Plate Tectonics Flashcards
Name all layers of the earth and what they’re made of.
Crust (60km - 70km thick; contains solid rock), mantle (hot molten rock; magma), inner core (solid iron and nickel) & outer core (liquid iron & nickel)
What was the supercontinent called?
Pangaea (meaning all land)
What is continental drift?
Continental drift is when plates drift apart from eachother.
Why do continents move?
Continents move when a new plate is being created (lava erupts in undersea mountains) aka sea floor spreading
Name 8 major plates
North American plate, South American plate, nazca plate, pacific plate, Antarctic plate, African plate, Eurasian plate and Indo-Australian plate.
What type of plates are the ones that carry land on them and are usually very thick (40km - 70km)?
Continental plate
What plate carry oceans on them and are usually thin (6km - 10km)?
Oceanic plate
How do plates move, and what is the movement called?
Plates move when the magma in the mantle moves in big circles called convection currents
What is a plate boundary?
A plate boundary is where the two edges of plates meet
Draw a short diagram of how convection currents work (+label & short paragraph)
Draw 3-4 times
‘Must Have’ Labels: plates, convection currents, mantle, subduction zone, arrows ‹- -› & title
Name this plate boundary —› ‹—
Destructive plate boundary, when two plates slowly collide, forming a subduction zone
Name this plate boundary ‹— —›
Constructive plate boundary, where two plates move apart, creating lava flow upwards, making new crust
Name this plate boundary ‹—
—›
Transformative plate boundary, where two plates slide or grind past each other, sometimes causing earthquakes
What happends when a oceanic plate collides with a continental plate
The oceanic crust is dragged downwards where it melts and is recycles into the mantle (subduction)
Draw a diagram of plates separating (+labels & short paragraph)
Draw 3-4 times
must have labels: mid-ocean ridge, convection currents, plates (names), arrows ‹- -› & ocean
What is a fault line
A fault line is where a visible line is at a transformative plate boundary. (E.g San Andreas fault)
What happens when two plates get stuck sliding past each other
When two plates get stuck together, they build up great pressure until they slip, releasing the pressure, causing a very destructive earthquake
Draw diagram of 3 plate boundaries (+labels)
Must have Labels: subduction zone, crust, angle, convection currents, arrows ‹- -› & lines pointing to each boundary
What happens in a subduction zone
In a subduction zone, the oceanic plate melts and recycles into the mantle
What is the largest plate collision zone on earth
The pacific ring of fire
What do destructive plate boundaries create
Fold mountains & earthquakes (e.g Himalayas )
Draw a diagram of two continental plates colliding (fold mountains)
Must have labels: fold mountains, uplift, arrows ‹- -›, convection currents mantle & earths crust being folded
Do the Himalayas form a destructive or constructive plate boundary
Destructive
Name the continents and oceans of the world
Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe & Australia
Arctic, pacific, Atlantic, southern, Indian,
