8th Grade Unit 5 Plate Tectonics Vocabulary

Front

What is a scientist who studies the Earth, including its rocks, minerals, landforms, and processes like earthquakes and volcanoes?

Back

Geologist

Front

What is the underwater mountain range formed at divergent boundaries?

Back

Mid-Ocean Ridge

Front

What principle states that each rock layer is older than the one above it?

Back

Law of Superposition

Front

What is the process of new oceanic crust forming at mid-ocean ridges and moving outward?

Back

Sea Floor Spreading

Front

Who is the American geologist that confirmed Wegener’s ideas of continental drift using evidence of seafloor spreading?

Back

Harry Hess

Front

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

Back

Pangaea

Front

What is the theory that explains the movement of the Earth's plates?

Back

Plate Tectonics

Front

What are the large sections of the Earth's lithosphere that move and interact at their boundaries?

Back

Tectonic Plates

Front

What is the boundary where two tectonic plates move away from each other?

Back

Divergent Boundary

Front

What is the boundary where two tectonic plates collide?

Back

Convergent Boundary