Earth Science: Words to Know...
Vocabulary Term
asthenosphere
continental drift
convection
convergent boundary
core
crust
divergent boundary
earthquake
epoch
era
fault
Page
90
95
-100
89
88
101
-75
75
105
fossil
geologic time
hotspots
68
74
159
igneous
indirect evidence
lava
lithosphere
30
-30
90
Definition
the soft layer of the mantle on which pieces of the lithosphere move
the theory that continents can drift apart from one another and have done so in the past
slow circulation of subcrustal material that moves tectonic plates
the boundary between two colliding tectonic plates
the central, spherical part of the Earth below the mantle
the thin, outermost layer of the Earth, or the uppermost part of the lithosphere
the boundary between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other
a trembling of the Earth due to the movement of tectonic plates
the fourth-largest division of geologic time
the second-largest division of geologic time
a break in the Earth's crust along which blocks of the crust slide relative to one another due to
tectonic forces
any naturally preserved evidence of life
a scale that divides Earth's 4.6-billion-year history into distinct intervals of time
a place on Earth's surface that is directly above a column of rising magma called a mantle
plume
rock that forms from the cooling of magma
evidence providing only a basis for inference about a given theory
magma that flows onto the Earth's surface
the outermost, rigid layer of the Earth that consists of the crust and the rigid upper part of the
mantle
Earth Science: Words to Know...
Vocabulary Term
magma
mantle
metamorphic
Page
29
89
30
mineral
model
pangea
period
plate tectonics
4
--75
99
Richter scale
ring of fire
rock
rock cycle
sedimentary
seismology
transform boundary
volcano
Wegener
--26
28
30
120
101
148
--
Definition
the hot liquid that forms when rock partially or completely melts
the layer of the Earth between the crust and the core
rock that forms when the texture and composition of preexisting rock changes due to heat or
pressure
a naturally formed, inorganic solid with a crystalline structure
a representation of what is thought to be true based on evidence
the "supercontinent" that once incorporated all Earth's landmasses
the third-largest division of geologic time
the theory that the Earth's lithosphere is divided into tectonic plates that move around on the
top of the asthenosphere
a numerical scale for expressing the magnitude of an earthquake
the area of the Pacific basic where there are large amounts of volcanoes and earthquakes
a solid mixture of crystals of one or more minerals or other materials
the process by which one rock type changes into another rock type
rock that forms when sediments are compacted and cemented together
the study of earthquakes
the boundary between two tectonic plates that are sliding past each other horizontally
a mountain that forms when molten rock, called magma, is forced into the Earth's surface
the geophysicist and meteorologist who proposed the theory of plate tectonics