LAYERS OF THE EARTH, PLATE TECTONICS & SURFACE FEATURES
STUDY GUIDE
 Heat from Earth's mantle and core causes convection currents to form in the
___________
 In 1910, a young German scientist named Alfred __________ became curious about
the relationship of the continents. He formed a hypothesis that Earth's continents had
moved!?
 Describe two examples of evidence Alfred Wegener used to support his theory of
continental drift.
 What was the main reason scientists rejected Wegener's theory of continental drift?
 In 1960, American geologist Harold Hess proposed a radical idea. He suggested that
the ocean floors move called ___________, carrying the continents along with them.
 What is the evidence for sea-floor spreading?
 How do the processes of sea-floor spreading and subduction affect the Earth’s
oceans?
 What is the theory of plate tectonics?
 Where would you expect to find the oldest rock on the ocean floor? Explain your
answer.
 Describe the three types of plate boundaries.
 As the plates move, they collide, pull apart, or grind past each other, producing
spectacular changes in Earth's surface. These changes include __________,
______________, and ______________
 List the three kinds of convergent plate boundaries
 What evidence of Earth's climate in the past supports the theory of continental drift?
 What are the 5 types of mountains? Give a brief description of each.
 The mountain range where the world’s largest mountain is found (Mount Everest) is on
what continent and is called what?
 What are the 5 types of volcanoes? Give a brief description of each.
 Which type of volcano has the most violent eruptions?
 Which volcano destroyed the city of Pompeii and what happened to the people?
 What is the Richter scale?
 Explain a Tsunami and how it forms in the Ocean. Be able to give an example of one
of the most famous disastrous Tsunami’s that occurred in 2004.
* IMPORTANT WORDS THAT WILL BE ON YOUR TEST*
Crust
The layer of rock that forms Earth's outer
surface.
Mantle
The layer of hot, solid material between
Earth's crust and core.
Lithosphere
A rigid layer made up of the uppermost
part of the mantle and the crust.
Asthenosphere
The soft layer of the mantle on which the
lithosphere floats.
Outer core
A layer of molten iron and nickel that
surrounds the inner core of Earth.
Inner core
A dense sphere of solid iron and nickel in
the center of Earth.
Pangaea
The name of the single landmass that
broke apart 225 million years ago and
gave rise to today's continents.
Continental drift
The hypothesis that the continents slowly
move across Earth's surface.
Mid-ocean ridge
The undersea mountain chain where new
ocean floor is produced; a divergent plate
boundary.
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
through which oceanic crust slowly sinks
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.
Plate
A section of the lithosphere that slowly
moves over the asthenosphere, carrying
pieces of continental and oceanic crust.
Theory of plate
tectonics
The theory that pieces of Earth's
lithosphere are in constant motion, driven
by convection currents in the mantle.
Transform boundary
A plate boundary where two plates move
past each other in opposite directions.
Divergent boundary
A plate boundary where two plates move
away from each other.
Convergent boundary
A plate boundary where two plates move
toward each other.