Topic 1: Hazardous Earth

Question 1

Lithosphere

Answer 1

Made up of the crust and the brittle upper mantle. It is the coolest of the earth’s layers

Question 2

Asthenosphere

Answer 2

This is where the convection currents occur which heat up the lithosphere. The asthenosphere is made up of the lower mantle, outer core and the inner core.

Question 3

Inner core

Answer 3

The inner core is solid and it is made of iron and nickel. The heat is caused by other radioactive elements which decay and release heat.

Question 4

Outer core

Answer 4

The outer core is liquid and it is also made from iron and nickel

Question 5

Mantle

Answer 5

The mantle is the largest section of the Earth and it is made of semi molten rock. The mantle is approximately two thirds of the Earth’s mass

Question 6

Crust

Answer 6

The crust is made up of tectonic plates which are constantly moving. There are two types of crust which make up the land and the sea

Question 7

Convection current

Answer 7

The stream of fluid moved by heat. Hot liquids rise, cool, and then fall back to the bottom.

Question 8

Convergent

Answer 8

The oceanic crust sinks underneath the continental crust forming a trench and possible earthquakes

Question 9

Divergent

Answer 9

The plates pull apart forming volcanoes. When the lava cools it forms more rock

Question 10

Conservative

Answer 10

This is where the plates slide past each other. They are likely to get stuck and jolt which causes huge earthquakes. Do not have to be moving in different directions as they can move at different speeds

Question 11

Primary impact

Answer 11

Things that happen immediately after a natural disaster. These effect people the most. For example, how many homes were destroyed

Question 12

Secondary impact

Answer 12

Things that are effected later on. For example, how many people were made homeless

Question 13

Hot spot

Answer 13

Plumes of magma rise to the surface. If there are any cracks in the crust, then a volcano will be formed

Question 14

Magnitude

Answer 14

How strong the natural disaster was from 1-9. Dictates how much damage there is and how many people will feel it.

Question 15

Shield volcano

Answer 15

A volcano formed through low viscosity lava, which spreads out very quickly like water on a table.

Question 16

Composite volcano

Answer 16

A volcano made up of layers of cooled lava and cooled ash. This makes the volcano very tall

Question 17

Collision

Answer 17

Where two pieces of continental crust collide then they cause a huge earthquake as neither can sink under the other

Question 18

Plate tectonics

Answer 18

The crust is made up of plate tectonics that move as they are floating on top of the magma

Question 19

Oceanic crust

Answer 19

A heavier crust which makes up the sea. Would sink under continental crust which is lighter

Question 20

Continental crust

Answer 20

A lighter crust which makes up the land. It would rise over oceanic crust which is denser

Question 21

Richter scale

Answer 21

Measures earthquakes by a logarithmic scale

Question 22

Low viscosity

Answer 22

Lava that runs really quickly like water on a table

Question 23

High viscosity

Answer 23

Lava that runs really slowly almost like treacle

Question 24

Pyroclastic flow

Answer 24

Fast moving current of hot gas and volcanic matter.

Question 25

Low air pressure

Answer 25

This is where air heats up, it expands and then starts to rise.

Question 26

High air pressure

Answer 26

This is when the air in the atmosphere starts to cool and sink back down towards the crust.

Question 27

The Gulf Stream

Answer 27

This is a warm ocean current that moves across the Atlantic Ocean towards the UK. It heats up the western coast

Question 28

Global circulation model

Answer 28

This is the movement of the atmosphere and it is divided into three different cells above and below the equator.

Question 29

The Hadley cell

Answer 29

This is one of the three cells in the global circulation model- it is the one nearest the equator.

Question 30

The ITCZ

Answer 30

The inter tropical convergence zone is in the tropics between the two Hadley cells.

Question 31

Greenhouse effect

Answer 31

The gases in the atmosphere trap heat from the sun and heat the atmosphere up like glass in a greenhouse. This lets heat in but it doesn’t let it back out.

Question 32

Global warming

Answer 32

The warming of the Earth.

Question 33

Japan’s preparation for earthquakes (a developed country)

Answer 33

Three parts:
Prediction: JMA and local governments monitor seismic activity. If an earthquake is detected, people are warned immediately
Preparation: High rise buildings have shock absorbers to reduce vibrations. Buildings reinforced with steel frames. Automatic alarms to alert workers and prevent injuries
Long-term planning: Disaster Prevention Day nationwide drill to practice evacuations. Schools carry out drills. People in coastal communities practice getting to higher ground.

Question 34

Pakistan’s preparation for earthquakes (a developing country)

Answer 34

Three parts:
Prediction: Until recently there was very little monitoring of seismic activity, meaning earthquakes could strike without warning
Preparation: Pakistan doesn’t have access to building materials for stronger buildings because it is a developing country. Poor communication networks make it difficult to alert the population
Long-term planning: Poor remote settlements with no education program for earthquake. Very few roads and poor communications so planning evacuations is hard.

Question 35

Japan - recent earthquakes

Answer 35

11th March 2011
North east Japan
9.0 on the Richter scale 
Triggered tsunami 
Japanese scientists predicted an earthquake but not one of this magnitude

Question 36

Pakistan - recent earthquakes

Answer 36

8th October 2005
7.6 on Richter scale
Caused landslides, rockfalls and destruction
Despite seismic activity being monitored, the earthquake was unpredicted

Question 37

Japan earthquake primary impacts

Answer 37

Thousands of buildings were damaged

Earthquake caused severe liquefaction, buildings sunk into ground

Question 38

Pakistan earthquakes primary impacts

Answer 38

80, 000 deaths
Tens of thousands of people injured
Hundreds of thousands of buildings damaged or destroyed
3 million people made homeless
Water pipelines and electricity lines broken

Question 39

Japan earthquake secondary impacts

Answer 39

Tsunami triggered which killed thousands of people
230, 000 people made homeless
Tsunami cut off power supplies to Fukushima nuclear power plant causing a meltdown
325km of railway tracks washed away

Question 40

Pakistan earthquake secondary impacts

Answer 40

Landslides buried people and roads
Diarrhoea and other diseases spread due to lack of clean water
Freezing winter conditions after earthquake caused more casualties and meant rescue was harder

Question 41

Japan earthquake short term relief

Answer 41

International aid and search and rescue teams brought in

Transport, power supplies and communications restored after a few weeks

Question 42

Pakistan earthquake short term relief

Answer 42

Pakistani army slow to respond
Help from India was refused because of tensions between India and Pakistani
Tents, blankets and medical supplies distributed, although it took months to reach some areas

Question 43

Japan earthquake long term planning

Answer 43

No collapsed buildings in Tokyo

Japanese authorities gave people time to get to higher ground

Question 44

Pakistani earthquake long term planning

Answer 44

Fault lines in Himalayas poorly monitored which meant the Pakistani earthquake was unpredicted
Most buildings had been constructed from poor quality materials e.g. cement made from sand which crumbled during the earthquake