Unit 2 vocab

Question 1

Pangaea

Answer 1

A name given to a supercontinent that broke apart approximately 200 million years ago

Question 2

Continental Drift

Answer 2

the gradual movement of the continents across the earth’s surface through

Question 3

Mid-ocean ridges

Answer 3

a long, seismically active submarine ridge system situated in the middle of an ocean basin and marking the site of the upwelling of magma associated with seafloor spreading. An example is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

Question 4

Ocean trenches

Answer 4

Ocean trenches are long, narrow depressions on the seafloor. These chasms are the deepest parts of the ocean

Question 5

Seafloor spreading

Answer 5

the formation of new areas of oceanic crust, which occurs through the upwelling of magma at midocean ridges and its subsequent outward movement on either side.

Question 6

Magma

Question 7

Lava

Answer 7

hot fluid or semifluid material below or within the earth’s crust from which lava and other igneous rock is formed on cooling.

Question 8

Plate tectonics

Answer 8

a theory explaining the structure of the earth’s crust and many associated phenomena as resulting from the interaction of rigid lithospheric plates which move slowly over the underlying mantle.

Question 9

Convergent boundaries

Answer 9

A tectonic boundary where two plates are moving toward each other. If the two plates are of equal density, they usually push up against each other

Question 10

Divergent boundaries

Answer 10

A tectonic boundary where two plates are moving away from each other and new crust is forming from magma that rises to the Earth’s surface between the two

Question 11

Transform boundaries

Answer 11

Transform Plate Boundaries are locations where two plates slide past one another

Question 12

Subduction

Answer 12

the sideways and downward movement of the edge of a plate of the earth’s crust into the mantle beneath another plate.

Question 13

Volcano

Answer 13

a mountain or hill, typically conical, having a crater or vent through which lava, rock fragments, hot vapor, and gas are being or have been erupted from the earth’s crust.

Question 13

Fault

Answer 13

(of a rock formation) be broken by a fault or faults.

Question 14

Volcanic arc

Answer 14

A volcanic arc is a belt of volcanoes formed above a subducting oceanic tectonic plate, with the belt arranged in an arc shape as seen from above.

Question 15

Earthquake

Answer 15

a sudden and violent shaking of the ground, sometimes causing great destruction, as a result of movements within the earth’s crust or volcanic action.

Question 16

Fault zone

Answer 16

A fault zone is a cluster of parallel faults. However, the term is also used for the zone of crushed rock along a single fault.

Question 17

Landslide

Answer 17

the sliding down of a mass of earth or rock from a mountain or cliff.

Question 18

Tsunami

Answer 18

a long high sea wave caused by an earthquake, submarine landslide, or other disturbance

Question 19

Impact craters

Answer 19

a crater on a planet or moon caused by the impact of a meteorite or other object, typically circular with a raised rim.

Question 20

Weathering

Answer 20

the process of wearing or being worn by long exposure to the atmosphere.

Question 21

Erosion

Answer 21

the process of eroding or being eroded by wind, water, or other natural agents.
“the problem of soil erosion”

Question 22

Deposition

Answer 22

Deposition is the laying down of sediment carried by wind, flowing water, the sea or ice.

Question 23

Glacier

Answer 23

A glacier is a large, perennial accumulation of crystalline ice, snow, rock, sediment, and often liquid water that originates on land and moves down slope under the influence of its own weight and gravity.

Question 24

Rock

Answer 24

a natural substance composed of solid crystals of different minerals that have been fused together into a solid lump

Question 25

Mineral

Answer 25

A mineral is a naturally occurring inorganic element or compound having an orderly internal structure and characteristic chemical composition, crystal form, and physical properties.

Question 25

Crystallization

Answer 25

Crystallization can be defined as the solidification of a liquid substance into a highly structured solid whose atoms or molecules are placed in a well-defined three-dimensional crystal lattice

Question 26

Extrusive rock

Answer 26

Extrusive rock refers to the mode of igneous volcanic rock formation in which hot magma from inside the Earth flows out (extrudes) onto the surface as lava or explodes violently into the atmosphere to fall back as pyroclastics or tuff.

Question 27

Intrusive rock

Answer 27

igneous rock formed from magma forced into older rocks at depths within the Earth’s crust, which then slowly solidifies below the Earth’s surface, though it may later be exposed by erosion

Question 28

Lithification

Answer 28

lithification, complex process whereby freshly deposited loose grains of sediment are converted into rock. Lithification may occur at the time a sediment is deposited or later.

Question 29

Compaction

Answer 29

happens when sediments are deeply buried, placing them under pressure because of the weight of overlying layers. This squashes the grains together more tightly.

Question 30

Cementation

Answer 30

Cementation is the precipitation of a binding material around grains, thereby filling the pores of a sediment.

Question 31

Rock cycle

Answer 31

The rock cycle is a web of processes that outlines how each of the three major rock types—igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary—form and break down based on the different applications of heat and pressure over time. For example, sedimentary rock shale becomes slate when heat and pressure are added.