Earth's Perfect Design
What causes Earth to experience different seasons?
Earth's tilt on its axis
What is the study of Earth called?
Geology
What is the thinnest layer of Earth?
The crust
What do we call materials found in nature that humans can use?
Natural Resources
What protects Earth from harmful radiation particles traveling through space?
Earth's magnetic field
What shape is Earth's orbit around the sun?
An ellipse
Who introduced uniformitarianism to geology?
What is the thickest layer of Earth, making up most of its volume?
The mantle
Is a shrimp considered a biological or nonbiological natural resource?
Biological
What type of waves do scientists study to learn about Earth's interior?
Seismic waves (earthquake waves)
What planet's gravity helps keep asteroids away from Earth?
Jupiter
According to secular geologists, approximately how old is Earth?
4.5 billions years
What element makes up most of Earth's core?
Iron
What two factors help determine how valuable a natural resource is?
Demand for the resource and how accessible it is
Is Earth's crust thicker beneath the oceans or beneath the continents?
Beneath the continents
What is the name of the region around the sun where temperatures allow liquid water to exist on a planet's surface?
The habitability zone
According to young-earth creationists, approximately how old is Earth?
6,000–7,000 years
What is the name of the boundary between Earth's crust and mantle?
The Moho (Mohorovičić discontinuity)
What type of natural resource can be replaced naturally within a reasonable amount of time?
A renewable resource
What is the name of the rigid outer layer of Earth that includes the crust and uppermost mantle?
The lithosphere
What would Earth's climate be like if its axis were perpendicular to its orbital plane?
There would be a wide, hot equatorial belt and very cold polar zones.
What is the old-earth viewpoint that assigns ages to rocks extending far back into Earth's history called?
The deep-time viewpoint
What is the name of the soft, plastic-like region of the upper mantle beneath the rigid lithosphere?
The asthenosphere
What does sustainable yield mean when managing a renewable resource?
Using a renewable resource at a rate that allows it to be naturally replaced so it remains available in the future
What branch of geology investigates how features such as the Grand Canyon formed in the past?
Historical geology