chapter 14 review questions
1.) The Earth’s layers are constructed as follows; The core is the interior of the Earth. After that is the outer core (semisolid), the mantle and the crust, a hard outer layer.
2.) Mineral is a naturally occurring, inorganic, solid element or compound with a definite chemical composition and regular internal crystal structure. A rock is a solid, cohesive, aggregate or one or more minerals.
3.) Tectonic plates are the parts of the Earth, the big blocks of the Earths crust that form into a large mosaic. They are important because we live on them. We live on the lifts of the continental plates and the oceans are the basin above the sunk parts of the plates.
4.) The reason that there are a lot of Earthquakes and Volcanoes on the Ring of Fire because of all the faults in the area(planes of weakness.) The more faults there are the more likely earthquakes and volcanoes are to occur.
5.) The rock cycle is the creation, destruction and metamorphosis of rocks. The three types of rocks are igneous rocks; made from magma extruded from the surface from volcanic vents. Sedimentary rocks are rocks made from compacted material; sandstone, tuff, and conglomerates.
6.) Some of the worlds most important metals are aluminum, nickel, iron ore, zinc, copper, mercury, lead and tin. The bulk of them are found in the USA, Canada, Russia, Australia, and South East Asia(China).
7.) Silicates, sand, gravel, salts, limestone, and soil. The majority of these are used in construction of roads or buildings. They come from surface pits and have been deposited by glaciers.
8.) Some ways we recycles metals are things like soda can deposits, two thirds of all soda cans are recycled in the US saving twenty times the amount of energy used in the production of new cans. Another way is platinum in a cars catalytic converter. It is highly reusable from old cars.
9.) Some hazards associated with mineral extraction are; most obviously the removal of the surface. Other effects are air and water pollution, lastly dangerous things like cyanide and mercury are released into the atmosphere from metal extraction processes.
10.) Some of the leading geologic hazards are earthquakes, volcanoes, floods and landslides. These things displace land, ruin fragile ecosystems, interfere with habitats and increases the pace of mass wasting.
