Plate Tectonics Flashcard Review

Front

What term describes the slow movements of the continents on the upper, ductile part of the mantle?

Back

Huge pieces of crust.

Front

What is Plate Tectonics?

Back

The theory that the crust is divided into large pieces called tectonic plates that slowly move on top of the mantle.

Front

What is a fossil?

Back

The mineralized remains of organisms, showing how long-dead organisms lived and how their bodies were structured.

Front

What evidence from rocks and ____________ makes clear how Earth’s plates have moved great distances?

Back

fossils.

Front

What is the term for the large masses of land that were once all connected as Pangaea?

Back

supercontinent.

Front

What are tectonic plates?

Back

Huge pieces of the Earth's crust that float on the semi-fluid mantle.

Front

What is the theory of continental drift?

Back

The theory that continents were once connected but have drifted apart over time.

Front

What geological features are formed at convergent plate boundaries?

Back

Mountains, earthquakes, and volcanic activity.

Front

What happens at divergent plate boundaries?

Back

Tectonic plates move apart, leading to the formation of new crust, such as mid-ocean ridges.

Front

What is subduction?

Back

The process where one tectonic plate moves under another and sinks into the mantle.