GEOLOGIC TIME
What is the Law of Superposition?
The principle that states older rock layers are found below younger rock layers in undisturbed sequences.
What is the Theory of Plate Tectonics?
This theory explains how Earth's outer shell is divided into large moving pieces.
What is a transform boundary?
Plates slide past each other horizontally.
What are earthquakes and volcanoes?
These geologic events commonly occur at convergent boundaries.
What are weathering and erosion?
These are two examples of destructive processes.
What is relative dating?
This type of dating tells us whether one rock is older or younger than another, but not the exact age.
What are convection currents?
This process in the mantle creates circular currents that help move tectonic plates.
What is a divergent boundary?
Plates move away from each other.
What is a trench?
This feature forms when oceanic crust sinks beneath another plate at convergent boundaries.
What are deposition and volcanic activity?
These are two examples of constructive processes.
What is sea floor spreading?
The process where new oceanic crust forms at mid-ocean ridges and spreads outward.
What is ridge push?
This force occurs when newly formed oceanic crust pushes older crust away from mid-ocean ridges.
What is a convergent boundary?
Plates move toward each other.
What are mid-ocean ridges?
This feature forms at divergent boundaries on the ocean floor.
What is a constructive process?
This type of process builds up or creates new landforms on Earth's surface.
Who is Alfred Wegener?
This German scientist proposed the Continental Drift Theory in 1912.
What is slab pull?
This force happens when dense oceanic crust sinks into the mantle, pulling the rest of the plate with it.
What is the San Andreas Fault?
This real-world example is a famous transform boundary in California.
What are the Himalayan Mountains?
This real-world example shows where the Indo-Australian Plate collides with the Eurasian Plate.
What is a destructive process?
This type of process breaks down or wears away Earth's surface.
What are matching fossils across oceans and similar rock formations on different continents?
These are two pieces of evidence that support Continental Drift Theory.
What are divergent, convergent, and transform boundaries?
These are the three types of plate boundaries.
What is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge?
This real-world example is a divergent boundary in the Atlantic Ocean.
What are fold mountains?
These mountain ranges form when two continental plates collide at convergent boundaries.
What are constructive and destructive processes?
These are the two main categories of processes that change Earth's surface.