Chapter 8 Flashcards
Earth Systems
Core
The innermost zone of Earth’s interior, composed mostly of iron and nickel. It includes a liquid outer layer and a solid inner layer
Mantle
The layer of Earth above the core, containing magma
Asthenosphere
The layer of Earth located in the outer part of the mantle, composed of semi-molten rock
Lithosphere
The outermost layer of Earth, including the mantle and crust
Crust
In geology, the chemically distinct outermost layer of the lithosphere
Hot Spots
An area where a column of hot material rises from deep within a planet’s mantle and heats the lithosphere above it, often causing volcanic activity at the surface
Plate Tectonics
Large movable plates under the Earth’s surface
Oceanic Plates
thinner, dense, relatively young, basaltic
Seafloor Spreading
as oceanic plates move apart rising magma from new oceanic crust on the seafloor at the boundaries between those places
Subduction
A geological process in which one edge of a crustal plate is forced sideways and downward into the mantle below another plate
Divergent Boundary
A plate boundary where two plates move away from each other
Convergent Boundary
A tectonic plate boundary where two plates collide, come together, or crash into each other
Transform Boundary
A plate boundary where two plates move past each other in opposite directions
Continental Plates
A continental plate is a geologic plate in which most of the crust (the top rock layer is mostly land)
Fault Zone
large expanses of rock where movement has occurred, form in the brittle upper lithosphere where two plates meet
Earthquake
A sudden and violent shaking of the ground, sometimes causing great destruction, as a result of movements within the earth’s crust or volcanic action
Epicenter
the point on the Earth’s surface directly above the focus of an earthquake
Ring of Fire
famous pattern of volcanic and earthquake activity along the continental borders of the Pacific ocean
Richter Scale
numerical scale used to measure the magnitude or energy release of an earthquake. Every unit is 10 times greater than the next earthquake (<4 is insignificant, minor is 4-5, damaging is 5-6, destructive 6-7, and major 7-8, and great is <8)
Minerals
olid crystalline chemical substances, form under specific temperatures and pressure, building blocks of rocks. inorganic, naturally occurring
Rock Cycle
constant formation and destruction of rock, very slow
Igneous Rocks
Formed by solidification of molten magma composed of interlocking crystals
Sedimentary Rocks
occurring when particles of broken rock and organic materials are pressed and cemented together to form new rocks. Sediments are mud, sand, pebbles, shells, bones, leaves, and stems. Some rocks of this type can be sandstone, limestone, and gypsum
Metamorphic Rocks
Made when heat, pressure, or fluids change one type of rock into another type of rock
