ES3 How Is Earth Changing?

Question 1

tectonic plate

Answer 1

slabs of the Earth’s outermost rigid layer (the lithosphere) that fit tightly together

Question 2

ocean trench

Answer 2

a long, narrow canyon in the ocean formed wherever 2 plates come together and oceanic crust subducts underneath continental crust

Question 3

mid-ocean ridge

Answer 3

major mountain range found in oceans at the site where 2 tectonic plates meet

Question 4

rift valley

Answer 4

a valley that occurs at the crest of a mid-ocean ridge or on land where 2 plates split apart

Question 5

coastal volcanic mountain range

Answer 5

a mountain range that is near the ocean and displays both volcanic and seismic activity

Question 6

continental mountain range

Answer 6

a mountain range that is not near the ocean, they can mostly display seismic activity, not volcanic

Question 7

deformation

Answer 7

the change in the shape of rock/ground in response to pressure

Question 8

seismicity

Answer 8

the location and frequency of earthquakes (where and how often)

Question 9

magma

Answer 9

molten rock that flows into a volcano through the Earth’s crust

Question 10

lava

Answer 10

hot molten or semi fluid rock that erupts from a volcano

Question 11

gas emissions

Answer 11

a volcano’s release of gas into the atmosphere

Question 12

glacial striations

Answer 12

the marks left when a glacier moves over rock and sediment that can reveal the direction that the glacier was flowing

Question 13

Pangea

Answer 13

the proposed landmass that existed when all continents were joined about 300 to 200 million years ago

Question 14

continental drift theory

Answer 14

Alfred Wegener’s theory that Earth’s continents and ocean change position over long periods of time

Question 15

continental drift evidence

Answer 15

plant and animal fossils, rock sequence, coal deposits, glacier striations, puzzle piece fit

Question 16

lithosphere

Answer 16

the outermost mechanical layer of Earth; made up of the crust and the upper rigid mantle (from Greek: “litho” = rock)

Question 17

asthenosphere

Answer 17

the layer of semi-molten mantle that tectonic plates shift on top of (from Greek: asthenēs = weak)

Question 18

continental crust

Answer 18

the outermost layer of Earth that is thicker, less dense, and made of all 3 rock types; contains continental land above sea level

Question 19

oceanic crust

Answer 19

the outermost layer of Earth that is covered with ocean and is thinner, more dense, and made of the igneous rock basalt

Question 20

Moho discontinuity

Answer 20

The boundary between the crust and the upper rigid mantle; it sinks deeper underground beneath continents

Question 21

mesosphere

Answer 21

the lower mantle layer beneath the asthenosphere; material still flows but at a much slower rate than the asthenosphere (from Greek: meso = middle)

Question 22

outer core

Answer 22

The layer that lies below the mantle; made of the metals iron and nickel; the heat makes the iron and nickel molten, or change into a hot liquid; currents in this layer generate the planet’s magnetic field

Question 23

inner core

Answer 23

The innermost hottest layer of Earth; unlike the outer core, the enormous pressure at this depth pushes the particles of iron and nickel so tightly together that the elements remain solid.

Question 24

compression

Answer 24

when particles of matter are squeezed closer together into a smaller space (volume)

Question 25

expansion

Answer 25

when matter take up more space (volume) by expanding the amount of empty space in between particles

Question 26

pressure

Answer 26

a pushing force that an object experiences based on the matter that surrounds it; force per unit area

Question 27

convergent plate boundary

Answer 27

a boundary between 2 lithospheric plates that are moving together

Question 28

divergent plate boundary

Answer 28

a boundary between 2 lithospheric plates that are splitting apart and/or moving away from each other

Question 29

transform plate boundary

Answer 29

a boundary between 2 lithospheric plates that are moving alongside each other

Question 30

subduction

Answer 30

at a convergent plate boundary, when there is downward movement of a denser tectonic plate into the mantle beneath a less dense one

Question 31

sonar

Answer 31

short for “sound navigation and ranging”

Question 32

seamount

Answer 32

an underwater mountain with steep sides

Question 33

hot spot

Answer 33

the location where a tectonic plate moves over mantle plume in a set location to create a chain of volcanic islands

Question 34

continental shelf

Answer 34

part of a continent that extends out underneath the ocean

Question 35

sea floor spreading

Answer 35

the process by which new oceanic crust forms at the ridge as magma rises toward the surface, solidifies, and pushes older crust outward away from the ridge

Question 36

seafloor age

Answer 36

a pattern in the oceanic crust that shows the age increases as you go farther from the mid ocean ridge

Question 37

magnetic polarity reversals

Answer 37

Changes in direction or orientation of the magnetic field of the Earth that have occurred from time to time

Question 38

mantle plume

Answer 38

a column of very hot rock rising up through the mantle

Question 39

Plate Tectonic Theory

Answer 39

The Earth’s outermost rigid layer is divided up into interlocking slabs that move slowly on top of the mantle. This process is responsible for most of the geological features and events (like earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes) on Earth.

Question 40

Plate Tectonic Evidence

Answer 40

sea floor elevation, sea floor age, seafloor magnetic striping, pattern of earthquakes and volcanoes

Question 41

convection

Answer 41

the process by which, in a fluid being heated, the warmer part of the mass will rise and the cooler portions will sink.

Question 42

recycling of plates

Answer 42

the process where new crust is formed at ridges and destroyed at subduction zones