Science Unit 3 Vocabulary

4. the movement of a fluid, caused by differences in temperature, that transfers heat from one part of the fluid to another
6. A plate boundary where two plates move toward each other
9. The shaking that results from the movement of rock beneath Earth's surface
10. the region where two tectonic plates are in contact
11. thinner, more dense, younger crust making ocean floor
15. A plate boundary where two plates move away from each other
16. a valley formed by the separation of tectonic plates
17. The preserved remains or traces of an organism that lived in the past
18. The process that creates new sea floor as plates move away from each other at the mid-ocean ridges
19. The region where oceanic plates sink down into the asthenosphere
20. A solid, thin outermost layer of Earth

1. The hypothesis that states that the continents once formed a single landmass, broke up, and drifted to their present location
2. a seafloor mountain system formed by plate tectonics
3. The layer of hot, solid material between Earth's crust and core
5. The soft layer of the mantle on which the lithosphere floats
7. The theory that pieces of Earth's lithosphere are in constant motion, driven by convection currents in the mantle
8. A supercontinent containing all of Earth's land that existed about 225 million years ago
12. The strong, lower part of the mantle between the asthenosphere and the outer core
13. A rigid layer made up of the uppermost part of the mantle and the crust.
14. A plate boundary where two plates move past each other in opposite directions