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38 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
geologist
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Scientists who study the forces that make and shape planet Earth.
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rock
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The material that forms Earth's hard surface.
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geology
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The study of planet Earth.
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constructive force
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Shape the surface by building up mountains and landmasses.
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destrutive force
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Slowly wear away mountains and eventually, every other feature on the surface.
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continent
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Great landmasses surrounded by oceans.
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seismic wave
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A vibration that travels through Earth carrying the energy released during an earthquake.
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pressure
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The amount of force pushing on a surface or area.
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crust
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The layer of rock that forms Earth's outer surface.
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basalt
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A dark, dense, igneous rock with a fine texture, found in oceanic crust.
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granite
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A usually light-colored rock that is found in continental crust.
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mantle
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The layer of hot, solid material between Earth's crust and core.
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lithosphere
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A rigid layer made up of the uppermost part of the mantle and the crust.
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asthenospere
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The soft layer of the mantle on which the lithosphere floats.
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outer core
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A layer of molten iron and nickel that surrounds the inner core of Earth.
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inner core
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A dense sphere of solid iron and nickel in the center of Earth.
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heat transfer
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The movement of energy from a warmer object to a cooler object.
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radiation
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The transfer of energy through empty space.
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conduction
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The transfer of heat by direct contact of particles of matter.
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convection
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The transfer of heat by movements of a heated fluid.
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density
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The amount of mass in a given space; mass per unit volume.
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convection current
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The movement of a fluid, caused by differences in temperature, that transfers heat from one part of the fluid to another.
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pangaea
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The name of th esingle landmass that broke apart 200 million years ago and gave rise to today's continents.
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continental drift
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The hypothesis that the continents slowly move across Earth's surface.
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fossil
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A trace of an ancient organism that has been preserved in rock.
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mid-ocean ridge
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The undersea mountain chain where new ocean floor is produces; a divergent plate boundary.
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sonar
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A device that determines the distance of an object under water by recording echoes of sound waves.
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sea-floor spreading
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The process by which molten material adds new oceanic crust to the ocean floor.
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deep-ocean trench
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A deep valley along the ocean floor through which oceanic crust slowly sinks toward the mantle.
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subduction
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The process by which oceanic crust sinks beneath a deep-ocean trench and back into the mantle at a convergent plate boundary.
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plate
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A section of the lithosphere that slowly moves over the asthenosphere, carrying pieces of continental and oceanic crust.
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scientific theory
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A well-tested concept the explains a wide range of observations
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plate tectonics
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The tehory that pieces of Earth's lithosphere are in constant motion, driven by convection currents in the mantle.
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fault
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A break in Earth's crust where slabs of rock slip past each other.
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transform boundary
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A plate boundary where two plates move past each other in opposite directions.
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divergent boundary
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A plate boundary where two plates move away from each other.
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rift valley
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A deep valley that froms where two plates move apart.
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convergent boundary
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A plate boundary where two plates move toward each other.
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