6. The lithosphere is

Transcription

1 Name: APES: Geology and Nonrenewable Mineral Resources Earth Composition and Structure Webquest Date: I. Earth Structure Click on the button press here to see inside the earth Label earth s layers and their thicknesses in the box. Scroll down the page and read and the descriptions of each layer. Write a brief summary for each layer. Name Description Composition Now, scroll down to the bottom of the page and read the description of the asthenosphere and lithosphere. Draw in dashed line circles on the picture above to indicate their location. 5. The asthenosphere is 6. The lithosphere is II. Plate Tectonics Read the description and watch the animation on continental drift. 1. Has Antarctica always been at the South Pole? 2. Why do land masses change size over time? Scroll down to the map of The Earth s Major Plates. 3. What three plates affect California the most? Scroll down to Plate Tectonics 4. The plates are moving at a speed that has been estimated at to cm per year. 5. Oceanic crust is and than continental crust. 6. The upper mantle is rigid and is part of the. 7. The is a part of the upper mantle that exhibits plastic properties. Scroll down to Plate Boundaries

2 Draw in arrows to represent the movement in each type of plate boundary. Divergent Convergent Transform 8. At which type of plate boundary would you expect a plate to increase in size? 9. What happens when two oceanic plate boundaries converge? 10. What plate boundary type is mountain formation associated with? 11. When does subduction occur? 12. Which type of plate boundary do you think the San Andreas Fault is associated with? III. Plate Tectonics and our Landscape Under Table of Contents click on Plate Boundaries 1. What types of plate boundaries are you likely to find volcanoes? Click on How Plates Move 2. Draw the diagram on Convection Currents in the box below. Label where you would find divergent and convergent plate boundaries. Click on Mid Ocean Ridges 3. The Mid-Ocean Ridge system is more than kilometers long. 4. What kind of plate boundary is the Atlantic Mid-Ocean Ridge? 5. The lava cools and attaches itself to the trailing edge of each plate, forming new ocean floor crust in a process commonly known as. IV. Volcanoes 1. Describe a cinder cone: 2. How long was the Paricutin volcano active, and how high did it become?

3 3. What are some well known examples of composite volcanoes? 4. The composite volcano is built of alternating layers of, and. 5. Where could you go to see a shield volcano? 6. Which of these three types tends to be the largest? Click on How a Volcano Erupts 7. What two major ingredients determine the type of eruption? 8. What is the difference between a dormant and an extinct volcano? 9. What is the difference between an active and an intermittent volcano? V. Hot Spots 1. How does hot-spot theory explain the presence of volcanic activity far away from plate boundaries? 2. Give three well known hot spot examples. VI. Rock Cycle 1. What kind of rock does lava flow form? 2. When sedimentary rocks are squeezed and heated, what kind of new rock is formed? 3. Sedimentary rock is made of what other types of rock? Click on Step 2 play the animation through completely, then go back through step by step to answer the questions. 4. What does weather erosion produce from solid rock? 5. Click on the cloud. What are three major landscape features produced by weathering? 6. Click on the stream. What is different between large and small sediment movement? 7. Click on the sediments. Why does gravel settle to the bottom before sand and silt do? 8. Click on the compacted sediments. How does water help cement sand grains together? 9. What type of plate boundary is represented in the animation? 10. How does the movement of the plate create metamorphic rock? 11. If metamorphic rock melts completely, what does it become? VII. Of Minerals and Rocks Do a google search to find the answers to the following questions. 1. What is the definition of a mineral? 2. What is the definition of a rock?

4 3. What are the 8 most common minerals? 4. What are the 10 most common igneous rocks? 5. What are the 5 most common sedimentary rocks? 6. What are the 6 most common metamorphic rocks? Select four (one of each) minerals, igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks, and metamorphic rocks from the previous list. Do a browser search to locate information about your selected mineral. Write a brief description, and note where it is most commonly located (either geographically, or geologically). Mineral: Sedimentary Rock: Igneous Rock: Metamorphic Rock: VIII. Special interest search: The following topics are relevant and interesting. Do a browser search to locate information about each topic and write one to two sentences for each: 1. California gold mining and its environmental effects (mercury used is still present in SF Bay) 2. California earthquakes (1906 SF, 1989 Loma Prieta, etc.) (USGS website) 3. California earthquake information (how many earthquakes a day/month/year in California, what is the range in magnitude, where are most earthquakes in California located, etc.) (USGS website) 4. Tsunamis 5. Acid mine drainage 6. Mountain top removal mining for coal 7. Putting down roots in earthquake country: a. Go to Table of Contents b. Go to What should I know? Earthquake Basics

5 c. The other two sections are worth skimming: Why should I care? Southern California is Earthquake Country and What should I do? The Seven Steps to Earthquake Safety 8. Virtual Earthquake Activity This activity helps you understand earthquake waves and triangulation to find the epicenter of an earthquake