Ch. 5
Order by
31 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 seismic waves | waves of energy that are released during an earthquake |
| pressure | the force applied to a unit area of surface |
| crust | the outer layer of the Earth |
| basalt | A dark, dense, igneous rock with a fine texture, found in oceanic crust |
| granite | plutonic igneous rock having visibly crystalline texture |
| mantle | the layer of the earth between the crust and the core |
| lithosphere | the solid, outer layer of the earth that consists of the crust and the rigid upper part of the mantle |
| asthenosphere | The solid, plastic layer of the mantle beneath the lithosphere; made of mantle rock that flows very slowly, which allows tectonic plates to move on top of it |
| outer core | the liquid layer of the Earth's core that lies beneath the Mantle and surrounds the inner Core |
| inner core | a dense sphere of solid iron and nickel at the center of Earth |
| radiation | the transfer of energy through space |
| conduction | the direct transfer of heat from one substance to another substance that it is touching |
| convection | the transfer of heat by movement of a fluid |
| density | the amount of mass in a given volume |
| convection current | the movement of a fluid, caused by differences in temperature & density, that transfers heat from one part of the fluid to another |
| mid-ocean ridge | an undersea mountain chain where new ocean floor is produced; a divergent plate boundary |
| sonar | a measuring instrument that sends out an acoustic pulse in water and measures distances in terms of the time for the echo of the pulse to return |
| 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 |
| plate | a rigid layer of the Earth's crust that is believed to drift slowly |
| scientific theory | A well tested concept that explains a wide range of observations |
| plate tectonics | the theory that pieces of Earth's lithosphere are in constant motion, driven by convection currents in the mantle |
| fault | (geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other |
| divergent boundary | the boundary between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other |
| rift valley | a deep valley that forms where two plates move apart |
| convergent boundary | A tectonic plate boundary where two plates collide, come together, or crash into each other. |
| transform boundary | a plate boundary where two plates move past each other in opposite directions |
| continental drift | the gradual movement and formation of continents (as described by plate tectonics) |
| Pangaea | the name of the single landmass that broke apart 200 million years ago and gave rise to today's continents |
| fossil | the remains (or an impression) of a plant or animal that existed in a past geological age and that has been excavated from the soil |
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