Plate Motions Review

Front

What are tectonic plates?

Back

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

Front

What is a divergent plate boundary?

Back

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

Front

What is a convergent plate boundary?

Back

A boundary where two tectonic plates move towards each other.

Front

What is a transform plate boundary?

Back

A boundary where two tectonic plates slide past each other.

Front

What causes earthquakes?

Back

The movement of tectonic plates along faults.

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.

Front

What is continental drift?

Back

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

Front

What is seafloor spreading?

Back

The process by which new oceanic crust is formed at mid-ocean ridges and older crust is pushed away.