Prentice Hall Science Explorer Inside Earth Ch. 1

Front 1

geologist

Back 1

Scientists who study the forces that make and shape planet Earth.

Front 2

rock

Back 2

The material that forms Earth's hard surface.

Front 3

geology

Back 3

The study of planet Earth.

Front 4

constructive force

Back 4

Shape the surface by building up mountains and landmasses.

Front 5

destrutive force

Back 5

Slowly wear away mountains and eventually, every other feature on the surface.

Front 6

continent

Back 6

Great landmasses surrounded by oceans.

Front 7

seismic wave

Back 7

A vibration that travels through Earth carrying the energy released during an earthquake.

Front 8

pressure

Back 8

The amount of force pushing on a surface or area.

Front 9

crust

Back 9

The layer of rock that forms Earth's outer surface.

Front 10

basalt

Back 10

A dark, dense, igneous rock with a fine texture, found in oceanic crust.

Front 11

granite

Back 11

A usually light-colored rock that is found in continental crust.

Front 12

mantle

Back 12

The layer of hot, solid material between Earth's crust and core.

Front 13

lithosphere

Back 13

A rigid layer made up of the uppermost part of the mantle and the crust.

Front 14

asthenospere

Back 14

The soft layer of the mantle on which the lithosphere floats.

Front 15

outer core

Back 15

A layer of molten iron and nickel that surrounds the inner core of Earth.

Front 16

inner core

Back 16

A dense sphere of solid iron and nickel in the center of Earth.

Front 17

heat transfer

Back 17

The movement of energy from a warmer object to a cooler object.

Front 18

radiation

Back 18

The transfer of energy through empty space.

Front 19

conduction

Back 19

The transfer of heat by direct contact of particles of matter.

Front 20

convection

Back 20

The transfer of heat by movements of a heated fluid.

Front 21

density

Back 21

The amount of mass in a given space; mass per unit volume.

Front 22

convection current

Back 22

The movement of a fluid, caused by differences in temperature, that transfers heat from one part of the fluid to another.

Front 23

pangaea

Back 23

The name of th esingle landmass that broke apart 200 million years ago and gave rise to today's continents.

Front 24

continental drift

Back 24

The hypothesis that the continents slowly move across Earth's surface.

Front 25

fossil

Back 25

A trace of an ancient organism that has been preserved in rock.

Front 26

mid-ocean ridge

Back 26

The undersea mountain chain where new ocean floor is produces; a divergent plate boundary.

Front 27

sonar

Back 27

A device that determines the distance of an object under water by recording echoes of sound waves.

Front 28

sea-floor spreading

Back 28

The process by which molten material adds new oceanic crust to the ocean floor.

Front 29

deep-ocean trench

Back 29

A deep valley along the ocean floor through which oceanic crust slowly sinks toward the mantle.

Front 30

subduction

Back 30

The process by which oceanic crust sinks beneath a deep-ocean trench and back into the mantle at a convergent plate boundary.

Front 31

plate

Back 31

A section of the lithosphere that slowly moves over the asthenosphere, carrying pieces of continental and oceanic crust.

Front 32

scientific theory

Back 32

A well-tested concept the explains a wide range of observations

Front 33

plate tectonics

Back 33

The tehory that pieces of Earth's lithosphere are in constant motion, driven by convection currents in the mantle.

Front 34

fault

Back 34

A break in Earth's crust where slabs of rock slip past each other.

Front 35

transform boundary

Back 35

A plate boundary where two plates move past each other in opposite directions.

Front 36

divergent boundary

Back 36

A plate boundary where two plates move away from each other.

Front 37

rift valley

Back 37

A deep valley that froms where two plates move apart.

Front 38

convergent boundary

Back 38

A plate boundary where two plates move toward each other.