Enquiry Question 1

Question 1

What are the layers of the Earth?

Answer 1

Crust, Mantle, Outer Core, Inner Core

Question 2

What is the crust?

Answer 2

Solid rock on the surface of the earth.

Question 3

What is the mantle?

Answer 3

The second layer on the earth, hot and flows like a ‘thick liquid’.

Question 4

What is the outer core?

Answer 4

Liquid iron and nickel and under huge pressures.

Question 5

What is the inner core?

Answer 5

Solid, mainly iron and nickel

Question 6

What is the oceanic crust?

Answer 6

Crust covered in oceans.
Always subducts under the continental crust.
Thinner than continental.
Denser.

Question 7

What is the continental crust?

Answer 7

Crust covered in land.
Thicker.
Less dense.

Question 8

What is a constructive plate boundary?

Answer 8

Where plates move apart from each other and magma seeps up and hardens to fill the gap and create new land.

Question 9

What is a destructive plate boundary?

Answer 9

When plates move together and one subducts under the other and land is destroyed.

Question 10

What is a conservative plate boundary?

Answer 10

When two plates rub against each other and move in different directions.

Question 11

What is a collision plate boundary?

Answer 11

When continental crusts meet and push against each other and force land up to form mountains.

Question 12

Who first had the theory that plate tectonics existed?

Answer 12

Wegener in 1915.

Question 13

Where does an intra-plate earthquake occur?

Answer 13

In the interior of a tectonic plate, they are very rare.

Question 14

Where do interplate earthquakes occur?

Answer 14

At plate boundaries, they are more common.

Question 15

What is a hotspot?

Answer 15

An area created by a hot plume of magma that rises under the plate and occurs in the middle of a plate.

Question 16

What is the Benioff zone?

Answer 16

The area under a destructive plate boundary where many deep earthquakes occur.

Question 17

What is the hypocentre of an earthquake?

Answer 17

It is the ‘focus’ point within the ground where the energy that is stored in the rock is first released.

Question 18

What are some features of a composite volcano.

Answer 18

tall, steep sided shape, traditional cone.
viscous (sticky) lava.
less frequent eruptions.
large eruptions.

Question 19

What are some features of a shield volcano.

Answer 19

shallow sided, wide in shape.
runny lava.
more frequent eruptions.
smaller eruptions.

Question 20

What are the three lava types.

Answer 20

Basaltic Lava.
Andesitic Lava.
Rhyolitic Lava.

Question 21

What are the primary volcano hazards?

Answer 21

Pyroclastic flows.
Volcanic gas eruptions.
Lava.
Tephra and ash.

Question 22

What are the secondary volcano hazards?

Answer 22

Lahars.

Jokulhlaup.

Question 23

What are seismic waves?

Answer 23

Shockwaves released by tectonic movements.

Question 24

What are the 4 theories explaining plate tectonic movement?

Answer 24

Mantle convection,
Slab pull,
Subduction,
Seafloor spreading.

Question 25

What is mantle convection?

Answer 25

The movement of hot magma under the crust.

Question 26

What is slab pull?

Answer 26

When newly formed oceanic crust sinks into the mantle, pulling the rest of the plate further down with it.

Question 27

What is subduction?

Answer 27

When one plate slides under another into the magma where it melts at a destructive plate boundary.

Question 28

What is seafloor spreading?

Answer 28

When new oceanic crust is formed under the ocean and it pushes the two plates apart.

Question 29

What are the four types of waves earthquakes create?

Answer 29

Primary,
Secondary,
Rayleigh,
Love.

Question 30

What is a primary wave?

Answer 30

The fastest travelling wave,
Moves through solid rock and fluids,
Pushes and pulls (compresses) in the direction of travel,
Causes the least damage.

Question 31

What are secondary waves?

Answer 31

Slower than P waves,
Only move through solid rock,
Up and down movement,
Causes the ground to shake violently.

Question 32

What are Rayleigh waves?

Answer 32

Only travel through the surface of the crust,
Ground is moved up and down and side to side,
Rolling motion,
Shakes the ground.

Question 33

What are love waves?

Answer 33

Only travels through surface of the crust,
Fastest of the surface waves,
Moves side to side (horizontal) as it moves forward.

Question 34

What are some secondary impacts of an earthquake?

Answer 34

Landslides,
Liquefaction,
Tsunamis.

Question 35

How are tsunamis formed?

Answer 35

Landslides,
Eruptions of volcanic islands,
Sub-marine earthquakes in subduction zones.

Question 36

How does a sub-marine earthquake form a tsunami?

Answer 36

The earthquake displaces the seas bed vertically which causes water column displacement.
The water then moves outwards in all directions from the point of displacement.
The water moves as a vast bulge in open water rather than a distinct wave.
It only forms a wave when the sea bed rises at the coast and the water is forced up as a wave.