GeoScience Unit 3 Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering continental drift, Earth's internal layers, and seismic wave properties from GeoScience Unit 3 Part 1 review.

Theory of Continental Drift

The theory proposed by Alfred Wegener stating that all continents were together as a single landmass but drifted apart over time.

Wegener's Four Pieces of Evidence

The evidence used to support continental drift: puzzle fit, rock evidence, fossil evidence, and climate evidence.

Scientific Rejection of Wegener's Theory

The reason Wegener's proposal was rejected by the scientific community, specifically because he could not explain what caused the continents to move.

Crust

The solid, least dense layer of the Earth, consisting of continental crust and oceanic crust.

Mantle

The layer of the Earth described as solid + liquid.

Outer Core

The liquid layer of the Earth.

Inner Core

The solid, most dense layer of the Earth.

P-wave

The fastest type of seismic wave that travels through solids + liquids.

S-wave

A type of seismic wave that travels only through solids.

Surface Wave

The slowest type of seismic wave that causes the most destruction.

Focus

The location where the earthquake starts.

Epicenter

The location where we feel the earthquake.

Seismogram A Arrival Times

The recorded wave arrival times for New York, NY: P-waves at $4\text{ min}$, S-waves at $9\text{ min}$, and Surface waves at $12\text{ min}$.