Evidence from Seismic Waves
Scientists learn about Earth’s interior mainly using these earthquake vibrations.
Answer: What are seismic waves?
As depth increases, Earth’s density generally does this.
Answer: What is increases?
This compositional layer extends from the base of the crust to about 2,900 km depth.
Answer: What is the mantle?
Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions typically occur near these places.
What are tectonic plates?
The units for density.
What are grams over centimeters cubed (g/cm3)?
These seismic waves travel fastest and can move through solids and liquids.
Answer: What are P-waves?
This element is most abundant in Earth’s crust.
A) Oxygen (1.4 g/cm3)
B) Iron (7.1 g/cm3)
C) Magnesium (1.7 g/cm3)
D) Flourine (1.6 g/cm3)
Answer: What is oxygen?
This compositional layer is divided into a liquid outer portion and a solid inner portion.
Answer: What is the core?
This is what causes an earthquake.
What is when two tectonic plates shift against each other, causing the rocks to break?
The 1883 Krakatoa volcanic eruption also caused this natural disaster to occur.
What is a tsunami?
These waves only travel through solids and cannot pass through liquids.
Answer: What are S-waves?
Iron and nickel dominate the composition of this part of Earth.
Answer: What is the core?
The lithosphere (crust and plastic mantle) are broken into many large sections called this.
What are tectonic plates?
This is why New York City rarely gets earthquakes.
It is not located near a plate boundary.
What are "move away from" and "move towards"?
Seismic waves change speed when moving between materials of different density, revealing Earth has this type of internal structure.
Answer: What is layered structure?
___________ is most likely to be found in the crust, _____________ is most likely to be found in the mantle, and ___________ is most likely to be found in the core.
A) Iron (7.1 g/cm3)
B) Granite (2.1 g/cm3)
C) Peridotite (3.6 g/cm3)
What is granite (B), peridotite (C), and iron (A)?
Seismologists found that earthquakes mostly occur in the crust because rocks in the crust are _____________ and rocks in the mantle are ______________.
What are rigid (hard, easy to break) and plastic (softer, like play-doh, hard to break)?
What is smoke?
The outer core is liquid because the ______________ causes the material inside the outer core to ____________.
What is "high temperature" and "melt"?
P-waves are able to pass through the core, but the waves get refracted (change direction) due to a change in the core's ___________.
Answer: What is density?
Because denser material sinks toward the center, Earth became layered through this process early in its history.
Answer: What is differentiation (layering)?
BONUS:
Bad Bunny ended his Super Bowl halftime performance by playing this song.
What is Debí tirar más fótos?
This is where the lava released during a volcanic eruption comes from.
What is the mantle?
Differences in density allow the lithosphere to do this on the asthenosphere.
Answer: What is float?