Plate Tectonics

3. more than a dozen distinct plates that make up Earth’s surface and slowly move in different directions
5. boundary where tectonic plates slide past each other in opposite directions
8. shaking and trembling that result from tectonic plate movement
9. area of the mantle where hot rock rises upward
11. an idea that can be tested by experimentation or investigation
14. process in which a dense plate sinks under a less dense plate and melts in Earth’s mantle
15. structure that forms when magma rises into Earth’s crust but is trapped and can’t break through to the surface, causing pressure to build over time and finally erupt
16. description of a repeated pattern observed in nature, without an explanation for the pattern
18. a break in the rock of Earth’s crust or mantle
19. a structure that forms in Earth’s crust when molten material reaches Earth’s surface
20. boundary where two tectonic plates move away, or diverge, from one another
21. one giant continent into which most or all of the continents were assembled long ago
22. magma that has reached Earth’s surface

1. a type of thermal energy transfer in which differences in temperature and density of fluids make them rise and fall
2. molten mixture of rock-forming substances, gases, and water from Earth’s mantle
4. the idea that the continents were once fused together but slowly drifted apart over time
6. a rating of an earthquake’s magnitude, on a scale from 0-9, based on the size if its seismic waves
7. the condition of undisturbed sedimentary rock in which the oldest layer is at the bottom and the youngest layer is at the top
10. an explanation for why a phenomenon
12. vibrations that travel through Earth carrying energy
13. the area under ocean water
17. boundary where two tectonic plates move together, or converge