sceince vocab /

continental drift

: Wegener’s hypothesis that Earth’s continents were joined as a single landmass, called

Pangaea, that broke apart about 200 million years ago and slowly moved to their present positions.

convergent boundary

: Place where two of Earth’s tectonic plates are moving toward each other; is

associated with trenches, islands arcs, and folded mountains.

Crater

: Bowl-shaped depression that forms around the central vent at the summit of a volcano.

Deposition

Sediment is transported and dropped into a new location.

divergent boundary

Place where two of Earth’s tectonic plates are moving apart

Earthquake

a sudden and violent shaking of the ground as a result of movements within the earth's crust or

volcanic action.

Epicenter

Point on Earth’s surface directly above the focus of an earthquake.

Erosion

Movement of weathered materials from one location to another by agents such as water, wind,

glaciers, and gravity.

Fault

Fracture or system of fractures in Earth’s crust that occurs when stress is applied too quickly or stress is

too great.

Focus

Point of the initial fault rupture where an earthquake originates that usually lies at least several

kilometers beneath Earth’s surface.

hot spot

An unusually hot area fed by a plume in Earth’s mantle, which creates a chain of volcanoes as the plates move above them

igneous rock

Intrusive or extrusive rock formed when hot magma cools and crystalizes (hardens).

lava

: liquid magma (molten/melted rock) that reaches the Earth’s surface

magma

the molten material beneath or within the Earth’s crust.

metamorphic rock

rock that is subjected to extremely high temperatures and pressure, causing physical or

chemical changes.

Pangaea

Ancient landmass made up of all the continents that began to break apart about 200 million years

ago.

seafloor spreading

Plates pull apart and create a crack in the ocean floor where magma fills the space between;creates a mid-ocean ridge and new crust when magma spreads outward.

Sediment

Small weathered rock particles.

sedimentary rock

: a type of rock that forms when sediment (other rock particles or organic remains) is

pressed together through cementation or compaction.

Sedimentation

: processes that cause mineral or organic particles to settle in one place.

Seismogram

Record produced by a seismometer that can provide individual tracking of each type of seismic

wave.

Subduction

Process by which one tectonic plate slips beneath another tectonic plate.

transform boundary

: A place where two tectonic plates slide horizontally past each other → earthquakes.

Volcano

a mountain or hill having a crater or vent through which lava, rock fragments, hot vapor, and gas erupt

from the earth's crust.

Viscosity

A substance’s internal resistance to flow

Weathering

Breaking down rocks into smaller pieces; the rate is influenced by factors like precipitation and temperature