Plate Tectonics Key Terms

Subduction Zone

the area or zone where one tectonic plate gets forced under the other

Sliding Plates

type of plate boundary: this happens when plates slide past each other (fancy scientific name is called transform plates)

Colliding Plates

type of plate boundary: plates moving together- causing the plates to fold and create mountains OR causing one plate to go under the other, allowing magma to escape to make a volcano (fancy scientific name is called convergent)

Spreading Plates

type of plate boundary: plates moving apart- causing the magma underneath the plates to escape (fancy name is called divergent plates)

Plate Boundary

this what scientists call the edges where two (or more) tectonic plates meet

Plate Tectonics

the idea or theory that the earth's crust is made of large chunks of land, or plates, that move over time

Continental Drift

the idea or theory that the continents once existed in a giant super continent and moved to where they are now by the force of tectonic plates

Constructive Force

a force that means the build up or creation of new land (often formed by cooling magma)

Destructive Force

a force that means the break down or destroying of land (usually happens when plates are destroyed and melted back into magma)

Lithosphere

fancy name for crust - includes not just the crust but also the solid part of the upper mantle

Mantle

layer that the tectonic plates slide on - sandwiched between the crust and outer core the center of the earth- includes the inner core and outer core

Core

the innermost layer of the earth- includes both a inner and outer portion