BIO 121 Chapter Notes - Chapter 11: Surface Mining, Placer Mining, Nonmetal
Document Summary
Geology -> the study of earth"s physical features, processes, and history. Core -> at earth"s center: dense, consists of mostly iron, solid in the inner core, molten in the outer core. Mantle -> around the core: thick layer of dense, elastic rock, portion of the upper mantle = asthenosphere. Lithosphere -> harder rock above asthenosphere: includes the uppermost mantle and all of earth"s third major layer (the crust) Crust -> thin, brittle, low-density layer of rock that covers earth"s surface. Plate tectonics -> intense heat that drives convection currents: movement of lithospheric plates, our planet"s surface consists of 15 major tectonic plates. Three types of plate boundaries: divergent -> tectonic plates push apart as magma (rock heated to a molten, liquid state) Rises upward to the surface, creating new crust as it cools. Ex: mid-atlantic ridge: transform -> where two plates meet, they may slip and grind alongside one another. Creates friction that generates earthquakes along strike-slip faults.
