Earth's Interior Test Bank

Which physical property was responsible for determining how Earth’s materials separate into interior layers at the time of Earth's formation?

Density

What is a mineral phase change?

Atoms in a mineral are rearranged into a denser and more stable structure.

________ is the process where materials separate into different layers due to density.

Differentiation

What is the major difference between the inner core and the outer core?

The inner core is solid while the outer core is liquid.

What is the primary method scientists use to determine the layering of the interior of the Earth?

Seismic Waves

What will happen to a seismic wave when it is reflected? 

The wave will be bounced back toward its source.

What will happen to a seismic wave when it is refracted?

The wave will be bent when passing into a material of differing density.

Which seismic waves would be most useful in determining the extent and thickness of the Earth's interior layers?

P and S waves

Which of the following materials will allow for the fastest transmission of seismic waves

Rigid, less compressible material

What is diffraction? 

A seismic wave is bent when it passes by a curved surface.

Why do seismic waves follow strongly curved paths as they move through the interior?

Their velocities are changed because of increasing pressure with depth

A relatively weak layer in the Earth due to temperature is known as the ________.

asthenosphere

Where is the thinnest continental crust in North America?

Basin and Range Region

Where is oceanic crust generated?

along divergent plate boundaries

The ________ is a seismic boundary between the crust and the mantle where there is a dramatic increase in seismic wave velocity.

The moho boundary

The ________ layer is thought to have large variations in composition as well as temperature.

D

Which layer or layers of the interior are believed to have convection cells?

mantle and outer core

Which layer is thought to be the birthplace of deep mantle plumes?

The d layer

The inner core is believed to rotate independently from the outer layers of Earth. Why is this possible?

The inner core is separated from the mantle by the liquid outer core and can spin freely.

Where is the highest rate of heat flow escaping the Earth's interior?

mid-ocean ridges

________ is a technique to view three-dimensional changes in composition and density by using seismology.

seismic tomography

How is the shape of Earth affected by its rotation?

The equator is further from the center of Earth than the poles.

Which of the following materials would cause the greatest gravity anomaly?

Metallic ore

A ________ occurs when an iron-rich fluid in the core is electrically charged and flowing, which generates a magnetic field.

geodynamo

________ are responsible for the heat generated in the interior today.

short-lived radioactive isotopes

Why is conduction not an efficient way to move heat through most of the Earth?

Rocks are poor conductors of heat

What physical property of continents makes them difficult to subduct?

low density

Which process is responsible for Earth's magnetic field? In which layer does this process occur?

outer core

Which of the following factors contributed toward the early increase in temperature in the Earth's interior?

Radioactive decay and impact from planetesimals

If the outer core is cooler than the inner core, why is it in a liquid state?

It is under less pressure than the inner core.