TheFourLayers

TheEarthiscomposedoffourdifferentlayers.ManygeologistsbelievethatastheEarthcooled
theheavier,densermaterialssanktothecenterandthelightermaterialsrosetothetop.Because
ofthis,thecrustismadeofthelightestmaterials(rockbasaltsandgranites)andthecore
consistsofheavymetals(nickelandiron).

Thecrustisthelayerthatyouliveon,anditisthemostwidelystudiedandunderstood.
Themantleismuchhotterandhastheabilitytoflow.TheOuterandInnerCoresarehotterstill
withpressuressogreatthatyouwouldbesqueezedintoaballsmallerthanamarbleifyouwere
abletogotothecenteroftheEarth!!!!!!

TheCrust
TheEarth'sCrustisliketheskinofanapple.Itisverythinincomparisontotheotherthree
layers.Thecrustisonlyabout35miles(8kilometers)thickundertheoceans(oceaniccrust)and
about25miles(32kilometers)thickunderthecontinents(continentalcrust).Thetemperaturesof
thecrustvaryfromairtemperatureontoptoabout1600degreesFahrenheit(870degrees
Celcius)inthedeepestpartsofthecrust.Youcanbakealoafofbreadinyourovenat350
degreesFahrenheit,at1600degreesF.rocksbegintomelt.

ThecrustoftheEarthisbrokenintomanypiecescalledplates.Theplates"float"onthe
soft,plasticmantlewhichislocatedbelowthecrust.Theseplatesusuallymovealongsmoothly
butsometimestheystickandbuilduppressure.Thepressurebuildsandtherockbendsuntilit
snaps.WhenthisoccursanEarthquakeistheresult!

NoticehowthinthecrustoftheEarthisincomparisontotheotherlayers.Thesevencontinents
andoceanplatesbasicallyfloatacrossthemantlewhichiscomposedofmuchhotteranddenser
material.

Thecrustiscomposedoftwobasicrocktypesgraniteandbasalt.Thecontinentalcrustis
composedmostlyofgranite.Theoceaniccrustconsistsofavolcaniclavarockcalledbasalt.

Basalticrocksoftheoceanplatesaremuchdenserandheavierthanthegraniticrockofthe
continentalplates.Becauseofthisthecontinentsrideonthedenseroceanicplates.Thecrustand
theupperlayerofthemantletogethermakeupazoneofrigid,brittlerockcalled

theLithosphere.Thelayerbelowtherigidlithosphereisazoneofasphaltlikeconsistancycalled
theAsthenosphere.Theasthenosphereisthepartofthemantlethatflowsandmovestheplates
oftheEarth.

TheMantle

Themantleisthelayerlocateddirectlyunderthesima.ItisthelargestlayeroftheEarth,1800
milesthick.Themantleiscomposedofveryhot,denserock.Thislayerofrockevenflowslike
asphaltunderaheavyweight.Thisflowisduetogreattemperaturedifferencesfromthebottom
tothetopofthemantle.ThemovementofthemantleisthereasonthattheplatesoftheEarth
move!Thetemperatureofthemantlevariesfrom1600degreesFahrenheitatthetoptoabout
4000degreesFahrenheitnearthebottom!

ConvectionCurrents
Themantleismadeofmuchdenser,thickermaterial,becauseofthistheplates"float"onitlike
oilfloatsonwater.

Manygeologistsbelievethatthemantle"flows"becauseofconvectioncurrents.Convection
currentsarecausedbytheveryhotmaterialatthedeepestpartofthemantlerising,then
cooling,sinkingagainandthenheating,risingandrepeatingthecycleoverandover.Thenext
timeyouheatanythinglikesouporpuddinginapanyoucanwatchtheconvectioncurrents
moveintheliquid.Whentheconvectioncurrentsflowinthemantletheyalsomovethecrust.
Thecrustgetsafreeridewiththesecurrents.Aconveyorbeltinafactorymovesboxeslikethe
convectioncurrentsinthemantlemovestheplatesoftheEarth.

OuterCore

ThecoreoftheEarthislikeaballofveryhotmetals.(4000degreesF.to9000degreesF.)
Theoutercoreissohotthatthemetalsinitareallintheliquidstate.Theoutercoreislocated
about1800milesbeneaththecrustandisabout1400milesthick.Theoutercoreiscomposedof
themeltedmetalsnickelandiron.

InnerCore

TheinnercoreoftheEarthhastemperaturesandpressuressogreatthatthemetalsaresqueezed
togetherandarenotabletomoveaboutlikealiquid,butareforcedtovibrateinplaceasasolid.
Theinnercorebeginsabout4000milesbeneaththecrustandisabout800milesthick.The
temperaturesmayreach9000dgreesF.andthepressuresare45,000,000poundspersquareinch.
Thisis3,000,000timestheairpressureonyouatsealevel!!!

