Vocabulary
The pieces of the earth’s crust that move slowly on the top of the mantle
tectonic plates
Which layer of the earth is made of solid iron and nickel?
inner core
True or False: Best evidence that the continents were not always where they are now is the coastline of South America appears to closely match the coastline of Africa like a puzzle.
True
Why do tectonic plates move?
because of convection currents in the mantle
Most earthquakes and volcanoes occur where?
along plate boundaries
A crack or rift in the earth’s crust
fault
Which layer of the earth is the thinnest measuring between 4 and 40 km thick?
crust
What is the theory of Continental Drift?
the idea that the continents move slowly over a long period of time because of convection in the mantle
transform boundary
what has very large and extremely large eruptions?
supervolcanoes
The “super continent” that was believed to exist millions of years ago on earth
pangea
Which is the thickest layer of the earth?
mantle
True or False: The Law of Superposition explains that if rock layers are left undisturbed, the oldest layers are found below the youngest layers.
True
When two tectonic plates move towards each other and collide
convergent boundary
In an island chain that forms a hot spot, _______ island will be located farthest from the hot spot.
oldest
The boundary between two plates that are moving apart or rifting
divergent boundary
What is the lithosphere?
the crust and the very top part of the mantle that we use to study plate tectonics
What was the name of the scientist who developed the Continental Drift theory?
Alfred Wegener
ocean basin formation occurs at what type of plate movement?
divergent
The Hawaiian Islands and Yellowstone supervolcano are both similar how?
both located over hot spots
process when a less dense plate slides below a more dense plate
subduction
Why is the inner core solid?
because it has the pressure of all the other layers on top of it
Himalayans mountains were formed by what type of plate boundary movement?
convergent
How do volcanoes form under the ocean when there is no fault or plate boundary?
hot spots: weak spots in the earth’s crust
What type of waves causes the ground to shake?
seismic waves