Topic 6 - Earth Science

 

The Sciences:  Chapter 17 and 18

 

1)  The theory of plate tectonics states that there are plates moving underneath the continents and the oceans.  Thinking of the earth as a giant jawbreaker, what part of the jawbreaker is one of the plates?  What part of the jawbreaker is moving the plates?

 

Answer:  A jawbreaker is made up of various layers on top of one another.  The outer layer would be the earth as we see it with the oceans and continents.  The layer underneath the top layer are the plates.  Under the second layer are many other layers that constitute the mantle of the earth.  The mantle is the molten part of the earth that the plates ride on. 

 

2)  We often hear about earthquakes occurring in California, but can earthquakes occur in Iowa?  Explain your answer.

 

Answer:  Yes.  Even though we are not near one of the areas well known for earthquakes, Iowa has had it's share.  The biggest effects were from a series of earthquakes in Missouri and Arkansas in 1811-1812 called the New Madrid, Missouri.  For more information http://wwwneic.cr.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/USA/1811-1812.html. 

 

3)  Diamonds are a type of rock.  What type; sedimentary, igneous or metamorphic?  Explain your answer.

 

Answer:  Diamonds are a metamorphic rock.  Metamorphic rocks are rocks that have "morphed" into from an igneous or sedimentary rock into a new type of rock.  The change occurs when the original rocks are under tons and tons of pressure, which fosters heat build up, and this causes them to change. If you exam metamorphic rock samples closely, you'll discover how flattened some of the grains in the rock are.  For more information on how diamonds are formed go to:  http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/diamonds/formation.html.

 

 

Q1=The inside of the jawbreaker would be called the "Oceanic Plate".Because it is stable.  While the outside of the jawbreaker could be compared to the "Continental Plates", because it shifts as you chew on it, just like the continental plates shift and move.

Q2=Yes and no.  The aftershocks of earthquakes have been felt in iowa before.  One specifically happened in St. Louis in the late 1900's.  The after shocks could be felt for hundreds of miles.  The reason that California has so many earthquakes is simple.  It lies on the San Andre's fault.  Because of the theory of Plate techtonics, the Nothr Amberican Plate and the Pacific Plate is in constant movment, thus causing earthquakes.

Q3=They are not rocks.  They are carbon.  The closest thing that you could call them would be metamorphic, because of the chemical change that they go through in extreme heat and pressure.  Rocks are made out of silicon and minerals. That is the defining difference between the two.  I cannont conclude any definate evidence on this matter because our book did not explain this in great detail.  However, from my own deductions this is what I've concluded.

 

1.  The outer-most layer of the jawbreaker would represent one of the plates.  The center, or core of the jawbreaker is what moves the plates and creates the earthquake.

2.  Yes, Earthquakes can occur in Iowa.  They are able to because of the plates below that separate and collide.  It may seem that they can't occur in Iowa because most earthquakes do take place beneath the surface of the sea-on the coast.

3.  Diamonds are a type of igneous rock.  Diamonds are found in kimberlites which are igneous rocks.  Kimberlites contain minerals and diamonds.  Kimberlites serve as the primary source for diamonds.

 

1.The layer underneath the top service is the part that is moving the plates.

2. No because we don't have any fault lines.  Most of the fault lines are near the ocean.

3. Igneous because they can cut glass, and they are clar and they sparkle.  Also because they are easy to shape.

 

Q1=If the earth was a giant jawbreaker, the various layers would be the layers of the earth.  The first layer, the crust, would be the outside layer on the jawbreaker.  The next layer would be the plates,and the third layer would be the earth's mantle.  When the mantle moves, the plates move, so the third layer would move the second.

Q2=Earthquakes occur along fault line, which are along the plates that make up the earth.  California is on one of these lines.  There is a fault line in Missouri.  It is possible for there to be earthquakes in Iowa, but they are not very strong.

Q3=Diamonds are a metamorphic rock.  A characteristic of metamorphic rock is that it is transformed by intense temperature and pressure.  A diamond is highly-pressurized carbon.  They can be made by man if the high temperatures and pressure are duplicated.

