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Astronomy Today, 9th Edition Instructor Guide
Chapter 7: Earth Our Home in Space

Chapter 7: Earth
Our Home in Space

Outline

7.1 Overall Structure of Planet Earth

7.2 Earth’s Atmosphere
7.3 Earth’s Interior
7.4 Surface Activity
7.5 Earth’s Magnetosphere
7.6 The Tides

Summary

Chapter 7 sets the stage for our discussion of the terrestrial planets by describing the Earth as a planet. The
chapter follows a distinctive structure. After discussing the overall properties of the planet from space in Section
1, Section 2 describes the Earth’s atmosphere. Then, Section 3 details Earth’s interior, along with the methods
used to discover its structure. Section 4 describes Earth’s ever-changing surfaces, with all the forces that shape
and change it. Section 5 deals with the Earth’s magnetic field, how it protects us, and how it is generated. The
chapter concludes with a discussion of tidal forces and their effect on Earth. This is a nice bridge to the next
chapter on Earth’s Moon.

Major Concepts

 Overall Appearance
 Atmosphere of Earth
 Composition
 Layers
 Convection
 Ozone
 Greenhouse Effect
 Origin and Evolution of the Atmosphere
 Earth’s Interior
 Using Seismic Waves
 Layers
 Differentiation
 Earth’s surface
 Effects of Plate Tectonics
 Causes of Plate Tectonics
 Magnetosphere
 Van Allen belts
 Aurorae
 Tides and the Tidal Force

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Astronomy Today, 9th Edition Instructor Guide
Chapter 7: Earth Our Home in Space

Teaching Suggestions and Demonstrations

Section 7.1

You may be surprised at how few students have actually studied a picture of the Earth, let alone a three-
dimensional globe. For this section of the text, you will find it extremely helpful to have both on hand to
supplement the pictures in the text. If you plan to show a globe with geographical relief, be sure to tell the
students that the true surface feature heights, if they were to scale, would be un-noticeable. In fact, if the Earth
were the size of a bowling ball, the surface would be as smooth as a bowling ball, even when considering the
heights of the tallest mountains and the depths of the deepest ocean.

As the authors state in the “Big Picture” statement for Chapter 7, this is a very important chapter, because it
establishes a baseline of information for the process of comparative planetology. Don’t be afraid to spend a lot of
time in this chapter treating the Earth as a planet. You’ll be introducing ideas that will recur throughout the
discussions of the planets.

The text is structured so that each planet has its own chapter. Some may decry this approach as inefficient, but it
affords an opportunity to teach using a “spiral” approach, returning to key ideas over and over again. While it is
indeed possible to spend a class session talking about, for example, planetary interiors in general, comparing and
contrasting the interiors of all the inner planets in one lesson, this could lead to a situation where students can’t
tell one planet from the other, because they were all discussed on the same day. On the other hand, talking about
each planet in turn allows you to explore the theme of planetary interiors no less than five times (including the
Moon). This will help to reinforce basic principles through repetition and afford students time to reflect on what
they are learning over the course of a few weeks. Accordingly, you may want to keep your class discussions
“parallel,” talking about the atmosphere, interior, and surface of each planet in that order, to facilitate
comparisons.

Section 7.2

Earth’s atmosphere is diagrammed in Figure 7.2. Call this figure to the students’ attention and ask them why they
think the layers are divided as they are. What, for instance, determines the line between the stratosphere and the
mesosphere? Be sure to point out the blue line snaking its way through the diagram, and explain briefly what it
means. Students should soon realize that changes in temperature are a primary consideration in determining the
layers of the atmosphere. For instance, in the troposphere, the temperature decreases with increasing altitude, but
in the stratosphere the opposite is true.

DEMO—You can use a meter stick to help students understand the range in surface temperature for the various
planets. You can use a scale of 1 cm = 10 K, for a range from 0 to 1000 K. Have two adjustable markers for
HIGH and LOW to indicate the high and low temperatures at the surface for a planet. This can also be done by
making a transparency of the thermometer and a second overlay transparency that shows the specific high and low
for the object. Have your “thermostat” on hand as each object is discussed. This is a nice visual aid while
presenting the reasons for the temperature range. For the Earth, set the high to 320 K (32 cm on the meter stick)
and the low to 210 K (at 21 cm). Note that for a planet with an atmosphere, the temperature varies widely with
altitude, so we generally use the temperature at the surface.

