Plate Tectonics Flashcards
a late 19th century theory that states that the ________________ of the Earth due to cooling
a late 19th century theory that states that the ________________ of the Earth due to heating
the theory that is analogous to what happens to the skin of an apple as the interior shrinks as it dehydrates
what are the strengths of the ‘contraction of the earth due to cooling’ theory
what are the weaknesses of the ‘contraction of the earth due to cooling’ theory
this theory was suggested after radioactivity was discovered
what are the strengths of the ‘expansion of the earth due to heating’ theory
what are the weaknesses of the ‘expansion of the earth due to heating’ theory
a German meteorologist who studied ancient climates
what year did Alfred Wegener describe what he called continental drift
in 1915, what was the title of his book wherein he expanded his theory
Wegener proposed that prior to about _________________ years ago, all of the continents formed one large land mass
the name of the one large land mass that contained all the continents
in Greek, the meaning of Pangea
name of the super ocean that surrounded Pangea which means “all seas”
Panthalassa
enumerate the supporting evidence for Alfred Wegener’s theory
- Jig-saw fit
- Rock types and structure
- Fossil evidence
- Climatic evidence
the weakness of Wegener’s theory
the study of the earth’s magnetic field and how it varied through time
enumerate in order the evolution of the Pangea
Pangea broke into two smaller supercontinents called:
an attempt to explain why mountains, earthquakes, and volcanoes occur where they do, the ages of deformational events, and the ages and shapes of continents and ocean basins
the continents Alfred Wegener observed that fit like a jigsaw
the continents where the same coal was found adding as evidence to Alfred Wegener’s theory
the Austrian geologist who first hypothesized Gondwana
an ancient supercontinent that broke up about 180 million years ago
Gondwana eventually split up into the 6 landmasses we recognize today as:
along with Gondwana was a large northern continent known as
Laurasia was a precursor to (3):
Laurasia in 1937 was coined by the South African geologist
the American geologist who proposed the Seafloor spreading theory
he discovered ‘mid-ocean ridges’
what Harry Hess considered as spreading centers for tectonic plates
Harry Hess suggested that the ocean floors move like _______________ carrying the continents along with them
Harry Hess commanded an attack transport ship during WW2. Like other ships, his had __________________ that mapped the seafloor
Hess discovered hundreds of flat-topped mountains in the Pacific that he gave the name:
SONAR is a device for detecting and locating objects especially underwater by means of sound waves sent out to be reflected by the objects. What does SONAR stand for
In Hess’s theory, he emphasized that what moves?
the seafloors
how are ridges, valleys, and trenches different?
the theory that states that the earth’s solid outer crust is separated into plates that move over the aesthenosphere
the name of the map of the seafloor that was published in 1977
in the early 1960s, a number of scientists put the evidence together and concluded that ________________________ drove a process they called seafloor spreading
enumerate the evidences for the seafloor spreading theory
the edges where two plates meet
most geologic activities including volcanoes, earthquakes, and mountain building take place at
the theory that states that geologic change formed over a long period of time through a gradual process
because of gradualism we were able to conclude that the continents were not really moving instead the _____________
the theory that brings together continental drift and seafloor spreading
plate movement wherein the two plates move away from each other
plate movement wherein the two plates move toward each other
plate movement wherein the two plates slip past each other
the seven primary plates
the eight smaller plates
Philippine Plate, Juan de Fuca Plate, Cocos Plate, Caribbean Plate, Arabian Plate, Indian Plate, Nazca Plate, and Scotia Plate
