plate tectonics

Question 1

lithosphere

Answer 1

the rigid outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle

Question 2

asthenosphere

Answer 2

the upper layer of the earth’s mantle, below the lithosphere, in which there is relatively low resistance to plastic flow and convection is thought to occur.

Question 3

mesophere

Answer 3

the region of the earth’s atmosphere above the stratosphere and below the thermosphere, between about 30 and 50 miles (50 and 80 km) in altitude.

Question 4

inner core

Answer 4

the inner core is the fourth layer inside the Earth

Question 5

outer core

Answer 5

Earth’s outer core is a fluid layer about 2,400 km (1,500 mi) thick and composed of mostly iron and nickel that lies above Earth’s solid inner core

Question 6

seismac waves

Answer 6

A seismic wave is an elastic wave generated by an impulse such as an earthquake or an explosion.

Question 7

Oceanic Crust

Answer 7

oceanic crust, the outermost layer of Earth’s lithosphere that is found under the oceans

Question 8

Continental Crust

Answer 8

continental crust, the outermost layer of Earth’s lithosphere that makes up the planet’s continents and continental shelves and is formed near subduction zones at plate boundaries between continental and oceanic tectonic plates.

Question 9

density

Answer 9

The density of a substance is its mass per unit volume.

Question 10

Alfred Wegener

Answer 10

Alfred Lothar Wegener was a German climatologist, geologist, geophysicist, meteorologist, and polar researcher

Question 11

Continental Drift

Answer 11

Continental drift describes one of the earliest ways geologists thought continents moved over time.

Question 12

Convergent Boundary

Answer 12

When two plates come together, it is known as a convergent boundary. The impact of the colliding plates can cause the edges of one or both plates to buckle up into a mountain ranges or one of the plates may bend down into a deep seafloor trench.

Question 13

Divergent Boundary

Answer 13

A divergent boundary occurs when two tectonic plates move away from each other.

Question 14

Transform Boundary

Answer 14

Transform boundaries are places where plates slide sideways past each other.

Question 15

sea floor spreading

Answer 15

the formation of new areas of oceanic crust, which occurs through the upwelling of magma at midocean ridges and its subsequent outward movement on either side.

Question 16

pangaea

Answer 16

a supercontinent that incorporated almost all the landmasses on Earth.

Question 17

Laurasia

Answer 17

ancient continental mass in the Northern Hemisphere that included North America, Europe, and Asia

Question 18

gondwana

Answer 18

Gondwana was an ancient supercontinent that broke up about 180 million years ago. … These all-in-one supercontinents include Columbia (also known as Nuna), Rodinia, Pannotia and Pangaea (or Pangea).

Question 19

mesosauras

Answer 19

Mesosaurus, (genus Mesosaurus), early aquatic relative of reptiles, found as fossils from the Early Permian Period (299 million to 271 million years ago) in South Africa and South America.

Question 20

glossopteris

Answer 20

genus of fossilized woody plants known from rocks that have been dated to the Permian and Triassic periods (roughly 300 to 200 million years ago), deposited on the southern supercontinent of Gondwana. … Its most common fossil is that of a tongue-shaped leaf with prominent midrib and reticulate venation.