Earth Science TARBUCK

1: Introduction to Earth Science

1. Earth is around 4.5 billion years old
2. Big bang occurred around 14 billion years ago, solar system evolved from
solar nebula
3. Earths spheres
a. Hydrosphere, atmosphere, geosphere, biosphere
4. A Closer Look at the Geosphere
a. Earths crust
i. Oceanic crust is composed primarily of basalt, 7km deep; rocks
are younger and denser than continental rocks
ii. Continental crust is 35 km, upper crust has lots of granitic rock
b. Earths Mantle
i. 82% of Earths volume is in mantle; nearly 2900 kilometers
ii. Dominant rock type in UPPER mantle is peridotite, rich in
magnesium and iron
iii. Top part of upper mantle is lithosphere, bottom part of upper
mantle is asthenospehere
iv. Lithosphere moves independently of asthenosphere
c. Earths core
i. Iron-nickel alloy
ii. Outer core is liquid layer, inner core is solid
5. Major Features of the Continents
a. Mountain belts
i.

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