Download Composition and Structure of the of the Earth

Composition and Structure of the of the Earth
Composition of the Earth: Three layers
1. Crust:
 Outermost layer
 Thinnest layer
 Layer we live on
 Two parts:
i. Continental Crust
ii. Oceanic Crust
2. Mantle:
 Between the crust and the core
 Thickest layer
 Contains most of Earth’s mass
3. Core:
 Bottom of mantle to the center of Earth
 Made mostly of Iron
 About the size of Mars
 Two parts:
o Outer Core – liquid layer, just beneath the mantle that
surrounds the inner core
o Inner Core – solid dense center of the earth
Structure of the Earth
 Lithosphere
o Outer most rigid layer of the earth that includes the crust and
upper mantle
o Divided into tectonic places
 Earth broken into pieces that fit together like a 3-D
jigsaw puzzle
 10 major plates
 Asthenosphere
o Soft layer of mantle
o Made of solid rock like putty
o Moves the tectonic plates ( about that same rate as a
fingernail grows)