Limperts Lab and Limpertsteins Lyrics

Earth’s Layers:

Crust: outermost layer, 5-100 k m thick, thin and solid, less than 1% of Earth’s mass. Temps=0 C-1,000 C

a)Continental-made of oxygen, silicon, aluminum

b)Oceanic-made of oxygen, silicon, aluminum, has twice as much iron, calcium, and magenesium, thinner and denser than continental crust

Mantle: between crust and core, much thicker than crust, contains most of Earth’s mass(67%), 2,900 km thick, 1,000-3,700 degree C. Made of three parts.  Magma flows from mantle..More magnesium and less aluminum and silicon than the crust so it is denser than the crust

a)lithosphere-outermost, rigid layer of the Earth. Made of 2 parts-crust and upper part of mantle.Divided into tectonic plate pieces, 15-300 km thick

b)asthenosphere=plastic layer of mantle where pieces of lithosphere move. Made of solid rock that flows very slowly. 250 km thick

c)mesosphere=beneath the asthenopshere, strong lower part of mantle.  Extends from bottom of asthenosphere to the core.  2,550 km thick

Outer Core: liquid, beneath mantle and surrounds inner core, 2,200 km thick

Inner Core: solid, dense, extends from bottom of outer core to the center of Earth, 1,230 km thick

The Core: 33% of Earth’s mass, radius=3,430 km Temps=3,700 C-7,000 C

 

***Plate Tectonics:The theory that the Earth’s lithosphere is divided into tectonic plates that move around on top of the asthenosphere

Plates/Continental Drift-Plates=pieces of the lithosphere that move around on top of the asthenosphere

Continental Drift=hypothesis that states that the continents once formed a single landmass, broke up, and drifted to their present locations. Evidence of fossils of the same plant and animal species were found on continents that are on different sides of the Atlantic Ocean.  Also, the continents seem to fit together like puzzle pieces do, and similar rock types and evidence of the same ancient climatic conditions were found on several continents.

Wegener/Pangaea=Wegener-1900s came up with continental drift hypothesis Pangaea=single, huge landmass/continent

Sea-Floor Spreading=the process by which new oceanic lithosphere forms as magma rises toward the surface and solidifies.  This occurs at the mid-ocean ridge and as tectonic plates move away from each other, sea floor spreads apart and magma fills the gap.  As this new crust forms, older crust gets pushed away from the mid-ocean ridge.  Older crust is farther away from the mid-ocean ridge that younger crust is.

Convergent Boundaries: when tectonic plates collide, mountains can form here

a)continental-continental collision=they buckle and thicken, which pushes the continental crust upward

b)continental-oceanic collisions=denser oceanic crust sinks into the asthenosphere..called subduction zone..old ocean crust gets pushed into asthenosphere where it is re-melted and recycled

c)oceanic-oceanic collisions=one of the plates with oceanic lithosphere is subducted or sinks under the other plate

Divergent Boundaries: when two tectonic plates separate or move apart from each other, mid-ocean ridge example New sea floor forms here, rift valley as well

Transform Boundaries: when two tectonic plates slide past each other horizontally..plates have irregular edges, so they grind and jerk as they slide, producing earthquakes..San Andreas Fault is an example/

Types of stresses: Amount of force per unit area on a given material

a)shearing=strike slip fault

b)compression=squeezing=convergent boundary=large mountains

c)tension=stretching=divergent boundaries=mid-ocean ridge

Types of faults: A break in a body of rock along which one block slides relative to another

a)normal=when rocks are pulled apart because of tension(fun=footwall up normal)

b)reverse=when rocks are pushed together by compression(fdr=footwall down reverse)

c)strike-slip=when opposing forces cause rocks to break and move horizontally, San Andreas Fault is this

