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Unit 6: Sound, the Earth and eclipses

The structure of the Earth — HIA International - Grade 6 Revision Notes & Topical Questions

5 min read 7 parts Lesson 4 of 7 3 quizzes

📚 HIA International - Grade 6 Hub / Topical Revision
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Lesson summary

6.3 Structure of the Earth — HIA INTERNATIONAL notes: Describe the layers of the Earth, its crust and how continents have drifted.Age — the Earth is about 4500 million years oldCrust — solid rockMantle — molten (hot liquid) rock that can flowOuter core — molten metals, mostly iro…

  • Inner core
  • Common elements
  • Why people did not believe him
  • Oceanic and continental plates
  • Polystyrene pieces on heated water
  • Continental drift

Part 1 of 5Age and layers of the Earth

Age
  • Age the Earth is about 4500 million years old
Crust
  • Crust solid rock
Mantle
  • Mantle molten (hot liquid) rock that can flow
Outer core
  • Outer core molten metals, mostly iron and nickel
Inner core
  • Inner core solid metals, mostly iron and nickel

Part 2 of 5Elements in the crust

Rocks
  • Rocks the crust contains metals and non-metals
Common elements
  • Common elements oxygen is the most common, followed by silicon, aluminium, iron and calcium
  • Oxygen is the most common non-metal and aluminium is the most common metal in the crust.

Part 3 of 5Continental drift

1Wegener
  • Wegener in 1912 he suggested that millions of years ago all the land was one large continent that broke up and drifted apart
2Evidence
  • Evidence the shapes of the continents fit together, the types of rock match up where they fit together,
    • and the fossils match up where they fit together
3Why people did not believe him
  • Why people did not believe him he could not explain how continental drift happened
4Pangea
  • Pangea the single continent about 225 million years ago, which split into Laurasia and Gondwana

Part 4 of 5Tectonic plates

Tectonic plates
Plates
  • Plates the crust is made up of large tectonic plates
Oceanic and continental plates
  • Oceanic and continental plates some plates are under the oceans and some form the continents
Movement
  • Movement plates move slowly on the liquid rock called magma beneath them, about 4 cm each year
  • This is about the same speed as fingernails grow.

Part 5 of 5Modelling drifting plates

  • Polystyrene pieces on heated water
    • the polystyrene represents the plates, the water represents the magma and the heat source drives the movement

Key terms

TermMeaning
CrustThe solid rock outer layer of the Earth.
MantleThe layer of molten rock under the crust.
CoreThe centre of the Earth, made of nickel and iron.
Continental driftThe movement of continents apart over millions of years.
Tectonic platesLarge pieces of crust that move slowly.
MagmaLiquid rock beneath the crust.

Avoid these mistakes

1
Saying the whole Earth is solid — the mantle is molten and the outer core is molten
2
Saying the core is made of rock — it is nickel and iron
3
Saying plates move fast — they move about 4 cm each year
4
Saying the continents were always where they are now — they have drifted apart

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