Download Name Date Period ______ Reading Guide 2.1 Earth: A Unique

Name _______________________________________ Date _____________________ Period ___________
Reading Guide 2.1 Earth: A Unique Planet
Definitions: Define the following terms IN COMPLETE SENTENCES.
1. crust:
2. mantle:
3. core:
4. lithosphere:
5. asthenosphere:
6. mesosphere:
Short Answer Questions: Answer the following questions IN COMPLETE SENTENCES.
7. What are 3 things that make Earth unique?
8. ___________________ is the third planet from the sun in our solar system.
9. Earth formed about ______________________ year ago and is made mostly of _________________.
10. About 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered with water, called the ________________ _____________.
11. Earth appears to be a perfect sphere but is actually an ____________________ ___________________,
or slightly flattened sphere.
12. Earth’s surface is relatively smooth; that is, the distance between Earth’s high and low _____________
are small relative to its size.
13. Earth’s average ____________________ is 12,756 km.
14. What are the 3 compositional zones of the Earth?
15.What are the 5 structural zones of the Earth?
16. What is the magnetosphere?
17. What is the source of Earth’s magnetic field?
18. Define gravity.
19. What is weight, and what unit is used to measure it?
20. The ___________________ of an object does not change with location, but the ___________________
of the object does. An object’s weight depends on it __________________ and distance from Earth’s
______________________. According to the law of ___________________________________, the
force of gravity _______________________ as the distance from Earth’s center
_________________________.
21. Explain why a single object would weigh more at either the North or South pole than it would at the
equator.