Earth's

Changin
g Crust
Lessons 1–2
 Earth’s
Changin
Crust
g
Lessons
1–2

Lesson
1 What Are the Layers of
Earth?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Lesson
2 What Is the Evidence for Plate
Tectonics? . . . . . . .8

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 1 What Are
VOCABULAR
Y
crust mantle
the
lithosphere
asthenosphere
core convection
Layers of
Earth?

We live on Earth’s The mantle is just under

crust. Earth’s crust. It is all of the
rock from just below the crust
to just above the core.

2
The ground you stand on is The layer of Earth called the
part of the lithosphere. asthenosphere is in the
mantle below the lithosphere.

The deepest layer of Earth is Convection in Earth’s

the core. mantle causes plate
movement.

3
 READING FOCUS
SKILL
You compare
COMPARE AND when you look at how things are alike.
You
contrast
CONTRAST when you look at how things are
As you read, compare Earth’s layers to see how they
different.
are alike.

Earth’s
Layers
Earth is made up of different layers. The crust is
Earth’s
rocky hard,
outer layer. The dry land and the ocean floor make
up the Earth’s crust.
The mantle is the layer beneath the crust. The mantle
layer under the crust is stiff. Below the stiff layer, the
directly
mantle is a thick layer of hot, soft rock.
The Earth’s crust and the upper mantle make up the
lithosphere.
It is cool and stiff. Below the lithosphere is the
asthenosphere. The asthenosphere is a layer of hot, soft
rock
Thethat
corecan is bend
belowand
theflow.
mantle. The core is at Earth’s
center.
mostly It is of the metals iron and nickel. The core has two
made
parts. The outer core is liquid. The inner core is solid.

How are the upper

mantle and the crust
alike?

Earth is divided
into three layers
—the crust,
mantle, and
core.

4
 Convection
Currents
Coole
rock
r
Mantl sinks

Hot, less e
dense
rock
rises

Cor
Hea
e
Sourc
t
e

There are convection currents

in the mantle. They move for
the same reason water in a
pot churns when it boils.
Instead of a burner, though,
the source of heat for Earth’s
convection currents is the hot
Inside core.

Earth
Earth is hottest at its core. Heat moves up from the core
the mantle by convection. Convection is the transfer of heat
through
energy that happens through the movement of matter.
Convection currents carry heat through the inside of Earth.
Heat from the core makes rock at the bottom of the
mantle
hotter than rock above it. This rock becomes less dense, or
lighter. It rises through the mantle toward the surface. The
hot rock cools as it rises. When it cools, the rock becomes
denser. The cooler rock begins to sink back down through the
layers, and the cycle goes on.
How are convection currents in water like
convection currents in Earth’s mantle?

5
 The lithosphere is made up
of seven major plates and
several smaller ones. They
move only a few
centimeters each year.
They are moved by the
convection currents in the
asthenosphere below
them.

At the San Andreas Fault,

the Pacific plate is sliding
past the North American
plate.

The Active
Crust
The lithosphere is made up of several large plates.
Plates are
sections of Earth’s surface. They fit together like large puzzle
pieces. A continental plate holds crust from dry land. An
oceanic plate holds crust from the sea floor. Some plates
carry both continents and ocean.
These plates are always moving. We cannot see the
is movement. It
very slow. Plates move only a few centimeters
As
eachtheyear.
plates move, they can collide, split apart, or grind past
each other. The movement of plates can cause mountains to
form or grow taller. Volcanoes can form or erupt when plates
move. Most earthquakes and volcanic eruptions take place
near the edges of plates. This is one way scientists know that
the plates move.

6
 The colliding of the
Australian- Indian plate
with the Eurasian plate
has caused folds in the
lithosphere. The folds are
what we now see as the
Himalayas.

A wide, deep valley called a rift

valley has been opening in East
Africa. The African plate has
been splitting apart.

One very active area of earthquakes and volcanoes is

around
foundthe rim of the Pacific Ocean. It is called the Ring
of Fire.
How is a continental plate different
from an oceanic plate?

Review
Complete compar contras
these
e the outer
1. The crust and and tcore are
statement
different
because the is ______
outer core s.
.
2. The crust and the upper mantle are alike because
both make up the ______
.
they
3. The ______ of the lithosphere fit together like
piece
s.
puzzle
4. Rock in the lithosphere is different from
the ______ . The deeper rock is hotter and more
flexible.
rock in
7
 What Is
VOCABULAR
Y
continental drift
the
fossil plate
tectonics
earthquake
Evidence
for Plate
mid-ocean
ridge volcano

Tectonics?

All the continents may once You can find a fossil in a

have been connected. Then piece of rock. It is a sign of
they moved apart. This past life.
movement is called
continental drift.

8
An earthquake is a shaking Earth’s crust is made up of
that happens when rock in moving plates. This is the
Earth’s crust moves. theory of plate tectonics.

A mid-ocean ridge is a This volcano is now covered

mountain chain in the ocean. with snow. It is not active.

9
 READING FOCUS
SKILL
When you put things in sequence you put them in
SEQUENCE
order. Follow the sequence of events when
continents move.

