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The Earth
Chapter 2 Section 1: Planet Earth
The Solar System consists of the sun and ________ known planets, as well as other
celestial bodies that orbit the sun. The Earth is the ________ planet from the sun.
_______________ – layer of gases surrounding the earth.
_______________– the solid rock portion of the earth’s surface. Some of the Lithosphere is below
water and forms the ocean floor. The huge landmasses above water on the earth are called
_________________. There are seven total.
_________________ – the water elements on earth.
_________________ – the part of the earth where plants and animals live.
_________________ are naturally formed features on the earth’s surface.
_____________– The difference in elevation of a landform from its lowest point to its highest point.
_____________ – Is the combination of the surface, shape, and composition of the landforms and
their distribution in the region. The highest spot on earth is _______________. The deepest is
_______________________.
Chapter 2 Section 2: Forces of Change
Although the earth seems like a solid ball, it is really more like a series of shells that float on one
another.
Core – solid metallic center made of nickel and iron
_______________ – soft layer of molten rock (magma)
Crust – thin layer of rock on earth’s surface
Continental Drift – __________________ first presented the theory. He claimed that in Earth’s early
existence there was only one body of land, ______________. That supercontinent then slowly split
and separated into the continents we see today.
_____________Boundary – Where plates move apart or spread.
_____________ Boundary – Where plates come together
_____________ Boundary – Where plates slide past one another.
The internal forces that shape the earth’s surface begin just beneath the crust. Heated ____________
moves up toward the crust, cools, and circulates downward. Riding above this circulation system are
the tectonic plates. The plates are enormous moving pieces of the earth’s crust. When plates meet,
they may cause folding and cracking of rocks. This fracture in the earth’s crust is called a __________.
It is at the fault line that plates move past each other.
________________ – The violent movement of the earth produced when tectonic plates grind or slip
past each other.
Seismograph – A device that measures the size of waves created by an earthquake.
Epicenter – The location on the earth’s surface directly above where an earthquake originates.
Richter Scale – Scale that uses seismograph results to determine the force of an earthquake.
______________– A giant wave in the ocean caused by an earthquake.
_______________ – Where magma (or molten rock), gases, and water from the lower part of the
crust eventually erupt and pour out of cracks in the earth’s surface.
_______________ – A zone around the rim of the pacific ocean where most of the earth’s active
volcanoes are located. Eight major tectonic plates meet in this zone.
Weathering refers to the physical and chemical processes that change the characteristics or rocks.
______________ = smaller pieces of rock
______________ Weathering is the process that breaks rock up into smaller pieces.
_______________Weathering occurs when rock is changed into a new substance as a result of
interaction between elements in the air or water and the minerals in the rock.
_____________ occurs when weathered material is removed by the action of wind, water, ice, or
gravity.
Water Erosion
As water flows in a stream or river, it picks up loose material and moves it downstream. When a river
enters the ocean, sediment is deposited into a fan-like landform called a __________.
Wind Erosion
Wind erosion is quite similar to water erosion. The wind transports sediment and deposits it in other
locations.
Glacial Erosion
A glacier is a large, long-lasting mass of ice that moves because of gravity. Glaciers form in
mountainous areas and in regions that are regularly covered with heavy snowfall and ice.
_______________ is the changing of landforms by slowly moving glaciers.
Chapter 2 Section 3: The Earth’s Water
The ocean is an interconnected body of salt water that covers about ________ percent of our planet.
The __________________ is the continuous circulation of water between the atmosphere, the oceans,
and the earth. Water evaporates into the atmosphere.
________ of the world’s water is found in oceans. This water is too salty for drinking and farming.
2% of the world’s water supply is fresh but frozen in glaciers and ice caps. This leaves only another
0.5% under the earth’s surface (_____________). ____________ are underground layers of porous
rock that are saturated with water and act like an underground stream.
Less than ________ of the world’s water is found rivers, lakes, and streams. Even though very little
water is found here, they are very important to survival, agriculture, and transportation.