Early Earth
Relative and Absolute Dating
Inside the Earth
Continental Drift
Plate Tectonics
100
How old is the Earth?
4.6 billion years old
100
Comparing the order of layers of rocks or fossils in order to determine the age is called...
Relative Dating
100
What is the coolest layer of the Earth?
the crust
100
Identify this type of boundary and explain what event or landform can occur here
Convergent boundary
subduction or mountain ranges could occur hear
100
What is the boundary between two plates, with a build up of pressure called?
fault
200
What was the Earth like when it first formed?
It was a big ball of hot, melted rock. It had no atmosphere or water, yet.
200
What is the most common element used during absolute dating?
Carbon-14 decaying into Carbon-12
200
Which layer is the hottest and most dense layer of the Earth?
The inner core
200
How is it possible to find the same fossils on both Europe and North America?
The continents were connected at the time that the organism lived. When the continents drifted apart, they took the fossils with them.
200
What sort of events can happen from the movement of plate tectonics?
- earthquakes - tsunamis - volcanoes - mountains - trenches
300
Volcanoes spewed out different gases which eventually created Earth's...
Atmosphere!
300
Using a decaying element to determine how many years the organism has been dead is called...
Absolute Dating
300
The crust is broken up into floating pieces called...
tectonic plates
300
New sea-floor is being created constantly at a place in the middle of the Atlantic ocean called the...
Mid-Ocean Ridge
300
When a plate slides under another plate and becomes a part of the mantle again, it is called...
Subduction
400
Name one reason why today's animals and organisms could not have survived on the early Earth.
- no atmosphere - no water - too hot - no ozone layer - nothing to eat - no solid ground and no oceans
400
Which rock layer is the youngest? Which the oldest? How do you know?
Youngest - 1
Oldest - 5
Law of superposition
400
List the 4 major layers of Earth's interior.
crust, mantle, outer core, inner core
400
Are the plates still moving today?
Yes - they are still being pulled by the convection currents in the mantle.
400
What causes the movement of tectonic plates?
The heat from the inner core causes convection currents in the mantle. When the mantle moves, it pulls the floating crust along with it in the direction of the convection currents.
500
How did Earth's atmosphere have an increase in oxygen about 2-3 billion years ago?
Bacteria began performing photosynthesis, and oxygen is a product of photosynthesis.
500
If you find a fossil with 4 atoms of Carbon-14 and 12 atoms of Carbon-12, how old is the fossil? (half-life of carbon is 5,730 years)
11,460 years old
500
What is the movement of the mantle called?
Convection Currents
500
List 3 pieces of evidence to show that the continents are slowly moving.
- Same fossils across oceans - Matching landforms that formed when the continents were together - sea-floor spreading - tropical fossils found in Arctic places
500
Describe how an earthquake happens.
Two plates sliding past each other get stuck at a fault. The pressure to move past each other continuously builds until they finally break free in a sudden movement.