PLATE TECTONICS Flashcards
1
Q
What is the theory explaining how the movement of geological plates causes mountains, volcanoes, and earthquakes?
A
Plate tectonics
2
Q
Who is the PROPONENT of CONTINENTAL DRIFT THEORY?
A
Alfred Wegener
3
Q
What year did he propose continental drift theory
A
1912
4
Q
Who proposed seafloor spreading theory?
A
Harry Hess
5
Q
What are the 3 types of plate boundaries
A
Divergent, Convergent, Transform
6
Q
move AWAY
A
Divergent
7
Q
slide PAST each other
A
Transform
8
Q
move TOWARD each other
A
Convergent
9
Q
what is the only liquid layer of the earth
A
outer core
10
Q
which is the thickest layer of the earth
A
mantle
11
Q
which scientist credited for establishing the foundation for the theory of plate tectonics?
A
Alfred Wegener
12
Q
The Mohorovicic discontinuity was discovered by studying the behavior of ___
A
seismic waves
13
Q
Which is not a driving force that influences the movement of plate tectonics?
A
drag force
14
Q
Which resisting force of plate movement opposes the slab pull?
A
collisional resistance
15
Q
Upon validation of the continental drift theory, it was proven that __
A
rocks and fossils on the coastline across oceans have the same age and sequence
16
Q
The interface between the mantle and the outer core is called the __
A
Gutenberg discontinuity
17
Q
layer of the earth that is responsible for the planet’s magnetic field
A
outer core
18
Q
In proposing the continental drift theory, wegener noted the matching coastlines of which two continents?
A
south America and Africa
19
Q
which theory posits that the geographical features of the earth’s surface is the result of the contraction and wrinkling of the planet as it cooled down?
A
contraction theory
20
Q
theory of plate tectonics was initiated by
A
Alfred Wegener
21
Q
the supercontinent from where present continents came from is called
A
Pangaea
22
Q
which is not a primary plate
A
Philippine plate
23
Q
acc. to the theory of plate tectonics, which layer of the Earth is made up of plates?
A
lithosphere
24
Q
according to the theory of harry hess, continents move because of
A
seafloor movement
25
the process that produces new seafloors between two plates moving away is called
ocean floor spreading
26
What is the rigid layer of the earth that can break under stress?
lithosphere
27
this is composed of minor and major plates
lithosphere
28
below the lithosphere; 180km thick and contains hot molten rocks or magma
asthenosphere
29
the asthenosphere can deform and reshape driven by heat energy which circulates as ___
convection currents
30
outermost layer of the earth where life exists
crust
31
the crust that makes up the continents
continental crust
32
it is made up of mostly aluminum silicates and is about 40km to 70km thick
continental crust
33
the crust that underlies the ocean floor
oceanic crust
34
it is composed of dense basaltic rocks made up of magnesium silicates and has an average thickness of 5km
oceanic crust
35
An english astronomer and mathematician theorized that the earth is hollow and that there are inner concentric layers below the crust that float in gas.
edmund halley
36
Pangaea came from the greek words ___
pan and gaea
37
means "all"
pan
38
means "earth"
gaea
39
translates to all earth or all lands
pangaea
40
a vast sea or superocean
panthalassa
41
means all seas
panthalassa
42
he predicted that the continents will reform into a supercontinent
Christopher Scotese
43
boundary interface between the crust and the mantle
mohorovic discontinuity
44
It suggested that the planet was once a molten ball and in the process of cooling the surface cracked and folded up on itself.
contraction theory
45
It states that there was once existed a single large landmass or supercontinent called PANGAEA which drifted and formed our continents today.
theory of continental drift
46
It is the process through which the seafloor splits and moves apart along a mid-ocean ridge, and new oceanic crust forms along the ridge.
Seafloor spreading theory
47
It states that the Earth's outer shell is divided into several PLATES that glide over the mantle, the rocky inner layer above the core.
theory of plate tectonics
48
Who made an analogy between the wrinkles on the surface of a dried shrunken fruit and the mountains on the surface of a cooling earth?
