Plate Tectonics and Seafloor Spreading

Front

What is the name of the supercontinent that existed millions of years ago?

Back

Pangaea

Front

What causes Earth's tectonic plates to move?

Back

Convection currents in the mantle

Front

What type of plate boundary occurs when two plates come together?

Back

Convergent Boundary

Front

Why did most geologists reject Alfred Wegener's idea of continental drift?

Back

Wegener could not identify the force that moved the continents.

Front

What is the process called that forms new oceanic crust at mid-ocean ridges?

Back

Seafloor Spreading

Front

What is a divergent boundary?

Back

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

Front

What is a transform boundary?

Back

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

Front

What is subduction?

Back

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

Front

What evidence did Wegener use to support his theory of continental drift?

Back

Fossil evidence, geological similarities, and climate evidence.

Front

What is the lithosphere?

Back

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