All About Science: 6Worksheets

Exploring Earth

Who says science is all Bunsen burners and beakers? Explore ourplanet's own scientific wonders with this collection of worksheets, just in time

for Earth Day!

Table of ContentsLearn about the Earth's Layers

Water Cycle ChartHurricane ScienceCraters on Earth

Tornado Fill-In-the-BlankPlate Tectonics

-3,954 miles

-3,000 miles

-2-2,000 miles

-1,000 miles

oceace n floor

7 miles

30 miles

50 miles

400 miles

Read the information below to learn about Earth’s solid and atmospheric layers. When you’re done, see if you can label each layer in the illustration below.

Earth’s LayersEarth’s Layers

t the center of the Earth lies the Earth’s core. It consists of two layers - the inner core and the outer core. The inner core is an extremely dense sphere believed to contain large amounts of Earth’s heaviest elements like iron and nickel. It is estimated to be 1,520 miles in

diameter and over 9,000 degees Farenheit! The mantle makes up almost 70% of the Earth’s total mass. It is separated from the liquid outer core by the thin ‘D’ layer. All of these layers together are nearly 8,000 miles in diameter. They all rest below the crust of the Earth, which is only 6 miles thick and represents the paper thin shell covering the rest of the planet.The troposphere is the lowest layer of the Earth’s atmosphere. This is where the majority of clouds and weather exist. Just above troposphere is the stratosphere where airplanes comfortably cruise. Beyond the stratosphere are the mesosphere, then the thermosphere, and finally the exosphere, which begins about 400 miles above the surface of the Earth. Beyond the exosphere is “outer space.”Distances not drawn to scale

5TH GRADEE A R T H S C I E N C E

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Hurricanes!Hurricanes!ExploreExplorephenomenal science Historical Hurricanes

Galveston HurricaneThis hurricane hit Texas with winds of 145 mph. It is estimated about 6,000 - 12,000 people were killed.

1900

Hurricane CamilleThe 2nd of three category 5 hurricanes to make landfall in the US during the 20th century. This storm is also the first named after a person.

1969

Hurricane AndrewThis storm caused $26.5 billion in damages across Florida and Louisiana.

1992

Hurricane KatrinaOne of the deadliest hurri-canes in US history, Katrina killed over 1,000 people and cost $81 billion in damages.

2005

Safety Tips

Help your family put together a disaster kit.1

Keep records of your valuables.2

Plan an evacuation route with your family.3

Keep an emergency radio.4

During a storm, stay clear of electrical wires.5

If major flooding occurs, try staying above the water.7

Research ways to secure and prepare your home.

6

Anyone who has ever lived through a hurricane knows that they are the biggest, baddest storm nature can dish out. A large hurricane can grow to be 600 miles across and packs the power of many nuclear bombs. These super-storms unleash high winds and rain on states like Florida and Louisiana year after year. In contrast to the tremendous power they have when they arrive on American shores, hurricanes start in a simple way. A normal thunderstorm in North Africa will blow out into the Atlantic ocean, near the earth's equa-tor. Once the storm is over the water, it will begin to gain more power. The water around the equator collects a lot of solar energy, which adds to the storm's power. Hot air rises up the center of the thunderstorm, cooling o� as it makes contact with a colder atmosphere and dumping moisture. All that energy only adds to the storm. This exchange of hot air and moisture creates a giant column of air. As the storm picks up more energy, a rotation will form, causing the storm to start spinning faster and faster, picking up wind speeds. As soon as the winds begin to blow at 75 mph or more, a hurricane is born. How does a hurricane move from the Atlantic ocean to North America? Over the summer, trade winds blow from Africa to the United States. These winds push newly-formed hurricanes across the Atlantic, helping the storm build up power. By the time the storm reaches the United States, its winds will have reached speeds of 100 mph or more. Once a storm hits the US, the storm can "come undone" or the winds can shift and blow the hurricane harmlessly up the coast. In worst-case scenarios, the storm will hit land and cause massive damage to land and property. The storm's strong winds are capable of ripping out trees from the ground, and producing 1-2 feet of rainwater in less than a day. Over the course of one season, a hurricane will often leave some towns flooded and devastated.

Hurricanes!Hurricanes!ExploreExplorephenomenal science

Warm, Moist Air

Cool, Dense AirConvection Currents

Storm Eye

Where do North American hurricanes originate?

After reading the article on hurricanes, please answer the following questions:

What was the first US Hurricane named after a person?

How does a hurricane move across the Atlantic ocean?

