earth layers assignment

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• Scale Model of the Earth

Hands-on Activity Scale Model of the Earth

Grade Level: 5 (3-5)

Time Required: 45 minutes

Expendable Cost/Group: US $1.00

Group Size: 2

Activity Dependency: None

Subject Areas: Earth and Space, Measurement

Curriculum in this Unit Units serve as guides to a particular content or subject area. Nested under units are lessons (in purple) and hands-on activities (in blue). Note that not all lessons and activities will exist under a unit, and instead may exist as "standalone" curriculum.

• Engineering to Prevent Natural Disasters: Save Our City!
• Drifting Continents
• Faulty Movement
• Testing Model Structures: Jell-O Earthquake in the Classroom
• Seismology in the Classroom
• Mercalli Scale Illustrated
• Magnitude of the Richter Scale
• Ready to Erupt!
• Mini-Landslide
• Survive That Tsunami! Testing Model Villages in Big Waves
• Floodplain Modeling
• Tornado Damage!
• A Tornado in My State?
• Build It Better!

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Engineering connection, learning objectives, materials list, worksheets and attachments, more curriculum like this, introduction/motivation, troubleshooting tips, activity extensions, user comments & tips.

Engineers frequently use scale models and computer simulations to test concepts without wasting costly resources. Constructing scale models of the Earth assists engineers in the design of instruments that help predict earthquakes. It also aids in the development of robots that travel deep into the different layers of the Earth. Engineers also use small-scale models of our planet to understand the relative size of the Earth, model space flight orbits around the Earth, and predict how the Earth might change over time.

After this activity, students should be able to:

• Describe the layers of the Earth.
• Make a scale model.
• Compare a model of the Earth with what it represents.
• Explain why engineers need to learn about the Earth's structure.

Educational Standards Each TeachEngineering lesson or activity is correlated to one or more K-12 science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) educational standards. All 100,000+ K-12 STEM standards covered in TeachEngineering are collected, maintained and packaged by the Achievement Standards Network (ASN) , a project of D2L (www.achievementstandards.org). In the ASN, standards are hierarchically structured: first by source; e.g. , by state; within source by type; e.g. , science or mathematics; within type by subtype, then by grade, etc .

Ngss: next generation science standards - science.

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Common Core State Standards - Math

International technology and engineering educators association - technology, state standards, colorado - math.

Each group needs:

• 3 small balls of clay or Play-Doh® in three colors: red, orange and yellow
• ¼ cup fine sand
• 12-inch ruler
• fishing line, 12 inches
• calculator (optional for scaling worksheet)
• samples of various newspaper articles on any topic
• (optional) Earthquakes Journal Page (see attachments)

The Earth is a sphere made of several layers: the inner core, outer core, mantle and crust. (Draw Figure 1 on the classroom board, or show students a suitable diagram or projected image.) The inner core , mantle and crust are solid, and the outer core is molten, or liquid. The crust is the thinnest layer of the Earth and is the layer on which we live. The inner core, outer core and mantle experience extremely high pressures and temperatures.

Most research about the Earth comes from studying the crust. Can you guess why? (Listen to student ideas.) Well, if we tried to travel all the way to the Earth's inner core, we would be crushed into pieces from the very high pressure, and be burned up from the extreme heat! It is not a friendly environment for humans. The solid crust "floats" along in plates very slowly on top of the mantle. The mantle is considered to be a solid. Some scientists describe it as having the consistency of warm wax or warm asphalt, or even silly putty. Even in high-pressure and high-temperature conditions, it can move (deform) only very slowly, perhaps a few centimeters a year. In the crust layer, sometimes the plates collide, or stick together, and when this happens, earthquakes occur.

Who can tell me what a "scale model" is? (Listen to student ideas.) A scale model is a smaller or larger version of an object. It is made to be the same as the original object but at a different size than the real object. You could think of a doll as a smaller scale model of a person. Or a toy car as a smaller scale model of a full-size car. A scale model has the same shape and components and relative proportions as the actual object. It is measured to a "scale" that corresponds to the actual size. For example, perhaps 1 inch corresponds to 1 foot. Engineers sometimes build detailed scale models of objects to observe how parts fit together and/or move. Building scale models of the Earth can help engineers plan the routes and orbits of space flights, or design instruments that help predict earthquakes, or invent robots to travel into the different layers to collect data. In this activity, we will make a model of the Earth's layers. For our purposes, 1 centimeter will equal 1,000 kilometers.

Background Information

A commonly held misconception is that the Earth's mantle is liquid because we refer to the lower portion of it as being "fluid." However, the most widely accepted current scientific understanding is that the mantle is solid.

The mantle consists of two regions. The upper region is part of the lithosphere; it is very rigid and exists as the bottom of our tectonic plates. The lower region is part of the asthenosphere and is referred to as "fluid," which is not in reference to its phase of matter, but rather to the plasticity of the asthenosphere. Because the mantle exists under such extreme heat and pressure (~1,000° Celsius), it is ductile, like warm soft wax or asphalt, or silly putty, and is capable of moving and deforming at really slow rates of a few centimeters per year. The evidence that has convinced scientists that the mantle is solid comes from the study of seismic waves. We know that S waves are capable of moving through solids, but not through liquids. Scientists have recorded S waves moving through the mantle (evidence that it is solid), but not through the outer core (evidence that it is liquid).

Before the Activity

• Make your own clay or Play-Doh model of the Earth to use for demonstration purposes.

With the Students

• Draw an Earth layers diagram on the board, or show Figure 1 as an overhead transparency.

• Introduce the concept of a scale model. (A scale model is a copy of something that has been reduced or increased by a certain factor.)
• Show students the clay model of the Earth that serves as an example of what they are going to create.
• As a class, and if time permits, have groups convert the layers' thickness from miles to kilometers, feet, or meters (see answers below). Write the answers on the board.

Conversion Answers:

Inner core = 760 mi = 1,220 km = 1,220,000 meters = 4,013,000 ft

Outer core = 1400 mi = 2,200 km = 2,200,000 meters = 7,392,000 ft

Mantle = 1800 miles = 2,900 km = 2,900,000 meters = 9,504,000 ft

Continental plate = 15 miles = 24 km = 24,000 meters = 79,200 ft

Explain to students that for each layer of their models, one centimeter represents 1,000 kilometers. Have them round up or down the kilometers to convert the thickness dimensions to centimeters.

• Have students form the inner core using the red clay. (The ball of clay representing the inner core should have a diameter of about 1 centimeter.)
• The second layer of the model is the outer core. Use the orange clay to add ~2 cm layer over the red ball of clay (their inner core). The outer core layer, when added, brings the diameter of the ball to about 3 centimeters.
• The third and final model layer is the mantle. Use the yellow clay to add ~3 cm layer over the orange layer. Adding the mantle layer brings the ball up to a diameter of 6 centimeters.
• Since it is difficult to make a sheet of clay less than one millimeter thick, use a thin layer of sand to represent the crust of the Earth. Ask student to carefully spread the sand, as evenly as possible, on a piece of paper on their desks. Then roll the ball in the sand.
• Instruct groups to cut the ball in half using the fishing line. Opened up, students can visually understand the different layers and compare their thicknesses.