DEMO—You can also use a 2-m stick (or two meter sticks taped together) to illustrate the scale of the Earth’s
atmosphere, with a scale of 1 cm = 1 km. The Earth would be larger than a football field at this scale.

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Astronomy Today, 9th Edition Instructor Guide
Chapter 7: Earth Our Home in Space

5 cm Half the atmosphere lies below this level

8 cm The tallest mountain, Mt. Everest
9–12 cm Cruising altitude of jet airliners
10 cm 90% of the atmosphere is below this level
15 cm Top of the troposphere; most of the weather occurs
below this level
24 cm Altitude record for a jet, set by SR-71
30 cm 99% of the atmosphere is below this level
15–50 cm Stratosphere
20–50 cm Location of the ozone layer
50–90 cm Mesosphere
90–200 cm Thermosphere
200 cm Low Earth Orbit satellites and Space Shuttle

Be sure to include discussions of the greenhouse effect and global warming on Earth as they are widely debated
topics and therefore relevant concepts for students to understand. Be sure to note that the greenhouse gasses
currently in the atmosphere actually help make life on Earth possible by keeping the average temperature above
freezing. However, increases in the concentration of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere could be causing
temperatures to rise (see the graphs in Discovery 7-1). Bring in current journal or newspaper articles to share with
students or ask them to find and bring in articles of their own. This is one area in which their study of astronomy
will have a direct impact on their understanding of current events. Be sure to emphasize the difference here
between fact and theory. Increasing global temperatures are a measured fact; that greenhouse gasses from human
activity is the primary cause is a theory to explain that fact.

Emphasize the role that plants play in creating and maintaining the oxygen component of the atmosphere.
Students may think that rainforests are the main contributors to this, but in reality the humblest of plants, algae,
are most important. Note that plants take in water, carbon dioxide, and sunlight and give off oxygen. When we
burn plants, we consume oxygen and release what plants originally absorbed: water, carbon dioxide, and energy
that originally came from the Sun. Since “fossil fuels” are ancient plant matter, all of our cars are “solar
powered!” Of course, the process of releasing this energy also releases the greenhouse gasses water vapor and
carbon dioxide, which may pose a long-term threat. The greenhouse effect will come up again when we discuss
Venus in Chapter 9.

Questions may arise concerning holes in the ozone layer. It is certainly worthwhile to spend part of a lecture
discussing how the ozone layer is affected by man-made chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). One of
the advantages offered by CFCs is that they are inert. This fact, though helpful for many commercial applications,
is responsible for their ability to rise high into the atmosphere, where they are broken down by high-energy
sunlight into constituents that are capable of destroying the naturally occurring ozone molecules. Students may
ask why the holes are above the poles, where human habitation and CFC use are rare. This is an opportunity to
discuss circulation patterns in the Earth’s atmosphere. Ozone destruction is accelerated by cold, dry conditions,
such as those found at the poles. Therefore, when atmospheric circulation brings airborne CFCs from inhabited
areas to the polar regions, ozone levels can weaken so much that “holes” arise.

Section 7.3

If you have not yet introduced and demonstrated the concept of density, this is a good time to do so. Since
different materials have their own distinctive densities, density is a valuable tool for plumbing the depths of the
3
Earth. Have the students compare the average density of the Earth (5500 kg/m ) with the density of materials on

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Astronomy Today, 9th Edition Instructor Guide
Chapter 7: Earth Our Home in Space

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the surface (2000–3000 kg/m ). Try to lead them to the conclusion that the only way there can be such a big
difference between these two numbers is to have a large amount of very dense material hidden away in the center.
While we certainly cannot exclude the possibility of some exotic material at the center, common materials such as
iron and nickel can meet the requirements.

