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plate tectonics
semester exam
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Pangaea | all the continents were once part of a supercontient |
| continental drift | suggested that continents are in constant motion on the surface of the earth |
| Mid-ocean Ridge | The mountains ranges in the middle of the oceans |
| Seafloor Spreading | the process by which new oceanic crust forms along a mid-ocean ridge and older oceanic crust moves away from the ridge |
| Plate Tectonics | Earths surface is made of rigid slabs of rocks or plates that move with respect to each other |
| Lithosphere | The cold and rigid outermost rock 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 in a process called |
| Convection | the circulation of material caused by differences in temperature and density |