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What are the four layers of the earth?
1. Inner core
2. Outer core
3. Mantle
4. Crust
Seismologist
A scientist who studies earthquakes.
Seismograph
A machine that records earthquakes
Seismogram
The piece of paper that the earthquake is recorded upon.
A – the distance between the P and S waves is used to figure out how far away the
earthquake was.
B – the height of the L waves is used to figure out the magnitude (strength) of the
earthquake.
Richter Scale
A scale that compares earthquake destruction and strength
Magnitude
The strength of an earthquake
Aftershock
Smaller earthquakes that follow the first
San Andreas Fault
A famous fault line in California
Fault
A crack in the earth’s crust where two plates meet each other.
What are the three kinds of seismic waves?
P, S, and L waves
Focus
The spot inside the earth where an earthquake starts – where the p,s and L waves start
Epicentre
The spot on the crust directly above the focus
Tsunami
A giant wave created by an under water earthquake.
Volcano
A crack in the earth’s crust with gas, lava or ashes/cinders coming out of it.
Vulcanologist
A scientist who studies volcanoes
3 kinds of volcanoes
Cinder Cones, Shield Cones, and Composite Cones (Stratacone)
The largest volcanoes
Composite cones
The smallest volcanoes
Ash/Cinder cones
The most explosive volcanoes
Composite cones
Lava only
Shield Cones
Cinders/Ash only
Cinder cones
Lava and cinders and ash
Composite cones
Caldera
The bowl shaped rim of a volcano
How many seismographs are needed to pinpoint the location of an
earthquake?
Three
How do we know what is inside the earth?
By listening to earthquakes as they pass through the Earth
Why is a spinning metal core so important to our survival?
It generates the Earth’s magnetic field which protects us from solar radiation.
Theory of Continental Drift
The theory that stated that the continents slowly drifted apart over
millions of years to their current day position.
Alfred Wegener
German scientist who came up with the theory of continental drift
Pangaea
The super continent that existed 200 million years ago.
What are 4 pieces of evidence that Wegener had to support his theory?
The continents of Africa and South America look like they fit together.
Fossils of the same animals on widely separated continents.
Glaciers on the equator and tropical swamps in the arctic.
Mountain ranges that connect on both sides of the ocean
Theory of Plate Tectonics
The current theory that says the earth’s crust is broken into large jigsaw puzzle pieces
that are slowly moving (as they move they create volcanoes, earthquakes and mountains)
Where do earthquakes, volcanoes and mountains occur?
Along the edges of tectonic plates
What are the three kinds of plate boundaries?
1.Transform faults – plates sliding past each other
2.Divergent boundary – plates separating from each other – making new crust
3.Convergent boundary – plates colliding – destroying old crust
J. Tuzo Wilson
Canadian scientist who helped form Theory of Plate Tetonics.