Download Exploring The Inner Earth

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
1. The Crust
2. The Mantle
3. 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
 The liquid outer 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/20
69390/2/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