Download Science Explorer-Plate Tectonics

Directions on How to Use the
Flashcards
1. Print the cards, and paste the
pictures on the back of the
vocabulary cards.
2. After you paste the pictures on
the back of the cards, cut the cards
out.
3. Try to match the vocabulary word
with the correct definition. You
will know if you’re correct if the
pictures match up.
*The vocabulary terms and their definitions were taken
from Prentice Hall: Science Explorer
Geologist
A scientist who
studies the forces that
make and shape planet
Earth.
Rock
The material that
forms Earth’s hard
surface.
Geology
The study of planet
Earth.
Constructive
Force
A force that builds up
mountains and
landmasses on Earth’s
surface.
Destructive Force A force that slowly
wears away
mountains and other
features on the surface
of Earth.
Continent
A great landmass
surrounded by oceans.
Seismic Wave
A vibration that
travels through Earth
carrying the energy
released during an
earthquake.
Pressure
The amount of force
pushing on a surface
or area.
Crust
The layer of rock that
forms Earth’s outer
surface.
Basalt
A dark, dense, igneous
rock with a fine
texture, found in
oceanic crust.
Granite
A usually light
colored rock that is
found in continental
crust.
Mantle
The layer of hot, solid
material between the
Earth’s crust and core.
Lithosphere
A rigid layer made up
of the uppermost part
of the mantle and
crust.
Asthenosphere The soft layer of the
mantle on which the
lithosphere floats.
Outer Core
A layer of molten iron
and nickel that
surrounds the inner
core of Earth.
Inner Core
A dense sphere of
solid iron and nickel
in the center of Earth.
Heat Transfer
The movement of
energy from a warmer
object to a cooler
object.
Radiation
The transfer of energy
through empty space.
Conduction
The transfer of heat by
direct contact of
particles of matter.
Convection
The transfer of heat by
movements of a
heated fluid.
Density
The amount of mass
in a given space; mass
per unit of
volume.
Convection
Current
The movement of a fluid,
caused by differences in
temperature, that
transfers heat from one
part of the fluid to the
other.
Pangaea
The name of the single
landmass that broke apart
200 million years ago
and gave rise to today’s
continents.
Continental Drift The hypothesis that
the continents slowly
move across Earth’s
surface.
Fossil
A trace of an ancient
organism that has
been preserved in a
rock.
Plate
A section of lithosphere
that slowly moves over
the asthenosphere,
carrying pieces of
continental and oceanic
crust.
Scientific Theory A well tested concept
that explains a wide
range of observations.
Plate Tectonics
The theory that pieces of
Earth’s lithosphere are in
constant motion, driven
by convection currents in
the mantle.
Fault
A break in Earth’s
crust where slabs of
rock slip past each
other.
Transform
Boundary
A plate boundary
where two plates
move past each other
in opposite directions.
Divergent
Boundary
A plate boundary
where two plates
move away from each
other.
Rift Valley
A deep valley that
forms where two
plates move apart.
Convergent
Boundary
A plate boundary
where two plates
move toward each
other.
Sonar
A device that
determines the distance
of an object under water
by recording echoes of
sound waves.
Subduction
The process by which
oceanic crust sinks
beneath a deep ocean
trench and back into the
mantle at a convergent
plate boundary.
Sea Floor
Spreading
The process by which
molten material adds
new oceanic crust to
the ocean floor.