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Study Guide: Earth Interior Unit TEST
1. What is a rift valley?
A long narrow valley formed by diverging plates
2. Draw a graphic organizer using these terms:
a. *(include arrow sketches with these) Convergent boundary, divergent boundary, transform boundary
b. Oceanic/oceanic, oceanic/continental, continental/continental
c. Mid-ocean ridge and rift valley
d. Earthquake, mountains, volcanoes
You should connect….
Convergent boundary with all of letter (b.)
O/O—volacanos
O/C—volcanos
C/C—mountains
Divergent boundary with all of (c.)
Transform boundary with earthquake (include faults)
3. Describe what is happening at each letter
A. Molten magma rising from the mantle because of sea floor spreading due to divergent plates
B. Ridges are formed as the magma is deposited; this is new rock
C.
Trenches are formed as a plate is subducted; oceanic crusts are denser than continental, so they will subduct
D.
Oceanic crust is denser so when it converges with the continental plate causes subduction. The oceanic plate melts and convection currents recycle it back to point
A
4.
When subduction occurs (point D above) what happens to the oceanic crust as it moves under the continental crust?
Oceanic crust is denser so when it converges with the continental plate causes subduction. The oceanic plate melts and convection currents recycle it back to
point A
5. What is the main cause for earthquakes and volcanoes?
Plate tectonics, plate movement, one plate moving past another either by convergence or transfomation
6. How do mid-ocean ridges support both the theory of continental drift and plate tectonics? (hint: what happens there?)
When new ocean floor (sea floor spreading) was being produced by plate tectonics (diverging boundaries)
7. What type of boundary causes sea floor spreading?
divergent
8.
What evidence did Alfred Wegner have that supported continental drift? (ex. similar fossils found on separate continents)
Puzzle pieces, similar fossils on very distant continents, tropical plants on Antarctica, glaciation
9. How do we study the earth’s interior?
Seismic waves
10. How do we study just the earth’s mantle?
New crust being formed from diverging boundaries (sea floor spreading)
11. List the 4 layers of the earth
Crust—continental (thicker than ocean, but LESS dense), solid, made of mostly granite
--oceanic (thinner than continental, but MORE dense), solid, made of mostly basalt from magma from mantle
Mantle—liquid, molten(mostly melted) rock
Outer Core—liquid iron and nickel
Inner core—solid iron and nickel
a. What happens to density, temperature, and pressure as you go deeper?
As you move from crust to inner core, the density, temperature, and pressure all INCREASE.
The INNER CORE is a SOLID due to the intense PRESSURE
12. What causes Earth’s magnetic field?
Currents in the liquid outer core that spin the solid inner core faster than Earth can rotate