Unit 5
What is the definition of a fossil?
The trace or remains of an organism that lived long ago, most commonly preserved in sedimentary rock
What hypothesis did Alfred Wegener propose ?
Continental Drift
What caused the mass extinction of dinosaurs
An (Asteroid) ,but the meteorite struck the Earth.
How do scientists know that dinosaurs exist?
Fossils
In geologic time what are Eras subdivided into
Periods
Earth's surface were once joined in a giant landmass. What was this supercontinent called?
Pangea
If viewing layers of different fossils, where would the oldest fossils be located ?
The bottom layer
Why would fossils from different mammals and plants be in a desert area?
The area was once able to support different kinds of life
What best explains the reason that the same fossils can be found in South America and Africa?
Plate Tectonics. Pangea was one big landmass and then it broke apart due to plate movement. This breaking apart is why we can have the same fossils on different continents .
Why would fossil of a fish on top of a mountain ?
It shows that the mountain may have once been under water.
Which plate boundary type slides plates each ?
Transform Boundary
Which plate boundary type collide ?
Convergent Boundary
Which plate boundary type move away each other ?
Divergent Boundary
What Landforms are located on the Ring Of Fire ?
Volcanoes
New Crust Is Created At ?
Mid-Ocean Ridges
What are tectonic plates composed?
Oceanic and Continental Crust
What does the theory of continental drift state?
All the continents were once one continent that broke up and drifted apart over hundreds of millions of years.
What are the plate named after?
The continents that they reside under.
The Theory of _________ states that new ocean crust is formed at ocean ridges where plates are diverging.
Sea-Floor Spreading
What do Continental-continental plate collisions create?
tall mountain ranges
Who is the scientist that is credited with developing the theory of Continental Drift?
Alfred Wegener
Where do activities such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur?
Along plate boundaries
What must happen within Earth for a volcano to form?
Plates Collide. Must be over over a hotspot. Magma will then rise, collect in magma chambers, and eventually erupts through vents to the surface as lava
What are convection currents
The vertical movement of air currents due to temperature variations
When one plate sinking beneath the edge of another plate what is this called
Subduction
List the layers of the earth in order from coldest to hottest
Crust, Mantle , Outer Core, and Inner Core
What layer is responsible for Earth Magnetic Field ?
Outer Core
The movement of plates is caused by what ?
Convection Currents located in the Mantle
Why is Earth Core solid ?
High Pressure
What layer is made up of solid nickel and iron ?
Inner Core