Layers of the Earth
This is the thin, outermost layer of the Earth where we live.
What is the crust?
This scientist proposed that the continents were once connected in a supercontinent called Pangaea.
Who is Alfred Wegener?
This is a sudden shaking of Earth's surface caused by the release of energy.
What is an earthquake?
This type of rock forms when magma or lava cools and hardens.
What is an igneous rock?
The process that breaks down rock into smaller pieces is called this.
What is weathering?
This thick layer lies beneath the crust and is made of hot, slowly flowing rock.
What is the mantle?
Fossils of the same organisms found on continents now separated by oceans provide evidence for this idea
What is continental drift?
The point inside Earth where an earthquake begins is called this
What is the focus?
This type of rock forms when sediments are compacted and cemented together.
What is a sedimentary rock?
Weathering that physically breaks rock into smaller pieces without changing its chemical makeup is called this
What is mechanical weathering?
Name the layers you would travel through from Earth's surface to its center.
What are the crust → mantle → outer core → inner core?
At this type of plate boundary, two plates move away from each other.
What is a divergent boundary?
The point on Earth's surface directly above an earthquake's focus is called
What is the epicenter?
Heat and pressure change an existing rock into this type of rock.
What is a metamorphic rock?
This type of weathering changes the chemical composition of a rock.
What is chemical weathering?
This part of Earth's core is liquid and is mostly made of iron and nickel.
What is the outer core?
New ocean floor forms when magma rises and hardens at a mid-ocean ridge. This process is called ________.
What is seafloor spreading?
Most volcanoes and earthquakes occur near these large pieces of Earth's lithosphere.
What are tectonic plates?
A naturally occurring, inorganic solid with a specific chemical composition and crystal structure is called this.
What is a mineral?
Water enters a crack in a rock, freezes, expands, and eventually breaks the rock apart. Name this type of weathering.
What is mechanical weathering, specifically ice wedging?
Explain why thermal convection in the mantle can cause tectonic plates to move.
What is hot, less dense material rises while cooler, denser material sinks, creating convection currents that help move tectonic plates?
A deep ocean trench forms when one plate is forced beneath another. What type of boundary is this, and what process occurs?
What is a convergent boundary where subduction occurs?
Explain why convergent plate boundaries can produce both powerful earthquakes and volcanoes.
What is plates collide, causing stress and earthquakes, and subduction can melt rock and produce magma that forms volcanoes?
A sedimentary rock is buried deep underground and exposed to intense heat and pressure. If it does not melt, what type of rock will it become?
What is a metamorphic rock?
Explain how weathering contributes to soil formation.
What is weathering breaks rocks into smaller particles that mix with organic matter and other materials to form soil?