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How our planet works - Coggle Diagram
How our planet works
How do continents move?
Continental drift theory: The theory that states that land masses (continents) move/drift. The theory also states that all land used to be joined together, but the continents we know today had slowly broken apart and drifted away from each other.
First, the continents were joined together in a landmass called Pangaea.
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Gondwanaland broke up into South America, Australia, Africa, Antarctica, and India.
Laurasia broke up into Europe, North America, Asia.
India and Asia joined together in a convergent plate boundary to create the Himalayan mountain range.
Tectonic plates: pieces of rock. They are part of the lithosphere, a section of the earth. It is the crust and an upper part of the mantle.
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Earthquakes
Earthquakes are when the earth shakes. They can be big enough to cause damage to buildings, and so small that we don't even feel them.
Earthquakes are most commonly caused by transform plate boundaries. Transform plate boundaries are when tectonic plates rub against each other. (see: how do continents move? for explanation)
Earthquakes are measured using the Richter scale. It is from 1 - 10, 1 being the smallest and 10 being the largest. An earthquake with a magnitude of 6 and above will cause damage to buildings.
The atmosphere
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The atmosphere is a layer of gas that surrounds the earth. It helps sustain life on earth by giving us oxygen, heat and protection against UV rays.
Our atmosphere is made of roughly 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and the remaining 1% is all the other gases.
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Weather/climate
Weather is the short term weather conditions in an area. Changes in weather may take place with a few hours' difference. Weather includes rainy, sunny, cloudy, etc.
Climate is the long term weather conditions in an area. It is the average weather conditions in (usually) 30 years. Climate takes in account average precipitation, humidity and sunlight.
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