Lesson Summary

Aftermath of earthquake, Greece, 1954. Photo courtesy of *clarity*.
Licensed CC BY.
  • The Earth can be divided into layers - core, mantle, crust.
  • Plates are large pieces of Earth's lithosphere that move around on top of the asthenosphere.
  • There are two types of crust that make up the plates (continental and oceanic), and they have different properties.
  • There are 3 types of plate boundaries: Divergent, Convergent, and Transform.
  • Volcanoes and earthquakes are located at each type of plate boundary.
  • Earthquakes cause 2 types of seismic waves: Body Waves and Surface Waves.
  • Primary Waves (p-waves) and Secondary Waves (s-waves) are body waves.
  • Rayleigh Waves and Love Waves are surface waves.
  • Most, but not all, earthquakes are associated with plate boundaries.
Last modified: Saturday, 1 May 2010, 9:20 AM