science test part 1 Flashcards
theory of plate tectonics
describes large scale movements of earths lithosphere, explains how and why features in Earth’s crust form and continents move
historical development of plate tectonics
-mid ocean ridges/underwater mountain ranges
-age and magnetic properties of the sea floor
-sea floor spreading
-ocean trenches/subduction
-volcanic activity
historical development of continental drift
- rocks and fossils of the same species found on separate sides of the Atlantic ocean
- The shape of the continents fit together and mountains connected
- climate/ glacier and coal deposits
three mechanisms of plate movement
mantle convection- change in density causing things to heat and rise and cool and drop
ridge push- moves plates away from mid ocean ridges as rock cools and becomes more dense conversion boundaries push apart
slab push- pulls a plate along when its dense ridge sinks beneath Earth’s surface; conversion boundaries come together and subduct
subduction
process by which one tectonic plate is pulled beneath the other plate
solar system formation
solar nebula flattens into a disk and then it explodes and the sun forms and planets form from the particles and gases
sources of energy in Earth’s interior
-objects collide=kinetic energy
-radioactive decay
-dense material sinks to the core
differentiation/ how Earth’s layers are formed
Earth’s molten pulls high density material to center and cools to layers of composition
Earth’s compositional layers + describe
crust- outer (oxygen silicon aluminum )
mantle- inside (magnesium less aluminum)
core- inside inside (iron nickel)
Earth’s physical layers
lithosphere- crust/upper part of mantle; brittle
asthenosphere- soft mantle on top; soft solid
mesosphere- strong lower mantle;solid
outer core- liquid
inner core- solid
seismic waves and how they are detected
earthquakes relieve seismic waves that tell magnitude of an earthquake and scientists collect them with seismograph
