Layers of the Earth & Plate Tectonics

3. Molten rock that has erupted onto Earth’s surface through a volcano or fissure.
6. The breakdown of rocks and minerals at Earth's surface through physical, chemical, or biological processes, without moving the material.
7. Sudden shaking of the ground caused by the release of energy along faults or tectonic plate boundaries.
8. A type of plate boundary where two tectonic plates move toward each other, often resulting in mountain formation, earthquakes, or subduction.
10. The scientific theory that Earth's lithosphere is broken into plates that move over the mantle due to convection currents, causing geological activity.
13. The thick, middle layer of the Earth is located between the crust and the outer core. It is composed of semi-solid rock that flows slowly, driving plate tectonics.
14. Underwater Mountain ranges formed by divergent boundaries where new oceanic crust is created by rising magma.
16. A type of rock formed when sediments are compacted and cemented together over time, often containing fossils and forming in layers.
18. The process by which natural forces like water, wind, ice, or gravity wear away rocks and soil and transport them from one location to another.
19. A region where one tectonic plate sinks beneath another into the mantle, usually forming trenches, earthquakes, and volcanoes.
20. An opening in Earth’s crust where magma, gases, and ash erupt onto the surface; often located at plate boundaries or hot spots.

1. Molten rock is located beneath Earth’s surface; it can rise to form lava during volcanic eruptions.
2. A type of plate boundary where two tectonic plates move away from each other, creating new crust, often seen at mid-ocean ridges.
4. The outermost solid layer of the Earth, composed of rocks and minerals. It includes both the continental crust (land) and oceanic crust (under oceans).
5. The rigid outer layer of the Earth consists of the crust and the uppermost part of the mantle. It is broken into tectonic plates.
9. Circular movements of fluid (liquid or gas) caused by the rise of warmer, less dense material and the sinking of cooler, denser material, driving heat transfer and, in the Earth, plate movement.
11. The innermost layer of the Earth, composed primarily of solid iron and nickel, despite the extreme heat, due to immense pressure.
12. A type of plate boundary where two tectonic plates slide past each other horizontally, often causing earthquakes.
15. The layer of the Earth beneath the mantle, composed of liquid iron and nickel. Its movement generates the Earth’s magnetic field.
17. The geological process in which sediments, soil, and rocks are added to a landform or land mass, typically after being transported by wind, water, ice, or gravity.