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16 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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the theory of plate tectonics
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a theory stating the earths lithosphere is broken into huge plates and move and change in size over time
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Asthenosphere
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the layer in the earths upper mantel and directly under the lithosphere where rock is soft and weak because it is so close to melting
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Mid Ocean Ridge
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a long line of sea floor mountains where new ocean crust is formed by volcanic activity along a divergent boundary
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Pangaea
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a hypothetical super continent that included all of the land masses on earth. It began breaking apart about 200 million years ago
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continental drift
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the hypothesis that earths continents move on earths surface
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Tectonic Plate
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one of the large, moving pieces into which earths lithosphere is broken and which commonly carries both oceanic and continental crust
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Transform Boundary
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a boundary along which 2 tectonic plates scrape past each other and the crust is neither formed or destroyed
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convergent boundary
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a boundary along which 2 tectonic plates push together, characterized either by subduction or a continental collision
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Convection Current
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a circulation pattern in which material is heated and rises in one area, then cools and sinks into another area, flowing in a continuous loop
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convection
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the transfer of energy from place to place by the motion of heated gas or liquid; in earths mantle convection is thought to transfer energy by the motion of solid rock, which when under great heat and pressure can move like a liquid
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inner core
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a solid sphere of metal- mainly nickel and iron- at the the earths center
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outer core
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a layer of molten metal- mainly nickel and iron- that surrounds the earths inner core
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mantel
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a layer of rock between the earths outer core and crust in chichi most of the rock is hot enough to flow in convection currents- earths thickest layer
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lithosphere
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the layer of earth made up of the crust and the rigid rock of the upper mantle- averaging about 40 km thick and broken into tectonic plates
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crust
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a thin outer outer layer of rock above a planets mantle including all dry land and ocean basins. Earths continental crust is about 40 km thick on average and oceanic crust is about 7 km thick in average
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divergent boundary
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a boundary along which two tectonic plates move apart, characterized by either a mid-ocean ridge or a continental rift valley
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