The Geosphere 01: Structure of the Earth 

Tab: Earth’s Shape 

Biosphere: ___________________________________________________________________________ 

Cryosphere: ___________________________________________________________________________ 

Geosphere:___________________________________________________________________________ 

Atmosphere:__________________________________________________________________________ 

Hydrosphere:__________________________________________________________________________ 

  

Tab: Misconceptions 

Two common misconceptions about the structure of the Earth are: 

1.___________________________________________________________________________________ 

2.___________________________________________________________________________________ 

Tab: Earth’s Interior 

The scientific community accepts a model of Earth’s interior based on indirect observations.  The 3 compositional layers of Earth are: 

Crust:____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. 

  

Mantle:_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. 

Core:_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. 

Tab: Earth’s Layers 

Each layer of Earth has a unique structure, depth, composition, and temperature. 

Name of Layer 

State of Matter 

Temperature (‘C) 

Thickness (km) 

Chemical Composition 

1. 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

2. 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

3. 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

Tab: Crust 

Some important characteristics of the Earth’s crust are: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. 

Tab: Mantle 

Some important characteristics of the Earth’s mantle are:____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. 

 
 

What did you observe in the animation provided to further investigate convection in the mantle? 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. 

Tab: Core 

What is our knowledge of Earth’s core based on and why is it important?  ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. 

Using the interactive activity, you learned more about the discovery of Earth’s core and the formation of our atmosphere. 

Atmosphere formation: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. 

  

The Geosphere Lesson 3: Mechanisms of movement 

Tab: Continental Drift 

  

What was the name of the supercontinent? 

     	  

What was the Theory of Continental Drift? 

  

Why was it wrong? 

Tab: Plate Tectonic Theory 

  

What was the Theory of Plate Tectonics? 

  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Fill in the blanks: 

  

Evidence of Continental Drift 

Evidence of Plate Tectonics 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

Tab: Mechanisms of movement 

  

How do the plates move? 

  

  

  

Tab: Tectonic Boundaries 

  

Type of boundary: 

What happens: 

What is formed: 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

The Geosphere Lesson 5: Geologic Events 

Tab: causes of earthquakes 

  

What is an earthquake? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

  

  

 
 
 
 

Tab: Earthquake locations 

     	 Where do earthquakes occur most often? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

  

Define:  

Seismic wave - ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  

Focus - ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Epicenter - ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

  

  

Tab: Earthquake waves 

  

Fill-in-the-blanks: 

  

Earthquakes cause intense shaking of the ground. The shaking is caused by _________ moving through the ground.  Scientists study the seismic waves using a __________________. These machines record ground movement by making lines on paper. The recorded lines on paper are called a ___________________. 

  

 There are two main types of waves: 

Body Waves 

Surface Waves 

A.) 

A.) 

B.) 

B.) 

  

  

BODY WAVES: 

  

P – waves: 

•  	      	______________________________________________________________ 

•  	      	______________________________________________________________ 

•  	      	______________________________________________________________ 

•  	      	______________________________________________________________ 

  

  

  

S – waves: 

      	______________________________________________________________ 

•  	      	______________________________________________________________ 

•  	      	______________________________________________________________ 

•  	      	_____________________________________________________________ 

  

Surface  waves: 

  

R – waves (Rayleigh): 

•  	•      	______________________________________________________________ 

•  	•      	______________________________________________________________ 

  

L – waves (Love): 

•      	______________________________________________________________ 

•      	______________________________________________________________ 

  

  

Tab: modeling earthquake events 

  

Fill-in-the-blanks: 

  

Scientists often use ________________ to understand geologic events. For instance, ___________ of buildings are used to ______________ how well a structure can withstand ground shaking. Scientists also model earthquakes and volcanic events to determine damages and _______________.