08/25/09

Earth Materials
 Limestone
08/25/09

Limestone is a __________ rock made up of

mainly calcium carbonate. It’s cheap and easy to
obtain. Some uses:
1) Building materials – limestone can be quarried
and cut into blocks to be used in _______.
However, it is badly affected by ____ ____.
2) Glass making – glass is made by mixing limestone
with _____ and soda:

Limestone + sand + soda glass

3) Cement making – limestone can be “roasted” in a rotary kiln
to produce dry cement. It’s then mixed with sand and gravel
to make _______.
Words – sand, building, sedimentary, concrete, acid rain
 Limestone
08/25/09

If soil is too _____ crops will fail. Limestone can also be used
as a neutralising agent. There are two reactions to know:

1) Firstly, a THERMAL _________________ reaction is used

to break the calcium carbonate down into calcium oxide
(quicklime) and _______ __________:
HEAT
Calcium carbonate calcium oxide + carbon dioxide

2) This is then “slaked” with water to produce calcium

hydroxide (“_________ lime”):
WATER
Calcium oxide calcium hydroxide

Calcium hydroxide is alkaline and is used to ______ acidic soil.

Words – slaked, acidic, neutralise,
decomposition, carbon dioxide
 Formation of oil and gas
08/25/09

1) Layers of 2) Layers of 3) The heat and ________ from

dead sea _____ __________ these rocks, along with the
settle on the rock build up on absence of ______, mean that oil
seabed. top. and gas are formed over ______
of years.

Words – sedimentary, millions, oxygen, creatures, pressure

 08/25/09
Hydrocarbons and crude oil
Crude oil is a mixture of HYDROCARBONS
(compounds made up of carbon and hydrogen).
Some examples:

H H
Longer chains mean…

Increasing length
H C C H
H H
 Less ability to flow
Ethane
 Less flammable
H H H H
H C C C C H  Less volatile
H H H H
 Higher boiling point
Butane
 Fractional distillation
08/25/09

Crude oil can be separated by fractional distillation. The oil is evaporated

and the hydrocarbon chains of different lengths condense at different
temperatures:

Fractions with
low boiling
points condense
at the top

Fractions with
high boiling
points condense
at the bottom
 Cracking
08/25/09

Shorter chain hydrocarbons are in greater demand because

they burn easier. They can be made from long chain
hydrocarbons by “cracking”:

Butane

Ethane
For example, this bond
can be “cracked” to give
two of these:

Ethane
 Cracking
08/25/09

This is a THERMAL DECOMPOSITION reaction,

with clay used as a catalyst

Cracking is used to produce plastics such as polymers and polyethanes. The

waste products from this reaction include carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide
and water vapour. There are three main environmental problems here:

• Carbon dioxide causes the _________ effect

• Sulphur dioxide causes _____ _____
• Plastics are not _____________
 Alkanes
08/25/09

Alkanes are SATURATED HYDROCARBONS. What does this

mean?
HYDROCARBONS are molecules that are made up of
hydrogen and carbon atoms
SATURATED means that all of these atoms are held
together by single bonds, for example:

Ethane Butane

Alkanes are fairly unreactive (but they do burn well).

 Alkenes
08/25/09

Alkenes are different to alkanes; they contain DOUBLE

COVALENT bonds. For example:
ALKANES

ALKENES
Ethane Ethene

Butane Butene
This double bond means that alkenes have the potential to join
with other molecules – this make them REACTIVE. We can
test for alkenes because they turn bromine water colourless.
 Monomers and Polymers
08/25/09

Here’s ethene again. Ethene is called a

MONOMER because it is just one small
molecule. We can use ethene to make
plastics…
Ethene

Step 1: Break the double bond

Step 2: Add
the molecules
together:

This molecule is called POLYETHENE,

and the process that made it is called
POLYMERISATION
 Another way of drawing it…
08/25/09

Instead of circles, let’s use letters…

H H H H H H H H

C C C C C C C C
H H H H H H H H
Ethene Ethene Poly(e)thene

General formula for addition polymerisation:

n C C C C
n
H CH3 H CH3
e.g. n C C C C
H H H H n
 08/25/09
Evolution of the Earth’s Atmosphere
Volcanic activity
Some of the oxygen is
releases CO2, methane,
converted into ozone.
ammonia and water The ozone layer blocks
vapour into the out harmful ultra-violet
atmosphere. The water rays which allows for the
vapour condenses to development of new life.
form oceans.

