Vocabulary Matching for Plate Tectonics

Plate boundary where the plates slide past

each other
Transform boundary

Plate boundary where the plates move apart

Divergent boundary

Plate boundary where the plates collide

Convergent boundary

One tectonic plate is pushed

beneath another plate

Subduction

Earthquakes

These events are common at plate boundaries,

and are caused by the motions of the plates or
of magma.

Drafted Sept 2015 by the Lunar and Planetary Institute

 Vocabulary Matching for Plate Tectonics

Seismic waves

A wave from an earthquake or an explosion,

that can travel along the Earth’s surface or
through Earth’s interior

Epicenter

The point on the Earth’s surface directly above

the earthquake

Tectonic plates

Sections of the Earth’s surface that move--

these sections can include both continental and
oceanic crust

Plate boundaries

The dividing line where tectonic plates meet

Oceanic crust

This type is thinner and

denser than continental

Drafted Sept 2015 by the Lunar and Planetary Institute

 Vocabulary Matching for Plate Tectonics

Continental crust

This type is thicker than oceanic

and doesn’t subduct

Seafloor spreading
This happens at a mid-oceanic ridge where two
plates are moving apart and new crust is
forming.

Convection

Part of the driving force for plate tectonics, this

process moves heat from the interior of the
Earth towards the surface, as cooler plates sink
back into the mantle.

Drafted Sept 2015 by the Lunar and Planetary Institute