Understanding the pieces Flashcards
A theory that explains the different processes that cause the formation of different geologic features and phenomena.
Plate tectonics theory
A German meteorologist and geophysicist who hypothesized and suggested that the landmasses of Earth were once merged into a supercontinent.
Alfred Wegener
Merged landmasses that was once a supercontinent.
Pangaea
The term tectonic came from the __________ word _________ or the _________ word ____________, which means “___________.”
Latin, tectonicus, Greek, tektonikos, to build
It has been coined to give rise to the idea of the formation or sculpting of Earth’s lithosphere.
Tectonic
The outermost layer of the Earth.
Lithosphere
The crust is about ____ km deep.
50
The lithosphere extends to about ____ km deep.
80
It is made of various types of rocks and sediments floating on top of the malleable upper mantle .
Crust
The crust has a density of around __________.
2.6 g/cm^3
2 types of earth’s crust
- Continental
- Oceanic
A thicker and less dense crust of earth which makes it “float.”
Continental crust
A denser and relatively thinner crust of the Earth.
Oceanic crust
7 major plates
- North American
- South American
- Eurasian
- Pacific
- Indo-Australian
- African
- Antarctic
7 intermediate plates
- Philippine
- Caribbean
- Cocos
- Nazca
- Scotia
- Juan de Fuca
- Arabian
