Unit 3 Vocabulary
Rock – a naturally occurring solid mixture of one or more minerals and organic
matter
Rock Cycle – the continual process by which new rock forms from old rock material
Weathering – the process in which water, wind, ice, and heat break down rock
Erosion – the process by which sediment is removed from its source
Deposition – the process in which sediment moved by erosion is dropped and comes
to rest
Uplift – the movement within the Earth that causes rocks inside the Earth to be
moved to the Earth’s surface
Tectonic Plates – a block of lithosphere that consists of the crust and the rigid,
outermost part of the mantle
Continental Drift – the hypothesis that states that the continents once formed a
single landmass, broke up, and drifted to their present locations
Sea-Floor Spreading – the process by which new oceanic lithosphere forms as
magma rises toward the surface and solidifies
Convergent Boundary – the boundary formed by the collision of two tectonic plates
Divergent Boundary – the boundary between two tectonic plates that is moving
away from each other
Transform Boundary – the boundary between tectonic plates sliding past each other
Ridge Push – a force in which oceanic lithosphere slides downhill from the midocean ridge due to gravity
Convection – the circulation of hot rock to the surface and cooler rock sinking that
causes movement of the oceanic lithosphere
Slab Pull – a process in which the denser oceanic lithosphere edge of the tectonic
plate sinks into the asthenosphere and pulls the rest of the plate with it