Exploring The Inner Earth

Temperature If you were to dig into the Earth, would you expect the surrounding rock to be warm or cool? The surrounding rock is cool for the first 20 meters. After that, the rock gets warmer. The temperature rises 1°C for every 40 meters you descend!!

Under Pressure? Pressure is the force pushing on a surface or area The weight of the rock above causes the pressure to increase as you go deeper inside the Earth.

What would happen? As you go from the surface of the Earth to the center of the Earth Temperature increases Pressure increases Density increases As you go from the center of Earth to the surface of the Earth Temperature decreases Pressure decreases Density decreases

There are 3 main layers of the Earth The Crust The Mantle The Core

The Crust The outer skin of the Earth The thinnest layer of the Earth is the crust All dry land and the ocean floor make up the crust. Because of pressure from the ocean, oceanic crust is more dense while continental crust is less dense. Crust is thinnest beneath the ocean and thickest beneath the mountains (range: 5 – 40 km).

The Mantle 5 – 40 km beneath the surface is the Mantle The mantle is a layer of “hot rock.” The mantle contains the lithosphere, the asthenosphere, and the mesosphere. It (mantle) is nearly 3,000 km thick and is the thickest layer

The Core The core consists of two parts: The liquid outer core Solid inner core It is made of molten metal. The solid inner core. The inner core is a dense ball of solid metal (iron and nickel). Together, the core is slightly smaller than the moon but it makes up 1/3 of the Earth’s mass.

The Physical Structure of the Earth Another way to look at the Earth is to examine the physical properties of its layers. The Earth is divided into five physical layers each layer has its own set of physical properties. Lithosphere asthenosphere, Mesosphere outer core inner core

Lithosphere: (upper Mantel and Crust) Outermost layer. The uppermost part of the mantle and the crust go together to form the lithosphere. Lithosphere is about 100 kilometers thick!! This part of the mantle is solid rock.

Mantle: Asthenosphere Soft layer of the mantle NOT SOLID!! Asthenosphere can flow slowly (like putty). Think Silly putty! The lithosphere floats on top of the asthenosphere. Under the asthenosphere, solid mantle material extends all the way to the Earth’s core. It (mantle) is nearly 3,000 km thick and is the thickest layer

Mantle: Mesosphere Mesosphere is the strong solid part of the mantle that extends from the bottom of the asthenosphere to the outer core.

Sites http://appserv.pace.edu/emplibrary/thermometer.gif http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/2069390/2/istockphoto_2069390_under_pressure.jpg http://www.1adventure.com/archives/000120.html www.graphicsinstone.com/ www.physorg.com/news408.html dl.coastline.edu/.../IntroLecture2.htm www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=362977... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magic_School_Bus