Lesson 1 - What is the Earth Made of?
The earth is made of three layers, each with different characteristics affecting the key processes of nature. The solid inner core is the densest part of the earth and is made mostly of iron. Surrounding the inner core is the outer core, or mantle, which is made up of a fluid-like rock similar to soft wax. The mantle has convecting currents that cause the continents on the crust above to shift. The crust is the thinnest and outermost layer of the earth, and the layer where life exists. The cold, rigid crust floats on top of the convecting mantle, making fault lines and shifting the continents over time, which causes earthquakes and volcanoes and has formed mountains. The Ring of Fire is a clearly defined pattern of volcanic activity - more so a horseshoe shape than a ring or circle - along the Pacific plate of the earth's crust.
Practice vocabulary with flash cards.
Lesson 2 - Rock Formations and Patterns
Rocks are continuously changing from one form to another as the earth's forces bring them to the surface and recycle them back. There are three types of rocks: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. Each type of rock can be changed into either of the other two types of rock (and even into a different form of the same type of rock) as a result of the rock cycle.
Practice vocabulary with flash cards.
Practice vocabulary with flash cards for lessons 3-6
Lesson 3 - Weathering and Erosion
Sediment is part of rock that is eroded and deposited by moving water and wind. As the force of gravity pulls water down elevated land, water will pick up sediment and carry and deposit it in another location. Sediment that is deposited at the mouth of a river that empties into the ocean forms a delta, although sediment can be deposited in a wide variety of depositional environments (such as deserts, beaches, and rivers). After being compacted over a long period of time, layers of sedimentary rock begin to form.
Lesson 4 - Mapping Earth
Geologists, the people who study earth and its many natural formations, use different kinds of maps as tools to help them in their studies. One of the most important kinds of maps geologists use are relief maps. Relief maps are not flat or two dimensional. They give a three-dimensional picture of what landforms look like and how tall they are in comparison to the other landforms around them. If you look at it from the side, parts of it will be raised up and taller than other parts. Relief maps can show mountain chains, river systems, or ocean valleys, among other land formations.
Lesson 5 - Changing Earth
After years of erosion and weathering, sediment is carried away and settles into layers at the bottom of lakes, rivers, and oceans. These layers are compressed over many years to form sedimentary rocks. New layers form on top of older layers as more sediment is deposited. Sedimentary rock layers provide information about the relative age of events in Earth's history. The bottom layer was formed first, and each horizontal layer of sedimentary rock that piles on top is younger than the last. Since the date of a layer's formation cannot be known exactly, the age of the sedimentary layers is relative, based on their order.
Lesson 6 - Living on a Changing Earth
The earth is constantly undergoing massive changes. Volcanoes spew ash into the air we breathe and lava over the ground we walk on. Earthquakes shift the ground beneath our feet. Wind tears down mountains while earth's plates crash into each other and raise more. Because of these changes to the landscapes and environments around us, scientists are always working to find solutions to the problems in the earth or other humans throw in our path.
The earth is made of three layers, each with different characteristics affecting the key processes of nature. The solid inner core is the densest part of the earth and is made mostly of iron. Surrounding the inner core is the outer core, or mantle, which is made up of a fluid-like rock similar to soft wax. The mantle has convecting currents that cause the continents on the crust above to shift. The crust is the thinnest and outermost layer of the earth, and the layer where life exists. The cold, rigid crust floats on top of the convecting mantle, making fault lines and shifting the continents over time, which causes earthquakes and volcanoes and has formed mountains. The Ring of Fire is a clearly defined pattern of volcanic activity - more so a horseshoe shape than a ring or circle - along the Pacific plate of the earth's crust.
Practice vocabulary with flash cards.
Lesson 2 - Rock Formations and Patterns
Rocks are continuously changing from one form to another as the earth's forces bring them to the surface and recycle them back. There are three types of rocks: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. Each type of rock can be changed into either of the other two types of rock (and even into a different form of the same type of rock) as a result of the rock cycle.
Practice vocabulary with flash cards.
Practice vocabulary with flash cards for lessons 3-6
Lesson 3 - Weathering and Erosion
Sediment is part of rock that is eroded and deposited by moving water and wind. As the force of gravity pulls water down elevated land, water will pick up sediment and carry and deposit it in another location. Sediment that is deposited at the mouth of a river that empties into the ocean forms a delta, although sediment can be deposited in a wide variety of depositional environments (such as deserts, beaches, and rivers). After being compacted over a long period of time, layers of sedimentary rock begin to form.
Lesson 4 - Mapping Earth
Geologists, the people who study earth and its many natural formations, use different kinds of maps as tools to help them in their studies. One of the most important kinds of maps geologists use are relief maps. Relief maps are not flat or two dimensional. They give a three-dimensional picture of what landforms look like and how tall they are in comparison to the other landforms around them. If you look at it from the side, parts of it will be raised up and taller than other parts. Relief maps can show mountain chains, river systems, or ocean valleys, among other land formations.
Lesson 5 - Changing Earth
After years of erosion and weathering, sediment is carried away and settles into layers at the bottom of lakes, rivers, and oceans. These layers are compressed over many years to form sedimentary rocks. New layers form on top of older layers as more sediment is deposited. Sedimentary rock layers provide information about the relative age of events in Earth's history. The bottom layer was formed first, and each horizontal layer of sedimentary rock that piles on top is younger than the last. Since the date of a layer's formation cannot be known exactly, the age of the sedimentary layers is relative, based on their order.
Lesson 6 - Living on a Changing Earth
The earth is constantly undergoing massive changes. Volcanoes spew ash into the air we breathe and lava over the ground we walk on. Earthquakes shift the ground beneath our feet. Wind tears down mountains while earth's plates crash into each other and raise more. Because of these changes to the landscapes and environments around us, scientists are always working to find solutions to the problems in the earth or other humans throw in our path.