Protoplanet Theory

1
Earths Structure

• Protoplanet Theory
• Earths Interior Layers
• Formation of oceans and continents

2
Vocabulary
Crust-The outer layer of the Earth Mantle-The
thick portion of Earth's structure in between the
crust and the core Outer core-The heated section
of the Earth located in between the mantle and
the inner core Inner core-The deepest ,
innermost section of Earth's structure made up of
extremely hot iron and nickel
3
Vocabulary Continued
Lithosphere-The outer layer of Earth's structure
made up of the crust and solid parts of the
mantle Asthenosphere-The layer below the
lithosphere that is made up of the rest of the
mantle that has rocks that are only partially
melted
4
Vocabulary Continued
Silicates-A mineral made with silicon and oxygen
that makes up most of Earth's crust Protoplanet
Theory- The idea of a rotating cloud of dust
creating the Solar System
5
Notes Earths Interior Layers

• Crust- The thin rocky crust, is the outer layer
  of the earth, and is about 22 km thick.
• Mantle-The mantle is the second layer of the
  earth structure, it is comprised of two parts the
  upper solid parts of the mantle called the
  lithosphere floats on the softer bottom layer
  called the asthenosphere , all together the
  mantle is about 3000km thick.

6
Continued...

• Outer Core-The outer core, which is around 2200km
  thick, is molten rock which rotates around the
  core causing earth's magnetic field.
• Inner Core-The earth's inner core,
• which is 1250 km thick, is the
• hottest layer but the pressure is so
• great that it does not melt.

7
Protoplanet Theory

• A rotating cloud of dust starts to collapse.
  Then an instability in the cloud causes the dust
  to form balls.
• The the balls collide to form even bigger balls.
• One ball becomes big and hot enough to become a
  star.
• The star final sucks all the
• gas to the inner part of the
• solar system to form the
• planets while the rest of
• the dust is blown away.

8
Formation of oceans and continents

• 200 million years ago there was the super
  continent of pangea.
• This was formed most likely by volcanic
  outbursts between 2.5 and 3 million years ago
  where around 70 of the land mass was formed.
• At this tie the rest of the earth was covered
  with water.
• Then 180 years ago pangea broke into two parts.
  The north had North America, Europe, and Asia in
  it.

9
continued...

• The southern had Africa, South America, India,
  Australia, and Antarctica in it.
• Then 135 million years ago
• the individual continent broke
• apart and moved to there
• current positions over
• millions of years, and they
• are still moving today.

10
Historical Information

• The Earth was created about 4.54 billion years
  ago
• Material like iron sank to the core of the earth
  and lighter silicates and water rose to the
  surface.
• At one point the Earth's surface consisted of
  only molten lava.
• David Stevenson was one of the people who helped
  discover about the structure of the earth and how
  the Earth was created.

11
Real Life Applications

• Geoscientists take care of Earth's resources and
  environment.
• They work to understand natural happenings on
  Earth and other planets.
• They investigate the land, oceans, and atmosphere
  on Earth
• They can help in predicting weather and finding
  new useful materials on Earth
• Geoscientists are important scientists who help
  our world discover new things about Earth's
  history and future

12
demonstration

• Fill out, and label the diagram of the earths
  structure.

13
Bibliography

• Blanchard, Donald. "The Making of a
  Supercontinent." Novermber 2005. 3 Oct 2007
  lthttp//webspinners.com/dlblanc/tectonic/pangea.ph
  pgt.
• "structure of the Earth." structure of the Earth.
  Auguest 14, 1998. 3 Oct 2007 lthttp//scign.jpl.nas
  a.gov/learn/plate1.htmlgt.
• "structure of the earth." The Southern California
  Integrated GPS Network Education Module. 8/14/98.
  LLC, Maggie Glasscoe. 3 Oct 2007
  lthttp//scign.jpl.nasa.gov/learn/plate1.htm gt.
• " dictionary results ." dictionary.com . 2007 .
  Lexico Publishing Group. 3 Oct 2007
  lthttp//dictionary.reference.com/gt.
• " Careers in Geoscience." Careers in Geoscience.
  is not given. American Geological Institute, and
  American Association of Petroleum Geologists. 3
  Oct 2007 lthttp///www.earthscienceworld.org/careee
  rs//brochure.html/gt.