Plate Tectonics
What are tectonic plates made of?
Tectonic plates are made of Earth's crust and the uppermost part of the mantle, together called the lithosphere.
What do we call a naturally occurring solid with a specific chemical composition and crystal structure
A mineral
(Rocks are made of minerals)
What do we call anything that has mass and takes up space?
Matter
What is the first step in the scientific method?
Observation.
What causes tectonic plates to move?
Tectonic plates move due to convection currents in the mantle caused by heat from Earth’s core.
What do we call the continuous process through which rocks change from one type to another due to various Earth processes like cooling, weathering, and pressure.
The rock cycle
What do we call the ability to do work or cause change?
Energy
What do we call a test of a hypothesis that changes one variable
A controlled experiment
What are the three types of plate boundaries?
The three types of plate boundaries are divergent, convergent, and transform.
Divergent divide, convergent collide and transform slide.
What are the three main types of rocks?
Igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic
Imaginary lines on the earth that run north and south; distance measured from the prime meridian.
Lines of longitude
What is the smallest particle of an element?
An atom
What is a possible explanation or educated prediction of a scientific experiment? (sometimes called educated guess.)
Hypothesis
What do we call the region around the Pacific Ocean where many earthquakes and volcanoes occur due to active plate boundaries.
The Ring of Fire
Choose one of the three main kinds of rock and tell how it formed.
Metamorphic rocks form when existing rocks are exposed to intense heat and pressure, causing them to change.
Sedimentary rocks form from layers of sediment that are compacted and cemented together over time.
Igneous rocks form when molten rock (magma or lava) cools and hardens.
Imaginary lines on the earth that run east and west; distance measured from the equator.
Lines of latitude
What do we call two or more atoms in a compound?
A molecule
What do we call the facts, figures and other evidence gathered through observations?
Data
What do we call a place where one tectonic plate is forced under another into the mantle, often creating deep ocean trenches and volcanic activity?
What is the Mohs scale used for?
The Mohs scale is used to measure the hardness of minerals, ranking them from 1 (softest) to 10 (hardest).
Name the three parts of an atom and give their charges.
Protons are positive
Neutrons are neutral
Electrons are negative
What do we call one of the factors that can change in an experiment?
Variables.
There are three kinds of variables - independent, dependent and controlled