Earth Sciences Set 1

Question 1

What is geology?

Answer 1

Geology is the study of the earth, the rock that makes it, and the processes that change the earth

Question 2

What is the core?

Answer 2

The core is the centre of the earth.

Question 3

What are the two layers of the core?

Answer 3

The two layers of the core are the inner core and the outer core.

Question 4

Describe the inner core.

Answer 4

The inner core is 1216km thick, 4000degrees C, solid iron with some nickle

Question 5

Describe the outer core.

Answer 5

The outer core is 2270 km thick, 3600 degrees C, LIQUID IRON with some nickle.

Question 6

What is between the inner and outer core?

Answer 6

There is a liquid-solid boundary between the two layers.

Question 7

Why is the outer core liquid and not the inner core?

Answer 7

The outer core is liquid because there is less pressure pushing on it that the inner core.

Question 8

How does the solid inner core move?

Answer 8

The solid inner core rotates within the liquid outer core.

Question 9

How is the earth magnetic?

Answer 9

The rotation of the solid iron and nickle inner core generates the magnetism.

Question 10

What is the source of the earth’s internal heat?

Answer 10

The heat comes from radioactive materials that release heat as they break down. This happens in the core.

Question 11

What is outside the core?

Answer 11

The mantle is outside the core.

Question 12

How many parts does the mantle have?

Answer 12

The mantle has two parts, lower and upper

Question 13

Where is the asthenosphere?

Answer 13

The asthenosphere is in the upper mantle

Question 14

What is the mantle made of?

Answer 14

The mantle is made of hot, dense, semi-solid rock.

Question 15

Describe the lower mantle

Answer 15

The lower mantle is 2885km thick and is 84% of the earth’s total volume. Cooler than the core at 3000 degrees C.

Question 16

Which is denser (more solid) the upper or lower mantle?

Answer 16

The lower mantle is denser than the upper mantle.

Question 17

What is between the upper and lower mantle?

Answer 17

The transitions zone is between the two mantle layers.

Question 18

Where is the mesosphere?

Answer 18

The mesosphere is in the lower mantle.

Question 19

How far below the earth’s surface is the transition zone?

Answer 19

The transition zone is 400-660km below the surface of the earth.

Question 20

How big is the upper mantle?

Answer 20

The upper mantle goes from the crust down to about 400km below the surface.

Question 21

What does asthenosphere mean?

Answer 21

Asthenosphere means without strength and ball… a soft flowing rock.

Question 22

What floats on top of the asthenosphere?

Answer 22

The crust floats on top of the asthenosphere.

Question 23

What is the crust?

Answer 23

The crust is a solid layer of rock.

Question 24

Describe the crust.

Answer 24

The crust is 5-80km thick, outside temp to an internal temp of 500degrees,

Question 25

Where are the thickest parts of the earth’s crust?

Answer 25

the continental crust is the thickest part of the crust.

Question 26

Where are the thinest parts of crust found?

Answer 26

The thinest parts of the earth’s crust are found on the ocean floor….the ocean crust.

Question 27

Do people know more about the universe or what’s below the earth’s crust?

Answer 27

They know more about the universe.

Question 28

What are seismic studies?

Answer 28

Seismic studies are the studies of the energy waves made by the earth when it shakes…an earthquake monitor

Question 29

What are the energy waves of the earth called?

Answer 29

The earth’s energy waves are called seismic waves.

Question 30

How do we get direct evidence of the composition of the earth?

Answer 30

We get evidence of the earth’s make up by digging deep.

Question 31

What did science fiction writer, Jules Verne, think was at the center of the earth?

Answer 31

Verne thought dinosaurs lived at the center of the earth. He was wrong.

Question 32

Why can we not know for sure what is at the centre of the earth?

Answer 32

We can’t get to the center of the earth, so we don’t know for sure what is there.

Question 33

Why do we know more about the moon than the center of the earth?

Answer 33

We can get to the moon but not the center of the earth.

Question 34

What was Project Mohole?

Answer 34

Project Mohole was a race to dig as deep as possible.

Question 35

Why was it named Project Mohole?

Answer 35

It was short for Mohorovic Discontinuity, which is the boundary between the curst and the mantle.

Question 36

What is the boundary between the crust and the mantle called?

Answer 36

The boundary between the crust and the mantle is called the Mohorovic Discontinuity

Question 37

Who discovered the Mohorovic Discontinuity?

Answer 37

Scientist Andrija Mohorovicic found the Mohorovic Discontinuity.

Question 38

What was Project Mohole?

Answer 38

To dig five holes in the ocean floor as deep as possible.

Question 39

Why was Mohole dug in the ocean and not on land?

Answer 39

The ocean floor crust is the thinest place to dig.

Question 40

Why was Mohole a failure and a success?

Answer 40

They did not continue to dig below 183 m, but they learned a lot about ocean deepwater drilling.

Question 41

What was the Kola Superdeep Borehole?

Answer 41

Russians drilled into the Kola Peninsula near Finland, They got to 12 262m deep and it is the deepest artificial point on earth. (not naturally made)

Question 42

What did they learn in Kola?

Answer 42

At this depth, the crust is 180 degrees not the 100 that they thought, the rock was turning to goo so they had to stop.

Question 43

In 2011 what was drilled?

Answer 43

In 2011 the Russians drilled the longest extended-reach well (long, diagonally slanted) 12 345m to get oil and gas at Sakhalin island.

Question 44

What is the IODP and the ship Chikyu?

Answer 44

Chikyu is the largest research ship ever build and aboard is the Integrated Ocean drilling program (IODP)

Question 45

What does the IODP hope to achieve?

Answer 45

The IODP hope to drill to the core and have already set a new drilling research hole record and got to 2466 m in 2012

Question 46

Why is it important to drill to the core?

Answer 46

Scientists do not know a lot about the core and their assumptions from seismic data may not be correct. They hope to use their learning to better predict earthquakes and tsunamis.