Chapter 3
Section 1
Seismic waves- vibrations that travel through earth carrying the energy released during an earthquake
Mantle- The layer of hot, solid material between earth’s crust and core
Pressure-the force exerted on a surface divided by the total area over which the force is exerted
Lithosphere- a rigid layer made up of the upper post part of the mantle and the crust
Crust- the layer of rock that forms earth’s outer surface
Asthenosphere- the soft layer of the mantle on which the lithosphere floats
Basalt- a dark, dense, igneous rock with a fine texture, found in oceanic crust
Outer core- a layer of molten iron and nickel that surround the inner core of earth
Granite- A usually light- colored igneous rock that is found in continental crust
Inner core- a dense sphere of solid iron and nickel at the center of Earth
Section 2
Radiation- The direct transfer of energy through space by electromagnetic waves
Conduction-The direct transfer of thermal energy from one substance to another substance that it is
touching
Convection- the transfer of thermal energy by the movement of a fluid
Density- The amount of mass of a substance in a given volume; mass per unit volume
Convection current- The movement of a fluid, caused by differences in temperature, that transfers heat
from one part of the fluid to another
Section3
Continental drift- the hypothesis that the continents slowly move across earth’s surface
Pangaea- The name of the single landmass that broke apart 200 million years ago and gave rise to day’s
continents
Fossil- a trace of an ancient organism that has been preserved in rock
Section 4
Mid-ocean ridge- An undersea mountain chain where new ocean floor is produced
Sonar- A device that determines the distance of an object under water by recording echoes of sound
waves
Sea-floor spreading- the process by which molten material adds new oceanic crust to the ocean floor
Deep-ocean trench-A deep valley along the ocean floor beneath which oceanic crust slowly sink toward
the mantle
Subduction- the process by which oceanic crust sinks beneath a deep-ocean trench and back into the
mantle at a convergent plate boundary
Section 5
Plate- A section of the lithosphere that slowly moves over the asthenosphere, carrying pieces of
continental and oceanic crust
Scientific theory- a well-tested concept that explains a wide range of observations
Plate tectonics- the theory that pieces of earth’s lithosphere are in constant motion, driven by
convection currents in the mantle
Fault- A break or crack in earth’s lithosphere along which the rocks move
Divergent boundary- a plate boundary where two plates move away from each other
Rift valley- a deep valley that forms where two plates move apart
Convergent boundary- a plate boundary where two plates move toward each other
Transform boundary- a plate boundary where two plates move past each other in opposite directions