Name: _________________________________ per: _____ Date: ________________ Assignment #: _____

3.1 Notes: Geosphere

What Makes Up Our Earth?

I. The Dynamic Earth a. The Dynamic Earth has 4 Sections:

i. Geosphere ii. Atmosphere

iii. Hydrosphere iv. Biosphere

II. The Geosphere a. ______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________ b. Geosphere: Earth’s Layers

i. ____________________________

1. Less than 1% of mass of Earth a. Thinnest layer – 5 km thick beneath ocean b. 30km-35km thick beneath continents

2. Light materials came to top layer (less dense) ii. ____________________________

1. Layer beneath the crust 2. Makes up _______ of Earth’s mass 3. Approximately 2,900 km thick 4. Made of rocks of medium density 5. Made of liquid, iron-rich minerals

iii. ____________________________ 1. 2,550 km thick 2. Made of thick liquid, metallic minerals

iv. ____________________________ 1. 1,228 km radius 2. Made of solid nickel and iron

III. Geosphere: Earth’s Structure a. _____________________ = Outer layer made up of the crust and upper mantle.

______________________________________________________________________________

b. _____________________ = ______________________________________________________

a pliable, solid layer in the mantle i. Made of a rock that flows very slowly, which allows tectonic plates to move on top of it

c. Plate tectonics i. Tectonic plates glide across the asthenosphere, similar to how a chunk of ice drifts across

a pond ii. The continents are located on the tectonic plates & slowly move around with them

d. Major Plates i. There are _______ major plates: Pacific, North American, South American, African,

Eurasian, Antarctic

IV. Plate Tectonics

a. Plates move ___________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

b. When two tectonic plates meet, they can form ________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________, and more!

V. Earthquakes a. A ______________________ = a break in Earth’s crust where blocks of crust slide relative to

each other. b. An ______________________ occurs when there is an abrupt movement along a fault, such as

underground rock breaks c. The ______________________ is used by scientists to measure the energy released by an

earthquake