 

Q1=If you think of a giant jawbreaker as the earth, the part just under the surface would be the plates.  The center of the jawbreaker moves the plates.

Q2=No, an earthquake could no occur in Iowa.  Here in Iowa we might feel after shocks from one, but not the full thing.  That is because we are not close to a plate bondary.  That is why places like California have them frequently.

Q3=Diamonds are metamorpic rock.  This is because they are changed by the earths presure from a rock into a diamond.

 

1.  Well the earth is broken up into about a dozen large pieces called tetonic plates.  So if the earth was a jaw breaker the outer layer would be the ocean and continents and then next layer under would be the plates.  The part moving the plates would be directly under that. 

2.  I think that is because California lies on the plateboundary where earthquakes come at their worst.  The midwest has occasional earthquakes but they are not understood because it is in the middle of the plates which is not common for earthquakes.

3.  Well I am not exactly sure but I think that Diamonds are metamorphic rocks?  Igneous rocks are the volcanic rocks and Sedimentary rocks are the rocks like sandstone formed of many layers.  Metamorphic rocks  seem to be the ones that are melted into harder rocks like crystals, etc.  So my best answer would be Metamorphic.

 

Q1=The plates are like the outer shell of a jawbreaker.  It is for the most part smooth and easily broken down.  As sailva breaks it down, it may become weak and a piece may break apart from the whole jawbreaker.  The inner core of the jawbreaker would be responsible for the movement of the outer shell.  When you break down the outer shell enough, a small crack develops.  Energy would escape from the inside the core, where the crack begins.  Thus, pushing the outer shell away from the jawbreaker.

Q2=Yes they can.  The New Madrid fault line runs through the state of Missouri.  Scientists as of yet can't explain why earthquakes have occured there.  If my memory serves me correct, the largest earthquake on record took place in Missouri.  I would tend to believe that these earthquakes are caused my recoil of two plates converging together.

Q3=I think that they are metamorphic rocks.  They are formed by pressure and heat from the Earth.  Diamonds have fine crystals in them, which are heated and forced together.  The diamond look-alike rock quartzite is metamorphic, which also leads me to believe it is metamorphic.

 

1. Say there were 5 layers of a jawbreaker like there are 5 layers of the earth: crust, lithosphere, mantle, molten rock/metal, core.  The 3^rd level of the jawbreaker (the mantle) would be the plates and the 4^th layer (the molten rock/metal) would be the layer causing the plates to move.

2.  I do not believe that earthquakes can occur in Iowa because there is not a fault line running through Iowa.  I do believe that the effects of earthquakes can be felt in Iowa though because there were earthquakes in New Madrid, Missouri in 1811 and 1812 that people said they could feel across the country.  Iowa, bordering Missouri, would easily be able to feel the effects of an earthquake.

3. Diamonds are a type of metamorphic rock.  Metamorphic rock is created when sedimentary or igneous rock changes as a result of high pressure and heat acting on the rocks.  Metamorphic rocks have the characteristic of being hard and containing crystals.  Diamonds are the hardest material on Earth.  Diamonds are created when coal is put under high pressure and heat.

 

Q1=The part of the jawbreaker that is moving is the crust and part of the upper mantle.  The other part of the jaw breaker is the mantle.

Q2=Yes earthquakes can occur in Iowa.  Most earthquakes occur near a fault boundary, however, earthquakes can occur in the middle of plates.  Earthquakes have happened in Missouri, their orgins are not fully understood though.  So I think that earhtquakes can happen in Iowa.

Q3=Diamonds are metamorphic rocks.  They are classified as this because the diamonds go through a change.  Diamonds start out as coal and over a long period of time all of the pressure on the coal causes it to change form and we get diamonds.

 

Q1=I am not sure what a jaw breaker looks like inside, I am thinking that this is a solid candy.  So with this in mind I would have to say that the either the center could be one of the tectonic plates.

