01 Plate Tectonics

Question 1

What are the 2 types of crust?

Answer 1

Continental and oceanic

Question 2

The crust

Answer 2

• Thinnest, coldest and lowest density part of the Earth
• Floats on denser rocks of mantle beneath
• Boundary of crust and mantle is Moho

Question 3

Continental vs Oceanic

Answer 3

C - older, thicker, less dense, typically granite
O - younger, thinner, denser, mainly basalt

Question 4

Mantle

Answer 4

• Thickest section
• Denser than crust
• Mainly peridotite rocks (Mg and Fe)

Question 5

Sections of the mantle

Answer 5

Lithosphere:
Upper, least dense and coolest
Rigid and with crust forms tectonic plates

Asthenosphere:
Below litho, hotter and semi-molten, convection currents

Mesosphere:
Lowest, hotter but stronger as under greater pressure

Question 6

Core

Answer 6

Largely iron and nickel
Outer core liquid - generates magnetic field
Inner core - densest and solid due to pressure