The Earths surface Flashcards
what are the three layers the earth is made up of
Crust, Core and Mantle
What is the crust
It is the outside layer of the earth
Made up of solid rocks
Continents and oceans lie on top of the crust
What is the mantle
It lie under the crust
It is made of molten or semi molten rock called lava
What is the core
It is the centre of the earth
It is made of Iron and Nickel
It is the hottest part of the earth at 6,000 degrees
what can the earth be divided into
Plates
What are continental plates
Plates with land on top
What are oceanic plates
Plates with ocean on top
What are plate boundaries
the line where 2 plates meet
What moves the mantle around in circular motions
Convection currents
How do convection currents work
- when magma heated it rises to the crust
- As it rises it cools and moves sideways. This causes friction between the magma and the crust and pulls the plate
- The magma cools and sinks back into the mantle
- This process repeats constantly
What are plate tectonics
The study of the plates and their movement
what is Pangaea
The huge land mass that once was the earth
what are the names of the plates
North American Plate
Euraisian Plate
Indo - Australian Plate
African Plate
Antarctic Plate
South American Plate
Nazca Plate
Pacific Plate
African Plate
what is an example of a destructive boundary
Nazca and the South American plate
They collided form The Andes mountains
what are the 3 types of plate boundaries
Destructive, constructive and passive