Types of mountain building: Mountains exist because tectonic plates are continually moving around and colliding with one another

a)folded=highest mountain ranges=form at convergent boundaries=form when rock layers are squeezed together and push upward(Appalachian mts)

b)fault-block=form when tension causes large blocks of the Earth’s crust to drop down relative to other blocks(The TETONS)

c)volcanic=located at convergent boundaries where subduction zones are found.  Rock that is melted in subduction zones forms magam, which rises to the Earth’s surface and erupts to form these.  These can also form under the sea. They can also become islands.  (Ring of Fire)

 

**Earthquakes:most take olace near the edges of tectonic plates

Seismic waves=waves of energy that travel through the Earth

P wave-travel through solids, liquids, and gases, fastest, arrive first, primary waves, first to be detected after an earthquake

S wave-shear waves, second fastest, shear rock side to side, strech rock sideways, can’t travel through liquids, secondary waves, slower than p waves

Surface wave-move along Earth’s surface and produce motion mostly in upper part of crust, can move up, down, around and back and forth, slow and very destructive

Seismographs=instruments that records vibrations in the ground and determines the location and strength of an earthquake

Seismogram=tracing of earthquake motion, created by seismograph

Richter Scale-system to measure strength of earthquake by measuring ground motion recorded by seismograms at seismograph stations, every time magnitude increases by one unit, measured ground motion becomes 10 times larger(magnitude)

Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale-measures earthquake intensity(the degree to which an earthquake is felt by people and amount of damage caused) uses Roman Numerals

Earthquake safety/safe buildings-Retro-fitting=making older structures more earthquake resistant

 

**Volcanoes-areas of Earth’s surface through which magma and volcanic gases pass.

Explosive Eruptions-rarer and destructive, clouds of hot debris, ash, and gas shoot rapidly out from volcano, cause molten rock to be blown into tiny particles that harden in the air

Non-Explosive Eruptions-most common type of eruption, calm flows of lava, huge amounts of lava here

Viscosity-how lava flows. high viscosity=stiff lava(milkshake) low viscosity= lava that is fluid=glass of milk

Pyroclastic material:forms when magma explodes from a volcano and solidifies in the air, during powerful eruptions, pyroclastic flows very dangerous

a)volcanic bombs-large blobs of magma that harden in the air

b)lapilli-pebblelike bits of magma that harden

c)volcanic blocks=largest pieces of pyroclastic material, pieces of solid rock

d)volcanic ash=when gases in stiff magma expand rapidly and the walls of the gas bubbles explode into tiny, glasslike slivers, makes up most of pyroclastic material in an eruption

Types of Lava:

a)Aa=pours out quickly/forms a brittle crust

b)pahoehoe=lava flows slowly, like wax dripping from a candle, glassy surface, round wrinkles

c)pillow lava=when lava erupts underwater, rounded lumps like shape of pillows

d)blocky lava=cool, stiff lava, oozes from volcano, jumbled heaps of sharp-edge chunks

Types of Volcanoes:

a)Shield-built of layers of lava released from repeated nonexplosive eruptions, lava is very runny, spreads out over large area, volcano has gently sloping sides that are not steep.  These can be enormous. Hawaii’s Mauna Kea

b)Cinder Cone-made of pyroclastic material usually produced from moderately explosive eruptions, steep slopes, small and usually erupt for a short time (Paricutin in Mexico)

c)Composite-form from explosive eruptions of pyroclastic material followed by quieter flows of lava.  Forms alternating layers of pyroclastic material and lava.  Broad bases and sides that get steeper toward the top. (Mt. Fuji, Japan)

The Ring of Fire-The area in the Pacific Ocean where the plate boundaries surrounding this area have so many active volcanoes. (nearly 75% of world’s active volcanoes on land are here)

Minerals:are building blocks of rocks, natrually formed, inorganic, solid, have definite crystalline structure

Crystals:solid, geometric forms of minerals produced by a repeating pattern of atoms or molecules that is present throughout the mineral

Elements/Compounds: Elements=pure substances that cannot be broken down into simpler substances by ordinary chemical means  Compounds=substance made of 2 or more elements that have been chemically joined