DEMO—The phenomenon of differentiation can be demonstrated with a mixture of materials at different

densities, such as unfiltered water from a lake. Shake up the dirty water so that it is well-mixed (“homogeneous”)
and then set it down on a table or desk. Ask the students to explain why the dirt settles to the bottom. Try to steer
them away from words like “heavier” and emphasize density. Be sure to note that lower density materials rise
because they are being pushed out of the way by denser materials, and have no place to go but up. Emphasize the
need for material to be in a non-solid state for differentiation to occur by asking students if the dirty water would
still separate if it is frozen. Thus, differentiation stopped in the Earth’s crust when it solidified, trapping small
amounts of dense materials like iron and gold. Homemade salad dressing (without emulsifiers to “prop up” the
materials) could also serve as a demonstration of differentiation, as would a mixture of cooking oil, water, and
barbeque sauce!

DEMO—Just as in Chapter 3, a Slinky can be used to demonstrate the two types of seismic waves. Just be sure
to oscillate the Slinky on the floor and not in the air, to keep from ruining it!

It’s a good idea to spend some time with Figure 7.8, talking with students about how density and temperature
change with each layer of the Earth. Especially note the sudden change in density as we go from the mantle to the
core. This is a powerful indicator of an abrupt change in composition. Also note the steady rise in temperature as
we travel through the mantle, causing a temperature gradient. Compare this to the temperature change in the
troposphere, and note the role that a temperature gradient plays in creating convection. This “boiling” of the
mantle will be important in the next section. Finally, ask the students how it can be possible that the inner core
can be solid and still be so hot. Hopefully students will note the effects of pressure; point out to them that the
course will be full of examples how pressure plays as great a role as temperature in determining what phase
material will be in.

DEMO—To demonstrate convection, which is responsible for driving the plates, add a couple of drops of food
coloring to water in a clear beaker and set it on a hot plate. A “lava lamp” can also serve this purpose.

Section 7.4

Since the solid crust of the Earth is less dense than the semi-solid mantle beneath it, the crust literally floats on the
mantle, the way ice or Styrofoam floats in water. The boiling action in the mantle is the driving force moving this
floating crust around in the process of plate tectonics. Discuss areas where plates interact by coming together,
spreading apart, and scraping against each other, and the surface features these interactions are responsible for.
Mention to students that you will be searching for these telltale signs of plate tectonics on the surfaces of other
planets.

Section 7.5

The electromagnetic and gravitational forces are very often confused and even referred to interchangeably by
some people, so don’t assume students know the difference. There are many demonstrations of magnetic fields
available to support physics classes and some of these can be quite useful here to remind astronomy students of a
few basic properties of magnetic fields. The form of a dipole field and the effects of a magnetic field on moving
charged particles are the two most important concepts to demonstrate.

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Astronomy Today, 9th Edition Instructor Guide
Chapter 7: Earth Our Home in Space

DEMO—Get out a bar magnet and iron filings for the first demonstration. Iron filings encased in plastic can be
used with an overhead projector. Place a bar magnet on it, shake a bit, and there it is, the outline of the field. Show
how two magnetic fields interact and how there is no interaction between a magnet and a non-magnetic object.

DEMO—The second demonstration really depends on the equipment that is available. You need a source of
moving electrons. This can be something as simple as a cathode ray tube or any plasma discharge tube. Bring a
strong magnet near where the beam hits the screen and look for the beam to move. Change the pole of the magnet
used and demonstrate again. Now ask your students why a magnet should affect moving charged particles. Since
they just saw that magnetic fields only interact with other magnetic fields, they (hopefully) will conclude that the
moving charged particles must have a magnetic field. This can be shown to be true by making a very simple
electromagnet. Wind some copper wire around an iron nail and attach one end to a battery to create an
electromagnet. Make this in front of the class so they can see how simple it is.

To show some of the very real effects from the magnetic fields surrounding our planet, show movies of the aurora
borealis and/or aurora australis. Point out Figure 7.20, which shows an aurora from two different perspectives.
Ask the students if any of them have seen an aurora. The class (and even you!) may be surprised to hear just how
far away from the poles an aurora can be seen. Stress that the particles that electrify the atmosphere come from the
solar wind, so activity on the Sun can affect the lightshow on Earth.

Section 7.6

The tides are unfamiliar to many students who do not live near coastal areas. Even for those students who
regularly experience tides, they are usually at a loss to explain how there can be two high and two low tides each
day, since this would imply simultaneous high tides on opposite sides of the Earth, as seen in Figure 7.21. If the
concept of the Moon pulling the tide on the Earth is known at all by students, it usually results in them saying
there must be one high tide on the side facing the Moon and one low tide on the opposite side of the Earth.
Various demonstrations, such as rubber rings (dog toys) and small inflated inner tubes, can be used to show the
effects of tides. The rings or tubes are pulled on one side and become elliptically shaped like the tidal pattern. But
students often find these unconvincing because they want to know who or what is holding the other side of the
Earth to stretch it into this shape! It is a valid question.

