Interactions
What four Earth systems interact to shape Earth's surface?
Geosphere – the solid Earth (rocks, soil, landforms, mountains)
Hydrosphere – all water (rivers, oceans, glaciers, rain)
Atmosphere – the air and weather (wind, temperature, precipitation)
Biosphere – all living things (plants, animals, microorganisms)
Name the three main layers of Earth from the center outward.
Core, (Inner, outer) Mantle, Crust
What are the three major rock types?
Metamorphic, Igneous, Sedimentary
What two processes compact loose sediments into sedimentary rock?
Compaction and Sedimentation
What is the difference between magma and lava?
Magma is molten rock found below Earth’s surface. It is located inside the Earth, beneath the crust.
Lava is molten rock that has reached Earth’s surface, usually through a volcanic eruption.
Water from oceans, lakes, and rivers (hydrosphere) evaporates into water vapor.
This water vapor enters the atmosphere, where it helps form clouds and can later lead to precipitation
Which Earth layer is composed primarily of liquid metal?
outer Core
Which rock type forms from cooling magma or lava?
Igneous
How does chemical deposition in marine environments form limestone?
1. Tiny materials in seawater
Ocean water has tiny bits of a mineral called calcium carbonate dissolved in it.
2. Sea animals make shells
Many sea animals—like corals and shellfish—use calcium carbonate to build their shells and skeletons.
3. Shells fall to the ocean floor
When these animals die, their shells sink to the bottom of the ocean and pile up in layers.
4. Layers turn into rock
Over a very long time:
More layers pile on top
The weight presses the shells together
The shells harden into rock called limestone
How does cooling rate affect crystal size in igneous rocks?
Slow cooling → large crystals
When magma cools slowly beneath Earth’s surface, crystals have more time to grow.
Fast cooling → small crystals or no visible crystals
When lava cools quickly at the surface, crystals have little time to grow, so they stay small or form volcanic glass.
Plants grow roots into small cracks in rocks.
As the roots grow larger, they push the cracks wider.
Over time, the rock breaks apart into smaller pieces, helping form soil.
Describe one property (solid, liquid, or composition) that distinguishes the mantle from the crust. speed/behavior to layer properties).
Mantle is A solid that acts like a liquid
Crust is Solid rigid rock
Which rock type forms by compaction and cementation of sediments?
Sedimentary rock
Describe the sequence: weathering → erosion → deposition → lithification, and name which step turns sediments into solid rock.
Weathering Rocks are broken into smaller pieces
. Erosion
The broken pieces (sediment) are moved away
Deposition
The sediment slows down and settles
Lithification The layers are pressed together and cemented
Lithification
Explain how heat and pressure produce metamorphic rock without melting the rock completely.
Heat causes the minerals in the rock to recrystallize. The minerals change shape, size, and sometimes composition.
Pressure squeezes the rock, causing minerals to realign and become more compact, often forming bands or layers.
Because the temperature stays below the melting point, the rock changes in structure and texture without becoming magma.
Cause-and-effect example (geosphere–atmosphere interaction):
Cause: Wind and rain in the atmosphere blow across and fall onto rocks.
Effect: The rocks in the geosphere are worn down through weathering and erosion.
Over time, this interaction can:
Smooth rocks
Break large rocks into sediments
Change landforms such as cliffs, dunes, and valleys
How does a model of Earth help show the relative thickness of Earth's layers? Give one limitation of such models.
A model of Earth helps show the relative thickness of Earth’s layers by:
Visually comparing how thin the crust is compared to the mantle and core
Showing the order and proportion of each layer in a way that is easier to understand than numbers alone
Helping students see that the mantle is the thickest layer, while the crust is very thin
One limitation of Earth models
Models are not to scale or fully accurate.
Because Earth is so large, models must shrink the layers, which can exaggerate the thickness of the crust or oversimplify how layers behave (solid vs. flowing).
Which rock type forms when existing rocks are changed by heat and pressure without melting?
Metamorphic
— Provide a real-world example (natural or classroom analogy) that demonstrates how layers of sediment accumulate over time.
A River Delta,
Describe one pathway in the rock cycle that converts a metamorphic rock into an igneous rock.
The metamorphic rock is buried deep inside the Earth.
It is exposed to extreme heat, causing the rock to melt and form magma.
The magma cools and hardens, either below the surface or after erupting.
The cooled magma becomes an igneous rock.
Using cause and effect, explain how human activity can alter interactions among the biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and geosphere.
Cause (Human activity): People cut down forests for farming or construction.
Effect on the biosphere: Fewer plants and trees remain to hold soil in place.
Effect on the geosphere: Without roots, soil erodes more easily.
Effect on the hydrosphere: Rain washes loose soil into rivers and lakes, causing muddy water and sediment buildup.
Effect on the atmosphere: Dust and carbon dioxide increase, which can affect air quality and climate
Explain why seismic waves are used to infer Earth’s internal structure (connect wave
How seismic waves provide evidence
P waves (primary waves) can travel through solids and liquids, but they change speed depending on the material.
S waves (secondary waves) can travel only through solids and stop completely in liquids.
When seismic waves move through Earth, they bend, slow down, speed up, or stop at layer boundaries.
Cause-and-effect connection
Cause: Seismic waves encounter materials with different densities and states (solid vs. liquid).
Effect: Changes in wave speed and direction allow scientists to identify distinct layers.
What this tells us about Earth
The disappearance of S waves shows that the outer core is liquid.
Changes in P-wave speed reveal boundaries between the crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core.
Given a rock that has visible large crystals, what can you infer about its cooling history and likely rock type? Explain your reasoning.
Likely Cooled very clow and is likely an igneous Rock
Explain how fossils are commonly preserved in sedimentary rocks and what that reveals about past environments.
1. An organism dies
2. It gets buried by sediment
3. Layers build up
4. Sediment turns into rock
Given a scenario where a rock is buried deep, heated, then uplifted and eroded into particles that later melt, outline the sequence of rock-type changes using rock-cycle terminology.
Burial and heating
The original rock is buried deep in the Earth and exposed to heat and pressure.
Rock type formed: Metamorphic rock (metamorphism occurs without melting).
Uplift and erosion
The metamorphic rock is uplifted to the surface.
Weathering and erosion break the rock into sediments.
Deposition and burial (implied step)
The sediments are transported and deposited, then may be buried over time.
(If compacted and cemented, they would form sedimentary rock, but this step is optional in the scenario.)
Melting
The particles are buried deeply again and exposed to extreme heat, causing them to melt into magma.
Cooling and solidification
The magma cools and hardens, forming an igneous rock.