1. Origin and Structure of the Earth
November 2012

2. Breaking a complex problem into parts:
System
Closed Open
any part of the universe that can be isolated for the purpose of observing and measuring change
Isolated system- allowed neither energy or matter to pass through
a system that does not allow matter to pass through its boundaries, but may allow energy to pass through its boundaries
a system that allows both matter and energy to pass through its boundaries

3. Structure of the Earth How do scientists study this?
seismic waves (caused by earthquakes or giant man-made explosions) As waves pass through the Earth. They encounter different materials and change in important ways, becoming longer, shorter, faster, or slower.
Magnetic field
The deepest humans have gone into the Earth is the USSR started a project from in which they drilled 40,230 feet into the Earth

4. Structure of the Earth The Core
solid inner core made of iron (about 800 miles thick), liquid outer core (1370 mile thick) composed of iron-nickel alloy, oxygen.

5. Structure of the Earth The Core
Magnetic Field: From the liquid outer core: seethes and roils like water in a pan on a hot stove.
The outer core also has "hurricanes"--whirlpools powered by the Coriolis forces of Earth's rotation. These complex motions generate our planet's magnetism through a process called the dynamo effect

6. Structure of the Earth The Mantle
extremely hot and high pressure solid rock (iron-magnesium silicate, oxides) that accounts for about 80% of Earth’s volume, about 1750 miles thick.

7. Structure of the Earth The Crust
outermost compositional layer of the solid Earth, made of oxygen, silicon, and aluminum, 0-22 miles thick
1.Continental: thick, older, and buoyant, rocks like granite
2. Oceanic: thin, younger, and dense, rocks like basalt
he Oceanic crust is about 4-7 miles (6-11 km) thick and mainly consists of heavy rocks, like basalt. The Continental crust is thicker than the Oceanic crust, about 19 miles(30 km) thick. It is mainly made up of light material like granite. The rocks of the oceanic crust are not older than 200 million years which is considered young for rocks. The Oceanic Crust is made when liquid lava that cools off very quickly. The continental crust is older than the oceanic crust, some rocks are 3.8 billion years old. The continental crust mainly consists of igneous rocks and is divided into two layers. The upper part mainly consists of granite rocks, while the lower part consists of basalt and diorite. Granite is lightly-colored, coarse-grain, magma. Diorite has the same composition, but it's scarcer than granite and is probably formed by impurities in the granite-magma.