Science: Chapter 16
Terms
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- Fault
- – the boundary between two rock sections that have been displaced relative to each other
- Plate tectonics
- – the theory that the Earth’s crust is made up of rigid plates that move; the motion of these plates causes continental drift
- Weathering
- – the process by which rock is worn down by water, wind, or ice
- Erosion
- – occurs when weathered fragments of soil, rock, and other materials are carried away
- Convergent
- – plate boundaries where plates are moving toward another plate
- Divergent
- – plate boundaries where plates are moving away from another plate
- Elastic rebound theory
- – explains how rocks spring back to their original shape after they have been deformed by tectonic force
- Epicenter
- – the position on the surface of the Earth directly above the focus of an earthquake
- Focus or hypocenter
- – the point at which stress breaks the friction lock between two plates of the Earth’s crust
- Magnitude
- – the strength of an earthquake
- Richter scale of magnitude
- – scale used to measure the strength of an earthquake based on the amplitude of seismic waves
- Seismographs
- – instruments that record the vibrations of the Earth during an earthquake
- Seismologists
- – people who study earthquakes
- Shock or seismic waves
- – stored energy that is released in the form of intense vibrations during an earthquake
- Lava
- – magma that emerges on the Earth’s surface
- Magma
- – molten rock that triggers earthquakes and creates volcanoes as it rises within the Earth
- Dormant
- – inactive (sleeping)
- Active
- – has erupted recently or is currently erupting or expected to erupt
- Extinct
- – has not erupted in recorded history and is not expected to erupt
- Volcanic types
- – Strato, Shield, Cinder Cone, Dome
- Crust
- Earth’s outermost layer; rigid and brittle
- Mantle
- Layer directly beneath the crust; made of solid rock
- Outer core
- Layer beneath the mantle, made up of hot molten metals
- Inner core
- Earth’s central layer, made primarily of solid iron and nickel
- Lithosphere
- Earth’s crust and upper mantle area; broken into a series of plates that move independently of one another
- Asthenosphere
- Below the lithosphere; includes lower mantle and is somewhat fluid
- Earth's Layers
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Crust Mantle
Outer Core
Inner Core
Lithosphere
Asthenosphere