What do plate tectonics cause?
Mountains, earthquakes, volcanoes, etc.
How does finding the Mesosaurus fossil evidence on two separate continents support the continental drift theory?
It is very unlikely that a Mesosaurus would have the ability to swim between continents.
Rocks that form from cooling magma within Earth are classified as...
Intrusive igneous rocks
A place where two plates slip past each other, moving in opposite directions is known as a ____________.
Transform boundary
Earth's inner core is _________.
a dense ball of solid iron and nickel
Heat transfer within a fluid takes place by ____________.
Convection currents
Rocks are broken up into what three major groups?
Igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary
Metamorphic rocks are formed as a result of?
Heat and pressure
Igneous rock that cools very quickly when it forms has a texture that is?
smooth and shiny with no visible grain
What are the main agents of metamorphism?
Heat, pressure, and hydrothermal solutions
Most geologists think that the movement of Earth's plates is caused by _________.
Convection currents in the mantle
What feature is formed when two continental plates collide?
Mountains
Seafloor spreading occurs at which type of boundary?
Divergent
When all the grains in a rock are large and easy to see, the rock is described as __________.
Coarse grained
The inner core is thought to be made up of?
Solid iron and nickel
The repeating pattern of a mineral's particles forms a solid called a(n) __________.
crystal
A rift valley forms at a __________.
Divergent plate boundary
Rocks are continually being recycled into different forms.
The topsoil covering an area of land was washed away by rain. The land was most likely?
steep and had no vegetation
What is the best explanation why the remains of a small reptile living millions of years ago have been found only in Brazil & South Africa?
Plate tectonics
A(n) ________ is evidence that an area was once covered by a glacier.
U-shaped valley
Landslides, mudflows, slumps, and creeps are all examples of __________.
Mass movements
The Appalachian Mountains, which extend from Canada to Alabama, were much taller in the past than they are today. What two processes are most responsible for the decrease in the height of the Appalachian Mountains?
Weathering and erosion
What can be caused by weathering?
cracks forming in a boulder
What type of volcano would be the least explosive?
Shield volcano