RANDOM EARTH SCIENCE
The names of the four layers of the earth.
inner core, outer core, mantle and crust
What do we call the place where two tectonic plates meet?
A plate boundary
If rocks of the same age and type are found in mountain ranges on both South America and Africa, what does this suggest?
The ranges were once connected as part of the same mountain chain/continent.
What is the name for lines on a map that show equal elevation?
Contour lines
What was the name of the supercontinent proposed by Wegener?
pangaea
What is the name of the thin, outermost solid layer of Earth on which we live?
The crust
What type of plate boundary is found at mid-ocean ridges, where new ocean floor is created?
Divergent boundary
What type of evidence involves finding the same fossils on different continents?
Fossil evidence
What word is used for any line on a map that connects points of equal value, such as equal elevation or temperature?
isoline
Which ocean is getting wider because the Americas are moving away from Europe and Africa?
The Atlantic Ocean
This is created when a oceanic plate collides with a continental plate.
a subduction zone.
People living near plate boundaries most often feel which natural hazard?
Earthquakes
How does climate evidence (like tropical plant fossils in Antarctica) support continental drift?
It suggests Antarctica was once located in a much warmer region.
Weather maps often use isotherms. What do isotherms connect?
Points with the same temperature
500
Why are rocks closest to a mid-ocean ridge younger than rocks farther away?
New crust forms at the ridge and older crust is pushed outward as the seafloor spreads.
What drives the movement of tectonic plates inside the mantle?
Convection currents (heat inside the earth)
What major landform forms when an oceanic plate sinks beneath a continental plate?
A volcanic range (or volcanic arc)
How is it possible to find the same type of fossil on continents now separated by wide oceans?
the continents were once joined or closer together.
When contour lines form closed circles with inner rings of higher elevation, what feature is shown?
A peak
About how fast do most continents move each year?
Only a few centimeters per year (about as fast as fingernails grow)
On a topographic map, what does it mean when contour lines are far apart?
The land has a gentle slope or is nearly flat.
At convergent boundaries where an oceanic plate meets a continental plate, what usually happens to the denser oceanic plate?
It sinks beneath the continental plate (subduction).
Why does seafloor spreading provide strong support for continental drift?
It gives an explanation that moving ocean crust carries continents along as the plates move.
What do closely spaced contour lines show?
A steep slope
Why can scientists say that the positions of today’s continents will be different millions of years from now?
Because tectonic plates are still moving due to plate motions in Earth’s interior.