A
What causes the movement of tectonic plates?
Convection currents in the mantle
what is the outermost layer of Earth called?
The crust
There are 4 pieces of evidences that support Wegener's Theory. You gain 50 pts for each one you can name.
Apparent fit ( jigsaw like coastlines)
Fossils on separated continents
Matching mountain ranges on different continents
Paleoclimate data
What layer of Earth is made of mostly solid iron?
Inner Core
What do you call the area where two tectonic plates meet?
Plate Boundary
What type of boundary is created when continental tectonic plates collide?
convergent
Which layer of the Earth is responsible for it's magnetic field?
outer core
Which type of Earth's crust is younger and denser?
Oceanic crust
What geographical feature is caused under water at a divergent boundary?
Mid-Ocean Ridge
What layer is broken up to create plates?
Lithosphere
What type of boundary when two continental plates slide past each other?
Transform
Who developed the theory of continental drift?
Alfred Wegener
What is the process when oceanic crust sinks below continental crust?
Subduction
What hardens to form new rock at mid-ocean ridges?
magma
What is the theory that the earth's surface is broken up into large pieces that float on top of the asthenosphere?
The Plate Tectonic Theory
What type of boundary is Himalaya mountains?
convergent boundary between two continental plates
what type of boundary is San Andreas fault?
Transform boundary
What type of boundary is East African Rift Valley?
Divergent boundary
Explain what is happening during convection process
Cooler denser rock material from the upper part of mantle sinks and hotter less dense material from lower part of the mantle rises up.
Where would you find Asthenosphere?
Under lithosphere (upper mantle layer)
What happens when denser oceanic plate collides with a less dense continental plate?
The oceanic plate subducts under the continental plate ( creating volcanoes)
How do scientists learn about the inaccessible Earth layers?
from seismic waves triggered by earhquakes
What was the name given to the original supercontinent by Alfred Wegener?
Pangaea
What invention allowed scientists to study the sea floor and to further develop continental drift theory into the sea floor spreading theory?
sonar
What was the original science field of Alfred Wegener
Meteorology