End of year 9 exam 1 Flashcards
what is a Tectonic plate
large section of the Earth’s crust.
Plate Tectonics
the theory concerning the structure of the earth and the processes
occurring which explain the configuration of the continents and
the location of earthquakes and volcanic activity.
Destructive plate boundary
a plate boundary where the plates move towards each other and
where one is subducted beneath the other and so is destroyed as
it returns to the mantle.
Constructive plate
boundary
a plate boundary where the relative movement of the crustal
plates is apart from each other allowing magma to rise from the
mantle and solidify to construct new crust.
Conservative plate
boundary
where the two crustal plates try to move past one another.
Collision plate boundary
where two continental plates move towards each other.
Epicentre
point in the surface directly above the focus of an earthquake.
Focus
the actual point within the crust where the energy was released.
Seismic waves
waves of energy released by an earthquake
Seismometer
an instrument used to detect and record seismic waves.
Richter Scale
measures the energy released during an earthquake. Runs from 1
to 10 on a logarithmic scale i.e. each level increase is 10x stronger
Tsunami
a large wave(s), caused when an earthquake displaces the water
above