Earth Science A Unit 3

inner core

solid center of Earth, Iron and Nickel

outer core

liquid layer of Earth’s core

mantle

solid layer beneath crust, flows like oobleck

crust

rocky, least dense outside layer of Earth

seismic waves

evidence from earthquakes that support ideas about different layers inside Earth

density

evidence that supports idea that core is iron and nickel, increasing overall density of the Earth

magnetic field

evidence that Earth has metal inside, also protects us from solar radiation and makes compasses work

rocks

evidence of what crust is made of

Wegener

Guy who developed Theory of Continental Drift

Pangea

Giant supercontinent

Theory of Continental Drift

continents were once all one big landmass, then moved to their present locations over millions of years

convergent boundary

tectonic plates move toward each other

divergent boundary

tectonic plates move away from each other

transform boundary

tectonic plates slide past each other

continental crust

less dense crust, land

oceanic crust

more dense crust, under water

mountain

results from two convergent continental plates

mid-ocean ridge

where new crust forms from divergent oceanic plates

subduction

when oceanic crust gets pushed down and melted

rift valley

results from two divergent continental plates

earthquake

results from transform plates sliding past each other

volcano

landform resulting from convergent continental and oceanic crust. These occur in a line along the boundary of two plates

seismic waves

comet

icy rock that travels around the sun in space

crater

round indentation on land resulting from meteorite hitting planet

meteor

meteoriod

meteorite

island arc