Pre-Activity Assessment

Journal : On the attached Earthquakes Journal Page, have students write the four new vocabulary terms for the activity, inner core , outer core , mantle , and crust , into the "vocabulary" section. Ask students if they know what the terms mean. If they do not, define the terms together.

Discussion Question : Solicit, integrate and summarize student responses.

By building a scale model of the Earth, an engineer can design instruments that help predict earthquakes or think about how to invent robots to travel into the different layers. Why else might you want to create a scale model of the Earth? (Possible answers: To understand the size of the Earth in relation to other planets, to model space flight orbits involving the Earth, to search for locations to access natural gas, oil and geothermal energy, to predict how the Earth might change over time.)

Activity Embedded Assessment

Journal : Have students record their observations of the activity. Tell them all engineers record their observations and that an observation is anything that stands out as important. Ask students to write in anything they have learned or questions that they come up with throughout the model scaling activity.

Post-Activity Assessment

Journal : Have students complete the Earthquakes Journal Page for their binder.

Journey to the Center of the Earth : Show students various newspaper articles. Point out the typical newspaper article format and components, such as catchy headlines, short with relevant information only, most important information first. Tell students that they are engineers who have just invented a machine to take them to the core of the Earth. Their task is to write newspaper articles describing their discoveries as they travel through the layers of the Earth. Remind them to use descriptive words so the reader can visualize each layer of the Earth.

Homework : Assign students the Scale Model Homework Worksheet for homework.

Safety Issues

Students should not eat or put clay or Play-Doh® in their mouths.

Remind students how to read rulers before starting this activity.

It may be difficult for students to make the models small enough. Encourage them to measure each layer, before adding another. The following is a suggested method:

Although different people have different clay/Play-Doh® skills, they can achieve the same results. Create the outer core 3 cm in diameter using orange clay. Then, subtract clay from the outer core until you peel away enough clay the same size as the inner core (1 cm). Using the laws of addition, the red inner core plus the orange outer core that remains should equal 3 cm. Spread the remaining orange clay outer core out into a flat pancake. Wrap this around the inner core and roll the clay into a ball. Use the same idea to make the third and final layer.

Math Extension (for advanced math students):

• Print out the attached Scaling Down the Earth – Math Extension Worksheet .
• Pass out calculators.
• Read the worksheet instructions aloud to the class.
• Help students by going over the "Inner Core" as a class. Have them finish the rest of the worksheet independently.
• Have students complete the table by calculating the actual diameters of the Earth's layers.

Have students research one or more of the following Earth layers subtopics:

• What are the minerals found in each layer of the Earth? How do these minerals relate to the state of matter of that layer?
• What are the temperatures of each layer of the Earth?
• Do any other planets have similar layers? If so, do they exhibit any earthquake or volcanic activity?

Students learn about the structure of the earth and how an earthquake happens. In one activity, students make a model of the earth including all of its layers. In a teacher-led demonstration, students learn about continental drift. In another activity, students create models demonstrating the di...

Students learn about major landforms (such as mountains, rivers, plains, valleys, canyons and plateaus) and how they occur on the Earth's surface. They learn about the civil and geotechnical engineering applications of geology and landforms, including the design of transportation systems, mining, ma...

Students learn about the causes, composition and types of volcanoes. They begin with an overview of the Earth's interior and how volcanoes form. Once students know how volcanoes function, they learn how engineers predict eruptions.

Students are introduced to the fabulous planet on which they live. They learn how engineers study human interactions with the Earth and design technologies and systems to monitor, use and care for our planet's resources wisely to preserve life on Earth.

What do we know about the interior of the Earth? Last modified September 27, 2012. CoreFacts (audio), USGS Multimedia Gallery, US Geological Survey, US Department of the Interior. Accessed December 3, 2012. http://gallery.usgs.gov/audios/207#.ULywU2f543g

Robertson, Eugene C. The Interior of the Earth. Last modified January 14, 2011. US Geological Survey, US Department of the Interior. Accessed December 3, 2012. (A diagram of seismic waves and how they travel through the Earth's interior in this article [Figure 2] is a great graphic to support the information about S waves and how they travel through different layers.) http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/interior/

Contributors

Supporting program, acknowledgements.

The contents of this digital library curriculum were developed under a grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), U.S. Department of Education, and National Science Foundation GK-12 grant no 0338326. However, these contents do not necessarily represent the policies of the Department of Education or National Science Foundation, and you should not assume endorsement by the federal government.

Last modified: May 18, 2021

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Bright in the Middle

Rigorous and Fun Science Activities

5 Fun Earth Layers Activities to Bring the WOW Factor to Your Classroom

Earth Science , Middle School Science , WOW Factor Lessons

Before I share some ideas for Earth layers activities for you to try in your classroom, I want you to first brainstorm some questions your students might have before you begin this lesson. How many Earth layers are there? How do Earth’s layers interact? How are Earth’s layers formed? How do we know what Earth’s layers are? When were the layers of the Earth discovered?

There may be so many questions that your students have about the Earth. There are some you can answer, but there may be some that you cannot, and that’s ok.

The important thing is that you have them WONDERING and wanting to learn more about a topic. That’s what science is, right? We are always wanting to know more and begin searching for answers.

In this WOW Factor post, I will share how you can get your students hyped up about learning about the structure of the Earth. Then, I will share how you can use an interactive lesson to dig into the vocabulary and the content. Finally, I’ll share some widen strategies that will allow your students to shine and show off what they have learned, and in the process, learn even more.

Which Earth layers activities will you choose?

[Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.]

Help Your Students Want to Learn More Earth Layers Facts

There are many ways to get your students hyped up about learning about the inside of of Earth, but here are some quick ideas. These Earth layers activities will help your students WONDER!

Earth Layers Demo

To get students thinking about the inside of the Earth and what it is made of, you can try this quick demo to get their minds wondering.

All you need is a clear cup or tube . Put some water in first, and then put some oil on top.

The water will represent the core and the oil represents the mantle, which is less dense than the core.

On the very top, you can place some cut of pieces of Styrofoam, like jigsaw puzzle pieces. This will represent the crust.

You can throw in an Alka-Seltzer tablet as well to show how movement in the inside causes movement on the surface as well.

How Do We Know? Research

This is a way to allow your students to do a bit of inquiry before beginning the content. It’s great to know about the layers of the Earth, but how do we know about them? Did we stick a drill down deep into the Earth?

Before learning about the layers, have your students to research how we even know there are layers inside of our Earth. They don’t need to have a list of Earth’s layers quite yet, but they can start figuring out how they came to be.

You can have them do their own research or provide them with links to review.

Here are some great resources! There is one Earth layers video and some website resources.

7 Ways We Know What’s Inside the Earth

How We Know What’s Deep Inside the Earth

How Do Scientists Know the Structure of the Earth’s Interior

Earth Layer’s Lesson and Activity

Now that your students are hyped up and have more questions about the inside of the Earth, it’s now time to dive into the content a tad deep and focus on some of the terminology and important concepts.

