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Layers of the Earth, Layers of the Earth2

Terms in this set (27)

Lithosphere
A rigid layer of Earth made up of the uppermost part of the mantle and the crust.
Asthenosphere
The soft layer of the mantle on which the lithosphere floats.
convection current
A current caused by the rising of heated fluid and sinking of cooled fluid
tectonic plate
Sections of the Earth's crust that move due to convection currents.
continental drift
The gradual movement of the continents across the earth's surface through geological time.
mid-ocean ridge
An underwater mountain chain where new ocean floor is produced; a divergent plate boundary
divergent boundary
A plate boundary where two plates move away from each other.
transform boundary
the boundary between tectonic plates that are sliding past each other horizontally
subduction
process in which two plates collide and the denser ocean plate descends below the other
magnetic reversal
an event that causes a magnetic field to reverse direction
crust
the solid, thinnest outermost layer of the Earth above the mantle. Where we live.
mantle
the thickest layer, viscous (semi-solid) layer found between the Earth's crust and core
Continental crust
Thicker and less dense than oceanic crust that makes up the continents. Composed of granite.
Oceanic Crust
Thinner and more dense than continental crust that makes up the ocean floors. Composed of basalt.
outer core
liquid layer of the Earth's core
beneath the mantle and surrounds the inner core
inner core
densest and hottest layer of the Earth
Temperature of the crust
around 0 to 1,000 C
Temperature of the mantle
around 1,000 to 3,500 C
Temperature of the outer core
around 3,500 C to 7,000 C
Temperature of the inner core
around 7,000 C
composition of the crust
mostly oxygen and silicon and the rocks granite and basalt
composition of the mantle
magnesium, aluminum, silicon
composition of the outer core
LIQUID iron and nickel
composition of the inner core
SOLID iron and nickel
the pattern for temperature as you go deeper into the Earth
temperature increases
the pattern for density as you go deeper into the Earth
density increases
the pattern for pressure as you go deeper into the Earth
pressure increases
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