Chapter 1 Plate Tectonics

Subduction occurs where the oceanic crust bends down toward the mantle at a(n)

Alfred Wegener provided evidence from landforms, fossils, and climate in support of his theory of the shrinking Earth.

Along a divergent boundary, two plates slip past each other, moving in opposite directions.

What is Pangea?

Most geologists think that the movement of Earth's plates caused by

Mid-ocean ridges form the longest mountain ranges on Earth.

When continental plates pull apart at a divergent boundary on land, what forms?

The lithosphere is broken into sections called

A collision between two pieces of continental crust at a converging boundary produces a

Any trace of an ancient organism that has been preserved in rock is called a

A place where two plates slip past each other, moving in opposite directions is known as a

What technology did scientists use in the mid - 1900s to map the mid-ocean ridge?

In sea floor spreading, molten material rises from the mantle and erupts

Old oceanic crust is more dense than new oceanic crust because it is

The process that is continually adding new crust to the ocean floor

What is continental drift?

According to Wegener's hypothesis of continental drift,

If subduction occurs faster than oceanic crust can be created, an ocean will expand.

The geological theory that states that pieces of Earth's lithosphere are in constant, slow motion is the theory of

Oceanic crust near the mid-ocean ridge is younger than oceanic crust farther away from the ridge.