Thursday, January 20, 2011

Dynamic Earth


This week we have been learning about the dynamic earth.  We looked at caves and how they work, rocks and mining, plate tectonics, the inner earth, and earth’s structure.  During the last couple of days, I have learned a lot about rocks and mining and the layers of the earth.  Did you know that the United States uses about 3 billion tons of crushed stone, sand, and gravel a year?  That is a lot of rocks.   Another cool fact I learned is that the inner core of the earth is hotter than the surface of the sun.  Wow that is very hot!
Down below I will tell you the questions and answers to some of the interesting information we learned this week.
T he Inner Earth
§  What are the layers of the earth?
The layers of the earth are the crust, upper mantle, lower mantle, outer core and the inner core.
§  What are the layers earth like inside?
Rocks and liquid magma move around inside the earth’s layers.  It is very hot in the inner earth, especially in the core.
§  What do meteorites tell us about space?
They tell us about how our solar system came to be.
§  How do diamonds grow?
Diamonds are formed by the high pressure deep inside the earth.
§  Where are diamonds found?
Diamonds are found under cratons, which are the oldest parts of continents.
§  How do diamonds get to the Earth’s surface?
Rising magma from the inner earth carries diamonds to the surface of the Earth.
Rocks and Mining
§  Where do rocks come from?  
Rocks come from the earth’s crust.
§  How are rocks formed?  
Most rocks are formed out of magma and some other rocks are formed from organic sediment. Erosion, volcanoes and the movement of the tectonic plates are common ways that rocks can form.
§  Why are there so many different rocks and colors?
Rocks are made of minerals.   These minerals come together in many different ways to form all kinds and colors of rocks.
§  What is a mine?
Mines are deposits of rocks and minerals.  There are underground mines and mines on the surface of the earth.
§  What do we get from mines?
Mines provide the raw materials needed for our modern society to work.

And that is some of the cool information we learned this week. I hope you enjoy.


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