Ch. 12 Terminology: Plate Tectonics

1. the dense center of the earth made of solid and molten iron and nickel.

1. the layer of earth that surround the core; made of both molten magma and tsolid rock

1. the thin, solid rocky outermost layer of the earth

1. -the process of earth materials separating and sorting by density resulting in a layer structure with the densest material(Fe & Ni) settling the core

1. a large section of the earth’s crust that moves and carries everything on it

1. a stationary, high temperature area of melting within the earth;s mantle that can last for several millions of years where superheated mantle magma rises towards the surface

A long, narrow rip or opening, made by the stretching, pulling, or splitting apart of the earth’s crust through which mantle magma reaches the surface adding new crust to the edge of a tectonic plates

1. the theory that oceans widen (open up) and continents are pushed apart as new crust is formed at mid-ocean ridges

1. the theory that the earth’s surface is made of large sections of crust that move and interact with each other

1. the theory that major landmasses of the earth were once part of one large single super continent the broke apart 200 million years ago

1. a long, underwater mountain range that is split by a rift valley where mantle magma rises and forms new oceanic crust

The circular flow of magma within the molten part of the mantle as it heats up and cools down

1. a type of vibrating or shaking activity produced by the movement of earth’s tectonic plates

1. a record of the earth’s magnetic field preserved by the alignment of magnetic minerals in the rocks of earth’s crust at the time that the rocks were formed at mid-ocean ridges

1. the point inside the earth where rocks first moves, starting an earthquake