Earth's Structure
This theory explains how Earth's large crustal plates move and interact.
Plate Tectonics
This is Earth's thin, solid, outermost compositional layer.
Crust
Rock formed when molten rock cools and solidifies.
Igneous Rock
This principle states that in an undisturbed sequence of rock layers, the bottom layers are older than the layers above them.
Law of Superposition
The breakdown of rock into smaller pieces is called this.
Weathering
Removing large amounts of vegetation from an area is called this.
Deforestation
At this type of boundary, two plates move toward each other.
This layer lies beneath the crust and contains hot material capable of convection.
Mantle
Rock formed from sediments that are compacted and cemented together.
Sedimentary Rock
This method uses the amount of radioactive elements and their decay to determine a rock's numerical age.
Radiometric Dating
The movement of sediment from one location to another is called this.
Erosion
When productive land becomes increasingly dry and loses its ability to support vegetation, this process is occurring.
Deserification
At this type of boundary, two plates move away from one another and new crust can form.
Divergent
This rigid outer portion of Earth includes the crust and uppermost mantle.
Lithosphere
Rock changed by heat and pressure without completely melting.
Metamorphic Rock
Scientists can use these preserved remains or traces of organisms as evidence of Earth's past.
Fossils
When transported sediment is dropped or settles in a new location, this process occurs.
Deposition
What variable is altered by the scientist in an experiment.
Independent
At this type of boundary, plates slide horizontally past one another, often producing earthquakes.
Transform Boundary
This type of heat transfer occurs when hot material rises and cooler material sinks.
Convection
Granite → sediment → sandstone → quartzite represents this sequence of rock types.
Describe How this would happen.
Mr. Jones will Approve
Identical fossils found on continents separated by an ocean provide evidence for this.
Continents were closer together.
These two processes can wear down young, jagged mountains and eventually produce older, more rounded mountains.
Weathering & Erosion
What variable is measured in an experiment
The Andes Mountains contain many volcanoes because one crustal plate is doing this beneath another plate.
What is Subduction
This energy source drives plate tectonics, earthquakes, and volcanic activity according to the unit's test.
Heat Energy from Molten Layers
Wind, water, ice, and gravity can break down and move material, eventually providing sediment.
Weathering
If a scientist were to discover an old rock what would the scientist need to analyze about it to determine its ABSOLUTE AGE.
Amount of Radioactive Material
A coastline changes over time because waves and changing water levels can cause this process, moving sediment away from the coast.
Erosion
What process would be increased by humans removing trees and vegetation from a landscape?
Weathering and Erosion