Earth's Structure Flashcards Preview

GEOS-101 > Earth's Structure > Flashcards

Flashcards in Earth's Structure Deck (19)
Loading flashcards...
1
Q

Which of Earth’s layers is #1 and what is it made of?

A

Crust, upper “icing layer” of light rock

2
Q

Which of Earth’s layers is #2 and what is it made of?

A

Mantle, made of heavy dry rock, softened by the core’s heat. (solid rock but hot and squishy)

3
Q

Which of Earth’s layers is #3 and what is it made of?

A

Liquid Outer Core, still molten and moving around.

4
Q

Which of Earth’s layers is #4 and what is it made of?

A

Solid Inner Core, condensed by very high pressure

5
Q

Solid rock, slowly conducting heat

A

Lower Mantle

6
Q

Squishy rock, slowly convecting heat

A

Upper Mantle

7
Q

Earthquake waves tell us the core is made of ____ (___ and ___)

A

Metal (iron and nickel)

8
Q

Where is Earth’s heat stored?

A

Core

9
Q

How does the mantle move?

A

It circulates like boiling water but much slower. This carries heat from the core to the surface.

10
Q

Earth’s strong outer rock shell (includes crust)

A

Lithosphere

11
Q

Weak molten layer of rock beneath the lithosphere (Earths lubricating layer)

A

Asthenosphere

12
Q

Since the Earths surface is broken into curved pieces, these _____ float around on the slippery asthenosphere

A

Plates

13
Q

Why do lithospheric plates move?

A

To release heat

14
Q

What is the earth’s main cooling mechanism?

A

Plate motion opens cracks (mostly in the ocean) for the molten mantle to erupt through

15
Q

Oceans + Continents = ?

A

Plates

16
Q

What’s the difference between the OCEANIC and CONTINENTAL lithosphere

A

Oceanic is thin and Continental is thick

17
Q

Most plates contain a mix of ____ and ____

A

Oceanic and Continental lithosphere

18
Q

What happens to the lithosphere on the ocean’s floor as the Earth moves?

A

New Ocean floor forms at the cracks. It spreads apart as it cools off, then gets dragged back into the mantle to melt

19
Q

What happens to the lithosphere of continents as the Earth moves?

A

Continents can get pushed around by moving ocean plates, but they never get dragged back down in the mantle.