The moving of the plates could come from the center also, the same as a tectonic plate would on the ocean floor.

Q2=Yes, most definitely. I experienced two earthquakes in Ia. One was when I was about 8 or 9 years old.  I remember it shook all of the yellow leaves off of our neighbors maple tree. 

There is a very large fault line that runs under the mid west, I believe it is called the Madrid Fault Line. I think it was in the 1800's when there was a very large earthquake.

Q3=I would think that diamonds are a metamorphic rock.  Becuase diamonds would have to be formed in much the same way a quartz, by intense pressure and heat. (Aren't diamonds formed from coal?)

 

1. The layers inside the jawbreaker would be the plates. The outer layer would act as water does in the earth, and that is the part of the jawbreaker that would move the plates.

2. I think earthquakes can occur in Iowa, but I have never heard of one. I do know that the earth cracks when there is an earthquake, and these cracks can be seen in Iowa. For example, concrete cracks and the earth itself sometimes cracks, making one piece higher than another. These cracks could be causes from minor earthquakes or they could not. I'm not really sure.

3. Diamonds are a type of metamorphic rock. High temperatures under the ground can transform slate into banded rocks, such as schists and gneisses, which often hold fine crystals of garnets. Diamonds can now be manufactured by duplicating these high temperatures and pressures that exist thousands of kilometers beneath the earth's surface.

 

Q1=If the the Earth were a giant jaw breaker... The thick candy coating and part of the second layer would be one of the plates.  The part of the jawbreaker that was moving the plates would be the middle color.  Not the color in the center of the jawbreaker but the one that is in between the center and the outside.

Q2=Yes earthquakes can occur in Iowa.  One of the stongest fault lines in the US runs through Missourri and could cause earthquakes here in Iowa.  They usually aren't very powerful because of the distance that they have to travel from the fault line.

Q3=Diamonds are metamorpohic.  This is because they change from being coal to the diamond.  They change because of many things like extremely high temperatures here on Earth.

 

Q1=The outter candy shell and part of the following layer are like one one of the plates.  The moving plates part of a jawbreaker is the middle layer, not the center, but the part between the outter layers and the center.

Q2=Yes earthquakes can occur in Iowa.  There is plates in missouri that have been known to move and cause an earthquake.  With earthquakes occuring so close to Iowa there is the chance that it could cause a little earthquake in Iowa.

Q3=Diamonds are metamorphic rocks.  They are created at high temperatures and the pressure transforms them. Diamonds start out as coal and get heated so extremely that the pressure changes them.

 

Q1=I do not understand the analogy.  I will mak a guess though and say that the outside of the jawbreaker is one of the plates and the cracking of the jawbreaker is moving the plates, or else the inside of the jawbreaker is loosening and i9s melting and cracking in the person's mouth who is sucking on one.  The jawbreaker is moving, melting, and breaking in the person's mouth.  The outside shell is breaking, applying pressure to the rest of the outside shell.  I do not know if this is right, so maybe we could talk about it in class.

Q2=Theoritically, they can, and they have.  While California is more susceptible to earthquakes due to the San Andreas Fault, which gives it a regular occurence of quakes and tremor.  Iowa in contrast, is within range of being effected by the New Madrid Fault, which really isn't a fault in the sense since it isn't tied into the continental plate like most, but is termed a hot spot.  A hot spot is a place in the Earth's crust where pressure is relieved by an earthquake or a volcano.  The fault itself is relatively small.  But for residents of the Midwest in the early 1800s, it rocked their world.  The Mississippi River flowed upstream as far as Minnesota.  It was one of the biggest earthquakes in history.  Earthquakes can happen in Iowa.

Q3=Diamonds are a type of metamorphic rock.  A metamorphic rock is a type of rock formed from lava flows and are buried deep within the Earth--depending on where--and subjected to intense pressure and heat.  This causes it to change from a basic piece of carbonized pumice and is transformed into a diamond.  Or other things can be formed condsidering the conditions are right.  You could also have other crystals or minerals formed.