Vocab Words
Lithosphere
First layer of the mantle that is rigid and firmly connected to the crust which moves with the tectonic plates.
What is radioactive decay.
The ejection of protons from the atom.
What happens to rock over time that we use to determine their age?
Radioactive decay
What changes about matter when it is heated up? Why does that heated material go up?
Density, Because less dense material floats.
What do scientists use to figure out that the earth has several layers of liquid and solids?
P-waves and S-waves
Aethersphere
Second layer of the mantle that is a less rigid solid layer that flows due to the heat and pressure.
What causes radioactive decay?
Repulsive electrical forces of protons overcoming the strong force.
What ratio do we use to determine the age of a rock?
Ratio between daughter and parent elements.
What generates hot spots under the crust?
Radioactive Decay
What changes about a P-wave that tells scientist that there is liquid under the earth?
It slows down
Parent Elements
Original atoms of a crystal that have not yet radioactively decayed.
What changes about the atom after radioactive decay occurs?
The element of the atom.
Where is new rock primarily formed?
At divergent tectonic boundaries.
Define Convection.
Circular motion generated by heat in a malleable material.
Name the four layers of the earth.
Crust, Mantle, Outer core, Inner core.
The Electric Force
A force that applies between charged particles which causes like charges to repel and opposite charges to attract.
How does radioactive decay generate heat?
The mass of ejected protons collides with other atoms, converting that mass into thermal energy (E=mc^2)
What age does more dense rock tend to be?
Younger.
What causes matter to move to the side and the down in the conventional motion of the mantle?
Matter that can no longer go up due to the crust being in the way, pushing it to the side and then cooling it down, increasing the density and causing it to sink.
What causes volcanos to form?
Heavy tectonic plates crashing into the lithosphere generating pressure and heat which goes up and breaks through the less dense plate into the surface.
Transform boundary
The boundary between tectonic plates where the plates are moving in opposite directions parallel to each other.
What is my dogs name?
Buster
What is a half-life?
The time it takes for half the material in a sample to decay.
What 2 effects move tectonic plates?
friction between convectional currents under the crust and new rock being created at divergent boundaries which push tectonic plates apart.
What causes earthquakes between tectonic plates?
Friction between moving tectonic plates causes energy to build up until finally that friction breaks and a massive amount of energy releases causing an earthquake.