Unit 3- Dynamic Structure of Earth

What is kinetic?

related to or possessing motion

What is potential?

something possible; ability to go into action or perform work

What is the lithosphere?

the cool, rigid shell that includes the crust and uppermost mantle; composed of plates that move around on the underlying, plastic asthenosphere

The first evidence supporting the theory of continental drift was _____.

the fitting together of neighboring continents like jigsaw puzzle pieces

What is the asthenosphere?

the layer immediately surrounding the lower mantle; composed of molten rock

What is the crust?

the outermost layer that forms the surface of the earth; upper part of the lithosphere

What is oceanic crust?

the part of Earth's crust located beneath the oceans and sea

What is continental crust?

the part of Earth's crust that forms landmasses

What is transpiration?

the process by which plants give off water vapor

What is thermodynamics?

the study of energy and its transformations

What is plate techtonics?

the theory that the lithosphere is broken into pieces that float on the asthenosphere

What is continental drift?

theory proposed by Alfred Wegener that the continents once formed a single supercontinent that broke up and drifted apart

All spheres of Earth are interrelated or interdependent. This means _____.

they all depend on each other to function; an impact to one sphere usually affects another

What is equalibrium?

two opposing forces in balance or when two opposite processes occur at equal rates

When two oceanic plates collide, it creates _____.

volcanoes

The discovery of tropical plant and animal fossils in Antarctica support the idea that at one time this continent supported a _____ climate.

warmer

True or false; Scientists' discovery of seafloor spreading was a confirmation that Wegener's hypothesis was correct.

True

Which of the following convergent boundaries would most likely create a non-volcanic mountain range?

Two continental plates

An area where the earth's crust would be expected to be thin would be _____.

Under the ocean

What is the geosphere?

all of the layers of Earth's interior and crust

What are glossopteris?

ancient, extinct plant species found on the continents of South America, Africa, India, Australia, and Antarctica

What is a fault line?

area along plate boundaries and ridges where the crust of the lithosphere is fractured

What is a subduction zone?

area where an oceanic plate sinks into the asthenosphere under another plate

What is a divergent boundary?

area where tectonic plates are moving away from each other

What is a convergent boundary?

area where tectonic plates meet and push against each other

What is a transform boundary?

area where tectonic plates slide sideways past each other

What are decomposers?

bacteria and fungi that break down dead matter

Mantle convection is a circulation of the heat emitted by the earth's _____.

core

The plate tectonic theory can best be described as _____.

earth's natural process by which its lithospheric plates slowly move about because of movement in the asthenosphere

The hydrologic cycle maintains a balance of Earth's water because _____.

evaporation of water is equal to precipitation of water

A transform boundary occurs where two tectonic plates _____.

grind against each other

What is the lower mantle?

innermost layer of the two mantle layers; composed of rock and cooler than the core

What is the inner core?

innermost region of the earth; composed of solid iron

What is the food chain?

line of plants and animals that shows the order in which organisms are eaten

What is Pangaea?

meaning "all lands"; name of the supercontinent that is theorized to have contained all of the current continents in a single landmass

What is Panthalassa?

meaning "all seas"; name of the single, large ocean that surrounded Pangaea

What is the mantle?

middle layer of the earth; composed of an upper and lower mantle

What is the tectonic cycle?

natural and continuous cycle of Earth that recycles Earth's lithospheric plates

What is the rock cycle?

natural and continuous cycle of Earth that recycles Earth's minerals

What are secondary consumers?

organisms that eat primary consumers

What are primary consumers?

organisms that eat producers

What are tertiary consumers?

predators that eat secondary consumers

What is nitrification?

process by which certain bacteria convert ammonium into nitrates

What is denitrification?

process by which certain bacteria convert nitrates into nitrogen gas

What ammonification?

process by which certain bacteria convert organic nitrogen into ammonia and ammonium salts during decomposition

What is nitrogen fixation?

process by which certain bacteria in the soil convert nitrogen gas into ammonia and ammonium

