Free Plate Tectonics Word Search (Printable PDF + Answer Key)

The Earth's outer shell, the LITHOSPHERE, is broken into giant plates that float on the hot, slow-moving MANTLE. Where two plates meet is a plate BOUNDARY, and that is where most of the action happens: a COLLISION pushes up mountains, SUBDUCTION drags one plate under another, and a RIFT opens where plates pull apart. This free word search covers the key vocabulary of plate tectonics, the theory that explains how the CONTINENTAL plates have drifted over millions of years.

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15hidden words

11+suggested age

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About the Plate Tectonics word search

The rest of the list is what those moving plates cause: an EARTHQUAKE or a smaller TREMOR when rock slips along a FAULT, a VOLCANO where MAGMA rises through the CRUST, and a mid-ocean RIDGE where new sea floor forms with every SHIFT. The word list runs medium with a few long science terms, best for students from about 11 up, and the answer key is on page two of the PDF. Pair it with the earth science word search, the volcanoes word search or the rocks and minerals word search, or browse more science word searches, the five themes of geography word search and the full set of middle school word searches.