Geology Study Guide

Standard S6E5. A: Compare and contrast the Earths crust, mantle, and core
including temperature, density, and composition.
Layers of the Earth
Layer
Division
Approximate Approximate Composition Temperature
Range
Thickness
Crust
Continental
0-10 km
32 km
Silicon,
SubzeroAluminum,
870*
Oceanic
0-32 km
Calcium,
Iron,
Magnesium,
Sodium,
Potassium
Mantle
Lithosphere
0-75 km
2900 km
Silicon,
870*-2200*
(crust+ upper
Iron,
mantle)
Magnesium
Asthenosphere: 75-700km
(upper +midmantle)
Lower Mantle
700-2900km
Core
Outer Core
2900-5150km 2250 km
Iron, Nickel 2200*Inner Core
1230 km
5000*
Earths interior is divided into the crust, the mantle, the outer core, and inner
core.
The Moho boundary is between Earths crust and mantle.
The crust is the thin, solid, outermost layer of Earth, composed mainly of basalt
and granite.
The lithosphere includes the crust and the rigid upper layer of the mantle.
Beneath the lithosphere lies the soft layer of the mantle called the
asthenosphere.
Standard S6E5. C: Describe the processes that change rocks and the surface of
the Earth.
A rock is a hard piece of Earths crust.
Geologists classify rocks according to their color, texture, mineral composition,
and origin.
Standard S6E5.d: Recognize that lithospheric plates constantly move and cause
major geological events on Earths surface.

 Heat can transfer in 3 ways: radiation (sun; open space), conduction (solids), and
convection (liquids and gases).
Differences of temperature and density with fluids cause convection current.
Alfred Wegner developed the idea that the continents were once joined together
and since drifted apart.
Most scientists rejected Wegners theory because he couldnt identify a force
that could move the continents.
In sea-floor spreading, molten material forms new rock along the mid-ocean
ridge.
In subduction, the ocean floor sinks back to the mantle beneath deep ocean
trenches.
Standard S6E5. E; Explain the effects of physical processes (plate tectonics,
erosion, deposition, volcanic eruption, gravity) on geologic features including oceans
(composition, currents, and tides).
The theory of plate tectonics explains plate movements and how they cause
continental drift.
Plates slip past each other at transform boundaries.
Plates come together at convergent boundaries.
Plates separate at divergent boundaries.
Faults are cracks in Earths crust that result from stress.
Faulting and folding of the crust can cause mountains and other features to form
on the surface. A volcano is an opening on Earths surface where magma escapes
from the interior.
Magma that reaches Earths surface is called lava.
The constructive force of volcanoes adds new rock to existing land and forms new
islands.
Most volcanoes occur near boundaries of Earths plates and along the edges of
the continents, in island arcs, or along mid-ocean ridges.
Rocks weather, or wear down, when it is exposed to air, water, weather, and living
things at Earths surface.
Standard S6E5.f: Describe how fossils show evidence of the changing surface and
climate of the earth.
Most fossils form when living things die and are quickly buried by sediment. This
eventually hardens and preserves parts of the organism.
Fossils can show how Earths surface and climate have changed over time.