The Story of Drifting

Continents
Many years ago, scientists studied maps of the world. They
noticed that Africa and South America looked like two
pieces of a giant puzzle. South America appeared to fit into
the left side of Africa.
A German scientist, Alfred Wegener, proposed the
continental
theory of drift. He was able to show that all of Earth’s
continents were once connected. Wegener called the huge
continent Pangea (pan•JEE•uh), which means “all of Earth”.

PANGEA Pangea breaks

into separate
220 Million Years
continents.
Ago
1
0
 Pangea existed about 225 million years ago. Over long
of periods
time, the landmasses broke apart and drifted away from
one another. Today, the continents are still moving very
slowly. North and South America are moving away from
Europe and Africa.
Before the continents drifted, what did
they form?

TODAY
The Atlantic
Ocean is
getting wider.

1
1
 Clues from the
Past
Wegener found evidence to support his theory. He
a lizard fossil in South America. A fossil is what remains of a
discovered
living thing from the past. The same type of fossil was found in
southern Africa. The lizards are very small. They could not
have swum across the Atlantic Ocean. Wegener reasoned that
the two continents must have been joined at one time.

Mesosauru
s

1
2
 These formations are found in
both Africa and South
America.

Mountain ranges provide more evidence that continents

Themoved.
Appalachian Mountains in North America are similar to
mountains in Europe. Wegener concluded that North America
and Europe had once been joined. The mountains on the two
continents were a single mountain range millions of years ago.
Some places that are tropical rain forests now were once
in covered
ice. Only a shift in location could explain how the
climates changed.
Also, the kind of plants that formed coal in warm tropical
areas. coal is found in North America, where the climate
However,
is cooler. This is evidence that North America has changed
location over millions of years.

Wegener's theory said North America and

Europe were once joined. What happned after
that?

1
3
 Diverge
nt
boundar
y

Plate
Boundaries
Earth’s surface is made up of plates that move. This
known
theoryasisplate tectonics. The movement of plates can
cause mountains to form and grow taller. Movement of plates
also causes earthquakes. An earthquake is the shaking of
the ground when rocks in the crust move.
A boundary is the place where two plates meet. There are
types
three
of plate
boundaries.
At a divergent boundary, plates move apart from each
mid-ocean
other. A ridge is a mountain range that forms along a
divergent boundary. This is often on the ocean floor. As the
plates move, melted rock rises between them.
At a transform fault boundary, plates slide past each
other.can
sliding Thiscauses
earthquakes.

Transfor
m fault
boundar
y

1
4
 A convergent boundary forms when two plates move toward
each other. Earth’s surface is folded and bent and mountains
Often when one plate is pushed below another, are
rockformed.
lithosphere
in the melts. The melted rock, or magma, may rise to
form a volcano. A volcano is a mountain that forms when
melted rock is pushed to Earth’s surface. Then the rock
builds up.
What sequence of events causes a volcano
to form?

Converge
nt
boundary

Review
Complete sequenc
e
1. Before Earth’s statement
continents became separated,
these
they s. landmass he called
formed a connected
______ .
2. After Alfred Wegener discovered the same
in South America and Africa he decided the
two
______
continents must have been joined.
3. Two plates slide past each other. ______ may
happen.
form
.
4. After plates on the sea floor move apart, a ______
may 1
5
 GLOSSARY asthenosphere [as•THEN•uh•sfir] A zone of
rock in the mantle that
can
flow.
continental drift [kahnt•uhn•ENT•uhl DRIFT] The theory
landmasses were once connected and have drifted to
that Earth’s
where they
are today. [kuhn•VEK•shuhn] The transfer of heat energy
convection
through
the movement of
core [KOHR] The layer of Earth that extends from Earth’s
matter.
center to
the bottom of the
crust [KRUHST] The thin outermost layer of Earth, which
mantle.
includes
both dry land and the ocean
earthquake
floor. [ERTH•kwayk] A shaking of Earth’s crust,
caused
release byof
the
energy at a
fault.[FAHS•uhl] The remains or signs of past life.
fossil
lithosphere [LITH•uh•sfir] The cool, solid portion of
Earth that all of the crust and part of the upper
includes
mantle
mantle. [MAN•tuhl] The thick layer of Earth beneath the
crust. mid-ocean ridge [mid•OH•shuhn RIJ] A chain of
mountains
ocean in the
.
plate tectonics [PLAYT tek•TAHN•ikz] The theory that
divided
Earth’s intoisplates that are always
crust
moving.
volcano [vahl•KAY•noh] A mountain formed by molten rock
pushed to Earth’s surface and
builds
that is up.

1
6
Think About the
Reading
1. How are the crust, mantle, and core different?
What
section of your Reader should you read again to
learn more about Earth’s layers?
2. How does the map on page 12 help you understand
theplates of the
lithosphere?

Hands-On Activity
Trace the continents from a world map. Cut out each
continent and place all of them on a table in their present-
day locations. Try putting all the continents together into
one landmass.
1. What did you notice about the shapes before you
them
puttogether?
2. Do they fit together
well?

School-Home Connection
At transform fault boundaries, plates slide past each
other in opposite directions. This often produces
earthquakes. With a family member, look at a map of
California and try to find the San Andreas fault. Find
other fault lines in the state. Do any of them lie in your
area.