Unit 6 Seafloor Spreading Review

Front

What is the process called when a denser plate is pushed beneath a less dense plate?

Back

Subduction

Front

What evidence do rocks near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge provide for the theory of Plate Tectonics?

Back

Rocks become consistently older as you move farther from the ridge.

Front

What causes seafloor spreading?

Back

Magma below the Earth's crust is forced up toward the surface after plates move apart.

Front

What are the puzzle pieces of the Earth's surface called?

Back

Tectonic plates.

Front

What does sea-floor spreading explain?

Back

New crust is created at a divergent boundary.

Front

What is a divergent boundary?

Back

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

Front

What is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge?

Back

An underwater mountain range formed by seafloor spreading.

Front

What is the lithosphere?

Back

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

Front

What is the role of magma in seafloor spreading?

Back

Magma rises to create new oceanic crust as tectonic plates pull apart.

Front

What happens to the age of rocks as you move away from a mid-ocean ridge?

Back

The rocks become older.