Earth's Interior
Geologists use these two main types of evidence, both direct and indirect, to study Earth's interior.
What are rock samples (direct) and seismic waves (indirect)?
This softer, less rigid layer of the mantle is located below the lithosphere and is hotter and under increased pressure.
This softer, less rigid layer of the mantle is located below the lithosphere and is hotter and under increased pressure.
This type of heat transfer occurs through empty space and has no direct contact between the heat source and an object.
What is radiation?
In 1910, this scientist hypothesized that all continents were once joined in a single landmass called Pangea.
Who is Alfred Wegenener?
This Canadian scientist proposed that the lithosphere is broken into separate sections called plates in 1965.
Who is J. Tuzo Wilson?
This is the name for the layer of solid rock that forms Earth's outer "skin", and it includes both dry land and the ocean floor.
What is the crust?
This region of the Earth is made mostly of the metals iron and nickel and consists of two parts.
What is the core?
The transfer of heat by the direct contact of particles of matter is known as this.
What is conduction?
Wegener used evidence from land features, fossils, and this to support his continental drift hypothesis.
What is climate change (specifically, glacier scratches in mild climates today)?
OR What are mountain ranges and belts?
This is the name for a well-tested concept that combines continental drift, seafloor spreading, and Earth's plates into a single framework.
What is the Theory of Plate Tectonics?
The oceanic crust is mainly composed of this dark, fine-textured rock.
The oceanic crust is mainly composed of this dark, fine-textured rock.
The movement of the liquid outer core creates this important global phenomenon.
What is Earth's magnetic field?
This is the transfer of heat by the movement of a heated fluid (liquids and gases).
What is convection?
Because Wegener could not explain the force that pushes or pulls continents, his hypothesis was rejected until 1960, when this scientist proposed seafloor spreading.
Who is Harry Hess?
These breaks in the Earth's crust occur when rocks slip past each other along plate boundaries.
What are faults?
This is the layer of solid, hot rock located 40 kilometers beneath the surface
What is the mantle?
At this boundary, two plates come together, or converge, causing a collision that can form trenches or mountains.
What is a convergent boundary?
These two factors, within a fluid, cause heat transfer by convection.
What are differences in temperature and density?
This is the process where the seafloor spreads apart along a mid-ocean ridge as new crust is added.
What is sea floor Spreading?
At this type of plate boundary, two plates slip past each other moving in opposite directions, often resulting in frequent earthquakes.
What is a transform boundary?
This rigid layer, about 100 kilometers thick, is formed by the uppermost part of the mantle and the crust.
What is the lithosphere?
The process by which the ocean floor sinks into deep-ocean trenches is called this.
What is subduction?
The flow that transfers heat within the mantle, acting like a "conveyor belt" for the lithosphere, is called this.
What are convection currents?
Evidence for Hess's theory included molten material shaped like pillows, magnetic stripes, and this, related to the age of rocks farther from the ridge.
What is evidence from drilling samples showing older rocks farther from the ridge?
This boundary type is where two plates move apart, or diverge, often forming a rift valley on land.
What is a divergent boundary?