VI.

 Summary/Synthesis/Feedback
•

 The Earth is composed of three major layers: the crust, mantle, and

core which is subdivided into outer an dinner core.
•

 The crust is the outermost and thinnest layer of the Earth.

•

 The mantle is the middle layer of the

Earth. It makes most of the Earth’s
volume and mass.
•

 The crust and a part of the upper mantle make up the lithosphere.

The lithosphere is subdivided into portions called lithospheric plates.
 
•

 The asthenosphere is the weak layer of the mantle on which the

lithosphere floats.
•

 The outer core is made up of molten material and accounts for the
Earth’s magnetic field.
•

 The inner core is the deepest layer of the Earth. It is made up of

solid nickel and iron. The temperature in the inner core reaches as
high as5000oC.
•

 The speed, reflection and refraction properties of seismic waves

are used by scientists to study the structure and composition of
the
Earth’s interior.
•

 The Continental Drift Theory of Alfred Wegener states that

the continents were once part of a large landmass called Pangaea
which drifted away from each other. The continents moved away
from each other towards their current positions.
•

 Alfred Wegener based his theory one evidences from fossils

imbedded in rocks and rock formations.
•

 Seafloor spreading is believed to occur as hot magma rises at the rift in

the mid-ocean ridge. This magma cools down and becomes the new
seafloor as it pushes the former.
•
 The old seafloor is destroyed at the subduction zone and
melts inside the mantle.
•

 The age of rocks and the magnetic stripes in the ocean floor support

the Seafloor Spreading Theory.
•

 The Theory of Plate Tectonics helps explain the formation and

destruction of the Earth’s crust and
its movement over time.
Scientists believe that the plates’
movement is due to convection currents in the mantle.
 According to the plate tectonics model, the entire lithosphere of
the Earth is broken into numerous segments called plates
• Each plate is slowly but
Continuously moving.
• As a result of the motion of the plates,
three types of plate boundaries
 were formed: Divergent, Convergent

GRADE 10 SCIENCE (EARTH SCIENCE) FIRST QUARTER

Magma
 is a mass of molten rock formed at depth, including dissolved gases and
crystals.
MODULE 1:PLATE TECTONICS Mid-ocean ridge
 A continuous mass of land with long width and height on the ocean floor.
Plates
 rigid sections of the lithosphere that move as a unit• According to the
plate tectonics model, the entire lithosphere of the Earth is broken into
numerous segments called
plates.
• Each plate is slowly but continuously moving• As a result of the motion
of the plates, three types of plate boundaries were formed:
Divergent, Convergent,and Transform
 Fault boundaries.•
Divergent boundary
 isformed when platesmove apart, creating azone of
tension.
•
Convergent boundary
 ispresent when two
plates collide.
•
Transform fault
 ischaracterized by platesthat are sliding past eachother.• Plate
tectonics give riseto several geologicfeatures and events.
Glossary of TermsContinental volcanic arcmountains
formed in part by igneousactivity associatedwith subduction of
oceaniclithospherebeneath a continent A
convergent boundary
 is a boundary in whichtwo plates move towardeach other, causingone of
the slabs of thelithosphere to subductbeneath an overridingplate
Crust
 the outer portion ofthe earth
Continental Crust
 is thethick part of theEarth’s crust, not locatedunder the ocean
Plate tectonics
 a theorythat suggeststhat Earth’s crust is
madeup of plates
 thatinteract in various ways,thus producing
earthquakes
,
mountains
,
volcanoes
, andother geologic features
Primary (P) waves
 are thefirst type of seismicwave to be recorded in aseismic station
Rocks
consolidatedmixture of minerals
Secondary (S) wave
 thesecond type of earthquake wave to berecorded in a seismicstation
A seismogram
 is a recordmade by aseismographSeismograph a deviceused to
recordearthquake waves
A subduction
 is an eventin which a slab of rockthrusts into the mantle
Transform fault
 boundarya boundaryproduced when two platesslide past eachother 
Trench
 a depression inthe seafloor produced by thesubduction process
Volcanic Island arc
 achain of volcanoesthat develop parallel to atrenchMODULE 2:
THE EARTH’S INTERIOROceanic Crust
 the thinpart of the Earth’scrust located under theoceans