What is the Source of Heat in the Earth's Interior?

Review: Where does the Earth's heat energy come from...Name two sources.

*First, the supernova released heat, gas, and particles that collided into each other. Second: Radioactive decay of these particles now found in the Earth's core and crust produces heat.

Where does all this heat come from?

1) When the Earth was formed it was VERY hot and a lot of our planet's interior heat today is left over from this. 2) The Earth makes some of its own heat.

The Earth's heat moves _________, builds _______________ and causes ______________.

1) moves continents 2) builds mountains 3) causes earthquakes

How many years ago was the earth formed?

4 1/2 billion years ago.

From experiments conducted in their labs, scientists have determined that the Earth's temperature is around.... what?

5,000 to 7,000 degrees Celsius....Think about that for a moment - a hot day in the Bay Area is about 39 degrees Celsius, which.... imagine how much greater the Earth's core is!

How was the earth formed?

A supernova, which is a giant explosion of a star caused a cloud of gas and dust in space. These particles stuck together and formed the Earth.

What heated Earth to a molten state?

Bombarding planetesimals -large particles of rocks that were slamming/striking into each other.

Is the Earth getting cooler or hotter now?

Cooler: but very, very, slowly. It's actually close to a steady, unchanging temperature state. Over the past billion years, it may have cooled a hundred degrees.

Besides in the Earth's interior, where else does radioactive decay occur?

In the Earth's crust: many rocks in the crust undergo radioactive decay.

How does the Earth keep a steady temperature?

Its temperature stays the same because it MAKES heat in its INTERIOR, which pretty much keeps up with the heat that it loses.

Why don't scientists agree on how hot the Earth's core or interior really is?

No one has ever come close to exploring the Earth's core or interior.

What does the sun's heat energy control:

The Earth's weather.

Compare the heat energy produced inside the Earth to the heat energy we get from the sun.

The heat energy from the sun is 5,000 times greater.

What keeps the Earth from cooling off completely

The heat that is produced during radioactive decay, which is the breaking down, disintegration of elements like uranium in the Earth's crust.

Scientists have determined that the Earth's interior is just about as hot as this giant start's temperature.

The outside (exterior part ) of the sun.

How do seismic waves tell scientists a lot about what makes up the Earth's core or interior.

The rate or speed that the waves or vibrations goes, tells scientists a lot about what materials makes up the Earth. They can tell which parts are liquid, or a solid or a partial solid.

Define planetesimals?

The solid particles of gas and dust, which condensed out of a cloud and stuck together to form the Earth.

Define seismic waves.

Vibrations that travel through Earth carrying the energy released during an earthquake

Besides radioactive decay what else creates heat inside the earth?

When there is radioactive decay, subatomic particles zip away and later collide with surrounding material inside the Earth. (These particles crash into other material inside the Earth and create heat.)

What does disintegration mean?

breaking into pieces

Radioactive decay is caused by this...

disintegration of natural radioactive elements

When the sun's energy causes a drought, it also causes this:

erosion - the wearing away of landforms

What is produced when uranium decays or disintegrates (breaks down)

heat

What does interior mean?

inside

Therefore, because of erosion, the sun's energy breaks apart ___________.

mountains

While the heat energy created inside the earth builds these ____________ at the same time:

mountains

Review: The heat generated inside the Earth builds __________ and ______________. It also causes ______________.

mountains, volcanoes, earthquakes

The process by which the Earth makes its own heat is called what....

radioactive decay

Name one element that decays or disintegrates (breaks down) in the Earth's interior.

uranium

Without radioactive decay, name three geographical landforms and/or events that we would have less of.

volcanoes, mountains, earthquakes