A very important point to make to students regarding the tides caused by the Moon is that the important quantity
is the difference in gravitational force between the surface of the Earth facing the Moon, the center of the Earth,
and the side of the Earth opposite the Moon. The sheer size of the pull is not nearly as important as this difference.
The difference in forces is caused by the difference in distance from the Moon at each of the points. The following
simplified example may help. Imagine that the absolute strengths of the gravitational pull felt by points at three
different distances are as follows:

3 4 5

Now we can imagine what those forces feel like, relative to the pull at the center. From that perspective, there
appear to be two conflicting pulls:

3 – 4 = -1 4–4=0 5–4=1

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Astronomy Today, 9th Edition Instructor Guide
Chapter 7: Earth Our Home in Space

An alternate explanation (in conjunction with Figure 7.21a) would be to tell the students that first, the water on
the side of the Earth facing the Moon feels a stronger pull that the center of the Earth, so it is effectively “pulled”
away from the Earth’s surface. This creates the tide on the side facing the Moon. The other tide is created by the
fact that the water on the side opposite the Moon feels a weaker pull that the center of the Earth, so the Earth itself
is effectively “pulled” away from the water on the side opposite the Moon, leaving that water behind. Bulges are
thus created on opposite sides of the Earth. An observer on the side facing the Moon sees a high tide because the
water is moving upward toward the Moon, but to the observer on the opposite side, there is a high tide because the
beach is effectively sinking! Understanding the tides is a real challenge to the students’ abstract visualization
skills, so be sure to take it slow, and use lots of visuals.

Because the tidal force is a differential force, an object has to have a substantial diameter, and be rather close to
another object, to feel a tidal force. This is why the space shuttle doesn’t have to worry about tidal forces (it is too
small), and also why tides from the Sun are less important than lunar tides (the Sun is so far away that every point
on Earth is in pretty much the same place). Ask the students to guess which is greater, the gravitational force of
the Moon on Earth or that of the Sun on Earth. Then do the calculation to show that the Sun’s force is greater.
(After all, we orbit the Sun, not the Moon!) Why then, ask the students, are the high and low tides mainly
determined by the Moon? The Moon is closer, so the diameter of the Earth is more significant to the Moon, and
the ratio of the forces it exerts on the two sides of Earth is greater than the corresponding ratio for the Sun.

A formula for the strength of a tidal pull can easily be shown using a little calculus and Newton’s law of gravity.
With greater difficulty the same result can be obtained using algebra. Although mathematical explanations may
not be as satisfying to some students, it is nonetheless another approach to help them understand the reason for the
two high and two low tides. If you have the time and the students have the background, you can use the calculus
approach:
GMm dF 2GMm
F 2
so 
r dr r3

In this case, dF is the difference in force between the near side and the far side of the body feeling the tidal force,
M is the mass of the body exerting the tidal force, r is the distance between the two bodies, m is a small mass
element on either side of the body feeling the tidal forces, and dr is the difference in distance between the two
sides. In other words, dr is the diameter of the object feeling the tidal force. Rearranging the equation gives

2GMmdr
dF 
r3

It is common to say that the tidal force dF falls off with the cube of the distance. Sometimes, the acceleration due
to the tidal force is calculated by dividing both sides by the small mass element m.

For a system like the Earth and Moon, the only difference between the tidal pull on the Moon produced by the
Earth, and the tidal pull on the Earth due to the Moon, is the term dr. Since the Earth is 4 times bigger than the
Moon, the tidal pull on the Earth is actually 4 times bigger than it is on the Moon. However, the degree of tidal
distortion will also depend on the surface gravity of the body. Since the Moon’s surface gravity is 6 times weaker
than the Earth’s, the net effect is greater on the Moon.

