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. also the layer of the atmosphere and the thermosphere and in which temperature decreases as altitude increases

Question 4

Inner Core

Answer 4

1230 km thick

solid dense center of earth

Question 5

Outer Core

Answer 5

2200 km

liquid layer that lies beneath the mantle and surrounds the inner core of the earth

Question 6

Seismic Waves

Answer 6

insides of earth is mapped with seismic waves from earthquakes

Question 7

Oceanic Crust

Answer 7

the relatively thin part of the earth’s crust that underlies the ocean basins. It is geologically young compared with the continental crust and consists of basaltic rock overlain by sediments.

Question 8

Density

Answer 8

mass/volume

Question 9

Alfred Wegener

Answer 9

was a German polar researcher, geophysicist and meteorologist. During his lifetime he was primarily known for his achievements in meteorology

Question 10

Continental Drift

Answer 10

is the movement of the Earth’s continents relative to each other, thus appearing to “drift” across the ocean bed. The speculation that continents might have ‘drifted’ was first put forward by Abraham Ortelius in 1596

Question 11

Convergent Boundary

Answer 11

s 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 12

Divergent Boundary

Answer 12

is a linear feature that exists between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other.

Question 13

Transform Boundary

Answer 13

are places where plates slide sideways past each other

Question 14

Sea-floor Spreading

Answer 14

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.

Question 15

Pangaea

Answer 15

was a supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras.

Question 16

Laurasia

Answer 16

was the more northern of two supercontinents that formed part of the Pangaea supercontinent around 335 to 175 million years ago.

Question 17

Gondwana

Answer 17

was a supercontinent 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 18

Mesoaurus

Answer 18

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 19

Glossopteris

Answer 19

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.