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The Earth
- Geosphere, hydrosphere,
atmosphere and
biosphere.
 The Geosphere
Solid ground of Earth
(Interior structure, rocks &
minerals, landforms and
all physical processes on
land that shape Earth’s
surface)
 The Geosphere
geologists
(scientists that study this
part of the Earth)
 The Hydrosphere
All waters found on
Earth(water covers
70% of Earth’s surface)
Importance of Water
 Water could be in liquid form, not
just solid and gas.
 Water has a neutral pH.
 Water is a good conductor of
heat and energy.
 Water has a high specific heat.
 Water is a universal solvent.
The Hydrological Cycle

 Circulation—by the interaction

of energy & matter—allows the
transformation of water from one
phase to another.
Distribution of Waters on Earth

 Surface water
 Marine water
 Fresh Water
 Groundwater
The Atmosphere
Composition of the Atmosphere

 78% Nitrogen
 20% Oxygen
 0.03% Carbon Dioxide & other
gases
 0.97% Inert gases(mainly argon)
 1% water vapor
Layers of the Atmosphere
 Troposphere
 Stratosphere
 Stratopause
 Mesosphere
 mesopause
 Thermosphere
 Ionosphere
 thermopause
The Biosphere
ROTATION
- the motion of spinning
about an axis.
The Earth’s axis is an
imaginary straight line
that runs through Earth
from the North Pole to
South Pole.
ROTATION
- the Earth completes
one rotation every 24
hours equivalent to
1 day
REVOLUTION
- The movement of the
Earth around the sun.
- It completes one revolution in
1 year or approximately 365 ¼
days.
Inside the Earth
The
Layers
of the
Earth
o How are the
earth’s layers
similar to an egg?
o Shell=crust

o Egg white=mantle

o Yolk=core
oCrust

oMantle

oCore
40% iron
oxygen
30%
20% silicon magnesium
the other
10%
0%
 THE CRUST
•the layer
that you
live on,
and it is
the most widely studied
and understood.
 THE CRUST
• Outermost layer
• 5-100 km thick

2 types:
• Continental
(less dense, made of granite)
• Oceanic (very dense, made of basalt)
Oceanic & Continental Crust
 The Lithospheric Plates

• The crust of the Earth is broken into

many pieces called plates. The plates
"float" on the soft, semi-rigid
asthenosphere.
 THE MANTLE
• Located below
the crust
• Middle layer
• It is the
largest layer
(about 5,200
km thick).
 THE MANTLE
•This is where most
of the internal heat
of the Earth is
located.
What separates the crust from
the mantle?

- Mohorovicic or Moho
discontinuity by Andrija
Mohorovicic)
 Sub-layers of the mantle
LITHOSPHERE:
- This is the “crunchy”
(brittle) layer of the
Earth.
- It includes the crust
and the uppermost part
of the upper Mantle
 Sub-layers of the mantle
ASTHENOSPHERE:
- Soft – can bend like
plastic, layer in the upper
portion of the mantle
- located right below the
Lithosphere. The
lithosphere floats on this
layer
The movement of the
asthenosphere is the reason that
the plates of the Earth move.
 Convection Currents
- The middle mantle "flows"
because of convection
currents. Convection currents
are caused by the very hot
material at the deepest part of
the mantle rising, then cooling
and sinking again --repeating
this cycle over and over.
 THE CORE
• Made mostly of iron
• It makes up nearly one third the
mass of the earth
• Very hot
2 parts:
o 2,200 km-thick liquid outer core
and
o 1,250 km-thick solid inner core
What do you call the boundary
between the mantle and the
core?
- Gutenberg discontinuity
discovered by Beno
Gutenberg, who made an
analysis of earth velocities
 THE CORE

Divided into two:

- Outer Core
- Inner Core
 OUTER CORE
• is liquid and
is made up of
mostly iron
and nickel
(easily
magnetized)
The movement of materials in the
liquid outer core is inferred to be
the cause of Earth’s magnetic field!
 Earth's magnetic field
• also known as the geomagnetic field, is
the magnetic field that extends from
the Earth's interior to where it meets
the solar wind (stream of charged
particles emanating from the Sun)
• It serves to deflect most of the solar
wind, whose charged particles would
otherwise strip away the ozone layer
that protects the Earth from harmful
ultraviolet radiation
 INNER CORE
• Is the center of the
Earth (1200 km
thick)
• It’s solid iron and
nickel. Most dense
layer (heaviest)
• The increased
pressure causes it
to be solid
 JEFFREYS DISCONTINUITY
- this separates the
inner and the outer
core
In Review:

1. What are the 3 main layers of

the Earth?
Crust, Mantle, Core
2. Which layer is the least dense?
Crust
3. Which core layer is solid iron
and nickel?
Inner core
In Review:

4. What is the name given to the

“crunchy” layer of the crust and
uppermost part of the mantle?
Lithosphere
5. The motion in this layer is the
reason Earth has a magnetic
field.
Outer core
 Tectonic Plates
• Earth’s crust is broken
into about 19 pieces
• These plates move on top
of the asthenosphere
 TECTONIC PLATE THEORY
• a scientific theory that
describes the large-scale
motion of Earth's lithosphere.
• The theory states that the
earth’s outer shell, the
lithosphere is divided into
eight large plates.
 TECTONIC PLATE THEORY
• Because each plate moves as
a single unit, the interiors of
the plates are generally
stable.
• All major activity such as
earthquake or volcano occur
along the plate boundaries.
 CONTINENTAL DRIFT THEORY

• states that parts of the

Earth's crust slowly drift
atop a liquid core
• Developed in 1915 by the
German geologist and
meteorologist Alfred
Wegener
 Alfred Wegener
• hypothesized that
there was a
gigantic
supercontinent
200 million years
ago, which he
named Pangaea,
meaning “all-
earth".
DIFFERENT TYPES OF
PLATE BOUNDARIES
 DIVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARIES

• plates are moving away

from each other.
• Very active volcanically due
to the rising of magma.
(Example: Mid-Atlantic
Ridge)
 CONVERGENT PLATE BONDARIES

• plates are coming together.

• The regions of plate
collision are regions of
great mounting buildings.
(Example: Andes,
Himalayas, Sierra Nevada)
 TRANSFORM PLATE BONDARIES

• a fault or a series of
parallel faults (fault zone)
along which plates slide
past each other via
strike‐slip movements.
 ROCKS AND MINERALS
• MINERALS are the
building blocks of rocks,
and elements, in turn,
are the building blocks
of minerals.
 ROCKS AND MINERALS
• A mineral is defined as a naturally
formed, inorganic, crystalline solid,
composed of an ordered
arrangement of atoms with specific
chemical composition.
• Of the known 112 elements, 92
occur naturally in the earth’s crust
and combine to make 4000 different
minerals.
 TYPES OF ROCKS
• IGNEOUS ROCKS are formed by
the cooling and crystallization
of hot, molten rock – magma.
• Igneous means “formed by fire”.
• Make up about 95% of the Earth
crust. Basalt and granite are
common igneous rocks.
 TYPES OF ROCKS
• SEDIMENTARY ROCKS are formed
from pieces of other rocks
(sediments) carried by water, wind,
or ice.
• Sedimentary rocks cover more
than two-thirds of the Earth’s
surface. Sandstone, shale, and
limestone are common sedimentary
rocks.
 TYPES OF ROCKS
• METAMORPHIC ROCKS are
formed from older, preexisting
rocks (igneous, sedimentary, or
metamorphic) that are transformed
by high temperature, high
pressure, or both – without melting.
• Metamorphic means “changed in
form”. Marble and slate are
common metamorphic rocks.
ROCK CYCLE
 ROCK CYCLE
• an illustration that explains
how the three rock types
are related to each other,
and how processes change
from one type to another
over time.