In order to do this, an interactive lesson will do the trick! Interactive lessons are great for reducing cognitive load because students are only exposed to a little bit of information at a time, and then have time to process through embedded activities. These lessons help students retain information in their long-term memory.

In this Structure of the Earth Interactive Lesson , students will learn about compositional and mechanical layers of the Earth in order. They will explore density, temperature, and pressure as you go deeper into the Earth. It’s a great introduction lesson to how and why the layers are identified as they are.

As students go through the lesson, they will complete embedded activities such as an Anticipation Guide, drag-and-drop activities, a Venn diagram, exploring outside resources, and more! Skip the Earth layers worksheet and try this!

This is a fun Earth’s layers online activity, but there is also a paper version included as well!

You can also find this on TPT .

Earth Layers Project Ideas

At this point, your students know a lot, so now it’s time for them to learn EVEN MORE and show off what they already know. There are a lot of activities for layers of the Earth out there, but here are my favorites you can do before moving on to learning about plate tectonics. These Earth layers activities will WIDEN student knowledge.

Earth Layers Activities – Create a Model

You can have your students create a layers of the Earth 3D model. This is probably the most common project that there is, and for good reason. It gives students a chance to express their creativity while providing a visualization of science concepts. You can choose the materials and structure of the model, but I highly suggest letting students create their own.

They may create their project with paper, 3D printer, Styrofoam,   Play Doh , Legos , etc. There are so many options and lots of inspiration online. They can even create an Earth layers edible project.

You can grade based on creativity, accurateness, how close they are to representing the density of each, how close they are to representing the composition of each layer, etc.

Gather materials in advance or allow this be a take home project. The choice is yours! This is a fun Earth layers project to have students create at home.

Earth Layer’s RAFT

I am a HUGE fan of RAFT assignments. It allows students to show of their creativity plus allows for scientific writing in the classroom. So, what is a RAFT? It’s a prompt for students to write!

R is the role of the author. It is the perspective that you are writing from.

A is the audience. It is who you are writing to.

F is the format. It is the format of the writing. Is it a narrative? Essay? Letter?

T is the topic. It is the topic of the writing piece.

You can create a RAFT students for students to discuss the layers of the Earth. Some of the important concepts with this topic is how the Earth is layered and why it is layers that way. Another important concept is how density, temperature, and pressure increase as you go deeper into the Earth.

Here’s an fun example RAFT assignment you can give to your students.

• R: A Scientist
• A: Citizens of the World
• F: A News Report
• T: There is new technology that has been created that can drill a hole all the way through one side of the Earth to the other. Report your findings. What did you find within the Earth? Explain the density, temperature, and pressure. Explain the composition.

Which Earth layers activities will you add to your lesson plan?

Help your students master science content!

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How to Create a School Project on the Layers of the Earth

Last Updated: December 4, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Meredith Juncker, PhD . Meredith Juncker is a PhD candidate in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center. Her studies are focused on proteins and neurodegenerative diseases. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 308,550 times.

There are 5 layers of the Earth: the crust, the upper mantle, the lower mantle, the liquid outer core, and the solid inner core. [1] X Research source The crust is the thinnest outside layer of the Earth where the continents reside. The next layer is the mantle which is the largest layer and is divided into 2 parts. The core is also composed of 2 layers, the liquid outer core and the solid spherical inner core. [2] X Research source There are many ways to make a model of the layers of the Earth, but the easiest and most common are to use sculpting clay/play dough for a 3D model or make a flat paper representation.

Making a Styrofoam Model

• All of these supplies should be easily found around the house or purchased at a craft supply store.
• Hold a ruler to the point that is about the center.
• Hold the pencil in place above the ruler.
• Have a friend rotate the ball horizontally while you hold the pencil and watch the line form around the center.
• When the ball is back to the starting point, rotate the ball vertically.
• When you’re finished, you should have two pencil lines that dive the ball into quarters.
• Position the foam ball so that one of the lines is facing straight up.
• Place the knife on the line and gently saw back and forth until you reach the center of the ball (the horizontal line).
• Reposition the ball so that the horizontal line is now facing up.
• Gently saw again until you reach the center of the ball.
• Wiggle the quarter until it comes free from the ball.

• You can throw away the quarter that was cut out of the ball.
• Let the globe dry before painting the inside.

• Once each line has been sketched, color them in with the various paints.
• Use yellow for the inner core, orange for the outer core, 2 shades of red for the mantle (1 for the upper and 1 for the lower), and brown for the crust.

• Alternatively, you can write the labels directly on the ball.

Jessie Antonellis-John

Demonstrate Earth's layers using chocolates with different textures. Making Earth layers with chocolate is fun and teaches about states of matter! Different chocolate textures represent the rocky mantle, liquid outer core, and solid inner core. Cutting it open shows the inside structure in a tasty way!

Making a Model with Dough

• When cool, knead the dough for 1-2 minutes.
• Parental supervision is recommended for this step.
• The coarse salt crystals will still be visible within the dough. This is normal.
• Two golf ball sizes: 1 green, 1 red.
• Medium sizes: 1 orange, 1 brown.
• Large sizes: 2 shades of yellow, 1 blue.
• You want the entire model to remain relatively spherical to resemble the shape of the Earth.
• Roll out the dough and then wrap it around the ball, joining all of the sides together into 1 layer. Repeat for the second layer of yellow.
• Finally, shape pieces of the green dough into approximations of the continents. Press them into the ocean approximately where they belong on the globe.

• The 2 halves should show you a clear cross-section of the layers of the Earth.

• Because you have 2 halves of the Earth, you can use 1 half with the layers labeled and exposed and present the other half with the ocean and continents face up, as a “view from the top”.

• The crust is interesting because there are two types of crust: oceanic and continental. This is easily seen by looking at the model and seeing that the crust contains both the oceans and the continents.
• The mantle takes up about 84% of the Earth’s volume. The mantle is mostly solid, but acts like a viscous fluid. Movement within the mantle is responsible for the motion of tectonic plates. [13] X Research source
• The outer core is liquid and is estimated to be 80% iron. It spins faster than the rotation of the planet and is thought to contribute to the magnetic field of the Earth.
• The inner core is also composed mostly of iron and nickel with potential heavier elements such as gold, platinum, and silver present. Because of the massively high pressure the inner core experiences, it is solid.

Using a Paper Model

• The finished size of your paper model depends on how large you want to make it.
• Using a compass to draw the circles is an easy way to make perfect circles and easily vary the sizes.
• If you don’t have a compass, you can find 5 circular shapes to use as stencils for each layer of the Earth.
• Use textured paper to make your model stand out.
• Inner core: diameter of 2 inches
• Outer core: diameter of 4 inches
• Lower mantle: diameter of 7 inches
• Upper mantle: diameter of 8 inches
• Crust: diameter of 8.5 inches
• These dimensions are just suggestions, you can make the circles any size you would like as long as you make the mantle the largest layer and the crust the thinnest layer. [14] X Research source
• Place the brown crust down first, then place the red mantle on top, the orange mantle next, then the blue outer core, followed by the white inner core.
• Use the glue stick to glue each layer down.

