Structure of the Earth Flashcards
What is the inner core?
The hottest, innermost layer of the Earth with a temperature of 6000°C. Although it is so hot, it is made of solid metal. This is because the metal is compressed into solid form by the weight of the other layers of the Earth on top.
What is the outer core?
The layer next to the inner core. Made of liquid metal.
What is the mantle?
The thickest layer, with a semi-liquid consistency. Made of magma.
What is the crust?
The thin outer shell. Broken up into sections called plates.
What is magma?
Molten rock in the mantle. Semi-liquid consistency.
What is lava?
Magma that is outside of the crust.
What is continental drift?
The movement of Earth’s land over time.
What is Pangaea?
The supercontinent formed 225 million years ago.
What is a tectonic plate?
A large section of Earth’s crust.
What is a plate boundary?
Where two or more plates meet.
What is an oceanic plate?
Type of crust under the oceans. Thin, dense, made of basalt rock.
What is a continental plate?
Type of crust on land. Thick, less dense, made of granite rock.
