Earth Systems Honors Study Guide
1. Plate Tectonics
Key Concepts
Structure of Earth:
o Lithosphere – Crust and uppermost mantle (rigid)
o Asthenosphere – Beneath the lithosphere; plastic and flows slowly
o Mesosphere, Outer Core, Inner Core
Types of Plate Boundaries:
1. Divergent Boundaries: Plates move apart (Mid-Atlantic Ridge)
2. Convergent Boundaries: Plates collide (Subduction zones, mountain
formation)
3. Transform Boundaries: Plates slide past each other (San Andreas
Fault)
Major Processes:
o Seafloor Spreading
o Subduction
o Earthquakes and Volcanoes
Evidence for Plate Tectonics:
o Fossil distribution
o Rock formations
o Magnetic patterns on the ocean floor
1. Plate Tectonics
Key Concepts
Structure of Earth:
o Lithosphere – Crust and uppermost mantle (rigid)
o Asthenosphere – Beneath the lithosphere; plastic and flows slowly
o Mesosphere, Outer Core, Inner Core
Types of Plate Boundaries:
1. Divergent Boundaries: Plates move apart (Mid-Atlantic Ridge)
2. Convergent Boundaries: Plates collide (Subduction zones, mountain
formation)
3. Transform Boundaries: Plates slide past each other (San Andreas
Fault)
Major Processes:
o Seafloor Spreading
o Subduction
o Earthquakes and Volcanoes
Evidence for Plate Tectonics:
o Fossil distribution
o Rock formations
o Magnetic patterns on the ocean floor