While the formula above is a convenient way to find the strength of the tidal force, it is not necessary. The tidal
force can simply be calculated by first calculating the force on the near side of the object and the force on the far
side, and subtracting one from the other:

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Astronomy Today, 9th Edition Instructor Guide
Chapter 7: Earth Our Home in Space

GMm GMm
Fnear  and Ffar 
 r  r   r  r 
2 2

All the variables mean what they did before, except this time r is the radius of the object. We subtract these two
forces and get

 1 1 
dF  Fnear  Ffar  GMm   2
  r  r   r  r  
2

We can simplify the term in brackets, bearing in mind that terms involving multiples of ∆r are going to be very
small, and get essentially the same result as above:

GMm  4r  2GMmdr

dF   since 4 (radius) = 2 (diameter)
r3 r3

The Earth-Moon distance, r, is measured from the center of the Moon to the center of the Earth. dr is the diameter
of the Earth. Thus, the tidal force appears to be the same on both sides of the Earth (toward or away from the
F
Moon). The size of the tidal force, , is about 0.034 or 3% as stated in the text.
F

There is a problem in the text involving tidal forces. If you want to have an emphasis on tidal forces in your
course and have students do these calculations, you can give them the calculus-derived formulae above.

Relevant Lecture Tutorials

Earth’s Changing Surface, p. 101
Greenhouse Effect, p. 105

Student Writing Questions

1. What are some of the natural catastrophic events that occur on Earth that affect life? How often do these
occur? Does life survive these events? What about specific species?

2. Identify and discuss at least six different features of the Earth that indicate the Earth is very old. Don’t
just include methods for actual age dating, find properties of the Earth that must have taken place over a
long period of time. Giving more than six features will count as extra credit.

3. Describe what you might see if you were standing at your current location on Earth one million years ago
and 100 million years ago. Describe your location one billion years ago.

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Astronomy Today, 9th Edition Instructor Guide
Chapter 7: Earth Our Home in Space

Chapter Review Answers

REVIEW AND DISCUSSION

3 3
1. The density of water is 1000 kg/m and the density of rock is typically 3000 kg/m . Since the average
3
density of the Earth is 5500 kg/m , the interior of the Earth must be made up of high-density material (8000
3
to 10,000 kg/m ) such as iron and nickel, in order to “bring the average up.”

2. P- and S-waves are seismic waves that move outward from the site of an earthquake. P-waves, or pressure
waves, alternately expand and compress the material through which they move, just as sound waves do.
They move through both liquids and solids. S-waves are shear waves that vibrate material perpendicular to
the wave motion. They move more slowly than P-waves and move only through solids. Both types of wave
travel faster through denser and hotter materials. These waves carry information about not only the
earthquake that produces them, but also the material through which they have traveled. Therefore, when
waves from earthquakes travel through the Earth’s interior, properties of those waves, such as their intensity
and speed, are changed by the materials they pass through. By seeing exactly how those properties change,
geologists can determine the nature of the material in the interior: density, temperature, and whether the
material in that layer is in a solid or non-solid state.

3. The greenhouse effect is a process that allows the Earth’s atmosphere to retain heat. Sunlight passes through
the atmosphere and is absorbed by the surface and turns to “heat”, or infrared radiation, which leaves the
surface. But infrared radiation cannot pass easily through the atmosphere and back into space because it is
absorbed and re-radiated in a random direction by “greenhouse gases,” such as carbon dioxide and water
vapor. The heat gets absorbed and re-radiated many times until by random chance it can escape into space.
The Earth’s surface is about 40 K warmer than it would be without this effect. On airless bodies like the
Moon, infrared radiation escapes into space as soon as it is radiated.

4. First, molten lava from volcanoes tells us that a large amount of material inside the Earth is liquid. Second,
S-waves from earthquakes cannot pass through liquid materials, and observations of seismic waves that
have passed through the interior of the Earth are lacking in S-waves.

5. The interior of the Earth is structured in layers, with high-density materials near the center and low-density
materials near the surface. The process of differentiation has created this situation, with high-density
materials sinking to the center and pushing lower density materials upward. However, differentiation can
only work if the materials have freedom of movement; thus, a differentiating object cannot be in the solid
state. The Earth’s differentiated structure, therefore, indicates the Earth was mostly liquid in its past.

