Today we finished the Earth's layer graph. Here we are using the Cartesian graph to help us understand the different layers of the Earth. We are seeing how we can take data to create an image of the different layers of the Earth.
We learned that their is a connection between depth and pressure. Simply put the deeper you go into the Earth the more pressure is created. This also leads to the connection that the deeper you go the higher the melting point of the material the Earth is made of. In other words the deeper you go the more heat energy is needed to melt the materials that the Earth is composed of.
To help explain this connection, we watched a quick video on how water can boil at room temperature if enough pressure is removed. The opposite of this is occurring in the Earth.
We then moved on to lesson 3 which explains how plate tectonics affect the features of the Earth's surface. We learned that there are 3 boundary types that occur between plates.
1. Spreading - This creates the Mid Atlantic Ridge.
2. Colliding - This creates large mountains when two continental crusts meet or a deep ocean trench when oceanic and continental plates meet.
3. Fracture - This is when two plates move side by side. This is what is happening on the west coast of the U.S.
Here is a video to help those who are struggling with the concept of plotting on a graph.