Unit 2 Vocabulary

Question 1

Pangaea

Answer 1

The name given to the supercontinent that broke apart about 200 million years ago.

Question 2

Continental Drift

Answer 2

Wegener’s hypothesis that all continents were once connected in as a single continent.

Question 3

Mid-Ocean Ridges

Answer 3

A long narrow mountain range on the ocean floor.

Question 3

Ocean Trenches

Answer 3

A deep underwater trough created by one plate subducting under another plate.

Question 4

Seafloor Spreading

Answer 4

The process by which new oceanic crust forms along a mid-ocean ridge as older oceanic crust moves away.

Question 5

Magma

Answer 5

Molten rock stored below Earth’s surface.

Question 6

Lava

Answer 6

Magma that erupts onto Earth’s surface.

Question 7

Plate Tectonics

Answer 7

Theory that Earth’s surface is broken into large rigid pieces that move with respect of each other.

Question 8

Convergent Boundaries

Answer 8

The boundary between two plates that move towards each other.

Question 9

Divergent Boundaries

Answer 9

The boundary between two plates that move away from each other.

Question 10

Transform Boundaries

Answer 10

The boundary between two plates that slide past each other.

Question 11

Subduction

Answer 11

The process that occurs when one tectonic plate moves under another plate.

Question 12

Fault

Answer 12

A crack or fracture in Earth’s lithosphere along witch movement occurs.

Question 13

Volcano

Answer 13

A vent in Earth’s crust which molten rock flows.

Question 14

Volcanic Arc

Answer 14

A curved line of volcanoes that forms parallel to a plate boundary.

Question 15

Earthquake

Answer 15

Vibrations caused by the rupture and sudden movements of rocks along a break or a crack in Earth’s crust.

Question 16

Fault Zone

Answer 16

An area of many fractured pieces of crust along a large fault.

Question 17

Landslide

Answer 17

Rapid downhill movement of soil, loose rocks, and boulders.

Question 18

Tsunami

Answer 18

A wave that forms when an ocean disturbance suddenly moves a large volume of water.

Question 19

Impact Craters

Answer 19

A round depression formed on the surface of a planet, moon, or other space objects by the impact of a meteorite.

Question 20

Weathering

Answer 20

The mechanical and chemical process that change Earth’s surface over time.

Question 21

Erosion

Answer 21

The moving of weathered material or sediment from one location to another.

Question 22

Deposition

Answer 22

The laying down or settling of eroded material.

Question 23

Glacier

Answer 23

A large mass of ice formed by snow accumulation on land that slowly moves across Earth’s surface.

Question 24

Rock

Answer 24

A naturally occurring solid composed of minerals, rock fragments and sometimes other materials such as organic matter.

Question 25

Mineral

Answer 25

A naturally occurring inorganic solid that has a crystal structure and a definite chemical composition.

Question 26

Crystallization

Answer 26

The process by which atoms form a solid with an orderly repeating pattern.

Question 27

Extrusive Rock

Answer 27

Igneous rocks that forms when volcanic material erupts, cools, and crystallizes.

Question 28

Intrusive Rock

Answer 28

Igneous rocks that forms as magma cools underground.

Question 29

Lithification

Answer 29

The process through which sediment turns into rock.

Question 30

Compaction

Answer 30

A process in which the weight from the layers of sediment forces out fluids and decreases the force between sediment grains

Question 31

Cementation

Answer 31

A process in which minerals dissolved in water crystallize between sediment grains.

Question 32

Rock Cycle

Answer 32

The series of processes that change one type of rock into another type of rock