Earth and Space Science

Front

What is a coastline?

Back

A place where land meets an ocean.

Front

What does it mean when an intrusion of basalt cuts through a layer of limestone?

Back

It indicates that the basalt is younger than the limestone because magma can move upward and push into existing rock layers.

Front

Why does the Moon orbit Earth?

Back

The gravitational attraction between the Moon and Earth.

Front

What two factors keep objects like Saturn and Jupiter in their orbits?

Back

Gravity and inertia.

Front

What forms at the boundary of two oceanic plates moving away from each other?

Back

Features such as mid-ocean ridges.

Front

What is the definition of gravity?

Back

A force that attracts two bodies toward each other, depending on their masses and the distance between them.

Front

What is inertia?

Back

The tendency of an object to resist changes in its state of motion.

Front

What is a tectonic plate?

Back

A massive slab of solid rock that makes up Earth's lithosphere and moves over the semi-fluid asthenosphere.

Front

What is subduction?

Back

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

Front

What is the difference between oceanic and continental plates?

Back

Oceanic plates are denser and thinner, while continental plates are thicker and less dense.