• Try to relate your interesting facts to discussions that you may have had during class.

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Things You'll Need

With styrofoam.

• One large Styrofoam ball (diameter should be 5-7 inches)
• A long serrated knife
• Acrylic paint (green, blue, yellow, red, orange, and brown)
• A paintbrush
• Four toothpicks
• Small strips of paper
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup coarse sea salt
• 4 tsp cream of tartar
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 cups water
• Cooking pot
• Wooden spoon
• Food coloring: yellow, orange, red, brown, green, and blue (If you don't have a specific color feel free to use what you have)
• Floss or thin string
• 5 pieces of different colored (brown, orange, red, blue, and white) construction paper
• Geometric compass or circle stencils of 5 different sizes
• A large poster board.
• ↑ https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/interior/
• ↑ http://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2016/01/16/layers-of-the-earth-lies-beneath-earths-crust/#c1e6ddb58e6d
• ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8np8dvtNfkU
• ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1V8iyyLY5U
• ↑ https://homeguides.sfgate.com/ideas-for-a-3d-model-of-the-earths-interior-for-kids-12425615.html
• ↑ http://www.education.com/activity/article/layers-of-the-earth-project/
• ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mulldXkdm80
• ↑ https://www.coolkidfacts.com/how-to-make-a-model-of-the-earths-layers/
• ↑ http://www.universetoday.com/61200/earths-layers/#

About This Article

You can make a school project on the layers of the earth using either paper or styrofoam to make a model. To make a paper model, you’ll need construction paper of different colors so you can cut out 5 circles of varying sizes. Once you cut out each layer, you can stack them from smallest to largest to illustrate each layer. Then, glue the 5 layers to a larger poster board and label them. To make a styrofoam model, you’ll need to cut a quarter out of a foam sphere with a knife. Then, you can paint the outside of the sphere with the continents and ocean, and use a pencil to sketch the layers inside the quarter that was cut out. Color the layers with different paint colors so you can see them and label each of them with a toothpick so they’re easily identifiable. For tips about how to include interesting facts about each layer, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Layers of the Earth

The Earth, like an onion, consists of several concentric layers, each with its own unique set of properties and characteristics. The four primary layers are the crust, the mantle, the outer core, and the inner core. However, geologists subdivide these layers into a complex structure that better describes the Earth’s intricate composition and behavior. Let’s start with the basic four-layer model before delving into greater detail.

The 4 Basic Layers of the Earth

The crust is the Earth’s outermost layer and it’s where we live. It has an irregular thickness, varying from about 5 km beneath the oceans (oceanic crust) to about 30 km beneath the continents (continental crust). The crust mainly consists of lighter rocks , such as basalt in the oceanic crust and granite in the continental crust.

The Mohorovičić discontinuity, often referred to as the Moho, is the boundary between the Earth’s crust and the mantle. Named after the Croatian seismologist Andrija Mohorovičić who discovered it in 1909, the Moho occurs from 5 to 10 kilometers beneath the ocean floor to about 20 to 70 kilometers beneath continental interiors.

The significance of the Moho discontinuity lies in the change in seismic wave velocities that it represents. Seismic waves from earthquakes travel at different speeds depending on the material they move through. Mohorovičić noted that seismic waves speed up abruptly below certain depths. This observation led him to conclude that Earth has a layered structure. The Moho represents the transition from the relatively low- density crust to the higher-density mantle.

Beneath the crust lies the mantle, extending to a depth of about 2,900 km. It contains silicate rocks that are rich in iron and magnesium . There are two sections of the mantle: the upper mantle, which is more rigid and behaves elastically on short time scales, and the lower mantle, which is solid but flows on geological timescales.

The Outer Core

The outer core extends from 2,900 km to about 5,150 km beneath the Earth’s surface. It mainly consists of liquid iron and nickel . The motion within this layer generates the Earth’s magnetic field.

The Inner Core

The inner core is the central part of the Earth. It extends from a depth of about 5,150 km to the Earth’s center at about 6,371 km. Although it is very hot, the inner core is solid due to the immense pressure at this depth. It’s composed primarily of iron, with minor amounts of nickel and other lighter elements.

Detailed Layer Model of the Earth

For a more intricate understanding of the Earth’s structure, geologists divide the layers of the Earth a bit differently, based on their physical and chemical properties.

1. The Lithosphere

The lithosphere, about 10 to 200 km thick, includes the uppermost mantle and the crust. It’s rigid and breaks under stress, which is why it’s broken up into tectonic plates . The lithosphere varies in thickness, being thinner at oceanic ridges and thicker beneath older oceanic and continental regions.

2. The Asthenosphere

Beneath the lithosphere, from about 100 to 350 km, lies the asthenosphere. The asthenosphere is the part of the upper mantle that exhibits plastic (or ductile) behavior. The tectonic plates slide around on top of this layer. It’s composed of similar material to the rest of the upper mantle – mainly peridotite, a rock rich in silicate minerals.

3. The Mesosphere

Below the asthenosphere and extending to about 2,900 km is the mesosphere or lower mantle. The mesosphere is a region of strong, rigid rocks that deform slowly under the intense heat and pressure. It’s composed of silicate minerals that change in structure with depth due to increasing pressure.

4. The Outer Core

The outer core spans from 2,900 to about 5,150 km deep. The convection currents within this liquid layer create the Earth’s magnetosphere through a dynamo effect.

5. The Inner Core

The inner core extends from 5,150 km to the center of the Earth at about 6,371 km. In recent years, it has been suggested that the inner core itself may have an inner-inner core with distinct physical properties, but this remains an area of active research.

Physical Properties of the Earth’s Layers

Each of these layers has unique physical properties, including temperature, pressure, density, and composition. The crust and uppermost mantle (lithosphere) are cool and rigid, while the asthenosphere is partially molten and plastic. Deeper in the Earth, temperatures and pressures rise dramatically. The core, for example, has temperatures similar to the Sun’s surface and pressures more than 3 million times atmospheric pressure.

The Earth’s density also increases with depth, from around 2.2 g/cm³ in the crust to over 13 g/cm³ in the core. This density gradient is due to both increasing pressure and changes in composition.

In terms of composition, the crust is mostly silicate rocks and oxygen, while the core is largely iron and nickel. The mantle, which comprises the majority of Earth’s volume, is predominantly composed of silicate minerals rich in iron and magnesium.

