Gph111- Plate Tectonics

Front 1

What are the 8 compositions of the Earth's crust?

Back 1

1.) Oxygen- 47%
2.) Silicon- 28%
3.) Aluminum
4.) Iron
5.) Calcium
6.) Sodium
7.) Potassium
8.) Magnesium

Front 2

What is a mineral?

Back 2

A chemical compound, inorganic substance with consistent chemical composition (has the same things throughout it).

Front 3

What is a rock?

Back 3

Minerals grouped together or an aggregate of minerals.

Front 4

What is most of the Earth's crust made up of?

Back 4

Silicon and Oxygen.

Front 5

What are the 3 rock classes?

Back 5

1.) Igneous rocks
2.) Sedimentary rocks
3.) Metamorphic rocks

Front 6

What are igneous rocks?

Back 6

Rocks are solidified from mineral matter in a high temperature molten state; Hard.

Front 7

What is an example of igneous rock?

Back 7

Granite

Front 8

What is molten?

Back 8

Igneous rock known as magma (found below a depth of 70 km).

Front 9

What are the temperatures of molten usually?

Back 9

1600-2200 degrees Celsius.

Front 10

What is lava?

Back 10

When magma forces its way to the surface.

Front 11

What are sedimentary rocks?

Back 11

Layer accumulations of mineral particles derived in various ways from pre-existing rocks; Soft and flaky.

Front 12

What are some examples of sedimentary rocks?

Back 12

Sandstone, shale.

Front 13

What are some examples of USEFUL sedimentary rocks?

Back 13

Coal, limestone, rock salt, gypsum.

Front 14

What are metamorphic rocks?

Back 14

Igneous or sedimentary rocks that have been physically and chemically changed usually by extreme heat and pressure.

Front 15

What are some examples of metamorphic rocks?

Back 15

1.) Limestone+heat/pressure= MARBLE.
2.) Carbon+heat/pressure= DIAMOND.

Front 16

What is the definition of the CRUST of the earth?

Back 16

Very thin layer (like onion skin) that makes up continents and ocean basins.

Front 17

What can the thickness of the crust be between?

Back 17

8 to 65 km. but thicker over continents.

Front 18

What are the crusts broken up into?

Back 18

Plates or continents.

Front 19

How many layers are crusts divided into?

Back 19

2!

Front 20

What is the sima or basaltic layer?

Back 20

Heavy; Only exposed in ocean basins.

Front 21

What is the sial or granitic layer?

Back 21

On top of sima; Forms continents.

Front 22

What is the Moho?

Back 22

Transition between the crust and the mantle.

Front 23

What is the lithosphere?

Back 23

the top 60-100 km. of the Earth, includes all of the crust but also the upper part of the mantle.

Front 24

The rock underneath the lithosphere is what?

Back 24

Highly heated to a state that is semiplastic (think of white, hot iron that can be shaped and molded).

Front 25

What is it called when the rock underneath the lithosphere is highly heated to a state that is semiplastic?

Back 25

The Asthenosphere.

Front 26

What is the lithosphere capable of doing that is important?

Back 26

Moving over the Asthenosphere.

Front 27

What is the lithosphere broken up into?

Back 27

Large fragments called lithospheric plates.

Front 28

When was continental drift developed and by who?

Back 28

Developed in 1915 by Alfred Wegner.

Front 29

What did continental drift propose?

Back 29

That at one time all continents were fused into 1 continent called Pangaea.

Front 30

Was continental drift ever disregarded by scientists?

Back 30

Yes until the late 1960's and now it's accepted by all scientists.

Front 31

What is the lithosphere broken up into?

Back 31

Into plates.

Front 32

What do the lithosphere plates do?

Back 32

Slide over the softer underlying surface, the Asthenosphere.

Front 33

What happens if two plates of the same density hit (like 2 continental plates)?

Back 33

They throw up a huge range of land (mountain building).

Front 34

What is an example of mountain building?

Back 34

When the subcontinent of India crashed into Asia, throwing up the Himalayas.

Front 35

What happens when two plates of different densities (like a continental plate and an oceanic plate) hit?

Back 35

The denser plate (oceanic plate) is forced down and into the softer Asthenosphere.

Front 36

What is subduction?

Back 36

The process of downplunging of one plate beneath another; The plate boundary is called a Subduction Zone.

Front 37

What is an example of a Subduction Zone?

Back 37

Western California.

Front 38

What happens when two plates are moving away from one another?

Back 38

A crack between the two forms and new material is formed.

Front 39

What is an example of two plates moving away from one another?

Back 39

North Atlantic Mid-Oceanic Ridge.

Front 40

What is the North Atlantic Mid-Oceanic Ridge?

Back 40

1.) A set of undersea mountains created by magma oozing up in a crack.
2.) The Rift Valley in eastern Africa where Africa and Asia are pulling away from each other.

Front 41

What are the 6 enormous plates that make up the global system of Lithospheric plates?

Back 41

1.) North American Plate
2.) Pacific Plate
3.) Antarctic Plate
4.) African Plate
5.) Eurasian Plate
6.) South American Plate

Front 42

What causes the plates to move in the first place?

Back 42

Convective currents in the Asthenosphere but differential heating causes the movement.

Front 43

What 4 facts prove Plate Tectonics?

Back 43

1.) The continents "fit" together much like a jigsaw puzzle.
2.) Similar fossil records on different continents (South America and Africa. North America and Europe.)
3.) Similar rock structures on different continents.
4.) Areas of earthquake activity and volcanic activity correspond to areas where tectonic theory says they should.