What is photosynthesis?

process by which green plants convert carbon dioxide, water, and energy from the Sun into sugars

What is respiration?

process by which living cells produce usable energy from food

What is assimilation?

process by which plants or animals convert nutrients into usable organic compounds, such as proteins

What is deposition?

process by which sediment flows into a reservoir

What is metamorphism?

process of intense heat and pressure which changes igneous or sedimentary rock into metamorphic rock

What s weathering?

process that breaks down rock through physical and chemical changes

What is the hydrologic cycle?

a natural and continuous cycle of Earth that recycles and distributes Earth's water; often called the water cycle

Phosphorus is the least available element, compared to carbon and nitrogen, because it is found mostly in the _____.

Lithosphere

Colossal Cave was formed years ago by underground running water. Today, it is the home to many animals, like bats. These interactions are an example of which spheres?

Lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere

_____ converts ammonium into nitrates, while _____ converts nitrates into nitrogen gas.

Nitrification, dentrification

Although nitrogen gas makes up 78% of the atmosphere, we can't use it because _____.

Nitrogen atoms must be broken up first

_____ converts atmospheric nitrogen into ammonium, which plants absorb. The plants, by _____, incorporate the ammonium into proteins.

Nitrogen fixation, assimilation

Picture a person standing with a drawn bow and arrow. He is aiming it at a bull's eye target. What type of energy is being described?

Potential

According to the second law of thermodynamics, heat energy released by an organism is _____.

Released into the environment and unusable

The tectonic cycle describes the movement of Earth's crust. Recycled "new" oceanic crust is formed by __________ _____________ at divergent boundaries.

Seafloor spreading

The best example of how neighboring continents seem to fit together like jigsaw puzzle pieces is _____.

Africa and South America

What is the ability to do work?

Energy

Which of the following is an example of energy changing from one form to another?

A fire

How much energy is actually transferred from one organism to another?

10%

Describe the rock cycle.

A newly formed igneous rock that came from the mantle as magma will, over time, be broken down into regolith, or tiny pieces of debris. This process is called weathering. Th regolith is then carried away by water, wind, or ice, a process called erosion. The pieces of debris settle at the bottom of a body of water in layers. This deposited rock is called sediment. As the sedimentary rocks harden they become cemented together to form new sedimentary rock. As it builds, it gets pressed deeper into Earth's crust. Very intense heat and pressure changes the sedimentary rock into a metamorphic rock in a process called metamorphism. Again, heat and pressure affect the rock and eventually melts the metamorphic rock into magma. The magma wil uplift and cool, becoming igneous rock, just like it started.

What are Mesosaurus?

A small, extinct land reptile that lived 270 million years ago whose fossil remains have been found in western Africa and eastern South America

The type of plate boundary that causes tremors and earthquakes in California is what kind of boundary?

A transform boundary

The scientist who proposed the idea of continental drift was _____

Alfred Weneger

Describe the tectonic cycle.

An oceanic plate collides with a continental plate. The oceanic plate would then subduct under the continental plate, into the asthenosphere. The mantle then provides intense pressure and heat, making the crust of the oceanic plate mix with the rock of the mantle. Then, mantle convection would cause magma to rise up through divergent boundaries.

The layer of the earth where mantle convection occurs and on which the earth's crust rests is the _____.

Asthenosphere

During spring, when Earl's crops were plentiful, he noticed an increased number of rabbits. At night, he also heard an increased number of howls from the coyotes. What do you think will happen when winter comes around and the crops die out?

Both the rabbit and coyote population could decrease because the original food supply decreased.

The Mid-Atlantic Ocean Ridge is an example of a _____.

Divergent boundary

The hydrologic, rock, and tectonic cycles are all interconnected. In the rock cycle, water moves regolith during _____, and the tectonic cycle resurfaces rock through _____.

Erosion, uplifting

Mr. Jones, the science teacher, tells his students that energy cannot be created; it must be captured from the environment. He is talking about the _____.

