Plate Tectonics Review

Front

What is Plate Tectonics?

Back

The theory that explains the structure and movement of the Earth's lithosphere, which is divided into tectonic plates.

Front

What are tectonic plates?

Back

Large sections of the Earth's crust that move and interact with one another.

Front

What happens at convergent boundaries?

Back

Tectonic plates move towards each other, often causing one plate to be forced beneath another.

Front

What is a divergent boundary?

Back

A tectonic plate boundary where plates move away from each other, often resulting in the formation of new crust.

Front

What is a transform boundary?

Back

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

Front

What is continental drift?

Back

The hypothesis that continents have moved over geological time and were once joined together.

Front

Who proposed the theory of continental drift?

Back

Alfred Wegener.

Front

What is the lithosphere?

Back

The rigid outer layer of the Earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle.

Front

What is the asthenosphere?

Back

The semi-fluid layer of the mantle beneath the lithosphere that allows tectonic plates to move.

Front

What is subduction?

Back

The process where one tectonic plate is forced under another, often leading to volcanic activity.