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Inside Earth:
Chapter 1: Plate Tectonics
Section 2: Convection Currents and the Mantle
Vocabulary:
Heat Transfer: movement of energy from a warmer object to a cooler object
Radiation: transfer of heat from one object to another without heating the space between
Conduction: transfer of heat from one substance to another substance it is touching
Convection: transfer of heat by the movement of a fluid
Important Facts:
 As you move away from the crust and depth increases so does temperature and pressure
 Unequal heating: (distance from heat source) causes convection currents within the
mantle. As the fluid gets hotter the density decreases (molecules spread out and it
causes liquid to rise).
 When fluid reaches a constant temperature, the convection current stops. As long as
there is heat from the Earth’s mantle and core, convection current will be present in the
asthenosphere.