Vocabulary
What are the preserved remains of a plant or animal in the rock record called?
fossils
The continents are part of Earth’s thin outer layer, called?
Earth's crust
Which scientist used the term Pangaea? What is pangaea?
Alfred Wegener and he hypothesized that all of Earth's continents were once a supercontinent.
Which boundaries push together to form mountains?
Convergent boundaries
Sedimentary rock is deposited in layers called?
strata
What layer is the thick layer of dense rock below the Earth's crust?
the mantle
What is the first piece of evidence that Wegener based his continental drift hypothesis on?
The coastlines of South America and western Africa appear to fit together, like puzzle pieces.
Which boundaries move apart and form rifts in the ocean floor and causes seafloor spreading?
divergent boundaries
What is the Earth's lithosphere broken up into?
Tectonic Plates
What is the study of the movement and the resulting changes in Earth’s surface?
The theory of plate tectonics?
What is the second piece of evidence that Wegener based his continental drift hypothesis on?
Fossils from the same plant and animal species were uncovered in both South America and western Africa.
Which boundaries slide apart and cause earthquakes?
transform fault boundaries
True or False? Both hard and soft body parts of animals can create and leave fossils.
False
Where do the edges of tectonic plates meet?
plate boundaries
What are underwater mountain chains that are part of all of Earth's oceans called?
Mid-ocean ridges
What is the third piece of evidence that Wegener based his continental drift hypothesis on?
Deposits from glaciers have been discovered in places that have warm weather all year long.
What can earthquakes produce that can travel far from the focus?
What is the pulling apart of plate boundaries in the ocean?
sea-floor spreading
What are the four main layers of Earth?
The crust, the mantle, the outer core, and the inner core.
What is the fourth piece of evidence that Wegener based his continental drift hypothesis on?
Mountain ranges across North America and western Europe seemed to link up, as if the land masses were once connected.
What is the point of the surface of Earth above the focus, where shaking is often the greatest called?
The epicenter