Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 11 views

    The Earth's Structure and Plate Tectonics

    Uploaded by

    rocknisms
    The document discusses the structure of the Earth including the inner core, outer core, mantle and crust. It describes plate tectonics including how plate movement is caused by the flow of the lower mantle and the different types of plate boundaries such as destructive, constructive and conservative boundaries.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    The Earth's Structure and Plate Tectonics

    Uploaded by

    rocknisms
    11 views17 pages
    The document discusses the structure of the Earth including the inner core, outer core, mantle and crust. It describes plate tectonics including how plate movement is caused by the flow of the lower mantle and the different types of plate boundaries such as destructive, constructive and conservative boundaries.

    Original Title

    The Earth’s Structure and Plate Tectonics

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    The document discusses the structure of the Earth including the inner core, outer core, mantle and crust. It describes plate tectonics including how plate movement is caused by the flow of the lower mantle and the different types of plate boundaries such as destructive, constructive and conservative boundaries.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    11 views17 pages

    The Earth's Structure and Plate Tectonics

    Uploaded by

    rocknisms
    The document discusses the structure of the Earth including the inner core, outer core, mantle and crust. It describes plate tectonics including how plate movement is caused by the flow of the lower mantle and the different types of plate boundaries such as destructive, constructive and conservative boundaries.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    of 17

    The Earth’s Structure and

    Plate Tectonics
    Structure of the Earth
    Structure of the Earth
    Structure of the Earth

    •The Earth has four main layers - the inner core, the outer core,
    the mantle and the crust.
     The inner core is 5,500°C - extremely hot. It is a very dense solid
    made from iron and nickel.

     The outer core is 2,000 km thick and is a liquid.

    • The mantle is semi-molten and about 3,000 km thick


     The crust is the rocky outer layer. It is thin compared to the other sections,
    approximately 5 to 70 km thick.

     If the Earth was scaled down to the size of an apple, the crust would be about
    the thickness of the apple skin. The crust is made up of pieces called plates.

     There are two types of crust: oceanic and continental crust. The oceanic crust
    is found under the sea and is thinner and more dense than the continental
    crust.
    Plate Movement
    •Plate movement is caused by the flow of the lower mantle
    (asthenosphere)

    •As these older sections of plates sink, newer and less dense sections of
    plate are pulled along behind.

    •Sinking in one place leads to plates spreading apart in other places.


    •Earthquakes and volcanoes are primarily found at plate boundaries.

    •The plates are like giant rafts that slowly move around.

    • At the boundaries between plates, molten magma is able to force its


    way to the surface and escape as lava.
    Plate Boundaries

    •A destructive plate boundary is sometimes called


    a convergent or tensional plate margin.

    •This occurs when oceanic and continental plates move together. The
    oceanic plate is forced under the lighter continental plate.

    •Friction causes melting of the oceanic plate and may trigger earthquakes.
    •Magma rises up through cracks and erupts onto the surface.
    •Collision zones form when two continental plates collide.

    •Neither plate is forced under the other, and so both are forced up and
    form fold mountains.
    •A constructive plate boundary, sometimes called a divergent plate
    margin, occurs when plates move apart.

    •Volcanoes are formed as magma wells up to fill the gap, and eventually
    new crust is formed.

    • An example of a constructive plate boundary is the mid-Atlantic Ridge


    •A conservative plate boundary, sometimes called a transform plate
    margin, occurs where plates slide past each other in opposite directions,
    or in the same direction but at different speeds.

    •Friction is eventually overcome and the plates slip past in a sudden


    movement. The shockwaves created produce an earthquake.

    • This occurs at the San Andreas Fault in California


    •
    The End
    …for now

    You might also like