Unit 5 - Investigating Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics

Front

What is continental drift?

Back

The theory that continents have moved over geological time and were once joined together in a supercontinent.

Front

What is plate tectonics?

Back

The scientific theory that explains the movement of the Earth's plates and how they interact at their boundaries.

Front

What are tectonic plates?

Back

Large sections of the Earth's lithosphere that move and interact with each other.

Front

What happens at a convergent boundary?

Back

Two tectonic plates move towards each other, often causing one plate to be forced beneath the other.

Front

What is a divergent boundary?

Back

A tectonic plate boundary where two plates move away from each other, often creating new crust.

Front

What is a transform boundary?

Back

A boundary where two tectonic plates slide past each other horizontally.

Front

What is sea-floor spreading?

Back

The process by which new oceanic crust is formed at mid-ocean ridges as magma rises from the mantle.

Front

What is Pangaea?

Back

The name of the ancient supercontinent that existed about 250 million years ago.

Front

What is the San Andreas Fault?

Back

A transform fault in California that marks the boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate.

Front

What is subduction?

Back

The process where one tectonic plate is forced under another plate into the mantle.