1. The Layers of the Earth
© Copyright 2006.  M. J. Krech. All rights reserved.

2. Previous Knowledge What do you know about the layers of the Earth?
Turn to the person beside you and share one thing you know about the layers of the Earth.
Get ready to share what your partner said with the class.

3. There is also an outer core (liquid iron and nickel).
EARTH
The center of the earth consists of hot rock and is called the inner core (solid iron and nickel).
There is also an outer core (liquid iron and nickel).
The next level is hot, molten rock called mantle.
The layer that we walk on is the crust.

4. Layers of the Earth

5. (like the skin of an apple)
The Crust
(like the skin of an apple)
The earth’s outer layer of rock
5-20 MILES THICK!!
Has mountains, ocean floor, volcanoes, and continents

6. The Lithosphere
The crust and the upper layer of the mantle together make up a zone of rigid, brittle rock called the Lithosphere.

7. The second layer between the crust and outer core
Mantle
Largest Layer
The second layer between the crust and outer core
Is solid rock except for the part next to the crust, where there is thick liquid
1,800 MILES THICK!!

8. The Asthenosphere
The asthenosphere is the semi-rigid part of the middle mantle that flows like hot asphalt under a heavy
weight.

9. The outer part of the core is liquid and HOT!
Outer Core
The outer part of the core is liquid
and HOT!
It gets hotter the deeper you go (around 9,000 degrees F in the center—your oven only goes to about 600 degrees F).
It’s so hot that rock melts. Melted rock is called MAGMA.
1,400 MILES THICK!

10. Shaped like a ball, or sphere.
Inner Core
800 MILES TO CENTER!
Shaped like a ball, or sphere.
Solid-temperature and pressure is so great that metals are squeezed together and not able to move about like liquid, but are forced to vibrate like a solid.

11. Convection Currents
The middle mantle "flows" because of convection currents. Convection currents are caused by the very hot material at the deepest part of the mantle rising, then cooling and sinking again --repeating this cycle over and over.

12. Convection Currents
The next time you heat anything like soup or water in a pan you can watch the convection currents move in the liquid. When the convection currents flow in the asthenosphere they also move the crust. The crust gets a free ride with these currents, like the cork in this illustration.
Safety Caution: Don’t get your face too close to the boiling water!

13. The inside of the earth is very hot, and it always releases a lot of
energy.
Cause
Effects
This energy causes
things to move in the
earth (rocks, plates,
etc.)
The earth has many
different landforms.
They include
mountains, hills, rivers,
canyons, plateaus, and
many other things.