Eduard Suess (australian geologist)
49
Pangaea would later break into two smaller supercontinents called __
Gondwana and Laurasia
50
Gondwana is composed of __. First hypothesized by __ in the __
Africa, Antarctica, South America, Australia, and the subcontinents of India; Eduard Suess; mid-1800
51
Laurasia was the precursor to __. It was coined by South African geologist __ in __
Asia, North America, Europe; Alexander du Toit; 1937
52
A theory which states that the seafloors/ocean floor--not the continents-- move and carry the continents along. It was proposed by __ in the year __
Seafloor spreading theory; American geologist Harry Hess; 1960
53
This theory incorporates continental drift theory and seafloor spreading theory.
Theory of plate tectonics
54
Earth's lithosphere is composed of many independent massive slabs of solid rocks called __, which floats on an inner liable manner
plates
55
At present, there are __ major tectonic plates that consists of __ primary plates and __ secondary smaller plates
15; 7; 8
56
primary plates includes:
Eurasian plate; Australian plate; Pacific plate; North American plate; South American plate; African plate; Antarctic plate
57
secondary plates include:
Juan de Fuca Plate; Nazca plate; Cocos plate; Caribbean plate; Philippine Sea plate; Arabian plate; Indian plate; Scotia plate
58
who predicted that the continents will reform into a supercontinent. he called this __ meaning __ but changed it to __ meaning __
Christopher Scotese (professor and geologist from University of Texas at Arlington); supercontinent Pangaea Ultima; the Last Pangaea; Pangaea Proxima; the Next Pangaea
59
Earth is made up of four layers:
Inner core, outer core, mantle, crust
60
boundaries mark the interfaces between the mantle and the outer core
Gutenberg discontinuity
61
boundaries mark the interfaces between the outer core and inner core
Lehmann discontinuity
62
it is located below the lithosphere
asthenosphere
63
the lithosphere is made up of
crust and upper part of the mantle
64
this are seismic waves that travel through the interior of the earth
body waves
65
this moves faster than secondary waves and can pass through solid and liquid layers
primary waves
66
this can only penetrate solid layers
secondary waves
67
according to the theory __, the lithosphere is made up of plates that are continually moving. the plates may be __ or __
plate tectonics; continental or oceanic
68
plates that are under landmasses
continental plates
69
plates that are below the ocean
oceanic plate
70
___ are thicker but lighter than ___
continental plate; oceanic plate
71
what forces influence the movement of tectonic plates
driving forces and resisting forces
72
this force push plates toward one another or pull them apart
dirivng forces
73
this force act against the driving forces
resisting forces
74
regions between plates are called
plate boundaries
75
as the plates move, fractures called __ develop on earths crust
fault
76
divergent boundaries between oceanic plates produce
mid-oceanic ridges
77
The great east african rift valley is an example of
divergent boundary
78
if one plate moves underneath the other, what forms
subduction zone
79
if two plates simply collide and compress, what forms
organic belt
80
this is the region of deformed rocks
organic belt
81
a collision between two plates composed of oceanic lithosphere. Even though this boundary involves the same type of lithosphere, one of the plates will still subduct beneath the other.
oceanic-oceanic convergence
82
This is a long chain of active volcanoes
island arc
83
how is the island arc formed?
