Earth Forces So Far...

Learn about Earth's layers, plate tectonics, and geological forces!

How well do you know the Earth's History?TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE HERE!!Sort the statements below into FACT or FICTION! FACT Earth is 4.6 billion years old Dinosaurs once lived on our planet At one point in time, the UK could be found very close to the Equator An asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs and many other forms of life Modern humans make up a very small part of Earth's History FICTION Earth is 3 billion years old Humans have always lived on Planet Earth Dinosaurs were wiped out by a huge volcanic eruption The Earth has always been the same temperature The Big Bang happened in the year 1000 The Earth's Structure...time to see what you know! Fill in the blanks on the diagram below... Inner Core Outer Core Mantle Crust Let's dig a little deeper... Match the heads and tails! CRUST the thinnest part of the Earth MANTLE a semi-solid rock layer where magma flows INNER CORE a solid ball of iron and nickle OUTER CORE a molten part of the Earth where metals swirl around, controlling our magnets Now let's think about the location of some key features... Our Earth's crust is split into various different pieces - we call these pieces plates. The plates float on top of the mantle and move around due to convection currents within the mantle. This movement means we experience earthquakes and volcanoes at the edges of the plates - otherwise known as the plate boundaries. A famous region of active volcanoes and earthquakes is the Pacific Ring of Fire. It is here that around 75% of the world's volcanoes are found and also where around 90% of our earthquakes take place! We don't only find earthquakes and volcanoes directly on the plate boundaries though - sometimes they are found near to them. In some cases we even find volcanoes and earthquakes in the middle of a plate. If we find a volcano in the middle of a plate this is known as a hot spot volcano. This occurs when a super heated plume of magma within the mantle manages to burn through a particularly weak part of the Earth's crust - for example a very thin section or a part which has developed a crack. The magma rises to the surface and forms a volcano which is in the middle of the plate rather than at the edge! As the plate continues to move, the hot spot stays still. This means we often find hot spot volcanoes are not alone - they form island chains! A great example of this is Hawaii in the middle of the Pacific Plate. Now let's take a look at the different types of plate bundaries! Match the name of the boundary to the picture! DESTRUCTIVE CONSTRUCTIVE COLLISION CONSERVATIVE More plate boundaries knowledge... Match up the plate boundary with the statement which best describes it... CONSTRUCTIVE This is where new land is created - for example a new island can be formed at this boundary! DESTRUCTIVE This is where land is destroyed and sticky lava produces violently explosive volcanic eruptions! CONSERVATIVE This is where we get earthquakes! COLLISION This is where we build mountains! Which statement is true for a DESTRUCTIVE plate boundary? two plates move away from each other two of the same type of plates move towards each other two different types of plate move towards each other Which statement is true for a CONSTRUCTIVE plate boundary? two oceanic plates move away from each other two oceanic plates move towards each other two oceanic plates slide past each other Which statement is true for a COLLISION plate boundary? two plates of different strengths move towards each other two plates of the same strength move towards each other two plates of the same strength move away from each other Which statement is correct for a CONSERVATIVE plate boundary? (careful!) two plate slide past each other in the same direction two plates slide past each other in different directions two plates slide past each other EITHER in the same or opposite directions Now show which type of plate each part is in the diagram below... Type either- continentalOR- oceanic continental oceanic What about the basic shapes of volcanoes? Match the statements and pictures with the correct type of volcano... CONE VOLCANO sticky lava very explosive SHIELD VOLCANO runny lava less explosive