Chapter -The Earth In Context Flashcards
What is a moon?
A solid body locked in orbit around a planet.
What are the three classifications for a planet?
- Large solid body orbiting a star
- Has a nearly spherical shape
- Has cleared it’s neighborhood of other objects
What are the two types of planets in our solar system?
Terrestrial (small, dense, and rocky)
Jovian (large, low density, and a gas giant)
Where is the asteroid belt in our solar system?
Between mars and Jupiter.
What is the solar wind made of?
- Magnetically charged particles
What kind of magnetic field does earth have?
Earth has a dipolar magnetic field going from positive north to negative south.
What is the name of the magnetic shield around the earth?
The magnetosphere.
What causes the northern lights?
Radiation not blocked by the van Allen belts that is pulled near earth by magnetic poles.
What is the most common element in our atmosphere?
Nitrogen
What are the levels of our atmosphere starting at the lowest?
Troposphere
Stratosphere
Mesosphere
Thermosphere
Why is continental crust higher in elevation that oceanic crust?
Because of the buoyancy of each type of crust.
What are the four most prevalent elements in earth’s composition in order from greatest to least?
- Iron
- Oxygen
- Silicon
- Magnesium
True or false?
Most minerals on earth are silicates.
True
What is a glass?
Non-crystalline mineral like matter
What is a rock?
An aggregate of minerals
What is a metal?
Solid comprised of metallic minerals
What is magma?
Melt that is beneath the surface
What is lava?
Melt once it reaches the surface
What are volatiles?
Materials from a volcanic eruption that turn into gas at the surface
What is an earthquake?
Seismic waves passing through earth
What are the two types if crust?
Continental and oceanic
What are the two types of mantle?
Upper and lower
What are the two types if core?
Outer (liquid)
Inner (solid)
Where is the crust thickest?
Under mountains
Where is the crust thinnest?
Under mid ocean ridges
What is the mohorivicic “Moho” discontinuity?
It is the separation of the crust from the mantle
Is continental crust granitic or basaltic?
Granitic
Is oceanic crust granitic or basaltic?
Basaltic
True or false? The mantle is 46% of earths volume.
False it is 83% of earths volume
What is the mantle composed of?
The ultra mafic rock peridotite
What is the inner core composed of?
A solid iron and nickel alloy
What is the outer core composed of?
Liquid iron, nickel, and sulfur
What creates the magnetic field?
The flow of the outer core
What is the difference between the lithosphere and the aestenosphere?
The lithosphere includes crust and upper mantle and moves as a tectonic plate. The asthenosphere is below the lithosphere and flies as a soft solid and makes up the rest of the upper mantle
What is the speed of light?
186,000 miles/second
True or false? The universe contains more than 100 billion galaxies?
True
When, approximately, was the Big Bang?
13.7 billion years ago
True or false? Big Bang nucleosynthesis created lighter elements such as hydrogen and helium.
True
Stellar nucleosynthesis creates what kind of elements?
Heavy elements such as carbon and iron
True or false? All elements not created by the Big Bang and stellar nucleosynthesis formed later in planets
False they were created by supernovas
What created the atmosphere?
The gases from volcanic explosions
