Plate Tectonics
If you are looking at a stack of undisturbed rock layers, this is where you will always find the oldest rocks and fossils.
What is the bottom layer?
This happens when rocks are broken into smaller pieces by wind, water, ice, or plant roots. What is it?
What is weathering?
Scientists use maps to find patterns in where these natural events happen most often near plate boundaries. What are they?
What are earthquakes and volcanoes?
Building seawalls or levees is one way to protect people from this type of natural disaster. What is it?
What is flooding (or storm surges)?
Finding a fossil of a shark tooth or a sea shell in the middle of a dry, rocky desert is evidence that the landscape used to be this.
What is an ocean (or sea)?
This process happens when water, wind, ice, or gravity moves soil and rocks from one place to another. What is it?
What is erosion?
A map shows that many volcanoes form around the edges of the Pacific Ocean. What is this pattern called?
What is the Ring of Fire?
Designing stronger buildings is an example of ways to reduce the impact of this Earth event on people. What is it?
What is an earthquake?
These large areas of land are usually shown in green or brown on physical maps and include mountains, hills, and plains.
What are landforms?
A river carries small rocks and sand downstream after a heavy rainstorm. This is an example of what process?
What is erosion by water?
This type of map shows mountains, valleys, and changes in elevation on Earth’s surface using contour lines. What is it called?
What is a topographic map?
Seawalls are built along coastlines to protect land from this natural hazard caused by large ocean waves. What is it?
What is a tsunami?
Maps often show that mountains are commonly found near the edges of these giant pieces of Earth’s crust.
What are Tectonic Plates?
Tree roots grow into cracks in a sidewalk and slowly break the concrete apart. This is an example of what type of weathering?
What is weathering caused by vegetation (plant roots)?
This natural disaster is usually caused by an underwater earthquake and creates a series of large ocean waves that can flood coastal areas. What is it?
What is a tsunami?
This natural resource is burned in power plants and vehicles to produce energy, but its use can release pollution into the air and affect Earth’s environment. What is it?
What are fossil fuels?
When two tectonic plates push against each other, they can cause this landform to rise up over many years. What is it?
What are mountains?
Scientists compare how much soil is lost from two hillsides—one covered in grass and one without plants. The hillside without plants loses soil faster. What does this show about vegetation?
What is vegetation helps slow erosion?
A scientist studies a map and notices a long chain of volcanoes near the edge of the Pacific Ocean. What movement of Earth’s crust most likely caused them?
What is tectonic plates moving together or apart?
This concept describes how much land and resources humans need to support their way of life, including food, water, energy, and waste absorption. What is it called?
What is an ecological footprint?