Earth Science: Exploring the Geology of Planet Earth

There are three main layers on the Earth. The first is, the crust, the outer layer of Earth. It’s everywhere, on dry land and the ocean floor, however it’s

The crust is the outer layer or dry land and ocean floor. It is also the thickest under mountains from 5-70k thick. The mantle is solid rock 3,000m thick. Here are some parts of the mantle Lithosphere-is the upper part of the mantle. Is Asthenosphere is solid but soft. Is the lower mantle -solid. The core is made out of iron and nickel. The outer core is made out of liquid metal and the inner core is a solid ball of metal.

The lithosphere is defined as the rigid outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and the upper mantle; it is the solid, out part of earth. The picture

of the effects of plate tectonics acting over geologic time. The story begins with the

“The crust of the earth is a vast museum” is very important in chapter 8. This quote is taken from The Origin of Species. This quote is a metaphor comparing the all the animals on the earth microscopic species to Elephants, and having them in the spacious museum. Darwin is saying that how many creatures we find small or big there will always be more out there. This quote is pretty explanatory and not difficult to comprehend.

The solid part of the Earth consist of solid rocks and soil. The Earths surface is the geosphere. The hydrosphere makes up all of the water on Earth's surface. The Earth is divided into three layers the crust, mantle, and the core. The crust is very brittle and this is why it was easy for Mount St. Helen to blow it to pieces. Tectonic plates are what glides underneath the underlying asthenosphere. This is what causes mountains to shift or grow. This can affect when volcanoes erupt. Volcanos are located near tectonic plate boundaries, where plates either collide or separate.

The lithosphere is basically the strong outer shell of earth. It is roughly 100km thick depending on its age, and is broken into plates, known as the tectonic plates. Within the lithosphere is the crust as a portion of the upper mantle.

Use your notes, textbook, and the web to answer the following questions. All answers must be typed and in your own words and submitted on “turnitin” by the deadline. Make sure that you do your best, this is a challenging assignment.

It has been known for well over a century now that the Earth’s core, mantle and the crust make up the basic structure of the Earth. However, there is some controversy over how and when the Earth produced its core, mantle and crust. In this essay, I will first discuss about the formation of the Early Earth and its Moon, then about the methods used to pinpoint the age of the Earth. Other than that, I will also expand on core and mantle formation, as well as the eventual production of the continental crust.

Remind the class that with divergent plate tectonics, plates are moving away from each other and new crust is being made, then ask the question: Why is the earth not getting larger? Poll some of the answers from the learners and begin the session.

We learned that in 4th grade. We went more in depth with that this year. There are two types of Crust; oceanic and continental. Oceanic is thinner and is mostly made of out basalt. Continental crust is mostly made out of granite. This layer drifts slowly and is solid. The Earth has sub-layers. The lithosphere is part of the crust and uppermost Mantle. Next down is the Asthenosphere, where all the tectonic plates are. Then the lowest part of the Mantle is called the Mesosphere. The Mantle is semi-solid and has convection currents that move the tectonic plates. It contains more iron than the layer above. The outer core has convection currents that create the magnetic field. It’s the swirly hot iron that really causes it. This is the only layer that is liquid. The inner core is solid because of the great pressure on it. It is extremely hot. The deeper you go the hotter it gets and iron increases. Two out of the four main layers have convection

In the beginning, impacts of very large objects were very common, some as big as Mars or half the diameter of Earth. Collision of large bodies orbiting Earth played a role in its initial tilt of spin axis, the length of its day, direction of spin, and the thermal state of the interior. This violent bombardment continued for 3.9 billion years. Final composition of Earth had several crucial structural effects. Enough metal was present early on to allow formation of an iron and nickel rich core that is partially liquid. This enables a magnetic field that deflects some harmful radiation from reaching the surface. Enough radioactive elements are also present in the core to maintain long term heating which drives plate tectonics. At 4.5 billion years ago, Earth separated into different layers: an inner core (made of iron and nickel), a land layer of lower density material, and an early atmosphere of carbon dioxide and steam. At 3.9 billion years ago, surface temperatures dropped to a range where liquid water could be maintained. Liquid water makes up approximately 75% of the planet's surface today which is roughly what it was then. The most important requirement for life as we know it is the presence of liquid water. This is the one substance that can serve as a universal solvent - that is, it can dissolve and transport minerals and

Following the asthenosphere is the mantle. The mantle is about 1,800 miles deep and can vary in temperatures anywhere from 900 to 1700 degrees Fahrenheit. The mantle makes up eighty-five percent of the total weight and mass of the earth. The mantle is an important layer of the Earth because it adds to the gravity of the planet. The Mantle is also responsible for the movement of the Tectonic Plates over the Earth which comes from the decay of radioactive elements in the Mantle that cause the convection currents. This causes the movement of the tectonic plates. Therefore, this convection is responsible for shaping the Earth's

Earth is in fact an intricate planet that has multiple layers of differing compositions. To be exact the earth has four main layers. The uppermost layer is the one humans come in most contact with, the crust. The crust consists of “thin silicate rock material”(Structure of the). Although the crust is not entirely the same. Actually there are two distinct types of crust, oceanic and continental. “The continental crust is made up of mostly rocks similar to granite while the oceanic crust is much denser and made up of a material similar to basalt”(Structure of the, Rose). The second layer is called the mantle. “The mantle is much denser than the crust and contains similar to the crust mostly solid silicate crust”(Structure of the). “As we travel further down the earth we wind up in the outer core. The outer core is a core of molten nickel and iron. Finally there’s the inner core. The inner is a solid metal core made up of nickel and iron”(Structure of the). All these layers functioning together cast out a magnetic

The layers of the earth are very complex. These layers are the crust, mantle, and core (Wile 132). The core is divided into two regions: the inner core and the outer core (Wile 131). Earth's crust is defined as “Earth's outermost layer of rock” (Wile 132). The thickness of the crust averages 55 to 12 miles (Wile 132). In addition to rock, the crust of the earth contains soil and sediment (Wile 132). “Sediment” is defined as “small, solid fragments of rock and other materials that are carried and deposited by wind, water, or ice” (Wile 132). Sedimentary rock is also found on the earth's crust. “Sedimentary rock” is “rock formed when chemical reactions cement sediments together, hardening them” (Wile 133). Igneous rock, “rock that forms from molten rock”, is also found in the crust (Wile 133). Melted rock that cools and re-solidifies becomes igneous rock (Wile 133). The last kind of rock in the crust is called meromorphic rock (Wile 133). This is “igneous or sedimentary rock that has been changed into a new kind of rock as a result of great pressure