Download Earth`s Structure

Warm-Up
What are the five different
types of erosion?
1.Gravity
2.Water
3.Wind
4.Ice
5.Human Activity
Standard:
S6E5 – Students will investigate the scientific view of how the earth’s surface is formed.
d. Describe processes that change rocks and the surface of the earth.
f. Explain the effects of physical processes (plate tectonics, erosion, deposition, volcanic eruption, gravity)
on geological features including oceans (composition, currents, and tides).
MYP Question: How does land change?
Learner Profile Term: Thinker
Opening: The deepest man-made hole on Earth.
Learning Target: Today I am learning about the layers of the
earth because I will know what’s going on beneath my feet.
Work Session: Begin Earth’s layers foldable.
Closing: The challenges of drilling deep into the earth.
Opening:
Kola Super deep Borehole
Layers of the Earth
The Crust
• SOLID layer of rock that forms Earth’s
outer skin, including the solid earth and
oceans.
• CONTINENTAL CRUST
composed of granitic
rocks, which are less dense
than basaltic rocks of the
oceanic crust. So, most of
continental crust is above
sea level.
• OCEANIC CRUST
-
composed of basaltic
rocks, which are more
dense than granitic rocks
of the continental crust.
So, oceanic crust is below
sea level.
The Crust (CONTINUED)
• Composition: mostly oxygen, silicon,
aluminum (Granite and Basalt)
• Temperature: Varies from air
temperature to 870 Co
(1600⁰ F)
• Thickness: 35 - 70 km
(3 miles – 25 miles)
Lithosphere
• Upper part of the mantle and the crust.
• Floats on top of the soft rock below it.
• Litho means “stone” in Greek.
• The crust and upper part of
the mantle are very similar,
so they are combined in this
layer.
The Mantle
• SOLID layer of hot rock between
the crust and core.
Mantle (continued)
Composition: Solid rock, mostly iron and
magnesium
Temperature:
(16,000⁰ - 4000⁰ F)
Thickness:
2900 km (1800 mi)
(contains most of earth’s mass)
Convection currents - hot
material in the mantle rises,
cools and then sinks.
Crust
Mantle
Lithosphere
Asthenosphere
Asthenosphere
• Upper part of the Mantle.
• Molten (melted) rock layer.
• About 175 km thick.
The Core
Center of the Earth;
under extreme pressure
The Outer Core
Composition: LIQUID iron and nickel
Relative Temperature: 3,700oC – 4,300oC
(4000o – 9,000o F)
Thickness: 2,200km
(1400 miles)
The Inner Core
Composition: SOLID iron and nickel
Temperature: 7,200oC
(13,000o F)
Thickness: 5,200km – 6,428km
The inner core is very hot, pressure from the weight of the
rest of the Earth doesn’t allow the material to melt.
Iron’s normal temperature of melting is 15350C, but in the
earth inner core it could stand 40000C with no melting.
Pressure equals 45,000,000 pounds per square inch.
Closing:
What challenges stand in the way of
scientists exploring the center of the Earth?
•
No equipment equipped to withstand the
heat, pressure, and depth of the interior of
the Earth.
•
No human can withstand the heat,
pressure, or depth of the interior of the
Earth.
How do scientists know what the
Earth is made of?
They don’t really know; they make inferences (educated guesses).
1. Shadow Zone - seismic waves
2. Material found on earth close to volcanoes/earthquakes.
Temperature
• The Earth gets cooler
as you go deeper.
• At 20 meters down,
the temperature starts
rising.
• After 40 meters down,
the temperature rises
about 1° Celsius for
every meter.
Pressure
• The deeper you go, the
more rocks are above
you. The more rocks
there are, the more they
weigh.
• So the deeper you go,
the greater the
pressure pushing on
you.