Topic 1 - Planet Earth Flashcards
What is the shape of the Earth?
An oblate spheroid
What is the mean diameter of the Earth?
13,000km
What percentage of water vs land does the Earth contain?
71% Water and 29% Land
How much of the water that the Earth contains is saline?
97.5% of this water is saline and only 2.5% of this water is fresh water.
What inside the Earth’s core produces a magnetic field?
Large electrical currents which flow in complicated patterns produce a magnetic field.
What does the Earth’s magnetic field protect the Earth from?
The radiation that is emitted by the sun
What does the crust of the Earth contain?
Giant tectonic plates that are floating and moving on top of the mantle.
What does the movement of giant tectonic plates cause?
The creation of mountains and trenches.
What is the average thickness of the Earth’s crust?
50km (Although can vary between 0-70km)
What are the two types of crust that the Earth uses?
Continental Crust
Which consists of low density rocks, e.g. Granite
Oceanic Crust
Which consists of high density rocks e.g. Basalt
What is the thickness of the mantle, and how much of the Earth’s volume does it take up?
This is a silicate rocky shell with a thickness of about 2900km making up around 80% of the Earth’s volume.
What are the two divisions of the Earth’s upper mantle?
The lithosphere and the astenosphere
What is the state of the upper mantle of the Earth?
It is considered semi-molten, allowing for the rise and fall of convection currents - driving the movement of tectonic plates.
What does the lithosphere consist of?
The lithosphere is the upper section of the upper mantle, which is viscous and supports the crust.
What does the asthenosphere consist of?
Less mobile, mostly solid material
What is the state of the lower mantle of the Earth?
Solid
What elements is the Earth’s outer core made of?
It is a liquid layer of iron and nickel.
What is the thickness of the outer core?
2,266km thick