Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
16 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
|
Pangaea |
The name of the supercontinent proposed by Alfred Wegener.
|
|
|
continental drift |
The hypothesis which suggested that continents are in constant motion on the surface of Earth.
|
|
|
mid-ocean ridge
|
The mountain 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. |
|
|
normal polarity
|
A state in which magnetized objects, such as compass needles, will orient themselves to point north. |
|
|
magnetic reversal
|
Occurs when the magnetic field changes direction. |
|
|
reversed polarity
|
A state in which magnetized objects would reverse direction and orient themselves to point south.
|
|
|
plate tectonics |
The theory that Earth's surface is made of rigid slabs of rock, or plates, that move with respect to each other. |
|
|
lithosphere |
The cold and rigid outermost rock layer of Earth.
|
|
|
divergent plate boundary
|
A plate boundary where two plates separate.
|
|
|
transform plate boundary
|
A plate boundary that forms where two plates slide past each other.
|
|
|
convergent plate boundary |
A plate boundary that forms where two plates collide.
|
|
|
subduction
|
A process that occurs at convergent plate boundaries where the denser plate sinks below the more buoyant plate.
|
|
|
convection
|
The circulation of material caused by differences in temperature and density.
|
|
|
ridge push
|
The force that moves the lithosphere in opposite directions away from the mid-ocean ridge.
|
|
|
slab pull |
A force that pulls on a plate when the cold, denser plate sinks.
|
