Plate Basics
These large pieces of Earth's crust that move around are called?
Tectonic Plates
What are the two continents that Wegner thought fit together like a puzzle?
What are Africa and South America.
This is the outermost layer of the Earth.
What is the crust?
When two plates move apart, this type of plate boundary is formed.
What is a divergent boundary?
Subduction is mostly likely to cause the formation of this land form.
What are volcanos?
This German scientist proposed the theory of continental drift in 1912.
Who is Alfred Wegener?
True or false: Wegner was the first person to notice that the two countries look like they fit together.
True
This layer makes up about 70% of Earth's volume and is mostly solid rock.
What is the mantle.
When two plates collide, this type of plate boundary is formed.
What is a convergent boundary?
This famous fault in California is an example of a transform boundary.
What is the San Andreas Fault?
This internal layer of the Earth that plates move on is hot and partially molten.
What is the Lithosphere?
The matching coastlines of South America and Africa provided evidence for this theory.
What is Continental Drift?
What causes the movement of the plates?
What are convection currents in the mantle!
This force is thought to be the main driver of plate tectonics.
What is convection or convection currents?
What is the largest desert on Earth?
Antarctica! Because it receives less than 6 inches of rain per year, Antarctica counts as a desert. The Sahara Desert is the second largest.
The name of the super continent and how long ago it existed.
What is Pangea? What is 300-200 million years ago?
What was the name of the continent where Wegner found fossils that would not be able to survive on that land today?
Antarctica
This innermost layer of Earth mostly made of?
What is iron and nickel?
What type of boundary is most likely to cause earthquakes?
What is a transform boundary.
Fossils of this freshwater reptile were found in both South America and Africa, supporting Wegener’s theory.
What is Mesosaurus?
What was Wegner's theory?
What is: The continents were once connected and then somehow were ripped apart.
What is one other type of evidence that Wegner used to support his theory besides land pieces fitting together?
What are fossils, landmarks, and plant life!
This is the only liquid layer of earth's layers?
What is the outer core!
What types of crust, when pushed together, are most likely to cause mountain formation?
What is continental and ocean crust converging!
This type of fruit is considered slightly radioactive
Bananas! Because they contain potassium and potassium decays, they are considered slightly radioactive!