AP Environmental Science Unit 4

Layers of the Earth

crust, mantle, outer core, inner core

The three types of plate boundaries

Divergent plate (sea floor spreading), convergent plate (two plates colliding generating pressure), and transform fault (plates moving sideways past each other, causing seismic activity)

Forming of volcanoes

When plates move over hotspots and heat from the rising mantle plume melts the crust

Earthquake

The sudden movement or vibration of Earth's crust caused by a release of potential energy along a fault.

Prevailing Winds

caused by atmospheric convention currents (cells) and Coriolis Effect (how we predict the weather)

Cold air

Falls; because it more dense

Warm air

rises; less dense

Corilois Effect

The effect of Earth's rotation on the direction of winds and currents.

The Three Rock Types

Igneous, Sedimentary, Metamorphic

How each rock type is formed

Igneous: formed directly from magma

Sedimentary: formed from sediments such as mud, sand, or gravel and compressed by overlying sediment

Metamorphic: when sedimentary, igneous, or other metamorphic rock are subject to high temperatures and pressures

soil triangle

a graphic explanation of the proportions of sand, silt, and clay in soil

Five factors that determine how soil is formed

Parent material, climate, topography, organisms, and time

What can lead to soil degradation and erosion

Overuse by agriculture or whenever the topsoil or vegetation is removed from the soil.

The horizons of soil

O horizon- made of decomposing organisms/humus

A horizon- mixed minerals and topsoil/humus

E horizon- zone of leaching or eluviation

B horizon- subsoil and very little organic material

C horizon- similar to parent material, least weathered

Parent material

the rock material from which the inorganic components of soil are derived.

Biological properties of soil

Fungi, bacteria, and protozoan account for 80-90 percent of soil's productivity and can break down organic material.

Physical properties of soil

Permeability and the order of particle size: sand, silt, then clay.

Chemical properties of soil

Acidity that can be neutralized by base material (calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium)

Texture

The amount of rock, sand, silt, and clay in a soil sample.

Permeability

Allowing water and roots to move between the particles.

cation exchange

The ability of a particular soil to adsorb and release cations.

Microorganisms

Microscopic organisms which may exist in a single-celled form or in a colony of cells.

pH

potential of hydrogen

Detritovores

Organisms that eat dead and decaying organic matter.

Lithosphere

Contains the crust and upper mantle.. "plates for continents and oceans"

Mantle

Containing magma (molten rock).

Asthenosphere

Outer mantle of semi-molten, ductile, flexible rock. "converter belt for plates"

The movement of tectonic plates is made possible by

thermal energy (heat) from the mantle.

Which layer on earth has convection currents that move the continental and oceanic crust?

asthenosphere

Earth's lithosphere includes

oceanic and continental crust.

Seafloor spreading

The formation of new ocean crust as a result of magma pushing upward and outward from Earth's mantle to the surface.

Divergent plate boundary

The boundary between two oceanic plates that are moving away from each other to form new ocean crust

How is new oceanic crust formed?

2 oceanic crust moves away from each other > divergent boundary > zone of divergence >rift valley >shield volcanoes erupting basalt > new crust

heat and pressure leads to

metamorphic rock

Ring of Fire

A major belt of volcanic activity that rims the Pacific Ocean caused by oceanic - continental plates at convergent boundary overlapping

Convergent plate boundary

A tectonic plate boundary where two plates collide, come together, or crash into each other.

Continental-oceanic convergent plate

Subduction occurs here when oceanic and the continental plates collide and the oceanic plate bends and slides into the mantle

Two oceanic plates convergent plate

When two oceanic plates collide and one is pushed under the other causing magma to rise and a volcano forms

continental-continental convergent boundary

when two continental plates collide, mountain ranges are created as the colliding crust is compressed and pushed upward (ex: the Himalayas)

Transform plate boundary

Boundary between two plates that are sliding past each other.

Deep water trench

formed along convergent boundaries (subduction zone)

What type of land formation would you expect to find on the west coast of S. America?

Volcanoes.

Why do scientist find larger seismic activity around the ring of fire?

The pacific plate is large and is contacting many other plates moving in various directions.

What happens with oceanic crust diverges?

New ocean floor is created from the rising of magma (seafloor spreading)

The creation of mountains, island arcs, earthquakes, and volcanoes are likely to result from

convergent boundaries.

crust, lithosphere, asthenosphere, mantle, outer core, inner core

layers of Earth in order (outside to inside)

Theory of Plate Tectonics

State that Earth's lithosphere is broken into huge, moving slabs of rock driven by motions in the mantle (asthenosphere) and this motion caused geological events.

The theory of plate tectonics explains

The formation, movement, and subduction of Earth's plates. As well as the changes in land masses such as Pangea.

Oceanic crust

thinner, more dense, younger crust made of basalt from shield volcanoes at the zone of divergence.

Soil

A mixture of mineral particles and organic material that covers the land, and in which terrestrial plants grow.

A horizon

Topsoil

Bacteria, Fungi and small animals (add organic matter)

Burrowing animals help circulate air and water and mix minerals. contains most humus

B horizon

Subsoil

Contains minerals brought by ground water or leeched from horizon a

high iron calcium and aluminum

made of clay

C horizon

partially weathered bedrock

some from parent material, some from other forms of past erosions

Bed rock

parent material

Horizon O

Made mostly of leaf litter and humus

Chemical weathering

The process that breaks down rock through chemical changes

physical weathering

Breaking down rocks through physical processes like freezing and thawing

Sizes of soil big to small

sand

silt

clay

Troposphere

75-80% of earths mass (most dense-closest to earth)

0-12/18 above sea level

biogeochemical cycles are here

Weather climate and life forms here

Altitude increase temperature decreases

Stratosphere

11km to 50km

contains the Ozone layer

less water

airplanes here

Altitude increase temperature increases

Mesosphere

50-80km above Earth's surface

little oxygen

Altitude increase temperature decreases

Thermosphere

Hot layer: Oxygen absorb solar energy

Uv rays

Altitude increase temperature increases

Exosphere

Where the international space station can be found