Notes and Vocab words for 5-1
1. Seismic Waves Vibrations that travel in the earth carrying the energy released during an
earth quake
2. Pressure I force pressing on an area. Example as you get deeper into the earth the mass
of rock above is greater giving more pressure the further you go in.
3. Crust The layer of rock that forms Earths outer skin Layer of solid rock that includes
both dry land and the ocean floor
4. Basalt Dark rock with a fine texture. Found largely on the ocean floor
5. Granite Light colored coarse textured rock that makes up most of the land and
continents
6. Mantle Layer of the earth below the crust. Made up of rock that is very hot but solid.
Almost plastic like. Scientists have divided the mantle into layers based on the physical
characteristics of those layers. The mantle is nearly 3,000 km thick
7. Lithosphere The upper most part of the mantle and the crust together
8. Asthenosphere a very soft plastic like layer of the mantle
9. Core. Made mostly of iron and nickel it consists of two parts, a liquid outer core and a
solid inner core
10. Outer Core A layer of molten Metal that surrounds the inner core. Outer core is liquid
dispite great pressures
11. Inner Core A dense ball of solid metal. Pressure is so intense that the particles of
melted metal are pressed so tightly that they can’t spread out and they appear solid.
5-1Section assessment
1.a. it is difficult to determine the earths inner structure because it is so hot and has so much
pressure that no one can go there
1.b. Seismic waves travel at different speeds and different paths of seismic waves. These
different speeds and paths indicate different densities, solids and liquids.
2.a. The three main layers of the earth are the crust, mantle and the core
2.b. The difference between the lithosphere and the asthenosphere is that the lithosphere is solid
and the asthenosphere is more plastic like liquid. The lithosphere is located in the upper part of
the mantle and the crust. The asthenosphere is located in the lower part of the mantle
2.c. Lithosphere is a solid. Asthenosphere is a solid but able to flow slowly. The mantle is both
a solid at the surface and a slow moving plastic like liquid at the bottom. The outer core is a
molten hot melted metal liquid. The inner core is a solid only due to immense pressure