Mineral Properties: these will help you identify minerals

a)color-not best way ot identify a mineral(some minerals come in a variety of colors)

b)luster=way a surface reflects light(shiny, metallic, dull, waxy, earthy)

c)streak=color of a mineral’s powder found by rubbing the mineral against a streak plate(not always the same color as the mineral itself) more reliable than color

d)cleavage=when minerals break along smooth, flat surfaces

e)fracture=break unevenly along curved or irregular surfaces

f)hardness=a mineral’s resistance to being scratched(Mohs Hardness Scale=1=softest 10-hardest)

g)density=the measure of how  much matter is in a given amount of space

 

***The Rock Cycle:the continual process by which new rock forms from old rock material

Weathering-when water, wind, ice, heat break down rock into fragments=sedimentary city

Deposition-where sediment is moved by erosion and dropped and comes to rest

Erosion-when sediment is removed from its source by water, wind, ice and gravity to another location=sedimentary city

Compaction-sqeezing of rocks together=sedimentary city

Cementation-like glue-ing the rocks together=sedimentary city

Melting=magma city

Cooling/Solidification-cools and hardens to become igenous rock=igneous city

 

***Three Types of Rocks: Rocks are made up of minerals…Different rocks are composed of different minerals. A rock is a naturally occurring solid mixture of one or more minerals and organic matter.

a)Igneous-forms when hot liquid rock or magma cools and solidifies

Intrusive-coarse-grained texture, cools very slowly, large crystals, the longer it takes for magma or lava to cool, the more time the crystals have to grow..inside volcano

Extrusive-outside volcano(erupt), cools quickly, very small crystals or no crystals..the less time magma takes to cool, the less time crystals have to grow..the rock will be fine-grained

Composition-what a rock is made up of(inside of rock)

Texture-what does it feel like(outside, surface)

Sedimentary Rock: forms at or near the Earth’s surface.  when sediments are moved by erosion and deposited in layers. As new layers are deposited, they cover the older layers and the older layers are compacted

a)clastic=when rock fragments are cemented together

b)chemical=forms when minerals crysatllize out of a solution, such as sea water, to become rock

c)organic=forms from  remains of once-living plants and animals

Strata/Stratification=layers=the process in which sedimentary rocks are arranged in layers.

Metamorphic Rock: formed from heat and pressure(metamorphism)

a)foliated=mineral grains arranged in planes or bands(slate)

b)non-foliated=mineral grains are not arranged in planes or bands(marble, quartzite)

 

Weathering:process by which rock materials are broken down by the action of physical or chemical processes

a)mechanical-the breakdown of rock into smaller pieces by physical means such as wind, water, ice, gravity, plants, and animals

b)chemical-the process by which rocks break down as a result of chemical reactions such as water, weak acids, and air

 

Soil:a loose mixture of small mineral fragments,organic material, water, and air that can support the growth of vegetation.

What’s in soil? sand=less than 2mm   silt=les than 0.05mm  clay=less than 0.002mm

Soil Horizons:layers of soil that are horizontal, humus-rich soil on top, sediment below that, and bedrock on the bottom

A horizon-topsoil(lots of humus=organic material formed in soil from the decayed remains of plants and animals)

O horizon-soil in forests(litter of dead plants and animals)

E horizon-intense leaching of nutrients(water dissolves and carries nutrients in topsoil through the horizons)

B horizon-collects dissolved substances and nutrients deposited from the upper horizons

C horizon-partially weathered bedrock

R horizon-bedrock(solid, little or no weathering)

Humus-organic material formed in soil from the decayed remains of plants and animals

Bedrock-solid rock beneath the soil

Soil Conversation:a method to maintain the fertility of the soil by protecting the soil from erosion and nutrient loss

a)contour plowing-helps prevent erosion from heavy rains

b)terracing-prevents erosion from heavy rains or steep hills

c)no-till farming-prevents erosion by providing cover that reduces water runoff

d)cover crop-soybeans are this which restores nitrients to the soil