6. Convection is the rising of hot material through cooler material, which sinks. (a) In the Earth’s atmosphere
it transports heat from the surface into the upper atmosphere and is responsible for many of the weather
patterns in the troposphere. (b) In the Earth’s interior it causes the liquid magma in the mantle to be in
constant motion, and promotes volcanism and plate tectonics. (c) Convection inside the Earth drives
volcanism and plate tectonics, which are two of the major agents of change on the Earth’s surface.

7. As radioactive elements break down into non-radioactive elements, they give off energy in form of gamma
rays, as well as particles that collide with other materials to produce heat. Due to differentiation, the core of
the Earth is rich in high density radioactive elements such as cobalt and uranium. As these elements decay,
a process which continues to this day, large amounts of heat are produced. The rock of the crust is such a
good insulator that much of this heat remains in the interior of the Earth. Although many of the Earth’s
original radioactive materials have decayed, some still remain, and continue to heat the Earth’s interior.
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Astronomy Today, 9th Edition Instructor Guide
Chapter 7: Earth Our Home in Space

8. The process of plate tectonics is the cause of mountains, trenches, and most other surface features of the
Earth. Mountain ranges are often created when plates collide with each other, pushing up parts of one or
both plates into mountains. If a colliding plate slides under another plate—a process called subduction—an
oceanic trench can form on the lower altitude plate even as mountains form on the higher altitude plate.
When plates pull apart, they form rifts that allow new material to rise up from the mantle, thus forming
volcanic mountain chains and ridges.

9. A dynamo needs a large amount of an electrically conducting substance, preferably in the liquid state, and
that material must be in motion, such as motion due to rapid rotation. Earth’s interior meets both these
standards, and the dynamo in Earth’s interior is responsible for the planet’s magnetic field.

10. A planet’s magnetosphere is that region around a planet where the planet’s magnetic field has an important
influence. Magnetic fields can capture and trap charged particles, and the Earth’s magnetic field has trapped
charged particles from space in structures called the Van Allen Belts. Satellites during the early years of
space travel detected the fast moving particles in the Van Allen Belts. The magnetosphere especially traps
charged particles given off by the Sun, mostly electrons and protons. If not for the Earth’s magnetic field,
these high speed particles would bombard the Earth’s surface and threaten life on Earth.

11. Magma welling up from the Earth’s mantle contains pieces of iron and other magnetic materials. As the
magma cools on the surface, those metal fragments orient themselves along lines of magnetic field and then
preserve a record of that field when the lava solidifies. Rocks that cooled off at different times have
different orientations, revealing the shifts in the magnetic field. The Earth’s magnetic field appears to
reverse itself every 500,000 to one million years. The magnetic field weakens or disappears briefly, which
would remove the “shield” that protects the Earth’s surface from high energy particles from space.
Although not necessarily fatal to life, these particles could induce evolutionary changes through
reproductive mutations.

12. The Moon’s gravity pulls more strongly on the side of the Earth facing the Moon than it does the center of
the Earth. Thus, water on this side is pulled away from the Earth, creating a tidal bulge. Likewise, the
Moon’s gravity pulls more weakly on the far side of the Earth, than it does the center of the Earth.
Therefore, the Earth moves toward the Moon, leaving the water on the far side behind, and creating another
tidal bulge on the side opposite the Moon. The result is two high tides created by the Moon on these two
sides of the Earth. The areas of the Earth perpendicular to the tidal bulges experience low tides, as the water
is pulled away from these areas into the tidal bulges.

13. The Moon would experience stronger tides than on Earth because of the Moon’s weaker surface gravity; the
tidal force from the Earth is actually weaker due to the Moon’s smaller size. Since the Moon rotates once
during each orbit, the tidal bulges would not appear to move relative to the surface of the Moon. Thus, two
parts of the Moon would be in constant “high tide,” and there would be no variation in water level at a given
location.

14. Even without the Moon, the Earth would still experience tides from the Sun. Since the Earth is small
compared to its distance from the Sun, the solar tides are half of the lunar tides or one third of the total tides
experienced now. So even without the Moon we would know about the tides, although they would be much
smaller and weaker.

15. Currently, the greenhouse effect keeps the temperature of the Earth mostly above the freezing point of water
and quite likely helps make life possible. So it is currently quite helpful. However, an enhanced greenhouse
effect could potentially raise the temperature of the Earth to the point of being detrimental to life. A higher

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Astronomy Today, 9th Edition Instructor Guide
Chapter 7: Earth Our Home in Space

temperature would melt the ice caps, flood most coastal regions, and significantly change the weather on
Earth in ways that are difficult to predict.

