Pangaea / Continental Drift
What is Pangaea?
a massive supercontinent
What is the source of most of the information scientists have about Earth's interior?
analysis of earthquake waves
what is the seafloor topography like?
mountainous not flat
What drives plate tectonics?
convection currents
Which of the following is true about "S" waves?
They cannot travel through liquid.
Who came up with the idea that continents were once joined together?
Alfred Wegener
Which layer of Earth is made up of tectonic plates?
Lisosphere
What happens as the seafloor spreads apart?
The older oceanic crust moves away from the mid-ocean ridge.
What type of boundary forms Mount Everest?
convergent boundary
Which of the following is the best definition of density?
the amount of stuff that fits into a space
What is the theory of continental drift?
proposes that Earth's continents were once joined together in a single supercontinent named Pangaea about 200–300 million years ago before breaking apart and drifting to their current positions
Which layer is plastic and able to flow?
asthenosphere
How are island chains like the Hawaiian and Galapagos archipelagos formed?
A tectonic plate moves over top of a hot spot, which vents to form each island one at a time
What type of boundary is found in Iceland (Silfra)?
divergent boundary
By which method is heat from deep in Earth's interior transferred to its crust?
Convection in the mantle
How do Lystrosaurus fossils support Pangaea?
Africa, Antarctica, and India used to be joined together into a single landmass.
As scientists explore deeper and deeper into Earth's crust, what have they noticed about temperature and pressure?
both temperature and pressure increase
What is occurring at Letter A on the figure?
a mid-ocean ridge is forming
Why does one plate subduct under another?
One plate is denser than the other and will sink when the plates collide.
Which of the following is true about how heat affects fluids?
heat makes fluid less dense so it rises up
What clue supported the continental drift hypothesis? *hint 3 facts animals, composition and shape
A puzzle-like fit of all the continents
Similar coal beds and rock structures have been found on different continents
Fossils of animals have been found on continents separated by oceans
Why is Earth's interior layered?
each of Earth's layers has a different density and the most dense layer sinks farthest into the planet while the least dense layer 'floats' on top
Why doesn't Earth's size increase as new seafloor forms
because seafloor is also destroyed by subduction at convergent plate boundaries
. What plate interaction formed the Andes Mountains
the subduction of the Nazca Plate under the South American Plate
What disasters occur when plates collide?
volcanoes earthquakes and tsunamis