10 Facts About the Layers of the Earth

Now, let’s explore ten interesting facts about the layers of the Earth:

• Thickest Layer: The mantle is the thickest layer of the Earth, accounting for about 84% of the Earth’s volume. It extends approximately 2,900 kilometers beneath the crust, which makes it nearly twice the thickness of the Earth’s outer and inner cores combined.
• Pressure: The pressure of the inner core at the Earth’s center is extreme. Estimates place it at over 3.5 million times greater than the pressure at sea level.
• Temperature: The temperature of the core is similar to that of the Sun’s surface, around 5,500 degrees Celsius.
• Dynamo Effect: The Earth’s magnetic field results from the convection of liquid iron and nickel in the outer core, a phenomenon known as the dynamo effect.
• Oceanic vs. Continental Crust: Oceanic crust is thinner and denser than continental crust. The average thickness of oceanic crust is 5 km, while continental crust averages around 35 km.
• Crust Composition: The crust is primarily composed of silicate rocks. The oceanic crust is mainly basalt, and the continental crust is primarily granite.
• Tectonic Plates: The Earth’s lithosphere is broken into variously sized “tectonic plates.” It’s the movement of these plates that causes earthquakes, volcanic activity, and the creation of mountain ranges.
• Asthenosphere Behavior: Despite being solid, the asthenosphere flows over geologic time scales, which assists the movement of the tectonic plates of the lithosphere.
• Core Composition: The core is primarily composed of iron, with smaller amounts of nickel and other lighter elements. It’s also believed that there might be “oceans” of liquid iron in the core.
• Inner Core Anomaly: Recent studies suggest that the inner core itself may have an “inner inner core” with distinctive physical properties, although this is still a topic of ongoing research.

Layers of the Earth Worksheet

Quiz yourself!

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• Engdahl, E.R.; Flinn, E.A.; Massé, R.P. (1974). “Differential PKiKP travel times and the radius of the inner core”. Geophysical Journal International . 39 (3): 457–463. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-246x.1974.tb05467.x
• Harris, P. (1972). “ The Composition of the Earth “. In Gass, I. G.; et al. (eds.). Understanding the Earth: A Reader in the Earth Sciences . Horsham: Artemis Press for the Open University Press. ISBN 978-0-85141-308-2.
• Haynes, William M.; David R., Lide; Bruno, Thomas J., eds. (2017). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (97th ed.). Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-4987-5429-3.
• O’Reilly, Suzanne Y.; Griffin, W.L. (December 2013). “Moho vs crust–mantle boundary: Evolution of an idea”. Tectonophysics . 609: 535–546. doi: 10.1016/j.tecto.2012.12.031
• Rogers, N., ed. (2008). An Introduction to Our Dynamic Planet . Cambridge University Press and The Open University. ISBN 978-0-521-49424-3.

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Layers of the Earth

Layers of the Earth teaches students about the crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core layers of our planet. Students will discover the various characteristics that define the layers and will be able to identify each layer based on its traits.

In the “Options for Lesson” section of the classroom procedure page, you will find a few suggestions for alternative ways to approach aspects of the lesson. For instance, you may choose to use fruit rather than clothing for the lesson opening and allow students to eat the pieces at the end.

Description

Additional information, what our layers of the earth lesson plan includes.

Lesson Objectives and Overview: Layers of the Earth describes the Earth’s four main layers and their characteristics. Students will be able to identify the crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core based on their traits. They will also learn a little about the lithosphere and asthenosphere layers. This lesson is for students in 3rd grade and 4th grade.

Classroom Procedure

Every lesson plan provides you with a classroom procedure page that outlines a step-by-step guide to follow. You do not have to follow the guide exactly. The guide helps you organize the lesson and details when to hand out worksheets. It also lists information in the yellow box that you might find useful. You will find the lesson objectives, state standards, and number of class sessions the lesson should take to complete in this area. In addition, it describes the supplies you will need as well as what and how you need to prepare beforehand. This lesson plan doesn’t require any supplies, but it will require some prep ahead of time.

Options for Lesson

The “Options for Lesson” section offers a few suggestions for additional activities or alternative ways to approach certain aspects of the lesson. One idea is to use different sized balls split in half for the lesson opening rather than using clothing pieces. Alternatively, you could halve fruits instead and let students eat them after you finish the opening. Another option is to switch the worksheets and use the puzzle as the in-class work and the review page as the homework assignment. If you need to save time, do not display the number pages and adjust the part of the lesson that involves those pages.

Teacher Notes

The paragraph on this page provides additional insight into what to expect. This lesson has no additional information to provide. The lines on this page are for you to write down whatever ideas and thoughts come to mind as you prepare the lesson for your students.

LAYERS OF THE EARTH LESSON PLAN CONTENT PAGES

The Layers of the Earth lesson plan contains a total of three pages of content. To start out, the lesson explains that the Earth is not simply a giant ball of dirt, rocks, and minerals. On the contrary, our planet is much more than meets the eye as we roam around on its surface. There are four main layers that make up the Earth: crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core.

We are quite familiar with the first layer, the crust, since we walk on it every day, dig holes in it, and so on. It is the outer layer of the Earth and is actually between 5 and 25 miles thick depending on location. Under the oceans, it is only about 3 to 5 miles thick, and we refer to these areas as oceanic crust. Under continents, however, the crust reaches up to 25 miles thick, and we refer to these parts as continental crust. The temperatures of the Earth’s crust can range anywhere between air temperature and 1600°F, which is hot enough to melt rocks!

This thin layer consists of broken pieces called plates, which float on top of the soft mantle layer below. (The movement of these plates is what often causes earthquakes.) The mantle layer is the largest at about 1800 miles thick. It is comprised of extremely hot, dense rock and flows like asphalt. The temperature at the top is about 1600°F, but it’s about 4000°F at the bottom! This layer is basically made up of melted rock that allow the plates of the Earth’s crust to float on top. The melted rock that escapes to the Earth’s surface leads to the creation of volcanoes.

Then comes the outer core of the Earth. The outer core consists mostly of melted nickel and iron that move like a liquid. This layer lies around 1800 miles below the Earth’s surface and is around 1400 miles thick. The temperature ranges from 4000°F to 9000°F! The inner core is about 800 miles thick with 9000°F temperatures. There is so much pressure in the core that the metals squeeze very tightly, forcing them to vibrate as solids. This pressure comes from the weight of the other layers that press down onto the inner core.

LAYERS OF THE EARTH LESSON PLAN WORKSHEETS

The Layers of the Earth lesson plan includes two worksheets: a review page and a homework assignment. Each one will help solidify students’ grasp of the lesson material and help them demonstrate what they learned. You can refer to the guide on the classroom procedure page to determine at which point you should hand out each worksheet to the students throughout the lesson.

LAYERS OF THE EARTH REVIEW PAGE

The review page has two sections. For the first section, students will fill in the blanks for nine prompts, the first four of which label the various layers of the Earth. The second section requires students to respond to three prompts based on what they learned.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

For the homework assignment, students will complete a crossword puzzle. There are a total of 15 clues to solve. You may or may not allow your students to use the content pages for help. As mentioned in the “Options for Lesson” section, you may also choose to use the puzzle as the in-class worksheet and the review page as the homework assignment if you want.

Worksheet Answer Keys

The last two pages of the lesson plan document are answer keys for the worksheets. For the most part, students’ responses should mirror those on the answer keys. However, the second section of the review page will likely vary given that the nature of these questions require open-ended responses. If you choose to administer the lesson pages to your students via PDF, you will need to save a new file that omits these pages. Otherwise, you can simply print out the applicable pages and keep these as reference for yourself when grading assignments.

