Plates Flashcards
Done (33 cards)
Name the layers of the Earth from inner to outer
Core(Inner core, Outer core), Mantle(Lower Mantle, Asthenosphere, Moho), Crust
What is differentiation?
When Earth was still molten, the material sorted by density and when it cooled it formed layers.
Describe the inner core
The inner core is solid due to pressure. It is made of mostly iron and nickel.
Describe the outer core
The outer core is liquid. It is mainly made of iron and nickel.
Describe the moho
The moho is a rigid boundary layer between the rest of the mantle and the crust.
Describe the asthenosphere
The asthenosphere is a solid layer that flows (kind of like putty)
Describe the mantle
The mantle consists of the moho, lower mantle, and asthenosphere. It is made up primarily of Magnesium, Nickel, and Iron.
Describe the crust
The crust is made up of oxygen, silicone, and aluminium. There is a continental crust and oceanic crust.
What is the lithosphere?
The lithosphere is made of the crust and moho
Which layer of the earth is densest?
The inner core
Which layer of the core is the thinnest?
The crust
Which layer of the earth is the thickest?
The mantle.
Who created the continental drift theory?
Alfred Wegner
What is the Continental Drift Theory?
The continents were once connected. This super continent was called Pangaea. The continents moved by plowing across the sea floor.
Provide evidence for the continental drift theory
Continental shelves line up (they fit like a puzzle), climate evidence (coal, glacial deposits), matching rock types/ages of mountains, fossils match
Who created the seafloor spreading theory?
Harry Hess
What is the seafloor spreading theory?
The seafloor spreading theory states that at mid-ocean ridges new seafloor is created and old sea floor sinks into the earth at trenches.
Provide evidence for the seafloor spreading theory:
Rocks get older further away from ridges; the oldest rock is near trenches. Also, the symmetric pattern of magnetic reversals on either side of ridges.
Who created the plate tectonics theory?
Vine and Matthews
What is the plate tectonics theory?
The lithosphere is broken into plates that move on top of the asthenopshere by convection currents.
Provide evidence for the plate tectonics theory:
Volcanoes, earthquakes, mountains, mid-ocean ridges, faults, trenches
What is the microplates/suspect terraces theory?
Smaller plates collide to create the plates we know.
Provide evidence for the suspect terranes theory:
Some ancient faults have completely different rock on either side.
How and why do plates move?
Convection in the asthenosphere drags the plates in directions. The reason these currents exist is because of the heat in the core.
