Plate Tectonics Flashcards
Compare and contrast the lithosphere and asthenosphere
Lithosphere – brittle and rigid, crust, top layer, thin asthenosphere – plastic and flowing, mantle, thick, underneath lithosphere
What are two differences between oceanic and continental crust?
Oceanic – thinner, more dance
Continental – thicker, less dense
Compare and contrast faulting and folding. Draw a diagram of each.
Faulting tension forces cause cracks in crust ( pulling apart)
Folding – compression causes rocks to fold (squeezing)
Where are most faults located?
Along plate boundaries (fault)
Identify the layers of earth and briefly describe each.
Inner core - solid iron
Outer core – liquid
Mantle – plastic and flowing
Crust – solid and rocky outer layer
What is seafloor spreading? Identify one location on earth where it is occurring.
Divergent boundary in the ocean, mid Atlantic Ridge, oldest rocks or farther away from the ridge younger rocks are near the ridge
Describe how convection causes earths crustal plates to move
Hot rock rises to the top, cools, and sinks
List some evidence that supports the theory of continental drift
Similar fossils on different continents, continents fit together like a puzzle, South America and Africa are moving farther apart
What is the difference between the focus and epicenter of an earthquake?
Focus is below ground, epicenter is above ground
List some types of damage caused by earthquakes.
Collapsed buildings and bridges, tsunami’s, fires, sand blows, liquefaction
Describe convergent, divergent, and transform boundaries (use your tree map)
Convergent – plates come together oceanic – continental- subduction occurs – causes volcanoes on the edge of both plates, Andes mountains
Continental- continental – plates crumble to form mountains, Himalayas
Oceanic – oceanic – plates sink, form trench and island arcs, Japan and Philippines
Diversion – plate spread apart
Continental – forms a rift valley and volcanoes, East African rift
Oceanic – seafloor spreading, forms a mid ocean ridge, mid Atlantic Ridge
Transform – plates slide past each other causes earthquakes, San Andreas Fault
What is Pangaea?
A large supercontinent that existed 200 million years ago
What is subduction and when does it occur?
Subduction occurs when one plate sinks underneath another. It occurs when an oceanic plate converges with a continental plate
Identify a location of each of the following: mid Ocean Ridge, subduction zone, hot spot, continental – continental convergent, divergent continental boundary, transform boundary
Mid ocean ridge – mid Atlantic Ridge
Subduction zone – Andes mountains, cascade Mountains (Washington state)
Hotspot – Hawaii
Continental-continental convergent – Himalayas (mount Everest)
Continental- divergent boundary – East African rift
Transform boundary – San Andreas Fault
Identify the difference between the P waves, S waves and surface waves
(Primary) P waves: travels in solid and liquid, fastest and first to arrive, stretch and compress as they move up and down in the earth, travel faster in solids that and liquids
(Secondary) S waves: travel only in solids, second to arrive, move side to side as they travel up and down in the earth
Surface waves – travel only in the crust, cause the most damage, slowest, last to arrive, move up and down on the surface of Earth
