PLATE TECTONICS
The names of the four layers of the earth.
inner core, outer core, mantle and crust
What is weathering?
The breakdown of rock into smaller pieces.
The shallow, gently sloping submerged edge of a continent. It extends from the shoreline to the shelf break, where the slope becomes steeper.
Continental shelf
Is the process leading to the formation or deposition of layers, especially of the sedimentary rocks.
Name of the landmass before the continents drifted apart.
pangaea
What causes the plates to move?
Convection currents in the mantle
___________ is a common form of chemical weathering that breaks down rocks and minerals when they react with oxygen in the air or water
Oxidation
These are flat or very gently sloping areas of the deep ocean floor and the flattest and smoothest regions on Earth, formed by the accumulation of fine sediments (such as clay and silt) that cover the oceanic crust.
Abyssal plain
He was the first to realize that the earth's crust contains a chronological history of geologic events and that the history may be deciphered by careful study of the strata and fossils.
Nicholas Steno
is the pressure exerted evenly on all sides of a rock or material deep within the Earth. It happens because of the weight of the rocks, soil, and other materials above it.
Confining pressure
The Appalachian and Himalayan Mountains were formed by which type of boundary?
Convergent plate boundary
Type of weathering caused by living things
Biological weathering
What stage of ocean basin is where subduction eliminates much of sea floor and oceanic ridge and Dominant motions are spreading and shrinking.
Declining
Explain the law of superposition
Is a basic law of geochronology, stating that in any undisturbed sequence of rocks deposited in layers, the youngest layer is on top and the oldest on bottom, each layer being younger than the one beneath it and older than the one above it.
is a type of pressure that acts on a material in specific directions rather than evenly on all sides.
Differential or directed pressure
This is created when a oceanic plate collides with a continental plate.
Subduction zone.
What type of weathering is grinding and scraping by wind, water or human activity.
Abrasion
What is continental slope?
A steeper incline beyond the continental shelf. It connects the shelf to the deep ocean floor and is often cut by submarine canyons.
The law states that layers of sediment were originally deposited horizontally under the action of gravity. It suggests that all rock layers are originally laid down (deposited) horizontally and can later be deformed.
Law of original horizontality
Heat produced inside a planet due to the natural radioactive decay of certain elements, such as uranium, thorium, and potassium.
Radiogenic heat
River Valley was formed from what boundary?
Divergent boundary.
Plants, algae, lichens, fungi, and bacteria can dissolve rocks for nutrients. What type weathering are these?
Chemical biological weathering
Name the 5 major ocean basins
Pacific
Atlantic
Indian
Arctic and Southern
Any geological feature (such as a fault or igneous intrusion) that cuts across other rock layers is younger than the layers it cuts through. This principle helps establish the relative ages of geological events and features.
3 types of stress
Tension
Compression
Shear