Foundations
Theory Earth's land masses have been moving over time.
Continental drift
Earth's outermost and thinnest layer
Crust
Plate boundary where plates slide past each other
transform
When bits of land get scraped off from plate movement
shearing
Term for broken down pieces of rock
sediment
Reason Wegener's theory was at first rejected by the early scientific community.
Lack of evidence
Layer made of molten rock and drives plate tectonics
Mantle
plate boundary where plates move away from each other
divergent
breaking down rock with physical force
mechanical weathering
rock formed from pieces of rock cementing together
sedimentary
What eventually proved (to an extent) and improved on Wegener's ideas?
Plate Tectonics Theory
Innermost layer of the Earth made of solid Iron and Nickel; acts like a giant magnet
Inner Core
plate boundary where plates crash into each other
convergent
breaking down rock on a molecular level
chemical weathering
Rock formed from getting warped/recrystallized as a result of extreme heat and pressure
Metamorphic
Assumption Earth's surface developed because of random disasters.
Catastrophism
Second centermost layer made of molten iron and nickel
Outer core
When an overridden plates gets recycled into the mantle
subduction
Process of change in a rock
metamorphosis
Type of rock formed from the cooling of lava (be super specific)
extrusive igneous
Assumption that Earth's surface slowly developed because of routine, natural processes.
Uniformitarianism
Area between the crust and mantle where tectonic plate movements are observed
Lithosphere
Driving force of plate tectonics
convection
Process of broken down rock hardening into a sedimentary rock
cementation; compaction; lithification
Type of rock formed from the cooling of magma
Intrusive igneous