Day 119 Geology

February 16, 2012

Day 119

Math: 2 pages + weather book

LA Book: 1 page

Geology 6 x 6 use Earth’s Shifting Surface, pages 12-19

6 Vocabulary

1. Lithosphere: The crust and upper mantle of the Earth

2. Asthenosphere: the region below the lithosphere, variously estimated as being from fifty to several hundred miles thick, in which the rock is less rigid than that above and below but rigid enough to transmit transverse seismic waves

3. Fossil: Remains of a plant been buried beneath the ground and has turned to rock over millions of years

4. Pangaea: the hypothetical landmass that existed when all continents were joined, from about 300 to 200 million years ago.

5. Continents: Seven large landmasses of Earth

6. Convection currents: Movements within a fluid caused by hotter material rising above cooler material

6 Sentences

1. The lithosphere is the first layer of the Earth.

2. Below the asthenosphere, lies a stronger, sturdier layer of the Earth.

3. A lot of Fossils are found in shells, and are often of shells.

4. When you look at the continents, Africa and South America it looks like they had once fit together; this helped the discovery of the theory of Pangaea.

5. The seven continents of Earth are, North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica

6. Convection Currents are caused by the very hot material of the Earth’s core rising.

6 Facts/Details

1. Trenches in Earth’s oceans can be explored using a diving bell. Diving bells can help carry people deep under water

2. The Coastline around Hudson Bay in Canada was pressed down to sea level during the last ice age

3. When the ice sheets melted, the land sprang back up. The sea cliffs around the bay are now hundreds of meters high.

4. After the planets formed, there was a lot of material left over. Much of this rained down on Earth’s surface. This destructive meteor bombardment may have lasted million of years

5. An erupting volcano is a sign that there are tectonic plates on the move

6. The Continental Slope is more than 2,000 miles below sea level

6 Questions

1. What can upset the balance between plates floating on Earth’s mantle? A: An Ice Age can upset the balance of the Earth’s plates floating on the mantle. When thick ice sheets form over land their massive weight pushes the crust lower down into the mantle. As the ice melts, the crust slowly rebounds and rises up again.

2. What “sits” on Earth’s plates? A: Continents

3. Summarize Alfred Wegner’s theory about Earth’s shifting surfaces? A: Alfred Wegener was one of the first people to realize that South America and America look like they had once fit together. Alfred Wegener was thinking long and hard about this, so he decided to gather up a bunch of his friends and go fossil hunting on different sides of the world. Wegener had found one more clue to his theory, Archeologists found fossils of the same kinds of dinosaurs on either side of the Atlantic Ocean. This is a clue that the continents were joined. Alfred Wegener drew a map of what the continents would look like if they were joined together, he called it, Pangaea, which means “large landmass” in German. Scientists and Wegener believe that because of a tectonic occurrence, the continents slowly drifted away from each other creating our world as we know it now. Another scientist theory is that 250 million years from now, the continents would drift back together creating, Pangaea Ultima.

4. How (what kind of motion) do plates move? A: Slowly apart

5. How long until the Earth’s continents form another Pangaea? A: 250 million years, Earth’s continents will form Pangaea Ultima, according to scientific beliefs

*Bonus: and WHY will this happen? A: Another tectonic occurrence will slowly have all the continents form in to each other, making the Atlantic Ocean Disappear and creating Pangaea Ultima 

6. What is the core temperature of the Earth? A: 5,4000 degrees or more

6 Images

6 Points about “Minerals” found using “Chart: Features of Common Minerals” in Graphic Organizer book, page 6-7

1. Talc is the softest mineral because it crumbs easily, Talc is found in white, green, brown, or gray

2. The Calcite Mineral comes in white, yellow or clear, it can be scratched by a penny or Talc 

3. Apatite, the mineral comes in Clear and many other colors, the apatite is the only mineral that can be scratched by glass

4. The Feldspar comes in pink, white, and green, commonly found in granite, it scratches glass

5. The Corundum is the second hardest mineral, it comes in many colors, sapphires and rubies are Corundum’s

6. The Diamond is the hardest matter on Earth, It comes in Clear or white; it scratches everything and is very valuable