Plate tectonics

Question 1

Lithosphere

Answer 1

the solid, outer layer of the earth that consists of the crust and the rigid upper part of the mantle

Question 2

Asthenosphere

Answer 2

the soft layer of the mantle on which the tectonic plates move

Question 3

Mesosphere

Answer 3

the strong lower part of the mantle between the asthenosphere and the outer core

Question 4

Inner Core

Answer 4

The Earth’s inner core is the Earth’s innermost part. It is primarily a solid ball with a radius of about 1,220 kilometers, which is about 70% of the Moon’s radius. It is composed of an iron–nickel alloy and some light elements

Question 5

Outer Core

Answer 5

The outer core of the Earth is a fluid layer about 2,300 km thick and composed of mostly iron and nickel that lies above Earth’s solid inner core and below its mantle.

Question 6

Seismic waves

Answer 6

a wave of energy that travels through the earth and away from an earthquake in all directions

Question 7

Oceanic waves

Answer 7

In fluid dynamics, wind waves, or wind-generated waves, are surface waves that occur on the free surface of bodies of water. They result from the wind blowing over an area of fluid surface.

Question 8

Continental crust

Answer 8

The continental crust is the layer of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks that forms the continents and the areas of shallow seabed close to their shores, known as continental shelves.

Question 9

Density

Answer 9

the ratio of the mass of a substance to the volume of the sunstance

Question 10

Alfred Wegener

Answer 10

Alfred Lothar Wegener was a German polar researcher, geophysicist and meteorologist. During his lifetime he was primarily known for his achievements in meteorology and as a pioneer of polar research

Question 11

Continental drift

Answer 11

the hypothesis that states that the continents once formed a single land mass, broke up, and drifted to their preset locations

Question 12

Convergent boundary

Answer 12

In plate tectonics, a convergent boundary, also known as a destructive plate boundary, is a region of active deformation where two or more tectonic plates or fragments of the lithosphere are near the end of their life cycle

Question 13

Divergent boundary

Answer 13

In plate tectonics, a divergent boundary or divergent plate boundary is a linear feature that exists between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other.

Question 14

Transform boundary

Answer 14

Transform boundaries are places where plates slide sideways past each other. At transform boundaries lithosphere is neither created nor destroyed. Many transform boundaries are found on the sea floor, where they connect segments of diverging mid-ocean ridges. California’s San Andreas fault is a transform boundary.

Question 15

Sea-floor spreading

Answer 15

Seafloor spreading is a process that occurs at mid-ocean ridges, where new oceanic crust is formed through volcanic activity and then gradually moves away from the ridge. Seafloor spreading helps explain continental drift in the theory of plate tectonics

Question 16

Pangaea

Answer 16

Pangaea or Pangea was a supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras. It assembled from earlier continental units approximately 335 million years ago, and it began to break apart about 175 million years ago

Question 17

Laurasia

Answer 17

Laurasia was the more northern of two super continents that formed part of the Pangaea super continent around 335 to 175 million years ago

Question 18

Gondwana

Answer 18

Gondwana, or Gondwanaland, was a super continent that formed from the unification of several cratons in the Late Neoproterozoic, merged with Laurussia in the Carboniferous to form Pangaea, and began to fragment in the Mesozoic.

Question 19

Mesosaurus

Answer 19

Mesosaurus is an extinct genus of reptile from the Early Permian of southern Africa and South America. Along with the genera Brazilosaurus and Stereosternum, it is a member of the family Mesosauridae and the order Mesosauria.

Question 20

Glossopteris

Answer 20

Glossopteris is the largest and best-known genus of the extinct order of seed ferns known as Glossopteridales. The genus Glossopteris refers only to leaves, within a framework of form genera used in paleobotany.