Download Earth`s Structures and Earthquake Study Guide

Earth’s Structures and Earthquake Study Guide
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Continental crust is made up mainly of granite and oceanic crust is made up mainly of basalt.
Studying seismic waves is the indirect method geologists most often use to study Earth's interior?
Earth’s layers from outside in are crust, mantle, outer core, inner core.
Earth's mantle is a layer of plastic-like hot rock.
Earth's inner core is a dense ball of solid metal.
Earth's magnetic field results from the spinning of the inner core inside the molten material of the outer core.
According to Wegener's hypothesis of continental drift, the continents were once joined together in a single
landmass and then spread apart over 200 million years.
8. In the process of sea-floor spreading molten material rises from the mantle and erupts along the mid-ocean ridges of
the world.
9. The process by which the ocean floor sinks through a deep-ocean trench and back into the mantle is known as
subduction.
10. Most geologists think the movement of Earth's crustal plates is caused by convection currents in the asthenosphere.
11. The geological theory that states that pieces of Earth's lithosphere are in constant, slow motion is the theory of plate
tectonics.
12. A place where two plates slip past each other, moving in opposite directions, is known as a transform boundary.
13. The place where two plates are moving toward one another is called a convergent boundary.
14. A rift valley forms on land where two plates are diverging.
15.
16.
17.
18.
As depth beneath Earth's surface increases, temperature and pressure both increase.
Pangaea is the name given by Alfred Wegner to the supercontinent that existed millions of years ago
Any trace of an ancient organism that has been preserved in rock is called a fossil.
The mid-ocean ridge is created by diverging boundaries under the ocean and is the longest chain of mountains in
the world.
19. Deep wells and mine shafts only go into the crust of the Earth. They never get near the mantle due to the depth.
20. The Earth’s mantle is made up of very hot material that rises to the top of the mantle, cools, then sinks, reheats, and
rises again, constantly repeating the cycle. This cycle, which causes the Earth’s crust to move, is known as a
convection current.
21. Evidence used to support the theory of continental drift included that the continents seem to fit together like pieces
of a puzzle, there are similar fossils on different continents and mountain ranges in South America and
Africa line up.
22. Scientists think that convection currents flow in Earth's asthenosphere and outer core.
23. Where the seafloor spreads along the mid-ocean ridge there is a divergent boundary.
24. Compression is the type of stress force that produces reverse faults.
25. The type of stress that moves a mass of rock forming a divergent boundary is called tension.
26. Compared to P waves and S waves, surface waves move much slower.
27. The type of seismic waves that arrive at the surface first and move by compressing and expanding the ground like an
accordion are called P waves.
28. In a strike-slip fault, the rocks on either side of the fault slip past each other sideways with little up-or-down motion.
29. The Mercalli Scale would most likely be used to tell how much earthquake damage was done to homes and other
buildings.
30. A fold in rock that bends upward into an arch is called an anticline.
31. A place where two plates slip past each other, moving in opposite directions, is known as a transform boundary.
32. A rift valley forms at a divergent plate boundary.
33. Earth’s magnetic field is believed to result from rotation of the inner core inside the outer core.
34. A large area of flat land elevated high above sea level is called a plateau.
35. A collision between two pieces of continental crust at a converging boundary produces a mountain range.
36. The point beneath Earth’s surface where rock breaks under stress and triggers an earthquake is called the focus.
37. Most geologists think that the movement of Earth’s plates is caused by convection currents in the mantle.
38. The San Andreas Fault in California is an example of a strike-slip fault.
39. The section of rock that moves upward in a reverse fault is called the hanging wall.
40. When earthquakes under the ocean cause the ocean floor to raise suddenly, earthquakes, tsunamis and aftershocks
can occur.