SCIENCE 10-Q1
MAIN LAYERS OF THE EARTH
Main Layers of the Earth
Crust
Mantle
Core -inner
- Outer
Crust
Outermost layer
Thinnest
Extend from the surface about 32 km below
Underneath its thickness is 72 km
As the crust becomes older it becomes thicker
2 kinds of Crust:
Oceanic
Continental
Oceanic Crust (Sima)
7-10km thick (average 8km)
Dense rock basalt
Young (under 200 million years)
Thinner
Dense
Heavy
Sinks
Always being created or destroyed (ex. Basalt)
The older it gets the thicker it becomes
Continental Crust (Sial)
Made up of Silicon Aluminum, calcium, sodium, potassium
35-40km in thickness
Granite
Old
Light (up to 150km under mountains)
Permanent
Less dense
Thicker
Does not sink (ex. Granite)
Mantle
2900km from the earth’s surface
80% of the earth’s total volume
68% of its total mass
Made up of silicon, oxygen, iron and magnesium
Temperature and pressure increases with depth
Composed of solid rocks
The upper layer is the plates
Semi-molten and solid rocks
It floats
Where convection takes place
Thicker part
The lower part consists of more iron than the higher part.
The higher the pressure allows the mantle to flow
Two types of Mantle:
Upper Mantle
Lower Mantle
Asthenosphere
Part of the upper mantle located below the crust of the Earth
Beneath the lithosphere
Made of hot molten material
Temp = 30-800 degrees Celsius
Its temperature is enough to facilitate melting and make it capable of flow
Part that is semi-molten
Makes the plate move
Where the continents tend to move
Places on top of the asthenosphere tend to float or move
Boundary between crust and mantle
Lithosphere
The crust and the upper part of the mantle form a relatively cool outermost rigid shell
called the lithosphere
50 to 100km thick
Core
Center of the Earth
The size of the planet mars
Ball of liquid iron
Ball of iron and nickel
Innermost part
The greater the pressure the greater the temperature
2 types of Core
Inner Core
Outer Core
Inner Core
Solid iron and nickel
Has a radius of 1300km
Temperature reaches about 5000 degrees Celsius
Hotter
Why is it solid?
It is solid because pressure increases as you go deeper and intense pressure
The extreme temperature could have molten the iron and nickel but it solidified as a
result of pressure freezing
Characteristics of the inner core
Solid ball due to high pressure
1540 miles across
Very hot
3700 degrees Celsius
Iron and nickel
Intense pressure keeps it from liquefying
Outer Core
Silicon, iron and nickel
Liquid
2900km below the earth’s surface
2250km thick
Temperature reaches 2000 degrees Celsius
Iron and nickel melts
Characteristics of the outer core
Dense liquid molten rock
1400 miles thick
Mainly iron and nickel
Silicon
Between the mantle and inner core
Gives earth its magnetic field
