A small river or stream that joins a larger one is a/an ___.
tributary
What kind of force is the result of two plates being pushed together?
compression
Island chains form over a stationary pool of magma called a ___.
hot spot
Wide, gently sloping volcanoes are called ___.
shield volcanoes
The place on the fault where the slipping starts is called the ___.
focus
The land along the edge of a body of water is a/an ___.
coast
What kind of force is present at a mid ocean ridge?
tension
In an island chain, the oldest island will be the one that is ____.
farthest from the hot spot
Shield volcanoes are formed by ___.
The place on Earth's surface that's directly above the focus is the ___.
epicenter
What happens at an estuary?
Freshwater meets saltwater
Explain the "rock" evidence supporting the theory of continental drift.
Mountains in Africa and S. America both have the same types of the rocks. Also, these rocks are the same age.
A real-world example of an island chain is ___.
Hawaii
These volcanoes are made by layers of ash/cinders sandwiched between layers of lava.
composite volcanoes
A magnitude 7 earthquake is about ____ times stronger than a magnitude 5 earthquake. Explain how you know
900
Explain the "fossil" evidence supporting the theory of continental drift.
Fossils of the mesosaurus, a freshwater reptile, have been found in both S. America and Africa. This creature couldn't have swum across the Atlantic Ocean.
Where does an island arc form?
where one ocean plate gets pushed under another
These kinds of volcanoes have a narrow base with steep sides and are formed by cinders that are thrown into the air.
cinder-cone volcanoes
Which earthquake waves travel the fastest? How about the slowest?
P-waves are the fastest, and surface waves are the slowest.
Explain how the lithosphere and the asthenosphere are involved in the theory of plate tectonics.
The Earth's lithosphere is broken into plates. These slide around on the fluid asthenosphere.
How are the theories of plate tectonics and continental drift related?
A real-world example of an island arc is ___
The Aleutian Islands
Which kind of volcanoes are fairly symmetrical?
Composite volcanoes
Explain why data from 3 seismometer stations is needed to find an earthquake's epicenter.
It's because seismometers can only give you the distance, not the direction. Therefore, you need to get data from 3 stations and find the spot where the 3 circles intersect. This spot is where the epicenter is.