Key Vocabulary Terms

core - dense center of the earth made of solid and melted metals
mantle - layer of the earth that surrounds the core
crust - outer layer of the earth
continental drift - theory that the major landmasses of the earth move.
pangaea - single landmass from which Alfred Wegener thought the continents separated millions of years ago.
sea-floor spreading - theory that the ocean floor spreads apart as new crust is formed at mid-ocean ridges.
plate tectonics - theory that the earth's surface is made of large sections of crust that move.
plate - large section of the earth's crust that moves.
convection current - circular motion of a gas or liquid as it heats.

Key Concepts

The core is at the earth's center; it is dense and made of iron and nickel. The mantle surrounds the core; it is churning rock, molten in places. The crust is very thin and comparatively cold; it makes up the continents and ocean floor.
The theory of continental drift states that the earth's continents were once joined as a single large landmass called Pangaea. Millions of years ago, Pangaea broke up and the continents slowly moved to their present positions.
Mid-ocean ridges probably formed where tectonic plates pull apart, allowing magma to ooze out and harden into a ridge. As more magma comes out, this ridge is pushed apart and built up.
Plate tectonics is the theory states that the earth's crust is made of large sections, or plates, that collide, move apart, or slide past each other.
The Earth's plates move because hot rock in the mantle move in a circular pattern because of convection currents. The continents are dragged in the direction of these currents, as though on conveyor.

Did you learn these Objectives?

Are you able to identify thy? earth's layers.
Can you explain continental drift, sea-floor spreading, and plate tectonics?

Lesson 2 "Volcanoes"

Key Vocabulary Terms

volcano - mountain that develops where magma pushes up through the earth's surface.
vent - round opening through which magma reaches the surface of the earth.
cinder cone - small volcano with steep sides and explosive eruptions; made of ash and rock.
shield volcano - low, broad volcano with a wide crater; formed from thin layers of lava.
composite volcano - tall volcano; formed from quiet lava flows that alternate with eruptions of ash and rock.

Key Concepts

A volcano is a mountain that develops where magma erupts onto the earth's surface.
Most volcano form where two tectonic plates meet.
A cinder cone volcano has steep sides, narrow base,height less than 500 meters, explosive eruptions, made of ash and rock.
A shield volcano is low, broad, with a wide crater, shaped like a warrior's shield, quiet eruptions, made of thin layers of basalt lava.
Composite bolcanoes form from gentle eruptions, which form broad, thin layers of lava, alternate with violent eruptions, which build rocky layers with steeper slopes.

Did you learn these Objectives?

Can you explain how volcanoes form?
Are you able to describe three types of volcanoes?

Lesson 3 "Mountains"

Key Vocabulary Terms

folding - bending of rock layers that are squeezed together.
fault - break in the earth's crust along which movement occurs.
normal fault - break in the crust in which the overhanging block of rock has slid down.
reverse fault - break in the crust in which the overhanging block of rock has been raised.
strike-slip fault - break in the crust in which the blocks of rock move horizontally past each other.

Key Concepts

Not all mountains form the same way in some an ocean plate may sink beneath a continental plate causing volcanic mountains to form; in another two plates may collide beneath an ocean, causing volcanic islands or seamounts. two continental plates may collide and fold, or a squeezed plate may fold in the middle. Movement along a fault may raise blocks of rock, forming mountains.
Folding is bending and crumpling of rock layers that are squeezed together.
A fault is a deep break in the earth's crust along which movement occurs.
In a reverse fault, two sides of a fault push together so that the overhanging rock is pushed up. In a strike-slip fault, the two sides of the fault slide against each other horizontally.
Normal faults results when two blocks of rock pull apart and the overhanging rock on one side drops down. A reverse fault occurs when two blocks of rock push together and the overhanging rock on one side is raised.

Did you learn these Objectives?

Can you describe two ways that mountains form in addition to volcanoes?
Are you able to identify forces that cause mountains to form?
Are you able to name three types of movement along faults?

Investigation 13-1 "Making Models of Folding and Faults" (Optional, must complete 16 total investigations)

Key Concepts

You will model the movement of rock layers were folding and faults occur using phone books.

Lesson 4 "Earthquakes"

Key Vocabulary Terms

earthquake - shaking of the earth's crust.
seismograph - instrument that detects and records earthquake waves.
focus - point inside the earth where rock first moves, starting an earthquake.
epicenter - Point on the earth's surface directly over the focus of an earthquake.
richter scale - Scale used to measure the strength of an earthquake.
tsunami - large sea wave caused by vibrations of the earth.

Key Concepts

An earthquake is the shaking of the earth's crust as energy in suddenly released.
A seismograph is used to measure earthquake waves.
All three kinds of earthquakes send out waves that travel through rocks in the earth's surface. P-waves travel fastest and make rock particles vibrate back and forth. S-waves travel slower and make rocks vibrate up and down. L-waves travel slowest and move along the surface of the earth, causing it to bend and twist.
The Richter scale uses seismograph readings to assign an earthquake a number from 1 to 9. Each number on the scale represents a tenfold increase in earthquake strength.
The effect that an earthquake has is determined by the strength of the earthquake and the distance from its epicenter.

Did you learn these Objectives?

Are you able to explain what causes earthquakes?
Can you describe earthquake waves and explain what a seismograph does?
Can you explain how an earthquake is located and how its strength is measured?

Investigation 13-2 "Locating an Earthquake" (Optional, must complete 16 total investigations)

Key Concepts

You will make a map that pinpoints the source of an earthquake.

Chapter Summary and Review

See pages 330 - 331

Chapter 13 Review answers are

1. earthquake

2. folding

3. seismograph

4. sea-floor spreading

5. epicenter

6. continental drift

7. convection current

8. plate tectonics

9. mantle

10. fault

11. C

12. A

13. B

14. Cinder cone- small, steep sides, narrow base, explosive eruptions, made of rock and ash; shield - low, broad, wide create, gentle eruptions, made of layers of lava;; composite - wide base, steep upper slopes, tall, both alternating rock layers and lava layers.

15. Layers of the earth fold; volcanic material builds up at eruption sites; fault movements rise large blocks of rock.

16. strength or magnitude of earthquake tremors.

17. A strike - slip; b reverse; C normal.

18. Mountains form, volcanoes erupt, earthquakes occur, and new ocean crust forms where tectonic plate boundaries move and release energy.

19. Tsunamis would be larger, more powerful, and more destructive the closer they are to the epicenter of an earthquake when they strike land. the effect of tsunamis also depends on the strength of the earthquake.

20. the Ring of Fire marks the boundaries of tectonic plates that are actively grinding against each other or being forced one under the other. this tectonic activity may cause magma to reach the crust's surface, forming a volcano.