States that Earth’s crust and upper mantle are broken into sections. These sections are called plates
What are the three plates
Divergent
Transform
Convergent
Continental drift
Alfred Wegener thought that the continents used to be together (Pangaea) and they moved apart horizontally to there current location.
What are the reasons supporting the continental drift
Similar rock formations
Climate clues
Glaciers in Africa and coal in Scandinavia
Mountains with very similar structure on both sides of the Atlantic
Matching fossils on S. America and S. Africa
They look like they fit together.
Different types of plate boundaries
Divergent boundary
Transformation boundary
Convergent boundary
Divergent boundary
when two plates move apart.
Transformation Boundary
when two plates slide past each other. This area marked by cracking of the crust; many shallow earthquakes.
Convergent boundary
Two pieces of crust collide. There are three different types of convergent boundaries
what are the three different types of convergent boundaries
Oceanic - oceanic
Oceanic - Continental
Continental - Continental
The different layers of the earth
Crust
Mantel
The lower mantle
Core
Outer core
Inner core
earths crust
a layer of solid rock that includes both dry land and the ocean floor
Oceanic crust
mostly of rock like Basalt - a dark rock with fine texture
Continental crust
consists mainly of Granite rock - usually light in color and coarse texture
Mantel
The layer surrounding earth's core. The mantle consist of layers of very hot rock
Lithosphere and Asthenosphere
Lower mantle
Beneath the asthenosphere is made up of solid rock and extends to Earth’s core
Core
Deepest inside layer, made up of mostly nickel and iron
outer core
layer of molten metal (liquid)
inner core
a dense ball of solid metal (solid)
What elements make up the inner and outer core?
The solid inner core is made of mainly iron crystals with small amounts of nickel and heavier elements such as gold and platinum. The liquid outer core is a nickel iron alloy with small amounts of heavier elements
the 4 divisions that make up Earth’s history and what order they should be in