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| The part of the mantle that lies below the lithosphere; it behaves plastically and flows slowly. |
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| A model for the evolution of the universe in which a dense, hot state was followed by expansion, cooling, and a less dense state. |
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| The interior part of Earth's beginning at a depth of 2900 km that probably consists of iron and nickel. |
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| Earth's outermost layer; the upper part of the lithosphere that is seperated from the mantle by the Moho; divided into continental and oceanic crust. |
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| Remains or traces of prehistoric organisms preseved in rocks. |
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| A chart arranged so that the designation for the earliest part of geologic time appears at the bottom followed upward by progessively younger time designations. |
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| The science concerned with the study of Earth materials (minerals and rocks), surface, and internal processes, and Earth History |
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| A provisional explaination for observations that is subject to continual testing. If well supported by evidence, a hypothesis may be called a theory |
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| results when magma crystallizes or volcanic ejecta such as ash accumulate and consolidate. |
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| Any of the four planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) that resemble Jupiter. All are large and have low mean densities, indicating that they are composed mostly of lightweight gases. |
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| Earth's outer, rigid part consisting of the upper mantle, oceanic crust, and continental crust. |
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| The thick layer between Earth's crust and core |
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| Any rock that has been changed from its original condition by heat, pressure,and the chemical activity of fluids,as in marble and slate. |
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| A naturally occuring, inorganic, crystalline solid that has characteristics physical properties and a narrowly defined chemical comp |
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| An individual segment of the lithosphere that moves over the asthenosphere. |
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| The theory holding that large segments of earth's outer part (Lithospheric plates) move relative to one another. |
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| Principle of uniformitarianism |
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| A principle holding that we can interpret past events by understanding present-day processes,based on the idea that natural processes have always operated in the same way. |
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| A solid aggregate of one or more minerals, as in limestone and granite, or a consolidated aggregate of rock fragments, as in conglomerate, or masses of rock like material, such as coal and obsidian |
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| A group of processes through which Earth materials may pass as they are transformed from one major rock type to another. |
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| A logical, orderly approach that involves gathering data, formulating and testing hypotheses, and proposing theories. |
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| Any rock composed of sediment such as limestone and sandstone. |
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| A theory for the evolution of the solar system from a rotating cloud of gas. |
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| A combination of related parts that interact in an organized fashion; Earth systems include the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and solid earth. |
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| Any of the four innermost Plants (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars) They are all small and have high mean densities, indicating that they are composed of rock and metallic elements. |
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| An explanation for some natural phenomenon that has a large body of supporting evidence. To be scientific, a theory must be testable-For EX. Plate tectonic theory. |
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| Continental-continental plate boundary |
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| A convergent plate boundary along which two continental lithosphere plates collide. |
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| The theory that the continents were joined into a single landmass that broke apart with the various fragments (continents) moving with respect to one another. |
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| Convergent plate boundary |
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| The boundary between two plates that move toward each other. |
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| The temperature at which iron bearing minerals in cooling magma or lava attain their magnetism. |
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| The boundary between two plates that are moving apart. |
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| A late paleozoic association of plants found only on the Southern Hemisphere continents and India; named for its best-known genus, Glossopteris. |
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| A major Paleozoic continent composed of South America, Africa, Australia, India, and parts of sounthern Europe, Arabia, and Florida. |
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| Localized zone of melting below the lithosphere; detected at the surface by volcanism. |
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| A late Paleozoic Northern Hemisphere continent made up of North America, Greenland, parts of Scotland, and perhaps parts of the Baltic sheild of Scandanavia. |
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| Any deviation, such as any change in average strength, in Earth's magnetic field. |
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| The phenomenon involving the complete reversal of the north and south magnetic poles. |
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| Oceanic-continental plate boundary |
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| A convergent plate boundary along which oceanic lithosphere is subdued beneath continental lithosphere. |
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| Oceanic-oceanic plate boundary |
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| A convergent plate boundary along which two oceanic plates collide and one is subducted beneath the other. |
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| Residual magnestism in rocks, studied to determine the intensity and direction of Earth's past magnetic field. |
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| The name Alfred Wegner proposed for a supercontinent consisting of all Earth's landmasses at the end of the Paleozoic Era. |
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| The theory holding that large segments of Earth's outer part (lithosphere plates) move relative to one another. |
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| The theory that the seafloor moves away from spreading ridges and is eventually consumed at subduction zones. |
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| A type of circulation of material in the asthensosphere during which hot material rises, moves laterally, cools, and sinks, and is reheated and continues the cycle. |
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| A fault along which one type of motion is transformed into another; commonly displaces oceanic ridges; on land recognized as a strike-slip fault, such as the San Andreas Fault. |
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| Plate boundary along which plates slide past one another and crust is neither produced nor destroyed. |
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