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Assignment: Earth Layers

Created by Hiba K on 12/6/2021

2 activities: 1 game, 1 assessment

Activity 1: Assessment. Estimated duration: 5 min

Assessment with 5 questions from Earth Layer Model.

5 questions assessment

Activity 2: Instructional Game. Estimated duration: 10 min

Walter's Travels - Tectonic Plates (Mid)

Join Walter on an exploration of Earth's interior and discover information about tectonic plates. The tectonic plates are like puzzles just waiting to get put together. In this game, you'll get to play some puzzles and learn about the tectonic plates. You'll move and shake through the lessons before you unlock arcade mode where you can earn a high score! Are you ready for this ground shaking adventure?

Teacher Ratings (305) 4.2 stars.

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Structure of Earth

The Earth’s structure is a fascinating and complex arrangement of layers that make up our planet’s interior. Understanding this structure is crucial for geologists and scientists as it provides insights into the Earth’s composition, behavior, and the processes that shape our planet. This knowledge is also essential for various fields, including geology, seismology, and plate tectonics , as it helps explain natural phenomena like earthquakes , volcanoes , and the formation of continents and ocean basins.

Interior of the Earth: Crust, Mantle and Core

What should you understand about the interior of the earth, sources of information about the interior of the earth, structure of the earth’s interior, composition of earth, temperature, pressure and density of the earth’s interior, temperature, earth’s magnetic field.

The Earth’s interior can be divided into three main layers: the crust, the mantle, and the core. These layers have distinct properties and compositions, which play a significant role in shaping our planet’s geology and behavior.

• The Earth’s crust is the outermost layer and the one we interact with directly. It varies in thickness, with oceanic crust being thinner (about 4-7 miles or 6-11 kilometers) and continental crust being thicker (averaging about 19 miles or 30 kilometers).
• The crust is primarily composed of solid rock, with different types of rock prevailing in continental and oceanic regions. Continental crust is mostly made up of granitic rocks , while oceanic crust is primarily composed of basaltic rocks.
• The Earth’s crust is where we find the Earth’s landforms , such as mountains, valleys, and plains, as well as the ocean floor.
• The mantle is located beneath the Earth’s crust and extends to a depth of about 1,800 miles (2,900 kilometers). It is the thickest layer of the Earth.
• The mantle is composed of solid rock, primarily silicate minerals . Although it is solid, the mantle behaves like a very viscous or plastic material over geological timescales. This property allows the mantle to flow slowly, leading to the movement of tectonic plates and the associated geological phenomena like earthquakes and volcanoes.
• The heat generated from the Earth’s interior and the decay of radioactive elements contribute to the high temperatures within the mantle.
• The Earth’s core is divided into two parts: the outer core and the inner core.
• The outer core is located beneath the mantle, beginning at a depth of about 1,800 miles (2,900 kilometers) and extending to around 3,500 kilometers below the surface.
• It is primarily composed of molten iron and nickel . The high temperatures and pressures in the outer core keep these materials in a liquid state.
• The motion of molten iron in the outer core is responsible for generating the Earth’s magnetic field through the geodynamo process.
• The inner core is situated at the very center of the Earth, starting at a depth of about 3,500 kilometers.
• It is primarily composed of solid iron and nickel. Despite the extremely high temperatures at this depth, the inner core remains solid due to the tremendous pressure.
• The inner core’s solid nature is important for understanding the Earth’s internal dynamics, including how seismic waves pass through it.

The Earth’s structure and the interactions between these layers are responsible for various geological phenomena, including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and the movement of tectonic plates. The knowledge of the Earth’s interior structure is crucial for understanding and predicting these natural events, as well as for exploring the planet’s history and geology.

• It is not possible to know about the earth’s interior by direct observations because of the huge size and the changing nature of its interior composition.
• It is an almost impossible distance for the humans to reach till the centre of the earth (The earth’s radius is 6,370 km).
• Through mining and drilling operations we have been able to observe the earth’s interior directly only up to a depth of few kilometers.
• The rapid increase in temperature below the earth’s surface is mainly responsible for setting a limit to direct observations inside the earth.
• But still, through some direct and indirect sources, the scientists have a fair idea about how the earth’s interior look like.

Direct Sources:

• Rocks from mining area
• Volcanic eruptions

Indirect Sources

• By analyzing the  rate of change of temperature and pressure  from the surface towards the interior.
• Meteors , as they belong to the same type of materials earth is made of.
• Gravitation , which is greater near poles and less at the equator.
• Gravity anomaly , which is the change in gravity value according to the mass of material, gives us information about the materials in the earth’s interior.
• Magnetic sources .
• Seismic Waves : the shadow zones of body waves (Primary and secondary waves) give us information about the state of materials in the interior.

Structure of earth’s interior is fundamentally divided into three layers –  crust, mantle and core .

• It is the outermost solid part of the earth, normally about 8-40 kms thick.
• It is brittle in nature.
• Nearly 1% of the earth’s volume and 0.5% of earth’s mass are made of the crust.
• The thickness of the crust under the oceanic and continental areas are different. Oceanic crust is thinner (about 5kms) as compared to the continental crust (about 30kms).
• Major constituent elements of crust are Silica (Si) and Aluminium (Al) and thus, it is often termed as  SIAL  (Sometimes SIAL is used to refer Lithosphere, which is the region comprising the crust and uppermost solid mantle, also).
• The mean density of the materials in the crust is 3g/cm3.
• The discontinuity between the  hydrosphere and crust  is termed as the  Conrad Discontinuity.

• The portion of the interior beyond the crust is called as the mantle.
• The discontinuity between the  crust and mantle  is called as the  Mohorovich Discontinuity or Moho discontinuity.
• The mantle is about 2900kms in thickness.
• Nearly 84% of the earth’s volume and 67% of the earth’s mass is occupied by the mantle.
• The major constituent elements of the mantle are Silicon and Magnesium and hence it is also termed as  SIMA .
• The density of the layer is higher than the crust and varies from 3.3 – 5.4g/cm3.
• The uppermost solid part of the mantle and the entire crust constitute the  Lithosphere .
• The  asthenosphere  (in between 80-200km) is a highly viscous, mechanically weak and ductile,  deforming region of the upper mantle which lies just below the lithosphere.
• The asthenosphere is the main source of magma and it is the layer over which the lithospheric plates/ continental plates move (plate tectonics).
• The discontinuity between the  upper mantle and the lower mantle  is known as  Repetti Discontinuity .
• The portion of the mantle which is just below the lithosphere and asthenosphere, but above the core is called as  Mesosphere .
• It is the innermost layer surrounding the earth’s centre.
• The  core is separated from the mantle by Guttenberg’s Discontinuity .
• It is composed mainly of iron (Fe) and nickel (Ni) and hence it is also called as  NIFE .
• The core constitutes nearly 15% of earth’s volume and 32.5% of earth’s mass.
• The core is the densest layer of the earth with its density ranges between 9.5-14.5g/cm3.
• The Core consists of two sub-layers: the inner core and the outer core.
• The inner core is in solid state and the outer core is in the liquid state (or semi-liquid).
• The discontinuity between the upper core and the lower core is called as  Lehmann Discontinuity.
• Barysphere  is sometimes used to refer the core of the earth or sometimes the whole interior.