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Crazy Craters Around The World

Craters are bowl-shaped depressions in the ground caused by the high velocity impact of a meteorite or asteroid. Here are some of the most well-known craters all over the world:

Lake Bosumtwi crater-Located in Kumasi, Ghana-The impact of the meteorite opened up a crater that slowly filled with water, creating Ghana’s only natural lake.-Lake Bosumtwi crater is 10.5 kilometers across.

Barringer crater-Located in the state of Arizona, USA-Best preserved impact center-Also known as Meteor Crater, Coon Butte and Canyon Diablo-Barringer Crater is relatively small. It measures only 1.2 kilometers in diameter.

ArizonaUSA

KumasiGhana

Barringer crater

Lake Bosumtwi crater

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Vredefort crater-Located in the Free State Province of South Africa and named after the town of Vredefort, which is situated near its center.-Largest verified impact crater on Earth-Scientists estimate that Vredefort crater was created by an asteroid roughly 5-10 kilometers in diameter.-Vredefort crater is about 300 kilometers wide, and more than 2 billion years old!

-Located in Quebec, Canada-These two lake craters were caused by a pair of asteroids that crashed into Earth simultaneously-West Clearwater Lake has a 32 kilometer diameter, and East Clearwater Lake has a 22 kilometer diameter.

Clearwater Lakes

Free State ProvinceSouth Africa

QuebecCanada

Vredefort crater

Clearwater Lakes

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Reading ComprehensionCraters are created by meteorites that hit the earth at great speeds. This impact creates lakes, canyons and other landforms. What other natural processes affect the shape of the land?

If the Vredefort crater is 300 kilometers wide, 250 kilometers long and 10 kilometers deep, what is its volume?

If the western Clearwater Lake is 32 kilometers wide, 26 kilometers long and 1.5 kilometers deep, what is its volume?

If Lake Bosumtwi crater is about 8 kilometers wide, 8 kilometers long and 1 kilometer deep, what is its volume?

Finding Volume

volume = length x width x height

Let’s do a math review! Imagine we live in a world where craters are rectangular in shape. Find the volume of the craters using the formula below.

Learn About Tornadoes A tornado is a spiraling of air that reaches from a cloud to land. Tornadoes can reach speeds of up to miles per hour and can cause signifi-cant destruction! In the there are about 1,000 torna-does each year. Most of these tornadoes occur in an area called Tornado Alley. Tornado alley is right in the middle of the country and includes the states Texas, Kansas and Most tornadoes form during . When warm, moist air and cool, dry air mix the atmosphere becomes unstable. With a change in wind speed and direction a spinning effect begins to take place.Rising air within this tilts the rotating air into a vertical position. This column of rotating air is usually between two and six miles wide. clouds can form within this area. When a funnel cloud reaches the it is called a tornado.

Use the word bank below to fill the empty spaces in the

paragraph.Word Bank

300ground

thunderstormsupdraftfunnelcolumnu.s.a.oklahoma

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A

BC

Plate Tectonics

A B C

Did you ever wonder why the ground shakes during an earthquake? Have you ever asked yourself why some volcanos are always active, while others only erupt once every thousands of years? Believe it or not, many scientists believe that earthquakes, volcanoes, and even tsunamis are all related to a favorite scientific theory: plate tectonics.

About fi�y years ago, many scientists came up with an idea on why earthquakes, volcanic activity, and why some dinosaur fossils can be found on two continents that are far away from each other. The theory of plate tectonics states that the second layer of earth, the lithosphere, is made up of large, broken-up pieces. Seven or eight giant plates make up earth, with lots of minor plates between them. Tectonic plates are always moving. Some-times the plates move against or away from each other. Scientists have come up with the following names for these plate movements:

Divergent: When two tectonic plates pull away in opposite directions, it is called divergent plate movement. This o�en happens on the oceanic crust, creating large trenches on the sea floor bed where hot magma is exposed by the gap between

these plates, contacting icy salt water in large smoke plumes.

Subduction: This happens when two plates crash into each other. The plates behave differently depending on whether or not they are continental or oceanic. For example, when an oceanic plate crashes into a continental slab, the oceanic plate is forced to move under the overlapping continental plate. But, If two continental plates collide into each other, the crust will form mountain ranges out of the compressed plates.

Lateral Slipping: A lot of friction happens when two plates move against each other. As the plates grind in opposite directions, friction and pressure builds up until its released. The plates will suddenly jerk apart, creating earthquakes and tsunamis.

Our world is made up of different moving parts that are constantly crashing, pushing, and brush-ing into one another. The plate tectonic theory helps explain how new land forms are made, where earthquakes come from, and other major questions about our planet's crust.

Based on the reading above, label the three plate movements in the illustration below.

