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Inside Earth Ch. 1
Vocabulary words for Plate Tectonics- Chapter 1 Sections 1-5
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| geologist | A scientists who study the forces that make and shape planet Earth. |
| geology | The study of planet Earth. |
| rock | The material that forms Earth's hard surface. |
| constructive force | Force that shapes Earth's surface by building up mountains and landmasses. |
| destructive force | Force that slowly wears away (destroys) mountains and , eventually every other feature on the surface |
| continents | Seven great landmasses surrounded by oceans. |
| seismic waves | Energy released by an earthquake. Used as indirect evidence for determining structure of Earth's interior. |
| pressure | The force pushing on a surface or area. |
| three main layers of Earth | Crust, mantle, core (outer and inner) |
| crust | .A layer of rock that forms Earth's outer skin |
| basalt | Makes up the oceanic crust. A dark, dense rock with a fine texture. |
| granite | Makes up the continental crust. Has larger crystals and is not as dense. |
| mantle | A layer of hot rock located below the crust. |
| lithosphere | Uppermost part of the mantle and crust. Together they form a rigid layer. |
| asthenosphere | Soft layer of rock. Lithosphere floats on top of this layer. |
| outer core | A layer of molten (melted) metal that surrounds the inner core. |
| inner core | A dense ball of solid metal. |
| 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 energy through direct contact (touching) |
| convection | The transfer of energy within a fluid/liquid. |
| convection currents | The actual flow that transfer heat through a fluid/liquid, due to a change in density. |
| Pangaea | The name of the single landmass that broke apart 200 million years ago and gave rise to today's continents. |
| Continental Drift | The hypothesis (idea) 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. |
| sonar | A device that determines the distance of an object under water by recording echoes of sounds waves. Used to map the ocean floor. |
| 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. |
| plates | The lithosphere is broken into separate sections |
| Scientific theory | A well-tested concept that explains a wide range of observations. |
| Plate tectonics | The geological theory that states that pieces of Earth's lithosphere are in constant motion, driven by convection currents in the mantle. |
| faults | Breaks in Earth's crust. |
| Transform boundary | A place where two plates slip past each other, moving in opposite directions with little up or down movement. |
| Divergent boundary | A place where two plates move apart, or diverge. |
| Rift valley | A deep valley that forms along a divergent boundary. |
| Convergent boundary | The place where two plates come together, or converge, causing a collision. |
Created by:
scorcoran1
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