plate tectonics

Question 1

lithosphere

Answer 1

the solid, outer layer of the earth that consists of the crust and the rigid upper part of the mantle

Question 2

Asthenosphere

Answer 2

the soft layer of the mantle on which the tectonic plates move

Question 3

Mesosphere

Answer 3

the strong, lower part of the mantle between the asthenosphere and the outer core

Question 4

inner core

Answer 4

fourth layer inside the Earth

Question 5

outer core

Answer 5

a fluid layer about 2,400 km thick and composed of mostly iron and nickel that lies above Earth’s solid inner core and below its mantle

Question 6

Seismic Waves

Answer 6

a wave of energy that travels through the earth and away from an earthquake in all directions

Question 7

Oceanic Crust

Answer 7

the relatively thin part of the earth’s crust which underlies the ocean basins. It is geologically young compared with the continental crust and consists of basaltic rock overlain by sediments.

Question 8

Continental Crust

Answer 8

the relatively thick part of the earth’s crust that forms the large landmasses. It is generally older and more complex than the oceanic crust.

Question 9

Density

Answer 9

the ratio of the mass of a substance to the volume of the substance

Question 10

Alfred Wegener

Answer 10

a German climatologist, geologist, geophysicist, meteorologist, and polar researcher

Question 11

Continental Drift

Answer 11

the hypothesis that states that the continents once formed a single landmass, broke up, and drifted to their present locations

Question 12

Convergent Boundary

Answer 12

the boundary formed by the collision of two lithospheric plates

Question 13

Divergent Boundary

Answer 13

the boundary between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other

Question 14

Transform Boundary

Answer 14

the boundary between tectonic plates that are sliding past each other horizontally

Question 15

Sea-floor Spreading

Answer 15

the process by which new oceanic lithosphere forms as magma rises toward the surface and solidifies

Question 16

Pangaea

Answer 16

a supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras.

Question 17

Laurasia

Answer 17

Laurasia was the more northern of two large landmasses

Question 18

Gondwana

Answer 18

a supercontinent that formed during the late Neoproterozoic

Question 19

. Mesosaurus

Answer 19

an extinct reptile which lived approximately 300 million years ago during the Early Permian Period

Question 20

Glossopteris

Answer 20

the largest and best-known genus of the extinct Permian order of seed ferns known as Glossopteridales