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Plate Tectonics
Semester Exam
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Pangaea | all the continents were once part of a supercontinent |
| continental drift | suggested that continents are in constant motion on the surface of earth |
| mid- ocean ridge | the mountain ranges in the middle of the oceans |
| seafloor spreading | the process by which new oceanic crust forms along a mid-floor ocean ridge and older oceanic crust moves away from the ridge |
| plate tectonics | Earth's surface is made of ridge slabs of rocks, or plates, that move with respect to each other |
| lithosphere | the cold and rigid outermost layer |
| divergent plate boundary | forms where two plates separate |
| transform plate boundary | forms where two plates slide past each other |
| convergent plate boundary | forms where two plates collide |
| subduction | the denser plate that sinks below the more buoyant plate in a process |
| convention | the circulation of material caused by differences in temperature and density |