CONCEPTUAL SELF-TEST

1. B
2. D
3. A
4. C
5. B
6. B
7. C
8. B
9. D
10. B

PROBLEMS

1. The volume of the atmosphere is the surface area of the Earth times the thickness of the atmosphere, which
 
2 3
is 4 6.378 106  7500  3.8 1018 m . This volume multiplied by the density will give the total mass
18 3 3 18
of the atmosphere. m = V × Density = 3.8 × 10 m × 1.3 kg/m = 5.0 × 10 kg. The mass of the Earth is
24 −7
5.97 × 10 kg; dividing this into the mass of the atmosphere gives 8.4 × 10 or about one millionth the
mass of the Earth.

 
2 2
2. First we must find the total surface area of the Earth: 4 6.378 106  5.112 1014 m . Antarctica
12 2
occupies one half of one-percent of this, or 2.556 ×10 m . The volume of ice in the Antarctic will be this
15 3
area times the thickness, about 3 km or 3000 m. The volume is thus 7.668 ×10 m . The oceans cover 71%
14 2 18 3
of the surface area, or 3.629 ×10 m , and with a 3600 m thickness, have a volume of 1.307 ×10 m .
18 3
Adding the volume of the melted ice would increase this volume to 1.314 ×10 m . We divide this by the
surface area of the oceans to get the new thickness, 3622 m. Thus the sea level would rise by 21 m. Not a
big percentage, but significant to us!

  r23  r13  where r1 and r2 are the inner and outer radii. The volume of
4
3. The volume of a spherical shell is
3
4 3 3
the Earth is  R  1.09 1012 km . We divide the volume of the spherical shell by this total volume to
3
get the fractional volume.

Layer r1 r2 Shell volume Fraction

10 3
Crust 6348 6378 1.53×10 km 0.014
11 3
Mantle 3488 6348 8.94×10 km 0.82
11 3
Outer Core 1278 3488 1.69×10 km 0.16

10
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.
Astronomy Today, 9th Edition Instructor Guide
Chapter 7: Earth Our Home in Space

9 3
Inner Core 0 1278 8.74×10 km 0.0084

4. The diameter of the Earth is 2 × 6378 km = 12,756 km. At 5 km/s the time it will take is 12,756/5 = 2551 s
or 42.4 minutes.
8 8 8
5. 6000 km is 6×10 cm. At a rate of 3 cm/yr, this will give 6×10 / 3 = 2×10 yr or 200 million years.

6. Doing the algebra, 3U = Pb and U + Pb = 1, where U and Pb are the fractions of Uranium 235 and Lead 206
in the sample. Solving the two equations, we get U = ¼ and Pb = ¾ . Thus, two “half-lives” have passed for
the sample, and since U-235 has a half-life of 713 million years, the total elapsed time would be 1.426
billion years. Now, we apply this time to the U-238 in the sample:

1.426
1 4.5
fraction of U-238 left    = 0.803
2

And the fraction of the sample that is lead is 1 – 0.803 = 0.197. This ratio is about 4 to 1.
t
 1  4.5
7. We use the formula in More Precisely 7-2 with 75% of the original uranium left: 0.75    . Solve this
2
by taking the logarithm of each side:

 t  1
log10  0.75    log10  
 4.5  2
 t 
0.125  0.301 
 4.5 
t = 1.9 billion years.

8. First we calculate the acceleration due to the Moon’s tidal forces, and again for the Sun’s influence:

2GM m dr 2   6.67 10    7.34 10    6.37 10 

11 22 6

am    1.10 106 m/s2

D3 3.84 10 
8 3

2GM s dr 2   6.67 10   1.99 10    6.37 10   5.0110

11 30 6
7
as   m/s2
D3 1.50 10 
11 3

Although they are on opposite sides of the Earth, their gravities reinforce each other. Therefore, their
−6 2
combined influence adds up to 1.6 ×10 m/s . This is over 6 million times weaker than the acceleration due
−7
to gravity at the surface, so your weight only changes by a factor of 1.63 × 10 .