Answer SheetsAll About Science: 6 Worksheets Exploring Earth

Hurricane ScienceCraters on Earth

Tornado Fill-In-the-BlankPlate Tectonics

Hurricanes!Hurricanes!ExploreExplorephenomenal science

Warm, Moist Air

Cool, Dense AirConvection Currents

Storm Eye

Where do North American hurricanes originate?

After reading the article on hurricanes, please answer the following questions:

What was the first US Hurricane named after a person?

How does a hurricane move across the Atlantic ocean?

Hurricanes start as thunderstorms in Africathat are blown east into the Atlantic ocean.

Hurricane Camille.

Trade winds from Africa will push thehurricane east, towards the US.

More worksheets at www.education.com/worksheetsCopyright © 2010-2011 by Education.com2012-2013

Reading ComprehensionCraters are created by meteorites that hit the earth at great speeds. This impact creates lakes, canyons and other landforms. What other natural processes affect the shape of the land?

If the Vredefort crater is 300 kilometers wide, 250 kilometers long and 10 kilometers deep, what is its volume?

If the western Clearwater Lake is 32 kilometers wide, 26 kilometers long and 1.5 kilometers deep, what is its volume?

If Lake Bosumtwi crater is about 8 kilometers wide, 8 kilometers long and 1 kilometer deep, what is its volume?

Finding Volume

volume = length x width x height

Let’s do a math review! Imagine we live in a world where craters are rectangular in shape. Find the volume of the craters using the formula below.

Nature has many different ways of shaping the earth. It is called

weathering. Volcanoes, earthquakes (movment of tectonic plates), floods,

rainfall, snow, ice, wind, and chemical reactions in the soil are just some of

the many types of weathering that shape the earth. Even gravity has

an affect on the earth’s shape! The earth would not be round if it weren’t

for gravity.

300 x 250 x 10 = 750,000 km3

32 x 26 x 1.5 = 1,248 km3

8 x 8 x 1 = 64 km3

Learn About Tornadoes A tornado is a spiraling of air that reaches from a cloud to land. Tornadoes can reach

-cant destruction! In the there are about 1,000 torna-does each year. Most of these tornadoes occur in an area called Tornado Alley. Tornado alley is right in the middle of the country and includes the

states Texas, Kansas andMost tornadoes form during . When warm, moist air and cool, dry air mix the atmosphere becomes unstable. With a change in wind speed and direction a spinning effect begins to take place.Rising air within this tilts the rotating air into a vertical position. This column of rotating air is usually between two and six miles wide. clouds can form within this area. When a funnel cloud reaches the

it is called a tornado.

Use the word bank empty spaces in the paragraph.

WORD BANK

300GROUND

THUNDERSTORMSUPDRAFTFUNNELCOLUMNU.S.A.OKLAHOMA

Copyright 2010-2011 Education.com www.education.com/worksheets created by:

300U.S.A.

Oklahomathunderstorms

updraft

ground

funnel

columnAnswer Key!

A

BC

Plate Tectonics

A B C

Did you ever wonder why the ground shakes during an earthquake? Have you ever asked yourself why some volcanos are always active, while others only erupt once every thousands of years? Believe it or not, many scientists believe that earthquakes, volcanoes, and even tsunamis are all related to a favorite scientific theory: plate tectonics.

About fi�y years ago, many scientists came up with an idea on why earthquakes, volcanic activity, and why some dinosaur fossils can be found on two continents that are far away from each other. The theory of plate tectonics states that the second layer of earth, the lithosphere, is made up of large, broken-up pieces. Seven or eight giant plates make up earth, with lots of minor plates between them. Tectonic plates are always moving. Some-times the plates move against or away from each other. Scientists have come up with the following names for these plate movements:

Divergent: When two tectonic plates pull away in opposite directions, it is called divergent plate movement. This o�en happens on the oceanic crust, creating large trenches on the sea floor bed where hot magma is exposed by the gap between

these plates, contacting icy salt water in large smoke plumes.

Subduction: This happens when two plates crash into each other. The plates behave differently depending on whether or not they are continental or oceanic. For example, when an oceanic plate crashes into a continental slab, the oceanic plate is forced to move under the overlapping continental plate. But, If two continental plates collide into each other, the crust will form mountain ranges out of the compressed plates.

Lateral Slipping: A lot of friction happens when two plates move against each other. As the plates grind in opposite directions, friction and pressure builds up until its released. The plates will suddenly jerk apart, creating earthquakes and tsunamis.

Our world is made up of different moving parts that are constantly crashing, pushing, and brush-ing into one another. The plate tectonic theory helps explain how new land forms are made, where earthquakes come from, and other major questions about our planet's crust.

Based on the reading above, label the three plate movements in the illustration below.

DivergentSubduction Subduction