Layers
This is the outermost layer of the Earth, and it’s the only part we have ever actually stood on. It is very thin compared to the other layers.
This is the name for the giant "puzzle pieces" that make up the Earth's outer shell.
What are tectonic plates?
This is the name for the shaking of the Earth's surface caused by a sudden release of energy in the crust.
What is an Earthquake?
This is the theory that states the continents were connected 200 million years ago and have continuously moved over time to where they are today.
What is the theory of continental drift?
This massive landform is created when two continental plates collide and push the Earth's crust upward, similar to how a rug bunches up when you slide it across the floor.
What are mountains?
What is the reason Earth has distinct layers?
Each layer has a different density.
Making up about 80% of Earth’s volume, this middle layer is made of hot, solid rock that can flow very slowly like thick syrup or putty.
What is the mantle?
Scientists use this name to describe a layer made up of the crust and the very top, rigid part of the upper mantle layer.
What is the lithosphere?
This is the molten, liquid rock that is found underground before it erupts from a volcano.
What is magma?
Convection currents and this force the tectonic plates to move.
What is seafloor spreading?
When two oceanic plates pull apart at a divergent boundary, this underwater mountain range is formed as magma rises to create new seafloor.
What is a mid-ocean ridge?
How does oceanic crust differ from continental crust?
Oceanic crust is thinner and more dense.
This is the only layer of the Earth that is a true liquid. It is made of molten iron and nickel.
What is the outer core?
This type of boundary occurs when two plates crash into each other head-on.
What is a convergent boundary?
This is the specific instrument scientists use to measure and record the vibrations and strength of an earthquake.
What is a seismograph?
This is the name of the ancient "supercontinent" where all of Earth's landmasses were once joined together millions of years ago.
What is Pangea?
This deep, narrow depression on the ocean floor is created when one tectonic plate sinks beneath another in a process called subduction.
What is an ocean trench?
Why is Earth’s inner core solid?
Intense pressure from all the layers above it.
This layer is a solid ball of metal at the very center of the Earth. Even though it is incredibly hot, the extreme pressure keeps it from melting.
What is the inner core?
** Daily Double**This specific part of the upper mantle is soft and "plastic-like," allowing the tectonic plates above it to slide around
What is the Asthenosphere?
**Daily Double** This is the point on the Earth’s surface directly above where an earthquake starts underground.
What is an epicenter?
This type of boundary occurs when two tectonic plates are moving away from each other, often creating new crust.
What is a divergent boundary?
This landform is a crack or "scar" in the Earth's surface where two plates slide past each other horizontally, often causing earthquakes.
What is a fault?
What type of waves provide evidence of an earthquake?
Seismic waves.
**Daily Double** The movement of liquid metal in the Outer Core creates this invisible force field that protects Earth from solar radiation.
What is the Earth's Magnetic Field?
In a process that links the layers of the Earth to the surface landforms, this cycle occurs when hot material in the mantle rises, cools, and then sinks back down. This movement acts like a conveyor belt that drags tectonic plates along with it.
What are convection currents?
Volcanoes don't just form at plate boundaries; they can also form in the middle of a plate over one of these—a thin spot in the mantle. (The Hawaiian Islands were formed from one of these)
What is a "hot-spot"?
At a convergent boundary, this is the specific name for the process where a heavier oceanic plate slides underneath a lighter continental plate.
What is subduction?
These cone-shaped landforms often form in a "ring" around the Pacific Ocean where subduction zones allow molten rock to reach the surface
What are volcanoes?
** Daily Double**What would happen if the temperature in the mantle went down? (two part answer)
Convection currents would slow and the movement of the plates would slow or stop.