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Science Unit 4:2:2
Tectonic Plates
Question | Answer |
---|---|
tectonic plate | one of the plate-like segments of the Earth's crust and upper mantle |
continental drift | the theory that the earth's continents shift their positions because of currents in the molten magma of the earth's mantle. |
sea floor spreading | large slabs of Earth's lithosphere—split apart from each other. |
mid ocean ridge | continuous chain of volcanoes on the ocean floor where lava erupts and the crust of the Earth is created |
Alfred Wegener | first person to formulate a complete statement of the continental drift hypothesis |
Pangaea | in plate tectonics, the single land mass that was composed of all the land on Earth until it began breaking into smaller continents 300 million years ago. |
Ring of Fire | a path along the Pacific Ocean characterized by active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes |
subduction | when one tectonic plate converges under another due to density differences |
convergent | A boundary of two tectonic plates where the plates move towards each other |
divergent | A boundary of two tectonic plates where the plates move away from each other |
transform | A boundary of two tectonic plates where the plates slide past each other. |