Plate Tectonics Flashcard Review

Front

What are tectonic plates?

Back

The pieces of Earth’s crust and uppermost mantle that move on top of the mantle.

Front

Define fossil.

Back

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

Front

What evidence supports the movement of tectonic plates?

Back

Fossils of organisms that lived in warm climates have been found in arctic environments.

Front

What observation led scientists to theorize that continents were once joined?

Back

The shapes of the continents allowed them to fit together.

Front

What is the theory of 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 the mantle?

Back

The layer of the Earth located between the crust and the core, composed of semi-solid rock that flows slowly.

Front

What is continental drift?

Back

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

Front

What role do tectonic plates play in earthquakes?

Back

Earthquakes occur when tectonic plates move and interact at their boundaries.

Front

What are the three types of plate boundaries?

Back

Divergent, convergent, and transform boundaries.

Front

What happens at a divergent boundary?

Back

Tectonic plates move apart, creating new crust as magma rises to the surface.