Unit 1 Study Guide
Earth’s Layers
1. What are the Earth’s layers, in order, from the surface to the center of the Earth. _________________,
____________________, _______________________, __________________________
2. As we go deeper into the Earth, the density _______________. So the crust is MORE or LESS dense
than the mantle.
3. What is the inner core made of? ________________________ What is the outer core made of?
_________________________ What is the difference between the two? ________________________
4. When drilling into earth, what is the only layer we have been able to drill into? ___________________
5. Why do scientists believe that the Earth’s inner core is solid? _________________________________
6. Starting at the surface and going into the Earth, what happens to the temperature and pressure of the
layers the deeper we travel? ___________________________________________________________
7. What is the MOHO? __________________________________________________________________
8. Put the Earth’s layers in order by temperature, from LOWEST to HIGHEST.
___________________________________________________________________________________
9. MELTED ROCKS cause high temperatures inside the Earth.
Plate Tectonics
1. Earth’s crust is broken into several _______________ that are slowly ______________ around on the
mantle.
2. When a continental plate and an oceanic plate COLLIDE, what happens?
___________________________________________________________________________________
3. Why do the continents look different than they did millions of years ago?
___________________________________________________________________________________
4. A boundary where two plates come together, or collide, is called a _____________________________.
5. There is a _____________________ boundary in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Magma erupts here.
What ocean floor feature is also created here? _____________________________________________
Describe this feature. _________________________________________________________________
6. When two continental plates collide, what landform is created? _______________________________
7. From studying fossils, we have learned how the earth has _____________________ over time.
8. How can we explain why fossils of the same kind were found on the coasts of South America & Africa,
but nowhere else? ____________________________________________________________________
9. What are the 3 types of evidence that support sea floor spreading? 1) __________________________,
2) ________________________________, 3) ____________________________________
10. What makes the plates move in plate tectonics theory? ______________________________________
11. The reversal of the magnetic fields in the north & south poles is NOT a result of sea floor spreading.
What are some things that DO result from sea floor spreading? ________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
Subsurface Topography (The Ocean Floor)
1. If you were traveling along the ocean floor from the beach, which ocean feature would you reach after
the continental shelf? ___________________________________
2. In what ocean floor feature would there be the greatest pressure exerted? (HINT: The deepest part of
the ocean is where there would be the most pressure). ______________________________________
Earthquakes & Volcanoes
1. Where do earthquakes and volcanoes tend to occur? ________________________________________
2. Why do scientists believe an earthquake is likely to happen along the San Andreas Fault in California?
____________________________________________________________________________________
3. What causes earthquakes? _____________________________________________________________
4. Earthquakes & volcanoes happen along _________________ ___________________.
5. When an earthquake happens off the coast (on the ocean floor) what is likely to happen as a result of
this earthquake disturbing the ocean? ____________________________________________________
6. Stress will build until an earthquake happens if friction along a fault is HIGH.
7. When molten rock is forced up to the surface, what is the result? ______________________________
8. How were the Hawaiian Islands formed? __________________________________________________
9. Active volcanoes are constantly erupting. When they erupt they make new ________________,
because the lava cools and hardens.
My child studied this study guide this week in preparation for their test on September 12th.
Please sign each night you study with your child.
Parent Signature _______________________________________
Date_________________
Parent Signature _______________________________________
Date_________________
Parent Signature _______________________________________
Date_________________