Download 1. Name the layers of the Earth from the outside in toward the center.

Eureka Questions
Earth Science
Physics
Chemistry
Eureka! Questions
• What are the Eureka! questions?
– These are a set of questions designed to review
material you already should have learned in
science
• What is the purpose of these questions?
– To prepare all students for the Science section
of the NJ ASK 8, a standardized test you take in
the 8th grade
Eureka Question 1
Name the layers of the Earth
from the outside in toward the
center.
Please also draw and label a
diagram of the layers.
Answer:
Crust
Mantle
Outer Core
Inner Core
Layers of the Earth
Eureka Question 2
What percentage (%) of
the Earth is covered by water?
Answer:
approximately 70-75%
Eureka Question 3
Why are oceans salty?
Answer:
• Runoff from minerals on land
• Decaying sea life
Eureka Question 4
What causes earthquakes
(include a diagram with your
description to illustrate)?
Answer:
• Stress builds up in the Earth’s
crust due to the tectonic plates
pushing on one another.
• Sometimes this results in a
shifting of the crust.
Diagram
Eureka Question 5
What causes volcanoes to
form (draw a diagram to
illustrate)?
Answer:
• Molten (melted) material from inside the
Earth escapes out an opening in the Earth’s
crust.
• As time passes, new layers cool and harden
on top of old layers, forming a conical
shape.
Diagram
Eureka Question 6
How are igneous rocks formed?
Answer:
• Magma (molten rock) under
the Earth’s crust cools and
solidifies directly in the crust
or reaches the Earth’s surface
(now lava) and then cools and
solidifies
Eureka Question 7
How are sedimentary
rocks formed?
Answer:
• Layers of rock fragments, soil and
minerals get pressed together
• Usually underwater
Eureka Question 8
How are metamorphic
rocks formed?
Answer:
• Igneous and sedimentary
rocks that have been
changed due to high pressure
and temperature
Eureka Question 9
What is weathering?
How is it caused?
Why is it important?
(Hint: 3 part answer)
Answer:
• Weathering is….
– the breaking down of rock into smaller
pieces.
– Mechanical
• caused by water getting into cracks, freezing
and expanding.
• also caused by plants breaking up rocks.
– Chemical
• Caused by rain stripping minerals from rocks
– important b/c it results in the formation of
soil.
Eureka Question 10
What is erosion?
What are the 3 main forces of
erosion on Earth?
Answer:
• the moving of rock and soil that
has been weathered
• the changing of the Earth’s
surface by this movement
• 3 main forces are…
–wind, water, glaciers