science note cards 2
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30 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 pressure | the amount of force exerted per unit area of a surface |
| granite | A usually light colored igneous rock that is found in continental crust |
| crust | the outer layer of the earth |
| inner core | A dense sphere of solid iron and nickel at the center of the earth |
| mantle | the layer of hot, solid material between Earth's crust and core |
| radiation | the transfer of energy by electromagnetic waves |
| conduction | the direct transfer of heat from one substance to another substance that it is touching |
| density | the amount of mass in a given volume |
| convection | the transfer of heat by the movement of a fluid |
| convection current | The movement of a fluid, caused by differences in temperature, that transfers heat from one part of the fluid to another |
| continental drift | the hypothesis that the continents slowly move across Earth's surface |
| pangaea | the name of the single landmass that broke apart 200 million years ago and gave rise to today's continents |
| fossil | the trace or remains of an organism that lived long ago, most commonly preserved in sedimentary rock |
| mid-ocean ridge | An undersea mountain chain where new ocean floor is produced |
| sonar | a device that determines the distance of an object under water by recording echoes of sound waves |
| sea floor spreading | the process by which molten material adds new oceanic crust to the ocean floor |
| deep ocean trench | A deep valley along the ocean floor beneath which oceanic crust slowly sinks toward the mantle. |
| subduction | the process by which oceanic crust sinks beneath a deep-ocean trench and back into the mantle at a convergent plate boundary |
| seismic waves | vibrations that travel through Earth carrying the energy released during an earthquake |
| basalt | A dark, dense, igneous rock with a fine texture, found in oceanic crust |
| lithosphere | a rigid layer made up of the uppermost part of the mantle and the crust |
| asthenosphere | the soft layer of the mantle on which the lithosphere floats |
| outer core | a layer of molten iron and nickel that surrounds the inner core of Earth |
| plate | a section of the lithosphere that slowly moves over the asthenosphere, carrying pieces of continental and oceanic crust |
| scientific theory | a well-tested concept that explains a wide range of observations |
| fault | break in earth's crust along which movement occurs |
| plate tectonics | the theory that pieces of Earth's lithosphere are in constant motion, driven by convection currents in the mantle |
| divergent boundary | a plate boundary where two plates move away from each other |
| rift valley | a deep valley that forms where two plates move apart |
| convergent boundary | a plate boundary where two plates move toward each other |
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