11
Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Astronomy Today, 9th Edition Instructor Guide
Chapter 7: Earth Our Home in Space

Suggested Readings
Websites

This NASA website, http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/earthandsun/index.html, provides recent

information on Earth and its relationship with the Sun.

A beautiful film of a spectacular aurora borealis event can be found at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVsONlc3OUY

If you don’t have the ability to use a Slinky to demonstrate seismic waves, a demonstration can be found in the
“Seismic Slinky—An analogy for P & S waves” video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZaI4MEWdc4

The website for the Paleomap Project, http://www.scotese.com/, has a number of maps and animations showing
the configuration of the Earth’s landmass at various times in the past and in the future.

The United States Geological Survey maintains a site for tracking the location and intensity of earthquakes at
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/

An interactive map of currently-erupting volcanoes and recent earthquakes can be found here:
https://earthquakes.volcanodiscovery.com/

The “Crash Course” series of videos on YouTube has videos about astronomy. Video #11 is relevant to this
chapter.

Magazine Articles

Berger, R., Schmitt, M. “Estimating the Earth’s magnetic field strength with an extension cord.” The Physics
Teacher (May 2003). p. 295. A class demonstration of one way to determine the strength of the Earth’s magnetic
field. May be too advanced for some classes.

Bohen, R.; Vandegrift, G. “Temperature-driven convection.” The Physics Teacher (February 2003). p. 76
Discusses easy-to-do demonstration of convection and its role in weather patterns on Earth.

Brekke, P. “Secrets of the Northern lights.” Sky & Telescope (February 2013), p. 18. An explanation of the
magnetospheric phenomenon.

Eicher, D. “Earth is a planet, too: Three-dimensional photography.” Astronomy (December 2000). p. 50. Presents
topographic images of the Earth.

Grifantini, K. “Where did Earth’s water come from?” Sky & Telescope (January 2011), p. 22. The mystery of how
water came out of and back to the Earth.

Hoffman, P., Schrag, D. P. “Snowball earth.” Scientific American (January 2000). p. 68. Discusses the evidence of
major climate reversals on Earth.

Jago, L. “The making of an aurora.” Astronomy (January 2002). p. 73. An excerpt from the book The Northern
Lights by Jago. Story about scientist named Kristian Birkeland. Includes fairly detailed description of his
laboratory aurora simulator and aurora phenomena. Nice images as well.

12
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.
Astronomy Today, 9th Edition Instructor Guide
Chapter 7: Earth Our Home in Space

King, M., Herring, D. “Monitoring Earth’s vital signs.” Scientific American (April 2000). p. 92. Describes how
information obtained by the Terra satellite is used to study the Earth.

Lean, J. “Living with a variable Sun.” Physics Today (June 2005). p. 32. Examination of the effects that small
changes in the Sun can have on Earth.

Nguyen, J., Holmes, N. “Melting of iron at the physical conditions of the Earth's core.” Nature 427 (January
2004). pp. 339–342. Good discussion of current work in seismology and the investigation of the Earth’s Interior.

Pierrehumbert, R. T. “Infrared radiation and planetary temperature.” Physics Today 64:1 (2011). p. 33. How we
use infrared radiation to better understand planetary atmospheres.

Sherwood, S. “Science controversies past and present.” Physics Today 64:10 (2011). p. 39. A comparison
between the heliocentric controversy of the 17th Century and the global warming controversy of today.

Slater, T. “Inner solar system concepts.” The Physics Teacher (May 2000). p. 264. Discusses teaching
comparative planetology on a conceptual level.

Somerville, R. C. J., Hassal S. J. “Communicating the science of climate change.” Physics Today 64:10 (2011), p.
48. How to best inform the public about climate change.

Stevens, B., Bony, S. “Water in the atmosphere.” Physics Today 66:6 (2013). p. 29. The importance of water to
Earth’s atmospheric dynamics.

Taylor, S., McLennan, S. “The evolution of continental crust.” Scientific American (January 1996). p. 76.
Discusses the conditions on Earth which allowed the development of our continental crust.

Wood, B. “The formation and differentiation of the Earth.” Physics Today 64:12 (2011). p. 40–45. A summary of
the early history of the Earth.

Wright, K. “Seeing the light.” Discover (July 2000). p. 51. A very complete discussion of auroras, with great
pictures.

13
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