Vocab Flashcards
Mantle
Made up of magma and convection currents asthenosphere is made up of ductile rock semi magma
Core
The core is 3000 km below earth’s surface dense and largely made up if nickel and iron the inner core is solid and the outer core is liquid
Lithosphere
Brittle outermost layer of planet
Core
Outermost layer of lithosphere
How did the earth form?
The earth form from cosmic dust from solar formation
What is the layers composition of each earths layers?
The core is made of nickel, the mantle is made of magma, the asthenosphere is made of semi magma and ductile rock, the lithosphere is brittle, the crust is made of igneous rock
Theory of plate tectonics
Earth’s lithosphere is made up of plates that move
Tectonic cycle
The build up and break down of earths lithosphere
Continental plates
Made up of silicon dioxide and is lighter and less dense and rise above oceanic plates
Oceanic plates
Dense and rich with iron sink below continental plates
What drives the movement of oceanic and continental plates?
The movement of convection cells in earths mantle. As the plates move the continents slowly drift
What causes sea floor spreading?
The separating of oceanic plates as magma rises and causes new oceanic plates. Oceanic plates are pulled downward beneath the lithosphere and the heavier oceanic plates slide under lighter plates
How is earths history measured
Geologic time scale
What happened when the earths continents drifted
Climates changed, geographic barriers formed or were removed and species evolved into two different species or went extinct
What causes volcanoes
Geological hotspots
What are volcanoes
A vent in earths surface that emits gas ash and molten lava leaves behind islands
Divergent plate boundary
Plates are pulled apart
Convergent plate boundary
Plates collide heavier plate goes under responsible for the andes mountains
Transform fault boundaries
Move past each other
Subduction
One plate passing under another
Fault
Fracture in rock where there is movement
Fault zone
Form in brittle lithosphere
What is the rock cycle
Constant formation and breakdown of rocks it is the slowest of all of earths cycles
Minerals
Solid chemical substances that have a uniform structure and form under specific temps and pressure they are usually made up of gold or silver
What are the three main types of rocks
Igneous metamorphic and sedimentary
Igneous rock
Are formed from magma when lava cools and hardens contains basalt and granite forms intrusive or extrusive
Sedimentary rocks
Forms when mud sands and gravel are compressed by overlapping sediments sedimentary rocks holds fossil record
Metamorphic rock
Form under high-pressure and temperatures
What is the difference between weathering and erosion? Why are both processes important?
Weathering relies on physical and chemical weathering to break down rocks! Erosion is the physical breakdown of rocks. They both return chemical elements and rock fragments to the earth
What are some physical weathering caused by?
Wind water ice, plant roots
What are chemical weathering caused by?
Most important on primary minerals which are turned into secondary minerals, lichens, acid rain
Why is soil formation important?
Median for plant growth primary filter for a water habitat for a living organisms