Answerthefollowingquestionsonasheetofpaperwithyourpartner.Ifyouneedtolookback
tofindtheanswersusethepagetitleslocateddirectlyunderthequestionstohelpyou.Whenyou
finishthequestionsclickontheEarthicontoreturntheprogramtothebeginning.

1.NamethefourlayersoftheEarthinorderfromtheoutsidetothecenteroftheEarth.
2.Whatcausesthemantleto"flow"?
3.Whatarethetwomainmetalsthatmakeuptheouterandinnercore?
4.DescribeinyourownwordshowtheEarth'slayerswereformed."TheFourLayers"willhelp
you.

There are three kinds of plate tectonic boundaries:

divergent, convergent, and transform plate boundaries.

This image shows the three main types of plate boundaries: divergent, convergent, and transform. Image courtesy of the
U.S. Geological Survey.

Did You Know?

The Chile triple junction is the only modern site on Earth where an actively spreading mid-ocean ridge crest
is being swallowed by a subduction zone at a continental margin. This is a particularly interesting area to
study because we can observe two types of plate boundaries (divergent and convergent) and their processes
in very close proximity.

A divergent boundary occurs when two tectonic plates move away from each other. Along
these boundaries, lava spews from long fissures and geysers spurt superheated water.
Frequent earthquakes strike along the rift. Beneath the rift, magmamolten rockrises
from the mantle. It oozes up into the gap and hardens into solid rock, forming new crust on
the torn edges of the plates. Magma from the mantle solidifies into basalt, a dark, dense
rock that underlies the ocean floor. Thus at divergent boundaries, oceanic crust, made of
basalt, is created.
When two plates come together, it is known as a convergent boundary. The impact of the
two colliding plates buckles the edge of one or both plates up into a rugged mountain range,
and sometimes bends the other down into a deep seafloor trench. A chain of volcanoes

often forms parallel to the boundary, to the mountain range, and to the trench. Powerful
earthquakes shake a wide area on both sides of the boundary.
If one of the colliding plates is topped with oceanic crust, it is forced down into the mantle
where it begins to melt. Magma rises into and through the other plate, solidifying into new
crust. Magma formed from melting plates solidifies into granite, a light colored, low-density
rock that makes up the continents. Thus at convergent boundaries, continental crust, made
of granite, is created, and oceanic crust is destroyed.
Two plates sliding past each other forms a transform plate boundary. Natural or humanmade structures that cross a transform boundary are offsetsplit into pieces and carried in
opposite directions. Rocks that line the boundary are pulverized as the plates grind along,
creating a linear fault valley or undersea canyon. As the plates alternately jam and jump
against each other, earthquakes rattle through a wide boundary zone. In contrast to
convergent and divergent boundaries, no magma is formed. Thus, crust is cracked and
broken at transform margins, but is not created or destroyed.

Convergent Plate Boundary - Oceanic and Continental Plates

When continental and oceanic plates collide the thinner and more dense oceanic plate is overridden by
the thicker and less dense continental plate. The oceanic plate is forced down into the mantle in a
process known as "subduction". As the oceanic plate descends it is forced into higher temperature
environments. At a depth of about 100 miles (160 km) materials in the subducting plate begin to
approach their melting temperatures and a process of partial melting begins.

This partial melting produces magma chambers above the subducting oceanic plate. These magma
chambers are less dense than the surrounding mantle materials and are buoyant. The buoyant magma
chambers begin a slow asscent through the overlying materials, melting and fracturing their way
upwards. The size and depth of these magma chambers can be determined by mapping the
earthquake activity arround them. If a magma chamber rises to the surface without solidifying the
magma will break through in the form of a volcanic eruption.

The Washington-Oregon coastline of the United States is an example of this type of convergent plate
boundary. Here the Juan de Fuca oceanic plate is subducting beneath the westward moving North
American continental plate. The Cascade Mountain Range is a line of volcanoes above the melting
oceanic plate. The Andes Mountain Range of western South America is another example of a
convergent boundary between an oceanic and continental plate. Here the Nazca Plate is subducting
beneath the South American plate.

Visit the Interactive Plate Boundary Map to explore satellite images of convergent boundaries between
oceanic and continental plates. Two locations are marked to show this type of plate boundary - the
Cascade volcanoes along the Washington-Oregon coast of North America and the Andes mountain
range on the western margin of South America.

