click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Plate Tectonics
Vocabulary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Pangaea | The continents were once part of a super continent . |
| continental drift | which suggested that continents are in constant motion on the surface of earth. |
| mid-ocean ridges | The mountain ranges in the middle of the oceans. |
| seafloor spreading | The process by which new oceanic crust forms along a mid-ocean ridges and older oceanic crust moves away from the ridge. |
| normal polarity | A state in which magnetic objects, such as compass needles, will orient themselves to point north. |
| magnetic reversal | The magnetic field reverses direction. |
| reversed polarity | A state which magnetized objects would reverse direction and orient themselves to point south. |
| plate tectonics | Earth's surface is made of rigid slabs of rock,or plates, that move with respect to each other. |
| lithosphere | The cold and rigid outermost rock layers. |
| divergent plate boundary | where two plates separate. |
| Transform plate boundary | Where two plates slide past each other. |
| convergent plate boundaries | Where two plates collide. |
| seduction | The area where a denser plate in a process. |
| convection | Convection of material caused by differences in temperature. |
| ridge push | Rising mantle material at mid-ocean. |
| Slab pull | slab sinks,it pulls on the rest of the plate with a force. |