THE EARTH

What is the name of the layers of the Earth?

The Earth is made up of three different parts or layers: solid, liquid and gas. The solid part of
the Earth called the geosphere. The liquid part of the Earth is called the hydrosphere. The
gaseous part of the Earth is called the atmosphere.

Explain in the process of the movement of the air masses of the atmosphere.
The most important process in the atmosphere is the movement of air masses. An air mass
moves due to the heat absorbed from the sun. When a mass of air heated becomes lighter,
and its place is occupied by other air masses that were colder and more dense. The wind is
the movement of a mass of air from one area to another.

What is the cycle of water? What steps does it have?

The most important cycle in the hydrosphere is the water cycle. The sea water and the vapor
from perspiration of living beings, due to the heat, evaporate, rise, and condense forming
liquid water. Water falls as rain and snow. It forms rivers on the surface of the earth and
underground rivers. water returns to the sea, where the cycle begins again.

How is the cycle of formation and destruction of the rocks of the Earth crust?
the most important cycle of the geosphere is the cycle of formation and destruction of rocks.
The rocks follow a formation and destruction cycle. They are destroyed in one place and they
are formed in a different place. The formation of the rocks means the formation of
sedimentary rocks, igneous rocks and metamorphic rocks.

How do we know the composition of the solid layers of the inner Earth?
The observatories have detected changes in speed and direction of the waves produced in
an earthquake from its focus. When the waves reach a different rock layer, change its speed
and its direction. Therefore, they have come to the conclusion that the Earth is composed of
layers of different rocks.

What kind of waves occur when there is an earthquake? How are the waves
propagated in the inner part of the geosphere?
When an earthquake occurs, seismic waves propagate inside the Earth. When the waves
reach a different rock layer, change its speed and its direction.

What are the three layers of the Earth's geosphere?

The Earth's geosphere consists of three layers: crust, mantle and core.

How is the mantle of the Earth?

The mantle is the central layer. It is solid and reaches a depth of 3570 Km.

How is the Earth's core? Which parts does it have?

The core is the innermost layer of all theme. There is an outer liquid core and an inner solid
core. The temperature o the core is about 5000 oC.

Why is so high the temperature of the interior of the Earth?

What are the plates litospheric plates?

The plates are separated from each other by plate edges. A plate edge is the boundary
between two plates. Most earthquakes and volcanic phenomena occur on the plate edges.

How is the movement of the litospheric plates? Will it continue in the future?
The plate edges cam be of three types: destructive, constructive or sliding

What four evidences prove the existence and movement of the litospheric plates?
200 million year ago, all the continents were united forming a single continent called Pangea.
A large ocean called Panthalassa stretched around the continent. The continents have been
moving up to his current position. In the future the oceans and continents will continue
moving and changing position.
four evidences:
- Geographic proofs, the coast of some continents fit. In the past they had been together and
have been separated.
- Paleontological proofs: fossils of the continents that had been formerly joined are the same.
-Geological proofs: the rocks of the continents which had been joined are the same.
- Climatic proofs: the continents have been moving and they have not always had the same
climate.

Where do most geological phenomena occur? (volcanism, the formation of islands

and earthquakes).

What is a plate edge?

the plates are separated from each other by plates edge. A plate edge is the boundary
between two plates.

What happens on a destructive edge? Examples.

The lirospheric plates collide. These edge plates are called destructive because the Earth's
crust is destroyed at them. There are two cases of collision of litospheric plates: collision of
ocean plate and continental plate and collision of two continental plates.
Example in the collision between the Eurasian continental plate and the Australian oceanic
plate, the volcanic islands of Indonesia are formed.

What happens on a constructive plate edge? Examples.

At the constructive plate edges the plates separate. They called constructive because they
new earth crust is built. Example on the boundary between the Eurasian and American
plates, the lava comes out of the bottom of the ocean, forming rocks added to the ocean.

What happens on a sliding plate edge? Examples.

It happens the following process on a sliding plate. Example the San Andreas fault in
California separates the Pacific and North American plates.