6. Structural Zones
0 3 compositional zones are divided into 5
structural zones.
0 Lithosphere: Part of the mantle & crust above it.
0 Cool & brittle
0 Asthenosphere: Solid rock is able to flow.
0 Very hot and has high pressure
0 Mesosphere: Layer of solid mantle rock
0 Outer core (liquid)
0 Inner core (solid)
7. Earth as a Magnet
0Has 2 magnetic
poles
0Motions in the
core produce
electric currents
that create
magnetic field.
0Shaped by solar
winds
8. Earth’s Rotation
0 The spinning of Earth around its axis is called
rotation.
0 1 full rotation = 24 hours
0 Evidence
0 Foucault Pendulum – Large pendulum that shifts 11 ̊ every
hour in a clockwise direction.
0 Coriolis Effect – Winds are deflected to the right in N.
Hemisphere and to the left in the S. Hemisphere.
9. Effects of Rotation
0 Sun appears to rise in the east and set in the west.
0 Standard Time Zones
0 Based upon the rate in which the sun appears to move
across the sky.
0 Starting point for the standard time zone is the prime
meridian.
0 Passes through Greenwich, England (longitude 0 ̊)
0 International Date Line
0 Longitude where the date changes.
0 180th meridian
13. Ellipse
0 The shape the earth’s orbit takes around the
Sun is called an ellipse; an elongated closed
curve
0 The sun is not in the center of the ellipse
0 Thus, the distance between the sun and earth
changes.
