Unit 12: Earth's Interior Energy Flashcards
What are the 2 types of heat transfer that take place in Earth’s interior?
Conduction and Convection
What is Conduction?
Heat transfer is transferred by atoms colliding rapidly and it transfers best into a Solid. It directly transfers from a warmer to a cooler place until all areas reach the same temperature.
Where does the mantle get its heat from?
Core
What is Convection? Explain the process.
Movement of material: Heat transfer is caused by the tendency of the hotter object and therefore less dense where it rises and then has less temperature cooling and has more density, dropping due to the force of gravity.
Where do convection currents occur in the Earth’s interior?
Mantle
The convection currents in Earth’s interior cause changes to the Earth’s ______.
Crust
Describe how convergent plate boundaries move in relation to one another.
The 2 plates move towards each other.
Describe how the transform place boundaries move in relation to one another.
The 2 plates slide past each other.
Describe how the divergent plate boundaries move in relation to one another.
When 2 plates move away from each other.
Describe the process of seafloor spreading.
It is the geologic process where tectonic plates split apart from each other. This process occurs in the Divergent plate boundary. In this process, as the plates move away from each other, heat (magma) from the mantle rises, making the crust more plastic and dense. The less dense material rises, and magma forms a new crust. Eventually, the crust cracks. This process allows the New Ocean Floor to keep spreading.
Why does Magma from the mantle rise to the Earth?
Due to the process of Seafloor spreading and the New Ocean Floor. When the tectonic plates are splitting apart, and cracks are formed in the ocean crust, magma is risen from the mantle to patch up those areas, replacing them and pushing older rocks, spreading out.
What causes plate tectonics to move?
From Convection Currents in the Mantle
Seafloor spreading provides evidence of movement of:
Crustal plates
New Oceanfloor…
Forms along the cracks of the ocean crust as molten material erupt from the mantle spreading out and pushing out old rocks to the sides of the crack. The new ocean floor is being continuously added by the process of seafloor spreading.
New Ocean Floor occurs in…
Mid-Ocean range
