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Concepts for Properties of Earth:
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Primary |
Intermediate |
Middle |
| The Earth is a solid sphere. | The Earth is layered from the outside in with solid crustal plates (lithosphere), hot liquid rock (mantle), and dense metallic center (core). | The Earth is layered from the outside in with solid crustal plates (lithosphere), hot liquid convecting rock (mantle), and dense metallic center (core). |
| Earth materials include rocks, minerals, water, | Lithospheric plates the size of continents and oceans constantly move at the rate of centimeters per year as a result of movements in the mantle. | The rock cycle describes how solid earth changes when rocks at the earth's surface weather, form sediments that are buried, then compacted, heated, and often recrystallize into new rock. Eventually, those new rocks may be brought to the surface by movements in the mantle and cycle continues. |
| Geological events (volcanoes, earthquakes, erosion) shape the earth. |
The interior of the Earth is hot Heat flow and movement material within the Earth casue earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that create mountains and ocean basins. Gases and dust from volcanoes can change the atmosphere. These forces can act fast and slow. The can also be constructive and destructive geological events create landforms. Constructive forces include crustal changes, mountain building, vocanic eruptions, and deposition of sediment. Destructive forces include weathering and erosion. |
The surface of the earth changes due to slow processes, such as erosion and weathering, and some changes are due to rapid processes, such as landslides, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes. Thousands of layers of sedimentary rock confirm a long history of the changing surface of the Earth and the changing life forms whose remains can be found in successive layers. The youngest layers are not always found on top because of folding, breaking, and uplifting of layers. Human activity has changed the Earth (farming, reducing forests, release of chemicals, ) and decreased the capacity of the environment to support some forms of life. |
Created by Robert D. Sweetland Ed. D.