Aim: How is Earth’s interior Structured?
Do Now: Why do you think Earth has layers?
What material do you think make up those layers?
I. Layers of the Earth
• layers are defined by their specific composition, temperature and density.
Where would the highest temperatures
be located?
A) Crust- thin outer rocky layer
- least dense of all the layers- Oceanic Crust – mostly Basalt bedrock (more dense)- Continental Crust – mostly Granite Bedrock (less dense)
The deepest hole drilled by man is 7.6 mi deep
(Kola Peninsula, Russia). That is only 1% of the
Earth’s entire thickness.
B) Mantle- thickest layer consisting plastic fluid-like material.
- Meteorites provide clues as to what the interior of earth is made of. (they were made from the same material at the same time) Chondrites: stony (non-
metallic) meteorites that were formed from dust and rocks
that were present in the early solar system.
C) Core
- deepest layers of the Earth.- composed of iron and nickel.
- Inner Core solid iron and nickel
- Outer Core liquid iron and nickel
How many cores does Earth have?
II. Physical Properties
A) Lithosphere – consists of the crust and uppermost mantle.
- Forms a cool, rigid shell made of rock.
B) Asthenosphere –
- a soft, weak layer beneath the lithosphere.
- rocks are close to their melting points in this layer. (plastic-fluid like material)
- the lithosphere floats on the asthenosphere.
Why does it float?
III. Discovering New LayersMoho - (Mohorovicic Discontinuity)
- separates the crust from the underlying mantle within the lithosphere.
Page 10 - ESRT
Closure:
• Please complete the worksheet on Layers of the Earth.
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