tectonic plates collide; one plate moves beneath the other being pushed further into the mantle |
Theory of plate tectonics | States that all of the continents on Earth were once connected creating one big landmass named Pangea; was once called the continental drift theory |
Volcano | Formed when lava or ash builds up over time |
Epicenter | The location on Earth's surface directly above the focus where the seismic energy originates |
Focus | The location on the fault where the earthquake begins |
Hotspot | Where molten magma rises to just underneath the surface of Earth, creating a bulge or volcanic activity |
Mid-ocean ridge | Magma seeps up through the divergent plate boundaries in the ocean, forming a mountain range |
Ring of Fire | An area in the Pacific Ocean where most of the earthquakes and volcanic eruptions take place |
Trench | Where convergent tectonic plates meet on the ocean floor |
Tsunami | A large, potentially destructive wave created by underwater earthquake activity |
Types of seismic waves | Love, primary, Rayleigh, secondary surface |
Types of Mountain building | Fault-block and Folded |
Radioactive decay | The process by which the nucleus of an unstable atom loses energy by emitting radiation in order to become stable |