Earth Science Study Guide
Answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper.
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What are the 4 layers of the Earth (in order from outermost to innermost)?
Which is the thickest (largest) layer of the Earth?
The inner core of the Earth is (circle one): solid, liquid, gas
Define the following terms:
a. Lithosphere
b. Asthenosphere
c. Oceanic plate
d. Continental plate
e. Convergent
f. Divergent
g. Transform
h. Subduction
i. Convection current
j. Tectonic plate
The theory that all continents moved from a single, large supercontinent is called what? What is the
supercontinent called?
For each formation, tell what plates are involved and at what boundary/boundaries:
a. Mid-ocean ridge
b. Rift valley
c. Mountain
d. Volcano
e. Earthquake
As seafloor spreading occurs, stripes appear in the new seafloor based on the direction that iron
particles are pointing. The same cause is the reason a compass points north. What is this cause?
What are earthquakes? What causes them? Where do they occur?
What are seismic waves? Compare and contrast primary and secondary waves.
What does a seismograph measure? What is magnitude?
What does the Richter scale measure? What does the modified Mercalli scale measure?
What are two reasons why a 7.2M earthquake might cause less damage than a 5.1 earthquake?
Compare and contrast focus and epicenter.
What is a tsunami? What causes tsunamis?
Composite volcanoes (stratovolcanoes): where are they formed? What size and shape are they?
How do they erupt? What do they erupt? What is their lava made of?
Shield volcanoes: where are they formed? What size and shape are they? How do they erupt?
What do they erupt? What is their lava made of?
Cinder cone volcanoes: what size and shape are they? How do they erupt? What do they erupt?
Compare and contrast lava flow that is rich in silica with lava low in silica. How does the presence of
silica change how the lava flows? Where does the silica come from? How does the silica get in the
magma?
How does how the lava flows affect the shape and size of each type of volcano? For example, a
composite volcano is steep sloped. Why?
Why can volcanoes occur at convergent and divergent boundaries, but not at transform boundaries?
What is the force that moves tectonic plates?
22. Lava from volcanoes moves slowly enough for people to get away from it. What are three reasons
why volcanic eruptions are still dangerous?
23. When does a volcano become extinct, which means that it will never erupt again?
24. What are the 3 different classes of rocks?
25. What processes are responsible for breaking larger rocks into smaller pieces (sediment)?
26. What processes are responsible for creating sedimentary rocks from sediment?
27. What are igneous rocks called if they form above the Earth? Inside?
28. Indiana is well known for its vast deposits of this sedimentary stone, found in lakebeds, that
contributes to southern Indiana’s vast network of caves.
29. What information can we gain from fossils?
30. Are the following objects fossils? If so, write “fossil” and a brief reason why. If not, write “no” and a
brief reason why not.
a. Pottery piece found in an ancient city
b. Casting (mold) of an ancient fish in rock
c. Dog prints in mud
d. Dinosaur tracks in rock
e. Small, extinct mammal preserved in glacial ice
31. Which layer is the oldest? Rank the fossils in age from youngest to oldest.
32. The Earth has been around for approximately 4.6 billion years. Within that space, time is split into
large and small chunks. Order the chunks in order from largest to smallest: period, age, eon,
epoch, era
33. Define the following terms:
a. Glacier
b. Cave
c. Sinkhole
34. Explain the topographical (landscape) differences in northern and southern Indiana. How did
glaciers affect these changes?
35. What is soil? How is soil made?
36. Soil can be developed or undeveloped. List 4 factors that speed up or slow down soil development.
37. What is a soil profile? How is this different from a soil horizon?
38. Which horizon contains the most humus?
39. Which layer is most responsible for the makeup of the soil?
40. Soil texture comes in 3 sizes. List them and explain which will drain water the best.