Major Elements and Minerals in Earth’s Composition:

• Oxygen (O): Oxygen is the most abundant element in Earth’s composition, making up approximately 46.6% of the Earth’s crust by weight. It is a crucial component of minerals and compounds, such as silicates and oxides.
• Silicon (Si): Silicon is the second most abundant element in the Earth’s crust, accounting for about 27.7% of its composition. It is a key component in various silicate minerals, which are the primary building blocks of the Earth’s crust.
• Aluminum (Al): Aluminum makes up around 8.1% of the Earth’s crust. It is often found in minerals like feldspar , bauxite , and various silicates.
• Iron (Fe): Iron is another essential element in Earth’s composition, constituting approximately 5% of the Earth’s crust. It is found in various minerals, including hematite and magnetite .
• Calcium (Ca): Calcium makes up about 3.6% of the Earth’s crust and is commonly found in minerals like calcite and gypsum .
• Sodium (Na) and Potassium (K): Sodium and potassium together account for around 2.8% of the Earth’s crust. These elements are typically found in minerals like feldspar.
• Magnesium (Mg): Magnesium constitutes about 2.1% of the Earth’s crust and is found in minerals such as olivine and serpentine .
• Titanium (Ti): Titanium makes up approximately 0.57% of the Earth’s crust and is present in minerals like ilmenite and rutile .
• Hydrogen (H): While hydrogen is not a major component of the Earth’s crust, it is a significant element in the Earth’s overall composition, mainly in the form of water (H2O).
• Other Elements: Various other elements, including sulfur , carbon, phosphorus, and many trace elements, are present in smaller amounts in the Earth’s composition.

Distribution of Elements Within Earth’s Layers:

• Crust: The Earth’s crust is primarily composed of silicate minerals, including quartz , feldspar, mica , and various types of rock. Silicon and oxygen are the most abundant elements in the crust, forming the backbone of these minerals.
• Mantle: The mantle is composed mainly of silicate minerals, with iron and magnesium as dominant elements. Olivine, pyroxenes, and garnet are common minerals found in the mantle.
• Outer Core: The outer core is primarily composed of liquid iron and nickel. This layer is responsible for generating Earth’s magnetic field, with iron being the dominant element.
• Inner Core: The inner core is composed of solid iron and nickel. Despite the extremely high temperatures, the intense pressure keeps these elements in a solid state.

The distribution of elements within Earth’s layers is a result of the differentiation and separation of materials during the Earth’s early history. The layered structure of the Earth is a consequence of the physical and chemical processes that have occurred over billions of years, including planetary accretion, differentiation, and geological activity.

• A rise in temperature with increase in depth is observed in mines and deep wells.
• These evidence along with molten lava erupted from the earth’s interior supports that the temperature increases towards the centre of the earth.
• The different observations show that the rate of increase of temperature is not uniform from the surface towards the earth’s centre. It is faster at some places and slower at other places.
• In the beginning, this rate of increase of temperature is at an average rate of 1C for every 32m increase in depth.
• While in the upper 100kms, the increase in temperature is at the rate of 12C per km and in the next 300kms, it is 20C per km. But going further deep, this rate reduces to mere 10C per km.
• Thus, it is assumed that the  rate of increase of temperature beneath the surface is decreasing   towards the centre  (do not confuse rate of increase of temperature with increase of temperature.  Temperature is always increasing from the earth’s surface towards the centre ).
• The temperature at the centre is estimated to lie somewhere between 3000C and 5000C, may be that much higher due to the chemical reactions under high-pressure conditions.
• Even in such a high temperature also, the materials at the centre of the earth are in solid state because of the heavy pressure of the overlying materials.
• Just like the temperature, the  pressure is also increasing from the surface towards the centre  of the earth.
• It is due to the huge weight of the overlying materials like rocks.
• It is estimated that in the deeper portions, the pressure is tremendously high which will be nearly 3 to 4 million times more than the pressure of the atmosphere at sea level.
• At high temperature, the materials beneath will melt towards the centre part of the earth but due to heavy pressure, these molten materials acquire the properties of a solid and are probably in a plastic state.
• Due to increase in pressure and presence of heavier materials like Nickel and Iron towards the centre, the  density of earth’s layers also gets on increasing towards the centre .
• The average density of the layers gets on increasing from crust to core and it is nearly 14.5g/cm3 at the very centre.

Earth’s magnetic field is a crucial and complex feature that surrounds our planet. It plays a significant role in our daily lives and has several important functions. Here’s an overview of Earth’s magnetic field:

1. Generation of Earth’s Magnetic Field:

• Earth’s magnetic field is primarily generated by the movement of molten iron and nickel in the outer core of the planet. This process is known as the geodynamo.
• The geodynamo is driven by the heat generated from the decay of radioactive isotopes in the Earth’s interior and the cooling of the core.

2. Magnetic Polarity:

• Earth’s magnetic field has a north and south magnetic pole, similar to a bar magnet. However, these magnetic poles are not aligned with the geographic North and South Poles.
• The positions and orientations of Earth’s magnetic poles can change over geological time, and these reversals in polarity are recorded in rocks as “magnetic striping.”

3. Magnetic Field Components:

• Earth’s magnetic field is characterized by its strength, inclination, and declination.
• Magnetic Strength: This represents the intensity of the magnetic field at a specific location on Earth’s surface.
• Inclination: It refers to the angle at which the magnetic field lines intersect the Earth’s surface, varying from near-vertical at the magnetic poles to horizontal at the equator.
• Declination: This is the angle between true north (geographic north) and magnetic north.

4. Magnetic Field Function and Importance:

• It serves as a protective shield, deflecting harmful charged particles from the Sun, such as solar wind and cosmic rays. This shield is known as the magnetosphere and helps protect the atmosphere and life on Earth.
• It enables navigation and orientation for migratory animals, including birds and sea turtles, that use the magnetic field as a compass.
• Compasses rely on Earth’s magnetic field for navigation and orientation.
• The magnetic field is used in various scientific and geological studies, including paleomagnetism (the study of ancient magnetic fields recorded in rocks) to understand Earth’s history and the movement of tectonic plates.
• The magnetic field is essential for modern technology, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in medicine and various applications in geophysical exploration.

5. Changes in Earth’s Magnetic Field:

• The Earth’s magnetic field is not constant and can undergo changes over time, including secular variation (gradual changes) and geomagnetic reversals (flips in magnetic polarity).
• Researchers monitor these changes, and recent observations have shown that the magnetic North Pole is shifting at a faster rate than in the past.

Understanding Earth’s magnetic field is essential for various scientific, technological, and environmental reasons. It is an integral part of the planet’s geology and plays a vital role in maintaining the conditions necessary for life on Earth.

