Download 6th Grade Earth Science – Inside Earth Vocabulary 1. crust – the

6th Grade Earth Science – Inside Earth Vocabulary
1. crust – the layer of rock that forms Earth’s outer surface
2. lithosphere – a rigid layer made up of the uppermost part of the mantle and crust
3. mantle – the layer of hot, solid material between Earth’s crust & core
4. asthenosphere (convecting mantle) – the soft layer of the mantle on which the
lithosphere floats
5. outer core – a layer of molten iron and nickel that surrounds the inner core of the
Earth
6. inner core – a dense sphere of solid iron and nickel at the center of the Earth
7. magnet – a material that attracts steel, iron, cobalt, and nickel
8. Earth as a magnet – the Earth acts like a magnet because of the liquid outer core
made of iron and nickel which spins as the earth rotates and creates a magnetic field
and the north & south poles on earth
9. compass – an instrument composed of a small, light-weight magnet called a needle,
that is balanced on a frictionless bearing
10. continental drift – the hypothesis that the continents slowly move across the Earth’s
surface
11. sea-floor spreading – the process by which molten material adds new crust to the
ocean floor
12. subduction – the process by which ocean floor sinks beneath a deep-ocean trench and
back into the mantle.
13. plate tectonics – the theory that pieces of Earth’s lithosphere are in constant motion,
driven by convection currents in the mantle
14. divergent boundary – a plate boundary where two plates move away from each
other
15. convergent boundary – a plate boundary where two plates move toward each other
16. transform boundary – a plate boundary where two plates move past each other in
opposite directions
17. earthquake – the shaking that results from the movement of rock beneath Earth’s
surface
18. volcano – a weak spot in the crust where magma has come to the surface
19. mountain building – Mountain formation refers to the geological processes that
underlie the formation of mountains