science

The outermost and thinnest layer of the Earth where living organisms can survive.

Crust

The thickest layer of the Earth located beneath the crust.

Mantle

A liquid layer of molten iron and nickel beneath the Earth's mantle, responsible for generating the planet's magnetic field.

Outer Core

The Earth's solid, super-hot center, primarily composed of iron and nickel.

Inner Core

Composed of the crust and the upper mantle, forming the rigid outer layer of the Earth.

Lithosphere

Continental Crust

Thicker but less dense crust that varies in thickness and is much older than oceanic crust.

Thinner and denser crust found under oceans, made mostly of basalt, and is the youngest type of rock.

Oceanic Crust

The theory that Earth's crust is made up of plates that interact, producing earthquakes, mountains, and volcanoes.

Plate Tectonics

Plate boundaries where plates separate and move apart, forming new lithosphere.

Divergent Boundaries

Plate boundaries formed when two plates move toward each other, leading to subduction or mountain formation.

Convergent Boundaries

Plate boundaries where plates slide past each other.

Transform Fault Boundaries

The process where oceanic plates diverge at mid-ocean ridges, creating new seafloor.

Seafloor Spreading

Slow stirring motions in the Earth's mantle that drive tectonic activities and plate movement.

Convection Currents

The process where magma release at the ridge pushes oceanic crust toward the subduction zone trench.

Ridge Push

Proposed the Continental Drift theory, suggesting continents were once a single landmass that drifted apart.

Alfred Wegener

A freshwater reptile whose fossils found in South America and Africa suggest these continents were once connected.

Mesosaurus

An extinct plant whose fossil remains found across separated continents indicate they were once joined.

Glossopteris

A phenomenon where a planet's magnetic field changes, affecting the alignment of magnetic minerals in rocks.

Magnetic Reversal

An area with a high concentration of earthquakes and active volcanoes, often associated with tectonic plate boundaries.

Pacific Ring of Fire