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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 the Earth |
| Mid- Ocean Ridge | the mountain ranges in the middle of the oceans |
| Seafloor spreading | the process of which new oceanic crust forms along a mid-oceanic ridge and older oceanic crust moves away from the ridge |
| Plate tectonics | Earth's surface is made of rigid 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 eachother |
| Convergent Plate Boundary | forms where two plates collide |
| Subduction | the denser plate sinks below the more buoyant plate in a process |
| Convection | the circulation of material caused by differences in temperature and density |