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Earth’s Interior
P108-114
What’s Inside Earth?
We can’t observe Earth’s
interior directly, so we have
to use seismic waves
produced by earthquakes.
How fast or slow the waves
travel through Earth tell us what
Earth’s interior is like.
Earth’s Interior
As depth ↑, Temp ↑
As depth ↑, Pressure ↑
3 Main Layers Make
Up Earth’s Interior
1) Crust
2) Mantle
3) Core
Crust
1) Layer of rock that forms
Earth’s outer skin (like skin of an
onion).
2) The crust includes Earth’s soil
and water.
3) It’s thinnest beneath the oceans
and thickest under mountains
(crust is 20 miles thick on
average).
2 Kinds of Crust
1) Oceanic Crust
– crust beneath
the ocean (mostly
the dark, dense
rock basalt)
2 Kinds of Crust
2) Continental
Crust – crust that
forms the
continents
(mostly the less
dense, light rock
granite)
(Continued)
Mantle
A layer of hot rock below the
crust.
It’s the biggest layer
(3,000km thick)
It contains the lithosphere
and asthenosphere
Mantle (Continued)
1) Lithosphere –
The crust and
top part of the
mantle make a
hard layer
called the
lithosphere.
Mantle (Continued)
2) Asthenosphere –
The part of the mantle
below the lithosphere
that’s soft and bends
like plastic because it’s
so hot. It flows slowly.
Beneath the
asthenosphere, the
mantle is solid again.
Core (is Hot!)
1) Outer Core – liquid iron and
nickel metal.
2) Inner Core – Solid iron and
nickel metal. (solid because of
extreme pressure)
Complete the Table
Crust
Asthenosphere
Solid rock
(granite/basalt)
Soft material –
flows slowly
Mantle
Hot but solid
Outer core
Liquid iron and
nickel
Inner core
Solid iron and nickel
A long time ago…
(He-Man)
The most powerful man in the
universe!
Man-at-Arms built a super-strong
vehicle that could withstand
extreme heat/pressure to bore a
tunnel to Earth’s Interior.
Earth’s Layers Video
What Causes Earth’s
Magnetic Field?
The liquid outer core spins the
solid inner core faster than Earth
rotates.
This creates a magnetic field.
Makes the Earth act like a giant
magnet!