Chapter 2 homework

Chapter 2 Section 1
1. Earth’s surface is composed of water such as oceans, lakes, and rivers and land including continents and islands. Land makes up part of Earth called the lithosphere and water makes up the hydrosphere. Earth’s landforms include mountain ranges, cliffs, valleys, and trenches on land and the ocean floor.

2. Mount Everest in South Asia is 29,028 feet above sea level, the greatest distance on Earth above sea level.

Creative Writing:
Some meteoroids and comets do not have any effects on Earth because they dissolve in the atmosphere. But many objects can impact the earth’s crust, changing the surface permanently. Debris from the impact can enter the atmosphere causing temporary, but not a permanent change that can affect earth’s air quality sometimes leading to death. One of the most memorable meteoroids is the one that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. This undeniably had a long term effect on Earth’s biosphere, lithosphere, and atmosphere.

Chapter 2, Section 2
1. Plate tectonics, refers to all the physical processes that create many of Earth’s physical features. They are possibly caused by heat rising from Earth’s core causing currents within the mantel which Earth’s crust “floats upon”. These currents may cause the plates to shift which can lead to plates colliding, pulling apart, and grinding together. This can lead to the formation of mountains, volcanoes, and trenches that alter Earth’s physical appearance.

2. Internal forces seem to create more landmasses, such as islands, mountains, and volcanoes and external forces seem to erode much of Earth’s surface. Internal forces seem to be led by intense heat, such as magma and external forces seem to be led by coldness, such as ice from glaciers.

Creative Writing:
The North American plate has been forced against the Pacific Plate creating mountains, volcanoes and faults, such as the San Andreas. Plate movements have led to earthquakes and possibly tsunamis along the western coast effecting humans and Earth. Hotspots have created the famous hot springs in Yellowstone National Park and have created the Hawaiian Islands.