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plate movments
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| crust | earth's outer layer; the coolest and the least dense layer of earth. see also core, and mantle. |
| mantle | the layer of earth beneath the crust. it is about 2,900 thick, and makes up about 83 percent of earth's interior. see also core, and crust. |
| outer core | a layer of molten iron and nickel that surrounds the inner core of earth. |
| inner core | a dense sphere of solid iron and nickel at the center of earth. |
| latitude | the distance north or south of the equator measured in degrees. see also longitude. |
| longitude | the distance east or west of the prime meridian in Greenwich, England; measured in degrees. see also latitude. |
| oceanic ridge | a mountain-like landform that develops when tectonic plates move apart or separate and a new ocean lithosphere. |
| sea-floor spreading | a process by which new seafloor is formed from the magma rising from earth's diverging oceanic plates. |
| divergent boundary | location where two tectonic plates meet and are moving away from eachother. |
| transform boundary | location where two tectonic plates meet and slide past eachother. without creating a new landform. |
| subduction | the process by which one plate of the lithosphere sinks and slides under another. |
| ocean trench | long, deep formation on the ocean floor that develops where two tectonic plates are moving toward each other, and one is moving under the other. |
| tectonic plate | a piece of earth's crust that, according to plate tectonics, is pushed by movement in the asthenosphere |
| lithosphere | the cool, solid outer shell of earth. it consists of the crust and the rigid uppermost part of the mantle and is broken up into segments, or plates |
| fracture | the breakage of a rock into two or more pieces |
| elasticity | the ability of a rock to be stretched and then return to its original positions once the stress has been removed |
| stress | the amount of force being applied to rock or surface |
| strain | change in volume, size, or shape that results from stress. |
| plate boundary | a theory that the lithosphere is broken into segments, or plates that "float' on the asthenosphere, and that interactions among these plates are associated with earthquakes and volcanic activity and mud-ocean ridges, trenches, mountain, and chains of vo |
| continental crust | crust that contains mostly land, ranging from 15 to 70 kilometers thick |
| oceanic crust | crust that lies beneath the ocean, ranging from 5 to 10 km thick. |
| frction | a force that opposes the motion of objects, which are in contact. |
| rift valley | the valley formed by a diverging plate boundry |
| convergent boundary | location where two tectonic plates meet and are moving toward eachother |