First law of thermodynamics

Besides plants and animals, wood and _____ can be _____ to release carbon into the air.

Fossil fuels, burned

The Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States appear to be a part of the same mountain range that continues in _____.

Great Britain and Scandinavia

Describe the phosphorus cycle.

In the phosphorus cycle, a phosphorus rock would be uplifted from plate tectonic activity, and then weathering and erosion of the rock would deposit the phosphorus into water. Then, aquatic plants would absorb and assimilate the dissolved phosphorus. A fish might eat the aquatic, then get eaten by a bear, and the bear might die from old age. The bear would decompose, releasing phosphorus into the soil. The soil would wash into a lake, where it sinks to the bottom to become sedimentary rock. Then, the cycle continues.

The person holding the bow and arrow has now let go. The arrow shoots forward toward its target. What type of energy is being described?

Kinetic

The hydrologic, rock, and tectonic cycles are powered by two main energy sources. They are the _____.

Sun and interior of earth

Most energy in an ecosystem comes originally from _____.

The Sun

What is plasticity?

The ability of a solid to flow

What layer of the earth that is composed of rock, yet flows due to extreme heat and pressure?

The asthenosphere

Describe the carbon cycle.

The carbon cycle could start with a plant taking in carbon dioxide through small holes in thier leaves. By a process called photosynthesis, the plant makes sugar, and uses it to fuel its growth. Then, primary consumers eat the plants and obtain carbon. High-level consumers obtain carbon by eating the primary consumers. The consumers release carbon dioxide from respiration into the atmosphere. Plants then absorb the carbon from the air, and the cycle starts again.

What is the coldest layer?

The crust/lithosphere

What is the atmosphere?

The gaseous layer that surrounds Earth

What is the hottest layer of Earth?

The inner core

What is the core?

The innermost layer of the earth; divided into an inner and outer

What is the outer core?

The layer immediately outside the inner core; composed of liquid iron and sulfur

Carl is on an expedition to the bottom of the ocean. As the submersible sets down on the ocean floor, it is resting on what layer of the earth?

The lithosphere

Describe the nitrogen cycle.

The nitrogen cycle could start with certain bacteria in soil seperating nitrogen gas into nitrogen atoms, combining them with hydrogen, and then forming ammonia and ammonium. This process is called nitrogen fixation. After that, other bacteria changes some of the ammonium into nitrates. This is called nitrification. Plants then absorb ammonium and nitrates through their roots and use the nitrogen compounds when they make DNA and proteins in a process called assimilation. When living organisms produce waste or decompose, some bacteria convert the nitrogen that is contained into ammonium and ammonium salts in a process called ammonification. Other bacteria convert nitrates into nitrogen gas, called denitrification, allowing the nitrogen to return to the atmosphere.

The _____ store(s) more carbon than the atmosphere.

The oceans

What is the upper mantle?

The outermost layer of the two mantle layers; includes the asthenosphere and lower lithosphere; composed of solid rock, most of which flows due to convection currents within the mantle

What is seafloor spreading?

The process by which the Earth's lithospheric plates pull apart from each other, creating gaps that are filled with magma from the asthenosphere

What is convection?

The process of heat transfer by the circulation or movement of a gas, liquid, or plastic material

What is the hydrosphere?

The sphere containing all of Earth's water

What is the biosphere?

The sphere that contains all living creatures on Earth

Trace the flow of energy by numbering the following events from start to finish.

The sun emits energy, plants absorb the energy and use it for photosynthesis, a rabbit eats the plants and uses the energy for growth and respiration, a fox eats the rabbit and uses the energy for growth and respiration, the fox dies and decomposes.

Describe the hydrologic cycle.

Water evaporates, changing into water vapor and rising into the atmosphere. Since the atmosphere is cooler, the drop of water condenses, turning back into a liquid. As more water joins, the drop eventually falls to Earth's surface as precipitation and is absorbed as groundwater. The groundwater flows into a river, which then empties back into the ocean.

What is a food web?

a diagram that shows the connections among food chains in an ecosystem