The term Nife is used for which part of the Earth?
- A.The continental crust
- B.The oceanic crust
- C.The mantle
- D.The core
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is D, the core. Nife is formed from the chemical symbols of nickel and iron, the two metals believed to make up the central part of the planet, and the flow of that metal in the liquid outer core is what generates the Earth magnetic field.
Option A, the continental crust, is called Sial, from silica and aluminium, because those are its dominant constituents and its density is low. Option B, the oceanic crust, is called Sima, from silica and magnesium, and is thinner but denser than the continental crust. Option C, the mantle, is the largest layer by volume and is rich in silicates of iron and magnesium, but the Nife label is not used for it. Learn the three short names together, Sial, Sima and Nife, from the surface downward.
Read the full article: Structure of the Earth and Rocks: Layers, Waves and Types
Practice Questions
View allThe boundary that separates the crust from the mantle is known as the
- A.Conrad discontinuity
- B.Mohorovicic discontinuity
- C.Gutenberg discontinuity
- D.Lehmann discontinuity
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Named after the Croatian seismologist who noticed that earthquake waves suddenly speed up at a certain depth, it marks the base of the crust and the top of the mantle, and is commonly shortened to the Moho.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following seismic waves cannot travel through liquids?
- A.Primary or P waves
- B.Secondary or S waves
- C.Surface or L waves
- D.All three types
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They are transverse waves, in which particles vibrate at right angles to the direction of travel, and such motion cannot be sustained in a fluid, so S waves die out at the outer core.
Read the full explanation →Marble is a metamorphic rock formed from which of the following parent rocks?
- A.Sandstone
- B.Shale
- C.Limestone
- D.Granite
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Limestone is a sedimentary rock made largely of calcium carbonate, and when heat and pressure recrystallise it without melting it, the result is marble, the stone used in the Taj Mahal and in the Dilwara temples.
Read the full explanation →The Deccan Trap of peninsular India is composed mainly of which rock?
- A.Granite
- B.Basalt
- C.Limestone
- D.Gneiss
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The Deccan Trap was formed by vast fissure eruptions in which lava spread over the surface and cooled quickly, giving a fine-grained extrusive igneous rock, basalt.
Read the full explanation →Fossils of ancient plants and animals are found mainly in which type of rock?
- A.Igneous rocks
- B.Sedimentary rocks
- C.Metamorphic rocks
- D.Plutonic rocks
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They are built up layer by layer as sediment settles over the remains of living things and hardens gently, so shells, bones and plant matter survive as fossils.
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