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Earth Science
Unit 6 Plate Tectonics
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Continental Drift | the theory that all of the continents were once joined together in a single landmass and have since drifted apart. |
| Pangaea | “all Earth” or name given to the super continent that existed 200 million years ago. |
| Plate Tectonics | the study of the formation and movements of plates |
| Plates | section of the lithosphere that moves around. |
| Lithosphere | Earth’s solid outer crust |
| Asthenosphere | partially melted layer that flows slowly and is located below the lithosphere. |
| Convection Currents | the driving force of- plate movement -Magma heats up causing it to expand and rise. -Magma cools down causing it to contract and sink -The plates (solid lithosphere) are moving on top of the asthenosphere (liquid magma) due to density differences. |
| Ring of Fire | isolated belt around the Pacific Ocean where 90% of the world’s volcanoes exist |
| Earthquake Evidence | -Scientist noticed that earthquakes do not occur at random location, but run throughout the world along isolated belts -When plotted on a map they outline the plate boundaries |
| Volcanic Evidence | Occurs at plate boundaries where plates are interacting |
| Rock Evidence | -Sedimentary deposits and igneous lava flows are usually placed down in horizontal layers -Sometimes movement along boundaries causes these layer to tilt or fold |
| Mountain Evidence | -As plates collide, they sometimes are pushed upward -Fossilized marine organisms can be found at these high altitudes in the rock |
| Types of plate boundaries | Divergent Transform Convergent |
| Convergent Boundary | boundary where two lithospheric plates are coming together -Example: the India Plate pushing upward into Eurasian Plate and creating the Himalayan Mountains |
| Subduction | the process where one plate is pushed below another and consumed in the mantle -Example: the Nazca Plate being consumed under the South American Plate |
| Three Types of Convergent Boundaries: | Ocean - Ocean Boundary Ocean - Continental Boundary Continental - Continental Boundary |
| Divergent Boundary | Divergent Boundary - boundary where two lithospheric plates are moving apart Example: part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge emerges from the ocean and splits Iceland in half |
| Sea-Floor Spreading | the process where ocean floor is extended when two plates move apart |
| Mid-Ocean Ridge | underwater mountain range created from a divergent plate boundary |
| Mid-Atlantic Ridge | a mid-ocean ridge that runs the length of the Atlantic Ocean Separates the North and South American Plates from the Eurasian and African Plates |
| Rift Valley | long narrow valley that runs the entire length of a mid-ocean ridge system |
| Transform Boundary | boundary where two lithospheric plates are sliding past one another Example: the San Andreas Fault is 800 km long and runs throughout California |
| Lithosphere | Earth’s crust and outer most layer |
| Continental Crust | thickest (100 km) and least dense (2.7 g/cm3) part of the lithosphere |
| Oceanic Crust - | thinnest (2-3 km) and most dense part of the lithosphere (3.0 g/cm3) |
| MOHO | thin interface separating the lithosphere from the asthenosphere |
| Asthenosphere | a partially melted layer that allows for parts of the lithosphere to move |
| Mantle | thickest part of Earth (80%) and is between the crust and the outer core |
| Outer Core | liquid layer of Earth’s interior between the mantles and the inner core |
| Inner Core - | the solid inner most zone of Earth’s core composed of iron (Fe) and nickel (Ni) |
| Earthquake | a natural shaking of the lithosphere caused by a release of energy stored in rocks |
| Epicenter | the location on Earth’s surface directly above the focus |
| Focus | the point inside the Earth where the earthquake originates |
| Seismometer | an instrument used to measure and record movements in the ground |
| Seismogram | record of the seismometer |
| Mercalli Scale | scale that measures the intensity of an earthquake based on the effects to Earth’s surface, humans, objects in nature, and other man-made structures |
| Richter Scale | logarithmic scale that measures the amount of energy released during an earthquake |
| Magnitude | a number to quantify the amount of seismic energy released from an earthquake |
| Primary Wave (P-wave) | -are the fastest waves -Travels through solids, liquids, and gases |
| Compressional | particles travel in the direction of wave movement |
| Secondary Wave | - the slower wave -Travels through solids only |
| Shadow Zone | area in which seismic waves are not detected due to the liquid outer core |
| P-waves | are refracted when they reach the liquid outer core |
| S-waves | are absorbed when they reach the outer core and are not transmitted through to the other side |
| hot spot | thinner portions of the crust where rising convection currents bring magma to the surface. |
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