This plate subducts beneath the younger plate. As the subducting plate is pushed deeper into the mantle, it melts. The magma this creates rises and erupts. This forms a line of volcanoes, known as island arc
84
this occurs when a tectonic plate composed of oceanic lithosphere collides with a plate with continental lithosphere.
oceanic-continental convergence
85
What forms in oceanic-continental convergence
oc convergence pushes the continental plate upward, forming volcanoes; deep ocean trenches
86
no subduction happens. instead, the continents suture themselves
continental-continental convergence
87
what forms in c-c convergence
mountains
88
area where plate is being pulled
subduction zone
89
steep sided depression in the ocean floor
trench
90
arc shaped chain of volcano formed above a subduction zone
volcano arc
91
no mountains or volcanoes are produced
transform boundary
92
earthquakes are formed
transform boundary
93
refers to the shaking of earth as a result of the breaking/shifting of the rocks of tectonic plates, which release seismic waves
earthquake
94
why does earthquake occur?
because of the pressure underneath earth's crust that pushes blocks of rock to move along fault lines
95
these are cracks on earth's crust
faults
96
surface where the block slip past each other
fault plane
97
types of fault
normal fault; reverse fault; strike-slip fault
98
refers to the movement of faults along the angle of the fault plane
dip-slip
99
dip-slip is classified as
normal fault or reverse fault
100
the angle of movement
dip
101
the movement
slip
102
__ is a dip-slip fault where a block that sits on a fault plane called __ SLIPS DOWNWARD w/ respect to the foot wall along the dip angle
normal fault; hanging wall
103
__ is a dip-slip fault where the block of Earth's crust PUSHES UPWARD and ALONG the dip angle
reverse fault
104
a type of reverse fault where the angle of the dip is 45 degrees or less
thrust fault
105
in here, nearly VERTICAL fault planes slide in parallel bt opposite directions
strike-slip fault
106
this is a combination of a strike-slip fault and a dip-slip. blocks of earth's crust SLIDE HORIZONTALLY and OBLOQUELY UP OR DOWN from each other
oblique fault
107
these are large landforms that rise well above the ground and have a steep slopes and a peak generally higher than a hill
mountains
108
it refers to the process of forming mountains and mountain ranges. it involves the collision of plates and forces of compression
orogenesis
109
tectonic plates may move __ one another and push landmasses __ to form mountain ranges
toward; upward
110
these are formed through plate convergence
fold mountains
111
these usually have isolated peaks that formed for over thousand or millions of years
volcanic mountain ranges
112
formed from accumulated lava flows, pyroclasts, and other igneous rocks that piled over time
volcanic mountain ranges
113
erosion-formed mountain ranges form because of earth’s internal activity (true or false)
false since it forms because of rock erosion or weathering
114
result from up warping of tectonic plates and are not accompanied by the collision of plate boundaries
dome mountain ranges
115
this are elongated structures in the crust
domes
116
the movement of normal faults causes tensional forces and can uplift large blocks of crust to form __
fault-block mountains
117
when plates collide at a plate boundary in a subduction zone, the force will resist movement
slab resistance
118
occurs where a heavy plate is pulled into the mantle but resists subduction because of friction. this force opposes slab pull
collosional resistance
119
the spreading center along a ridge is broken by several kilometers sometimes
transform fault resistance
120
resist movement of lithosphere plates
drag force
121
the pulling force exerted by a cold, dense oceanic plate plunging into the mantle due to its own weight.
slab pull
122
the force due to the buoyancy of the hot mantle rising to the surface beneath the ridge.
ridge push
123
describes the movement of the mantle as it transfers heat from the white-hot core to the brittle lithosphere.
mantle convection
124
causes the overriding plate to move away from the subduction zone
slab pull
125
results in trench-ward motion of the overriding plate
slab suction
126
caused by the rising of heat from the core toward the mantle
mantle convection
127
it takes place when a subducting slab sinks into the hot mantle because of a difference in temperature
slab pull
128
it occurs between two colliding plates, one subducting underneath the other, whereby convection currents in the upper mantle suck both plates down
slab suction
129
it occurs when the lithosphere is pushed up by the asthenosphere because of convection currents from the mantle.
ridge push
130
the force that resists all the forces associated with the plate movement in subduction zones
slab resistance
131
occurs when a heavy plate is pulled into the mantle but resists subduction because of friction
collisional resistance
132
it is the frictional force due to the opposing movements of plates moving past one another between two spreading centers
transform fault resistance
133
it resists movement of lithospheric plates
drag force
