Rock Cycle
What is the process called when rocks are broken down into smaller pieces by wind, water, or ice?
Weathering
Which type of rock forms from cooled lava or magma?
Igneous
What is the name of the theory that Earth’s outer shell is made of plates that move?
(theory of plate tectonics)
Which plate boundary occurs when two plates move apart?
Divergent
Which layer of Earth is the solid rock layer that we live on?
The crust
Name the process that turns sediments into sedimentary rock by pressure and cementation.
Lithification
Which type of rock is formed from the compaction and cementation of sediments?
Sedimentary
What layer of the Earth do the tectonic plates sit on and slowly move over?
The mantle (asthenosphere)
Which boundary occurs when two plates move toward each other?
Convergent
What is the hot, mostly solid layer beneath the crust that convects and helps move tectonic plates?
The mantle
What process involves rock being melted and then cooling to form a new rock?
Give one example of an igneous rock and one example of a sedimentary rock.
Granite/ Sandstone
Name one piece of evidence scientists use to support the theory of plate tectonics.
Evidence: matching coastlines, fossil distributions, seafloor spreading, magnetic stripes on ocean floor, earthquake/volcano patterns
What type of boundary involves plates sliding past each other horizontally?
Transform
Which of Earth's layers is liquid and is responsible for Earth's magnetic field?
The outer core
What term describes the continuous processes that change rocks from one type to another over time?
The rock cycle
What characteristic helps scientists identify sedimentary rocks (hint: they often contain something from once-living things)?
Fossils
How do the movements of tectonic plates affect the location of earthquakes and volcanoes?
They tend to occur along plate boundaries; earthquakes and volcanoes are concentrated where plates interact
At a convergent boundary where an oceanic plate collides with a continental plate, what commonly forms?
A trench and volcanic mountain chain (e.g., volcanic arc) often form; subduction occurs
Put these layers in order from the surface to the center: inner core, crust, outer core, mantle.
Crust → Mantle → Outer core → Inner core
Explain how heat and pressure can change an existing rock without melting it; what type of rock results?
Metamorphism
Describe how a rock could change from igneous to sedimentary to metamorphic in a sequence of events.
magma cools to form igneous rock → weathering and erosion produce sediments that form sedimentary rock → burial and heat/pressure transform it into metamorphic rock
Explain how seafloor spreading at mid-ocean ridges provides evidence for plate tectonics.
New ocean crust forms at mid-ocean ridges and spreads outward, showing younger rocks near ridges and symmetric magnetic stripes
Compare and contrast the landforms or geological activity created at divergent, convergent, and transform boundaries (name one feature or event for each).
Divergent: mid-ocean ridges and new crust; Convergent: mountain ranges, trenches, volcanic arcs, subduction; Transform: earthquakes along strike-slip faults (e.g., San Andreas Fault)
Explain why the inner core is solid while the outer core is liquid even though both are primarily iron.
The inner core is solid due to immense pressure keeping iron solid despite high temperature; the outer core is liquid because pressure is lower there, allowing melting