Earth's Structure & Changes Vocabulary Review

Front

Fossil

Back

Any trace of an ancient organism that is preserved in rock.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

Front

Mass Extinction

Back

A sudden, catastrophic event during which a significant percentage of all life-forms on Earth become extinct.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

Front

Plate Tectonics

Back

A theory stating that the lithosphere is segmented into several plates that move relative to one another by floating on and sliding over the asthenosphere.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

Front

Absolute Age

Back

The age of a geologic event based on the absolute number of years ago it occurred.

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-5

Front

Continental Crust

Back

A thick type of crust that contains all continents & land; made of granite rock.

Front

Divergent Boundary

Back

A tectonic plate boundary where two plates move away from each other.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

Front

Subduction

Back

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

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

Front

Oceanic Crust

Back

A thin type of crust that underlies the ocean basins; made of basalt rock.

Front

Relative Age

Back

The age of a rock or geologic event in comparison to other rocks or events.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

Front

Half-Life

Back

The time required for half of the radioactive atoms in a sample to decay.

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS1-8