1: Introduction to Earth Science

Question 1

Over time, the Earth’s solid center began to decay, composed of ________________.

Answer 1

iron, silicates, and radioactive materials

Question 2

The ______________, primarily uranium, potassium, and thorium, emitted heat, melting the silicates and iron, forming the Earth’s core.

Answer 2

decaying radioactive materials

Question 3

There are _________ in the earth which repels solar wind and protects the earth from solar radiation

Answer 3

two magnetic fields

Question 4

The atmosphere of the earth is ________, which means that it is made up of mainly nitrogen and oxygen

Answer 4

stratified

Question 5

The earth can be divided into

Answer 5

an outer lithosphere and a plastic asthenosphere

Question 6

is the layer of air that surrounds the earth. It protects the earth from solar rays. It also circulates the air and gases that plants and animals need to survive.

Answer 6

atmosphere

Question 7

is made up of living organisms, such as plants and animals. It is important to note that all the biospheres interact with each other.

Answer 7

biosphere

Question 8

the geosphere is also called?

Answer 8

lithosphere

Question 9

is made up of the physical earth, such as rocks, magma, and soil.

Answer 9

geosphere / lithosphere

Question 10

extends from the center of the earth to the dust in the atmosphere, and even includes the sand in the ocean

Answer 10

geosphere / lithosphere

Question 11

is made up of all the water held on earth.

Answer 11

hydrosphere

Question 12

The Subsystems of the Earth

Answer 12

atmosphere
biosphere
geosphere
hydrosphere

Question 13

The Atmosphere

Answer 13

Exosphere
Thermosphere
Mesosphere
Stratosphere
Tropopause
Troposphere

Question 14

(500 km), this is where the atmosphere merges with space.

Answer 14

Exosphere

Question 15

(90 km), this is where the space shuttles orbit.

Answer 15

Thermosphere

Question 16

(50-90 km), this is where meteors burn.

Answer 16

Mesosphere

Question 17

(12-50 km), this is where the air is stable and is good for planes and jets to fly in.

Answer 17

Stratosphere

Question 18

(11-12 km)

Answer 18

Tropopause

Question 19

(0-11 km), the “mixing layer,” all the weather is limited to this layer.

Answer 19

Troposphere

Question 20

the outermost “skin” of the earth and has various thicknesses.

Answer 20

crust

Question 21

The ______ crust is under the mountain ranges, and the _____ is under the mid-ocean ridges.

Answer 21

thickest. thinnest

Question 22

the lower boundary

Answer 22

Mohorivicic discontinuity

Question 23

_________ separates the crust from the upper mantle. It was discovered in 1909 by ____________.

Answer 23

Mohorivicic discontinuity, Andrija Mohorovicic

Question 24

two types of crust

Answer 24

the continental crust and the oceanic crust

Question 25

The crust is composed of just __ elements

Answer 25

8

Question 26

the most abundant element in the crust

Answer 26

Oxygen

Question 27

a solid rock layer between the core and the crust

Answer 27

mantle

Question 28

the mantle is composed of a rock called

Answer 28

peridotite

Question 29

the ____ mantle sinks and the ____ mantle rises.

Answer 29

cool, hot

Question 30

Three subdivisions of the mantle

Answer 30

upper, transitional, and lower

Question 31

The core is an iron-rich sphere with a radius of

Answer 31

3,471 km

Question 32

The outer core is made of liquid iron, nickel, and sulfur and it's _______ thick

Answer 32

2,255 km

Question 33

The inner core is made of solid nickel, iron alloy and has a radius of ______

Answer 33

1,220 km

Question 34

The universe and the solar system were formed about __________ years ago

Answer 34

4.6 billion

Question 35

According to the Big Bang Theory, Between ___________, all the matter found in the universe today was found in a small space, a tiny contact point.

Answer 35

13 billion and 15 billion years ago

Question 36

According to this theory, matter and energy were the same back then.

Answer 36

The Big Bang Theory (1900s)

Question 37

came about after an explosion.

Answer 37

Expansion

Question 38

He announced that all of the galaxies that he was studying are moving further and further away from us, at speeds that amount of several thousand miles per second.

Answer 38

Edwin Hubble, 1929

Question 39

_________ believed the universe was governed by two principles

Answer 39

Fred Hoyle

Question 40

the universe is uniform in space

Answer 40

the cosmological principle

Question 41

the universe is unchanging in time

Answer 41

the perfect cosmological principle

Question 42

Predicts that the universe is expanding, but it also predicts that new matter is being created enough to fill the empty spaces left behind by the universe's expansion.

Answer 42

The Steady State Theory (1940s)

Question 43

This theory has been found to be false by astronomers as the average age of stars should be approximately the same if matter is continuously created everywhere .

Answer 43

The Steady State Theory (1940s)

Question 44

created a new model, since he is a plasma physicist.

Answer 44

Hannes Alfven

Question 45

___ of the observable universe is made of plasma, which is where the term Plasma Universe is derived from.

Answer 45

99%

Question 46

An ionized gas that conducts electricity.

Answer 46

Plasma

Question 47

Discounts the Big Bang Theory and states that the universe is crisscrossed by electromagnetic fields and electric currents.

Answer 47

The Plasma Universe

Question 48

this theory states that the universe has no beginning and no end.

Answer 48

The Plasma Universe

Question 49

In the Plasma Universe, the galaxies take as long as ___________ to come together.

Answer 49

100 billion years

Question 50

The evidence from the Plasma Universe does not come from direct observations of the sky; rather they come from _____________.

Answer 50

laboratory experiments

Question 51

The size of the earth is about ___________ in diameter, and this was known by the Ancient Greeks.

Answer 51

12,750 km

Question 52

is brittle and is liable to breaking.

Answer 52

crust

Question 53

a hot, dense layer of semi- solid rock, denser and hotter compared to the crust because matter is heated by the pressure and temperature inside the earth.

Answer 53

mantle

Question 54

denser than the mantle because it is composed of an iron-nickel alloy, which is metallic rather than being stony.

Answer 54

core

Question 55

The core is made up of two distinct layers

Answer 55

the liquid outer core and a solid inner core.

Question 56

As the earth rotates on its axis, the liquid outer core spins, which creates ____________.

Answer 56

the earth's magnetic field

Question 57

is hotter compared to the upper part of the mantle.

Answer 57

deep mantle

Question 58

composed of semi-solid, hot material, which flows and softens after being subjected to high pressure and temperature.

Answer 58

asthenosphere

Question 59

is the movement of the lithosphere that influences plate tectonics.

Answer 59

lithosphere