Plate Tectonics Vocab

Question 1

Crust

Answer 1

The outermost shell of a rocky planet.

Question 2

Mantle

Answer 2

The layer of molten rock between the crust and the core

Question 3

Core

Answer 3

Made up of mostly iron. Separated into the outer core(molten) and the inner core(solid)

Question 4

Tectonic plate

Answer 4

The layer of rock that make up the outer part of the Earth, including the crust and upper mantle. (lithosphere plates)

Question 5

Continental drift theory

Answer 5

The theory continents gradually drifted over time to their present positions.

Question 6

Asthenosphere

Answer 6

A thin layer of Earth, about 150 miles thick at the border between the mantle and the crust.

Question 7

Convection current

Answer 7

The process in which the hotter parts of a glass or a liquid rise to the top and the cooler parts move to the bottom

Question 8

Convergent Boundary

Answer 8

When two tectonic plates come together

Question 9

Mountains

Answer 9

uplift of crustal plates that form elevated landmasses

Question 10

Volcanoes

Answer 10

A vent or fissure in Earth’s surface through which magma and gasses are expelled.

Question 11

Divergent Boundary

Answer 11

When tectonic plates split apart

Question 12

Transform Boundary

Answer 12

When tectonic plates slide against eachother

Question 13

Fault

Answer 13

Breaks in the crust, The movement causes seismic waves which produce earthquakes

Question 14

Mid-Ocean Ridge

Answer 14

A long ridge of underwater volcanoes between two diverging oceanic plates.

Question 15

Subduction Zone

Answer 15

A place where one tectonic plate sink under another and melts, Also forms a trench

Question 16

Rift Valley

Answer 16

A long narrow valley between two diverging continental plates