Download Greetings, Your team has been selected by Cheapo toy

Greetings,
Your team has been selected by Cheapo toy incorporated LLC. You have been hired to provide research and
development in our latest endeavor. Cheapo toy has recently acquired a contract with the school board to create
and prepare demonstration models for novice teachers.
The assignment is to create a working scientific model of Earth’s layers.
This model must demonstrate the following learning targets:
Identify and describe the layers of the Earth, including
Crust, lithosphere, hot convecting mantle, the outer liquid core, and high-pressure inner solid core
Identify the layer of the Earth that has convection currents resulting in plate tectonics
Differentiate the density differences between the layers of the Earth
Expectations
1.
2.
3.
Closely read over the background information on Earth’s layers.
Use what you have learned to design your model with only the cheap materials provided.
Provide detailed step-by-step instructions with diagrams and appropriate science content references.
**** Remember we’re cheap and you only get one try. You need to plan before you build.
Materials:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Water bottle – (Volume 500 ml)
Water with red food coloring – (Density 1g/cc - grams per cubic centimeter)
Styrofoam – (Density .906 g/cc)
Vegetable oil – (Density 0.945 g/cc)
Sand – (Density Dry 1.92g/cc, wet 2.08 g/cc)
Alka-Seltzer
Your report and instructions will be written on the provided form on the back of this communication
Sincerely,
Morgan Freeman
Team Members: _____________________________________________________________ Period ____
Cartesian
Diver Report
Instructions
Give specific instructions for the
novice teachers.
Seeand
rubric
on instructions for
the report.
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Diagrams:
Background Information
Scientists know that the Earth is comprised of four main layers. The four main layers are the crust, the mantle, the
outer core, and the inner core. These layers differ significantly in thickness, composition, temperature, pressure
and density. Overall; as depth increases temperature, pressure, and density also increases. Composition and
thickness, however, vary throughout.
Thickness/Radius and Composition:
The total radius of the Earth’s thickness is approximately 6,370 km and each layer has its own characteristics.
Crust: this layer is solid and comprises the continents and ocean basins. It has a variable thickness, anywhere from
35-70km thick in the continents and 5-10km in the ocean basins. The oceanic crust is made up of mostly a dark,
fine-grained rock called basalt. The continental crust is almost entirely composed of a light colored rock with
coarse grains known as granite.
Mantle: this layer is made of rock that is very hot, but solid. Overall, the mantle’s thickness is nearly 3000 km and
makes up almost half the Earth’s interior radius. Scientists divide the mantle into layers based on the physical
characteristics of those layers. The uppermost part of the mantle is brittle rock. Geologists group the crust and the
upper part of the mantle together as the lithosphere. The lithosphere is often described as Earth’s plates and the
location of plate tectonics. The layer of the mantle beneath the lithosphere is the asthenosphere, the material is
hotter and under more pressure than the layer above it. This layer is also less rigid than the lithosphere. The lowest
layer of the mantle is the mesosphere.
Outer core: this layer is made of molten metal. Despite tremendous pressure, the outer core is liquid. The outer
core is approximately 2,250 km and is comprised of mostly the metals iron and nickel.
Inner core: the inner core is a dense ball of solid metal with a radius of 1,200 km. Although, the inner core is
intensely hot, there is such incredible pressure that the molecules of iron and nickel within it cannot spread out
into a liquid.
**** The molten metal liquid outer core moving around the solid metal inner core creates Earth’s magnetosphere
that protects Earth from much of the Sun’s harmful radiation.****
Density – is a measure how much mass or material in a given volume of an object. Density can also be described as
how tightly packed the matter is in an object. An object with a lower density (lower number) will float on an object
with a higher density (higher number).
Convection Currents – this movement of thermal energy is caused by material being heated, expanding, becoming
less dense and as a result, rises up where the material then cools off, compresses, becoming denser and sinks. This
process is repeated over and over creating a cycle or current. Convection currents take place in Earth’s mantle
layer and contribute to plate tectonics; the movement of the lithosphere’s plates.
Alka-Seltzer tablet – when an Alka-Seltzer tablet comes in contact with water it reacts creating carbon dioxide
bubbles that are less than dense than water and rise.
Name: ____________________________________________Date: __________ Period: ______
Background Information reading check
Create a data table of the layers in increasing density (from top to bottom)
Layer
Density
Thickness
Material to be
used
What is the total radius of the Earth? _____________________________
What is the term used to describe how tightly packed the matter is an object? _____________
As you go deeper into the Earth’s interior what happens to the pressure, temperature and
density? _________
With what material will Alka-Seltzer react? _________________________
Which layer of the Earth is the thinnest? ___________________________
What happens to an objects density when it heats up and expands? _________________
Which layer of the Earth is referred to as the “plates”? _____________________________
Which layer of the Earth do convection currents take place? ________________________
Which layer of the Earth is liquid? ________________________
Which substance from the reading could simulate convection currents without using heat?
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