he Earth: A Dynamic Planet



Name__Answer Key_____

1-4 Label the four layers of the Earth.

1.Crust 2.Mantle 3.Outer Core 4. Inner Core
 

5. Explain how the mantle's convection currents move the Earth's plates?
The deepest zone of the mantle is much hotter than the upper zone. Hot material rises to the top of the mantle and then cools and sinks. This rising and sinking happens in a circular motion. When the mantle flows it moves the plates. 

6. What is happening at a transverse plate boundary?
A transverse plate boundary has two plates sliding by each other. Both plates are moving in opposite directions. A transverse boundary is like a tear in the Earth's crust.

7. Name two pieces of evidence that scientists have used to base the Continental Drift Theory on. 
Scientists have used 1)magnetic bands in rocks and 2)fossils of tropical plants and animals that have been found in places like Antarctica and Greenland. They have also used fossils of fish found in high mountain regions in the center of continents.

8. The collision of the Indian plate and the Asian plate produced the Himalaya Mountains, the highest mountain range in the world.

9. What type of mountain formation is shown in the diagram below?

Folded Mountains

10. What type of mountain formation is shown in the diagram below?

Fault-block Mountains

What is happening at the following plate boundaries?
11. Collision boundary- 
Two plates are crashing into each other causing mountain building, volcanic activity, and earthquakes.
12. Separation boundary- 
Two plates are moving in opposite directions causing magma to fill the void and producing "NEW" crust. This is also spreading the oceans making them wider.
13. Transverse boundary-
Two plates are sliding past each other moving in opposite directions.

Matching Vocabulary I

14. __E__ subduction zone  A Pieces of the crust that "float" on the mantle.
15. __C__ convection currents  B The only ocean on Earth 250 million years ago.
16. __D__ Pangea  C Movements in a fluid caused by hotter material rising, then cooling and sinking in a circular motion.
17. __A__ Plates  D Supercontinent 250 million years ago
18. __B__Panthalassa  E Area where two plates are colliding. One plate is pushed down under the other plate.

Matching Vocabulary II
19. __C__Magma  A The northern half of Pangea after it split apart.
20. __E__Continental Drift Theory  B The deepest places on the surface of the Earth. They are located at subduction zones.
21. __D__Mid-ocean ridge  C Molten rock below the surface of the Earth 
22. __A__Laurasia  D Place where two plates are separating. These plates are moving in opposite directions making the oceans larger.
23. __B__Trenches  E The idea that the Earth's plates are "floating" on the mantle and have been for millions of years.