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Plate Tectonics Notes
Name: _________________________________
Date: __________________ Period: _____
Physical motions in the ocean
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There are some types of ____________________ on Earth that are important to
____________________ science, like the movement of Earth’s ____________________
To understand what we mean by the ​movement
​
of ____________________, we need to
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learn some basic ____________________
Some geology fundamentals
1. The Earth is composed of ____________________ layers: core, ____________________
and crust
2. The Earth’s lithosphere is a ____________________ layer composed of part of the upper
mantle and ____________________
3. The Earth’s lithosphere is not continuous, but made up of ____________________ pieces
fit together like a ____________________
Visualizing Earth’s layers
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A ____________________ outer crust
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A ____________________, fluid-like mantle surrounding the core
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A ____________________
There are ​____________________ t​ ypes of crust: oceanic crust and continental crust
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The ____________________ continental crust and ____________________ oceanic
crust both lie on the more dense mantle
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Oceanic
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crust is ____________________
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,​ thinner and ​more dense than continental crust
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Continental crust tends to lie ____________________ than oceanic crust and forms
continents
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The very uppermost part of the ____________________ and the crust form rigid plates,
called the lithosphere
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These plates cover the ____________________ and move with respect to one another
The lithosphere and asthenosphere
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The lithosphere is made up of ​rigid plates composed of the ____________________ of
the upper ____________________ and the crust
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Beneath the uppermost layer of the mantle is an area of ____________________ called
the asthenosphere, on which the rigid plates ____________________ with respect to
one another
You may have heard of Earth’s plates or plate tectonics – what exactly is a plate?
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Now you know about the composition of the lithosphere, but did you know it is not one
continuous layer?
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The lithosphere is actually composed of many ____________________ pieces that fit
together like a ____________________
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These large pieces are called ____________________
Earth’s crustal plates
This picture shows the boundaries of Earth’s crustal ____________________. Some plate
names are given for examples. Plates contain oceanic crust, continental crust or both types.
Earth’s plates are constantly moving
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Remember that the asthenosphere beneath the plates is relatively
____________________ and plastic
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The asthenosphere is slowly, but constantly, ____________________
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The plates “floating” on top of this layer are thus always in ____________________. Do
know some of the ways that plates ____________________ in relation to one another?
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They can move ____________________ one another, ____________________ into one
another, even rise and ____________________
Plates move with respect to one another
For example, the North American plate and Eurasian plate are moving ____________________
from one another, forming a ____________________.