Effects of a convergent boundary between an oceanic and continental plate include: a zone of
earthquake activity that is shallow along the continent margin but deepens beneath the continent,
sometimes an ocean trench immediately off shore of the continent, a line of volcanic eruptions a few
hundred miles inland from the shoreline, destruction of oceanic lithosphere.
Convergent oceanic/continental boundary

The Theory of Plate Tectonics

by Kenn Oberrecht
Plate tectonics,possibly the most important geological theory ever developed,incorporated the earlier
theory of continental drift, espoused by German meteorologist and lecturer
Alfred Wegener in the early 20th century. Although the
scientific community of the time ridiculed Wegener and flatly
rejected his theory, current-day geologists, geophysicists, and
oceanographers live by much of what he had to say about our
planet.
Dr. Robert D. Ballard, associate scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution, wrote in Exploring Our Living Planet in 1983: "Plate tectonics
not only vindicated Wegener, it transformed geology as profoundly as the
theories of evolution and relativity transformed biology and physics."
The word tectonics derives from the Greek tektonikos, meaning
"pertaining to construction." In geology, tectonics concerns the formation
and structure of the earth's crust.
The theory of plate tectonics--formulated by American, Canadian, and
British geophysicists--attributes earthquakes, volcanoes, the mountainbuilding
process, and related geophysical phenomena to movement and

interaction of the rigid plates forming the earth's crust.The word tectonics derives from the Greek
tektonikos, meaning "pertaining to construction."According to the theory, the earth's surface layer, or
lithosphere, consists of seven large and 18 smaller plates that move and interact in various ways.
Along their boundaries, they converge, diverge, and slip past one another, creating the earth's seismic
and volcanic activities. These plates lie atop a layer of partly molten rock called the asthenosphere.
The plates can carry both continents and oceans, or exclusively one or the other. The Pacific Plate, for
example, is entirely oceanic. Continental plates are composed mainly of granite, while oceanic plates
are mostly basalt, which is considerably heavier. Essentially, the continents are lighter and more
buoyant; hence, they float higher on the earth's mantle than the ocean's crust does. When plates
converge, one slips under the other and is said to be subducted. At depths from 185 to 435 miles
beneath the earth's surface, the subducted parts of the plate melt and become part of the molten
mantle. As new plate material is being formed continuously, and the excess is melted into magma, the
earth's rocky crust is constantly recycled. If both converging plates have oceanic edges, either one
might slip beneath the other. But when a plate carrying a continent converges on an oceanic plate, the
more buoyant continental plate always slides over the heavier basaltic oceanic plate. When two
continental plates converge, however, neither can subduct. Instead, the two interact to create
mountain ranges. Consequently, all subducted plates are oceanic, which keeps the ocean floor in a
constant state of change; whereas, the continents change ever so slowly in geologic time. After
Wegener's death in 1930, geological research and technology progressed rapidly, and new discoveries
lent credence to much of what his theory of continental drift embodied. Further research and findings
over the past 40 years advanced the theory of plate tectonics and allowed scientists to unlock some of
the mysteries enshrouding the formation of continents and oceans.

Wikang Pambansa
Manuel L. Quezon

Hindi ko nais na Kastila o Ingles ang maging wika ng Pamahalaan. Kailangan magkaroon ng sariling
wika ang Pilipinas, isang wikang nakabatay sa isa sa mga katutubong wika.

Nagmula ang karamihan ng mga suliranin o pagkukulang na kasalukuyang nararanasan dito sa

kawalan ng ating sariling wikang pambansa. Ang pagnanais gayahin ang lahat ng kilos banyaga kahit
hindi alam kung ito'y mabuti o masama ay dahil sa isang kahinaanang kakulangan ng isang tunay na
pambansang kamalayan. Hindi maaring magkaroon ng pambansang kamalayan kung saan walang
wikang ginagamit ng lahat.

Naunawaan ko lamang kung gaano kahirap ang kakulangan ng wikang pambansa noong naging
Pangulo ako. Ako ang Pangulo ng Pilipinas; ako ang kumakatawan sa bayang Pilipinas at sa mga
Pilipino. Ngunit kapag ako'y naglalakbay sa mga lalawigan at kinakausap ang aking mga kapwa
mamamayan, kailangan ko ng tagapagsalin. Nakakahiya, hindi ba?

Sang-ayon ako sa patuloy na pagtuturo sa Ingles sa mga paaralan at itataguyod ko rin ang
pagpapatuloy ng Kastila. Subalit dumating na ang panahon upang magkaroon tayo ng isang wikang
pambansa. Ang suliranin ay gusto ng mga Ilokano na Ilokano ang wikang pambansa; ang mga Tagalog,
Tagalog; ang mga Bisaya, Bisaya.

Ako ay Tagalog. Kung sasabihin ng mga dalubhasa sa iba't-ibang wikang Pilipino na Mangyan ang
katutubong wikang pinakamainam gamitin, Mangyan ang tatangkilikin ko higit sa ibang wika. Tagalog
ang ginagamit namin sa pamilya. Pero handa akong mag-aral ng Ilokano, Bisaya o anupamang ibang
katutubong wika para lamang magkaroon tayo ng wikang ginagamit ng lahat.