4 Billion years 3 Billion years 2 Billion years 1 Billion years Present day

Green plants evolve which take in CO2 and

give out oxygen. Carbon from CO2
becomes locked up in sedimentary rocks as
carbonates and fossil fuels. Methane and
ammonia react with the oxygen and
nitrogen is released. Nitrogen is also
produced as a result of denitrifying
bacteria on nitrates from decaying plants.
 08/25/09
Evolution of the Earth’s Atmosphere
Carbon Methane Ammonia Oxygen Nitrogen Others
dioxide
Present day
atmosphere contains
78% nitrogen, 21%
oxygen, 1% noble
gases and about
0.03% CO2

4 Billion years 3 Billion years 2 Billion years 1 Billion years Present day
 Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
08/25/09

The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is affected by 3 things:

1) Geological activity moves carbonate rocks deep into
the Earth and they release ______ _______ into the
atmosphere during volcanic activity.

2) When fossil fuels are burned the carbon

contained in them reacts with _____ to form CO2.

3) Increased CO2 in the atmosphere causes a reaction

between it and _______. These reactions produce two things:
INSOLUBLE CARBONATES (which are deposited as ______)
and SOLUBLE HYDROGENCARBONATES (which ________ in
the seawater). These reactions do not remove ALL of the new
CO2 so the greenhouse effect is still getting _______!
Words – oxygen, seawater, carbon dioxide, worse, dissolve, sediment
 The Structure of the Earth
08/25/09

A thin crust -
10-100km thick

A mantle – has the

properties of a solid
but it can also flow

A core – made of
molten nickel and iron.
Outer part is liquid
and inner part is solid

The average density of the Earth is much higher than

the crust, so the inner core must be very dense
 The Crust
08/25/09

Sedimentary rocks
settle in layers.
The oldest rock is
at the bottom.

Layers of sedimentary rock can be examined to discover how

they were formed. They are often found folded or fractured:
Movement of the Lithosphere
08/25/09

The Earth’s LITHOSPHERE (i.e. the _______) is split

up into different sections called ________ plates:

These plates are moving apart from each other a

few centimetres every _______ due to the
________ currents in the mantle caused by the
________ decay of rocks inside the core.
Words – radioactive, crust, convection, tectonic, year
Forming new crust
08/25/09

Earthquakes and
volcanic eruptions can
be common here

Magma
 Tectonic theory
08/25/09

People once thought that the oceans and the continents were formed by
shrinkage from when the Earth cooled down after being formed.
Alfred Wegener proposed something different. Consider Africa and South
America:

These continents look

like they “fit” together.
They also have similar
rock patterns and fossil
records. These two
pieces of evidence led
me to believe that
there was once a single
land mass. This is my
TECTONIC THEORY.
 Forming mountains
08/25/09

The formation of mountain ranges can be explained by

tectonic theory. Consider the Himalayas at the top of India:

This is where
India is now

This is where
India was millions
of years ago

The intense heat and pressure from this process causes the
rocks to change structure into metamorphic rocks.
 Tectonic theory
08/25/09

The Evidence:
2) Some continents look like they used to “fit” together
3) Similar rock patterns and fossil records

The Problems:
Wegener couldn't explain
how continental drift
happened so nobody
believed him

The Answer:
2) Scientists discovered 50 years later that the Earth generates massive
amounts of heat through radioactive decay in the core. This heat
generated convection currents in the mantle causing the crust to move
3) We also now know that the sea floor is spreading outwards from plate
boundaries

Conclusion – scientists now believe Wegener’s Tectonic Theory

 Movements of the crust
08/25/09

When the lithosphere 1) Plates move past

(“crust”) moves three each other, causing
things can happen: earthquakes

2) Plates move away from each
other – a “constructive plate
margin”. The gap is filled with
magma which cools to form basalt.
This is called sea floor spreading.
3) Plates move towards each other – a
“destructive plate margin”. The less
dense one slides underneath
(“subduction”) and partially melts. This
causes volcanoes and earthquakes.
 Evidence for sea floor spreading
08/25/09

Since the Earth was formed the north and south poles have
periodically “________ ____”. When tectonic plates move
apart and _____ fills the gap the iron particles in the magma
orientate themselves in line with the Earth’s ________ field.
This means that the rock formed on the sea floor contains a
“magnetic __________” of the changing field:

These magnetic patterns can be used to prove that sea floor

spreading does happen, and at a rate of about 2cm per _____.

Words: impression, magma, swapped over, magnetic, year