Earth and space Science

Earths Crust

The outside layer of the Earth and is made of solid rock, mostly basalt and granite. 

Lithosphere

The outermost layer of Earth consisting of the crust and the uppermost rigid part of the mantle. 

Oceanic Crust

A thin, dense layer that forms on the sea floor. The oceanic crust was primarily made of basalt rock.

Continental Crust

A layer formed of granitic, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks, which created the continents and the shallow seabed close to shores.   

Asthenosphere

The upper part of the upper mantle, it is just below the Lithosphere that is involved in plate tectonic movement.

Mantle

A layer inside a planetary body bounded between the core and the crust 

Density

The ratio of the mass and volume of an object To find density, you do the mass divided by the volume

Heat Distribution

The process by which thermal energy spreads throughout a given area or volume

Convection Currents

A type of current that transfers heat from one place to another as a solid or liquid

Slab-Pull

When a dense plate sinks into the mantle, pulling the rest of the plate behind 

Ridge-Push

A driving force in plate tectonics where newly formed oceanic crust at the mid-ocean ridges

Convergent Boundaries

When two or more tectonic plates meet and collide

Subduction Zone

A tectonic boundary where two tectonic plates meet and one slides beneath the other

Continent to Continent

Two plates colliding, for instance, how mountains were formed

Oceanic to Continent

The area where the oceanic crust meets the continental crust 

Oceanic to Oceanic

When two oceanic plates collide

Divergent Boundary

Where two tectonic plates move apart, creating a crack that can fill with magma and form a new crust

Continental Divergence

When two tectonic plates move apart, creating rifts that can eventually become rift valleys

Ocean Crust Divergence

The process when two tectonic plates move apart and form new oceanic crust

Transform Fault Boundary

A place where two tectonic plates slide past each other horizontally

Hot Spots

A stationary area of intense heat in the Earth's mantle that causes volcanic activity

Volcanoes

An opening in the Earth's crust that allows molten rock, ash, and gases to erupt onto the surface

Earthquakes

The shaking of the ground caused by the sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust

Tsunamis

A giant wave that's caused by an earthquake or volcanic eruption under the sea