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EARTHSCI > vTHE INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF THE EARTH > Flashcards

vTHE INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF THE EARTH Flashcards

1
Q

describes the outermost shell of a terrestrial planet

part of a single geologic unit called the lithosphere

A

THE CRUST

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2
Q

mostly made up of igneous rocks, like granite and basalt

Our planet’s thin, 40-kilometer (25-mile) deep crust—just 1% of Earth’s mass—contains all known life in
the universe.

A

THE CRUST

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3
Q

Today, tectonic activity is responsible for the formation (and destruction) of crustal materials.

A

THE CRUST

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4
Q

Billions of years ago, the
planetary blob that would
become the Earth started out
as a hot, viscous ball of rock.

A

earth’s core

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5
Q

The molten material
that surrounded the
core was the early

A

mantle

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6
Q

The heaviest material,
that sank
to the center of the new
planet and became its core.

A

iron and nickel

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7
Q

Over millions of years, the
mantle cooled. Water
trapped inside minerals
erupted with lava, a
process called

A

“outgassing.”

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8
Q

Materials that initially stayed in
their liquid phase during this
process, called _______ ultimately became
Earth’s brittle crust.

A

“incompatible
elements,”

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9
Q

TWO TYPES OF CRUST

A

Continental Crust
Oceanic Crust

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10
Q

The transition zone between these two
types of crust

A

Conrad discontinuity

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11
Q

Conrad discontinuity

named after the seismologist

A

Victor
Conrad

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12
Q

are the most abundant
rocks and minerals in both oceanic
and continental crust

A

Silicates

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13
Q

(mostly compounds made of silicon
and oxygen)

A

Silicates

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14
Q

mostly composed of different types of granites. Geologists often refer to the rocks of the
continental crust as “sial”

A

CONTINENTAL CRUST

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15
Q

made up of silicate and aluminium

  • the most abundant elements
A

Sial

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16
Q

created by plate tectonics

A

CONTINENTAL CRUST

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17
Q

where tectonic plates crash into each other, continental crust is thrust up in the process of orogeny, or mountain-building.

A

convergent plate boundaries,

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18
Q

the thickest parts of continental crust are at the

A

world’s tallest mountain ranges.

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19
Q

the crust extends unevenly below the Earth as well as soaring into the atmosphere

A

CONTINENTAL CRUST

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20
Q

the oldest and most stable part of the continental
lithosphere

usually found deep in the interior of most
continents

A

Cratons

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21
Q

2 Types of Cratons

A

Shields

Platforms

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22
Q

cratons in which the ancient basement
rock crops out into the atmosphere

A

SHIELDS

23
Q

are cratons in which the basement rock is
buried beneath overlying sediment

A

PLATFORMS

24
Q

is almost always much older than the
oceanic crust. Because continental crust is rarely destroyed and
recycled in the process of subduction, some sections of
continental crust are nearly as old as the Earth itself.

A

continental crust

25
Q

Extending 5-10 kilometres beneath the ocean floor

Mainly composed of basalts

The rocks are often refer as “sima”

A

OCEANIC CRUST

26
Q

made up of silicate and magnesium

  • the most abundant minerals in the crust
A

Sima

27
Q

Denser than the continental crust

Constantly formed at mid-ocean ridges, where
tectonic plates are tearing apart from each other

Destroyed at subduction zones

A

OCEANIC CRUST

28
Q

the ___ and _____ of oceanic crust increases with
distance from mid-ocean ridges.

A

age and density

29
Q

important geologic process in which a tectonic
plate made of dense lithospheric materials melts
or falls below a plate made of less-dense lithosphere
at a convergent plate boundary

A

Subduction

30
Q

Mostly solid bulk of Earth’s interior

Lies between Earth’s dense, superheated
core and its thin outer layer, crust

Makes the 84% of the Earth’s total
volume

A

THE MANTLE

31
Q

2 types of TEMPERATURE in the mantle

A

Near boundary between crust
Near boundary with the core

32
Q
  • Varies from 1000 degrees Celsius
A

Near boundary between crust

33
Q
  • 3,700 degrees Celsius
A

Near boundary with the core

34
Q

4 TYPES OF ROCKS

A

Olivine

Garnet

Pyroxene

Magnesium oxide

35
Q

Mostly silicates (a wide variety of
compounds that share a silicon and oxygen

A

TYPES OF ROCKS in the mantle

36
Q

5 ELEMENTS FOUND IN THE MANTLE

A

Iron

Aluminum

Calcium

Sodium

Potassium

37
Q

Extends from the crust to a depth of about
410 kilometres

Mostly solid, but its more malleable
regions

Contributes to tectonic activity

A

THE UPPER MANTLE

38
Q

TWO PARTS OF THE MANTLE

A

Lithosphere

Asthenosphere

39
Q

The division between the crust and
the mantle

A

THE
MOHOROVICIC
DISCONTINUITY

40
Q

THE
MOHOROVICIC
DISCONTINUITY Simply called as

A

Moho

41
Q

THE
MOHOROVICIC
DISCONTINUITY Named after Croatian seismologist

A

Andrija Mohorovicic

42
Q

Who first detected in 1909 by
examining the seismic waves
moving through the Earth

A

Andrija Mohorovicic

43
Q

Is the solid, outer part of Earth

Includes both crust and the brittle upper portion of the mantle

Both the coolest and the most rigid of Earth’s layers

A

LITHOSPHERE

44
Q

Tectonic Activity is found in

A

LITHOSPHERE

45
Q

Describes the interaction of the huge slabs
(flat, thick piece of material such as earth or
stone) lithosphere called tectonic plates

A

Tectonic Activity

46
Q

Denser, weaker layer beneath the
lithosphere mantle

Temperature and pressure are so high
that rocks soften and partly melt,
becoming semi-molten

A

ASTHENOSPHERE

47
Q

More ductile than either the
lithosphere or lower mantle

More viscous than the lithosphere

A

ASTHENOSPHERE

48
Q

The very slow motion of lithospheric
plates

A

“floating”

49
Q

is
the cause of plate tectonics, continental
drift, earthquakes, the formation

A

plates “floating”

50
Q

One of the most obscure places in the world separates two continents and two tectonic plates, namely the North American and Eurasian plates.

A

THE SILFRA RIFT

51
Q

THE SILFRA RIFT divides two tectonic plates namely

A

North
American and Eurasian plates.

52
Q

hotter and denser than the
upper mantle

much less ductile than the
upper mantle

intense pressure keeps the
lower mantle solid

A

THE
LOWER
MANTLE

53
Q

responsible
for transferring heat from
the inner and outer core to
the upper layers of the
planet

A

THE
LOWER
MANTLE

EARTHSCI (16 decks)

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