chapter 5 Plate tectonics
Terms
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- divergent boundary
- a plate boundary where two plates move away from each other
- fault
- a break in Earth's crust where masses of rock slip past each other
- outer core
- a layer of molten iron and nickel that surrounds the inner core of earth
- conduction
- the transfer of heat from one particle of matter ot another
- scientific theory
- a well-tested explanation for a wide range of observations or experimental results
- rift valley
- a deep valley that forms where two plates move apart
- fossil
- a trace of an ancient organism that has been preserved in rock or other substance
- continental drift
- the hypothesis that the continents slowly move across earths surface
- mid-ocean ridge
- an undersea mountain chain where new ocean floor is produced
- lithosphere
- a rigid layer made up of the uppermost part of the mantle and the crust
- convection
- the transfer of heat by movement of a fluid
- pressure
- The force exerted on a surface divided by the total area over which the force is exerted
- crust
- the layer of rock that forms Earths outer durcace
- convection current
- the movement of a fluid caused by differnce in temperature, that transfers heat from one part of the fluid to another
- inner core
- a dense sphere of solid iron and nickel at the center of the earth
- asthensphere
- the soft layer of the mantle on which the lithsphere floats
- convergent boundary
- a plate boundary where two plates move toward each other
- transform boundary
- a plate boundary where two plates move past each other in opposite directions
- deep-ocean trench
- a deep valley along the ocean floor beneath which oceanic crust slowly sinks toward the mantle
- basalt
- a dark, dense, igneous rockwith a fine texture, found inoceanic crust
- density
- the amount of mass in a given space
- sea-floor spreading
- the process by which molten material adds new oceanic crust to the ocean floor
- seismic waves
- vibrations that travel through earth carrying the energy released during a earthquake
- plate tectonics
- the theory that pieces of the Earth's lithosphere are in constant motion, driven by convection currents in the mantle
- subduction
- the process by which oceanic crust sinks beneath a deep-ocean trench and back into the mantle at a convergent plate boundary
- mantle
- the layer of hot, solid material between earth's crust and core
- sonar
- a device that determines the distance of an object under water by recording echoes of sound waves
- granite
- a ususally light-colored igeanous rock that is found in continental crust
- pangaea
- the name of the single landmass that broke apart 200 million years ago and gave rise to today's continents
- radiation
- the direct transfer of energy by electromagnetic waves.
- plate
- a section of the lithosphere that slowly moves over the asthensphere, carrying pieces of continental and oceanic crust