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plate tectonics
semester exam
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| pangaea | all the continents were once part of a supercontient |
| continenental drift | suggested that all continents are in constant motion on the surface or earth |
| mid-ocean ridge | the mountains ranges in the middle of the oceans |
| seafloor spreading | the process by which new oceanic crust forms a long a mid-ocean ridge and older oceanic crust moves away from the ridge |
| plate tectonics | earths 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 | form 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 |