Chapter 3 Study Guide
1. The transfer of energy through empty space is called radiation.
2. What is Wegener’s Theory of Continental Drift? Continents were together and then began to
drift apart.
3. What have seismic waves taught us about the interior of the earth? The interior is layered
4. Where does a rift valley form? Forms at a divergent boundary
5. Where do scientists think convection currents are inside the earth? In the mantle and outer core
6. What is earth’s mantle? A layer of hot, solid rock
7. What is it called when two plates slip past each other in opposite directions? Earthquake, which
takes place at a transform boundary
8. What is it called when you touch a hot pot and the energy moves from the pot to your hand?
Conduction
9. What happens to convection currents when the heat is removed? When heat is removed,
convection currents stop.
10. What technology helped us study the ocean floor? Sonar
11. What is the theory that states that pieces of the earth’s lithosphere are in constant motion? The
theory of plate tectonics
12. Why was Wegener’s theory rejected? Wegener could not explain HOW the continents drifted.
13. Name the order of the layers of the earth from the surface to the center. Crust, mantle, outer
core, inner core
14. How did scientists discover that rocks farther from the mid-ocean ridge were older than the
ones right by the ridge? Drilling samples
15. How do geologists get indirect evidence from the earth’s interior? Indirect evidence by seismic
waves
16. Heat transfer within a fluid takes place by convection currents
17. What is the process by which the ocean floor sinks beneath the deep-ocean trench and back into
the mantle? Subduction
18. Earthquakes produce seismic waves that travel through the earth.
19. What theory can explain the formation of volcanoes and mountain ranges? Theory of Plate
Tectonics
20. What process continually adds new crust to the ocean floor along the mid-ocean ridge? Sea-floor
spreading
21. Where are the youngest rocks on the ocean floor found? The youngest rock is found near a midocean ridge.
22. What is fine, dark rock that makes up the oceanic crust called? basalt
23. The lithosphere is broken into sections called plates, which float on top of the asthenosphere.
Write true if the statement is true, if it is false change what is underlined to make the
statement true.
1. Oceanic crust near the mid-ocean ridge is younger than oceanic crust farther away from the
ridge. TRUE
2. Along a divergent boundary, two plates slip past each other, moving in opposite directions.
FALSE, TRANSFORM BOUNDARY
3. The outer most layer of the earth is called the mantle. FALSE, CRUST
4. Pressure increases as you go deeper in the earth. TRUE
5. The transfer of heat by the movement of fluid is called conduction. FALSE, CONVECTION
6. Along the mid-Atlantic ridge, the North American Plate and the Eurasian plate are moving
apart at a very slow rate. TRUE
7. If subduction occurs faster than oceanic crust can be created, an ocean will expand. FALSE,
SHRINK
8. Mantle material rises in convection currents because heated material becomes more dense.
FALSE, LESS
9. To study earth’s interior, geologist often rely on indirect methods, such as evidence from
fossils. FALSE, SEISMIC WAVES
10. Alfred Wegener discovered convection currents within Earth causes plates to move. FALSE,
WILSON
1. What feature forms at Y? trench
2. What kind of boundary happens where B and C meet? Convergent boundary
3. What feature forms at X? rift valley
4. Which plate (A, B, C) is made of granite? Continental crust - C
5. Which plate (B or C) is denser? Oceanic crust - B
6. Where would you find the oldest ocean crust? Oldest crust found farther away from X