Seismic waves
Waves of energy that travel through the Earth’s crust, caused by earthquakes
Continental drift
movement of the plates of the Earth’s crust in relation to each other
Pangea
a super-continent that existed about 225 million years ago. All of the landmasses that existed at this time were joined together to form this super-continent.
Panthalassa
the vast sea surrounding the super continent of Pangaea
Plate tectonics
the theory concerning the movement of the continental plates
Mantle
thick layer inside the Earth, below the crust. Most of the mantle is solid rock, although the upper part is molten rock called magma.
Convection current
circular movement that occurs when warmer, less dense fluid particles rise and cooler, denser fluid particles sink
Continental crust
the plates of the Earth’s crust that make up the land
Oceanic crust
one of the types of crust that makes up the Earth’s outer layer. Oceanic crust is thinner than continental crust and made up of dense, heavy rocks such as basalt.
Subduction
process in which two tectonic plates push against each other, and oceanic crust sinks below the less dense continental crust
Destructive plate boundaries
a convergent boundary where two plates collide
Constructive plate boundaries
plate that creates new land from cooling magma
Ocean ridges
an area where the tectonic plates move apart, allowing magma from the mantle to rise, forming underwater volcanoes and creating new oceanic crust as it is cooled and solidified by sea water
Folding
buckling of rocks caused when rocks are under pressure from both sides
Anticlines
folds that bend upwards
Synclines
folds that bend downwards
Fault
a break in a rock structure causing a sliding movement of the rocks along the break
Horst
a block of the Earth’s crust, with faults on either side, that has been pushed upwards by the forces below
Rift Valleys
a sunken area where two blocks of crust have dropped down between faults
Slip Fault
a geological feature where movement along a fault is sideways—that is, where the blocks of crust slip horizontally past each other
Volcanoes
natural opening in the Earth’s crust connected to areas of molten rock deep inside the crust
Magma
a very hot mixture of molten rock and gases, just below the Earth’s surface, that has come from the mantle
Lava
mixture of molten rock and gases that has reached the Earth’s surface from a volcano
Volcanic Bombs
large rock fragment that is blown out of erupting volcanoes; also known as a lava bomb
Active
describes a volcano that is erupting or has recently erupted
Extinct
describes a volcano that has not erupted for thousands of years and is effectively dead
Dormant
describes a volcano that has not erupted for more than 20 years but is not considered extinct
Scientific Method
a method of procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses.
Purpose
the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.
Research
the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions.
Hypothesis
a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation.
Experiment
a scientific procedure undertaken to make a discovery, test a hypothesis, or demonstrate a known fact.
Analysis
detailed examination of the elements or structure of something.
Conclusion
summarize how your results support or contradict your original hypothesis
Epicentre
The point on the Earth’s surface located directly above the focus of an earthquake
Focus
The location where the earthquake begins.
L-wave
An earthquake wave that travels around the earth’s surface and is usually the third conspicuous wave to reach a seismograph.
Tsunami
a long, high sea wave caused by an earthquake or other disturbance.
Hotspot
he places known as hotspots or hot spots are volcanic regions thought to be fed by underlying mantle that is anomalously hot compared with the surrounding mantle.
Gondwanaland
A vast continental area believed to have existed in the southern hemisphere and to have resulted from the break-up of Pangaea in Mesozoic times. It comprised present-day Arabia, Africa, South America, Antarctica, Australia, and the peninsula of India.
Conservative plate boundaries
Conservative plate boundaries and transform faults occur when plates slide past each other in opposite directions, but without creating or destroying lithosphere
Results
an item of information obtained by experiment or some other scientific method; a quantity or formula obtained by calculation.
Graph
a diagram showing the relation between variable quantities, typically of two variables, each measured along one of a pair of axes at right angles.
Data Table
Any display of information in tabular form, with rows and/or columns named.
Question
a sentence worded or expressed so as to elicit information.
Materials
the scientific study of the properties and applications of materials of construction or manufacture
Constant
A theoretical or experimental quantity, condition, or factor that does not vary in specified circumstances.
Control
Statistics, person, group, event, that is used as a constant and unchanging standard of comparison in scientific experimentation.
Control group
the standard to which comparisons are made in an experiment.
Triangulation
a way of determining something’s location using the locations of other things. It is commonly used by geologists to find the locations of Earthquakes, and is also used to determine spacecraft location.
Seisomograph
an instrument scientists use to measure the strength of an earthquake.
Richter scale
The magnitude of an earthquake is determined from the logarithm of the amplitude of waves recorded by seismographs.
Laursia
The super continent of the Northern Hemisphere that, according to the theory of plate tectonics, broke up into North America, Greenland, Europe, and Asia except for the Indian subcontinent.
Tremor
a small earthquake in which the ground shakes slightly an earth
Independent variable
as the variable that is changed or controlled in a scientific experiment.
Dependent variable
the variable being tested and measured in a scientific experiment.
Inference variable
the process of drawing a conclusion about a causal connection based on the conditions of the occurrence of an effect.
Qualalitive
relating to, measuring, or measured by the quality of something rather than its quantity.
Observation
The action or process of closely observing or monitoring something or someone.
Quantantative
relating to, measuring, or measured by the quantity of something rather than its quality.
Experimental group
the group in an experiment that receives the variable being tested.
Reliability
the quality of being trustworthy or of performing consistently well.
Repeat trials
the number of trials preformed during a scientific experiment, with the purpose of receiving a more accurate result (minimizing the effects of errors or outliers)
S-wave
a wave motion in a solid medium where the medium moves perpendicular to the direction of the travel of the wave.
P-wave
a longitudinal earthquake wave that travels through the interior of the earth and is usually the first conspicuous wave to be recorded by a seismograph.
Surface wave
A seismic wave that travels across the surface of the Earth as opposed to through it.
Body wave
a seismic wave that moves through the interior of the earth, as opposed to surface waves that travel near the earth’s surface.