Jijo Sudarsan  , Interior of the Earth: Crust, Mantle and Core(2018) ,https://www.clearias.com/interior-of-the-earth/

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2.2: Assignment- Exploring Earth’s layers and seismic-wave travel times

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Module 2 Assignment

Exploring Earth’s layers and seismic-wave travel times

Earth’s interior layers can be distinguished in two ways: by their chemical composition or by their physical characteristics and the way they “move” (in a rigid or a “plastic” manner, for instance). Sometimes the different terms we use to describe the interior are confused with one another, or they are treated as interchangeable terms, when really they are quite different. For example, the terms crust, mantle, and core are differentiated by their chemical composition, while the terms lithosphere and asthenosphere are differentiated by their physical (mechanical) properties. However, the terms crust and lithosphere are often (and incorrectly) used interchangeably.

Instructions

• Continental crust
• Oceanic crust
• Lithosphere
• Asthenosphere
• Outer core (liquid)
• Inner core (solid)

How might you hand-draw a figure for a textbook that includes all of these components of Earth’s interior? In other words, how might you reconcile these components of Earth’s interior and the two different ways they are characterized (chemical vs. physical/mechanical properties) in a single illustration?

• Write a paragraph (at least 5 – 6 sentences) that summarizes what tools scientists use to determine the depths at which these layers are situated in Earth’s interior.
• Which waves, P or S, would arrive at seismograph stations first?
• Sendai (130 km from epicenter)
• Tokyo (373 km from epicenter)
• Osaka (770 km from epicenter)

10 points : Accurately responded to each question, including a clearly drawn figure of Earth’s interior, a well-written brief summary, and showing the math for each of the 3 calculations. Any sources used were cited.

8 points : Responded to each question, but may have addressed one or two incorrectly.

5 points : More than two questions missed or answered incorrectly; sources were not cited.

2 points : Only very partial information provided.

0 points : Did not complete the assignment.

Module 5: Plate Tectonics

Assignment: plate tectonics.

Plate tectonics is a unifying framework for understanding the dynamic geology of the Earth. The theory posits that the outermost layers of the Earth (the crust and uppermost mantle) make up the brittle lithosphere of the Earth. The lithosphere is broken up into a number of thin plates, which move on top of the asthenosphere (middle mantle). The asthenosphere is solid, but flows plastically over geologic time scales.

This assessment guides you through an examination of patterns on Earth—the topography of the earth’s surface above sea level and the distribution of earthquakes and volcanic rock ages. You’ll then use geologic data to determine long-term average plate motions.

To do this, you’ll use the program Google Earth, and Google Earth layers compiled from various sources. Please answer EACH questions, they are divided by subsections. Remember to access the tips and hints at the bottom of the page.

Getting started with Google Earth

On your computer, install the latest version of  Google Earth

• Once installed, open Google Earth, under the Tools/Options/3D View/ menu choose the “ Decimal Degrees ” and Meters Kilometers ” options and makes sure the “ Show Terrain ” box is checked.
• Open the View menu. Go ahead and experiment with the options, but in general you should just have the Tool Bar , Side Bar and Status Bar checked. Also on the View menu, hover over Navigation and you will see several options for the compass arrow and slide bars in the upper right corner of the Google Earth screen. “ Automatically ” is a good choice as it leaves a ghost of the image visible until you hover over it.
• Load the DynamicEarth.kmz file into GE. You should be able to double-click on the filename and it will open within GE. Or, you can download the file onto your computer, and open it in GE by using File/Open and navigating to the file. The original file info comes from https://serc.carleton.edu/sp/library/google_earth/examples/49004.html
• Once the DynamicEarth.kmz is loaded, click and drag to move it from “Temporary Places” to “My Places.” Then save “My Places” by clicking File/Save/Save My Places. DynamicEarth.kmz will now be available every time you open GE on this particular computer.  When you exit, GE should save “My Places” for the next time.
• But you should manually save “My Places” whenever you make significant changes to it, as GE does not auto save during a session.
• With an active Internet connection, you now have an interactive view of the earth! Take some time to explore the Earth with Google Earth and figure out how the navigation works using the keyboard, your touch pad and your mouse. For example: Zoom in and out, move N, S, E, W, grab and spin the globe, etc. The resolution will change as you zoom. Clicking on the “N” of the navigation compass reorients the view so north is “up.”
• At top left, “search” (and fly to) any place of interest. Zoom in and click on the “street view” icon (orange stick figure under the compass at top right) to explore an area as if you were on foot
• Zoom in to see individual buildings, roads, cars, etc. (Find the crew team and motorboat on Lake Carnegie)
• Go 3D – zoom into a significant topographic feature (e.g. Mount Everest, the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls). Hold the Shift key down and tilt the terrain using the Up/Down arrows to tilt the terrain, and spin the terrain using the Right/Left buttons. Do the same thing for topographic features on the ocean floor. Note that under Tools/Options/3D View you can increase the vertical exaggeration by up to 3x. This is useful to emphasize subtle features, but is pretty scary when you look at the Grand Canyon that way!
• On the Google Earth tool bar, click the clock-with-an-arrow icon to explore historical imagery in an area of interest (views through time of the Princeton campus, for example)
• By clicking and dragging, you can move things that you have found and want to save, from the “Search” menu into “My Places.” You can also re-organize “My Places” by adding and deleting items, changing the order of things, making subfolders, etc.
• Explore the built-in items under the Layers menu at bottom left, and Dynamic Earth layers in your Places menu.
• Expand and contract the folders and subfolders, turn various items on and off, etc. For example, with the Dynamic Earth/ Volcanoes of the World layer displayed, left-clicking on a volcano brings up an information box about it.

Basic Requirements (assignment criteria):

Seismic patterns.

• Expand the “Seismicity” layer item and click “on” the “Twenty years of large earthquakes” layer to show the epicenters of large earthquakes (those with magnitudes [latex]\geq[/latex] 6.0) during a 20-year period.
• Describe any patterns you see in the distribution of earthquake epicenters over the Earth’s surface. You will need to move around the Earth to explore the different locations—do they form lines, arcs, circles or clusters? Are patterns connected or disconnected?
• The different colors refer to the depths of the earthquakes. What color are the shallowest earthquakes? The deepest?
• Look closely at and around the Earth’s ridges (Mid-Ocean Ridge in middle Atlantic) and trenches (southeast Pacific). The earthquake depth patterns associated with these features are different.
• Complete the chart below. Using the earthquake depths as evidence, is the Earth’s lithosphere thicker in the vicinity of ridges or in the vicinity of trenches? Justify your answer.

Volcanoes & Volcanic Patterns

Leaving the earthquake layer on, click on the “Volcanoes of the World” layer. Describe the relationship between the locations of most active volcanoes and locations of earthquakes. What types of volcanoes are typically found along plate boundaries as opposed to interplate volcanoes? What are some common hazards associated with volcanic eruptions?

Plate Boundaries

• Unclick all the layers, and then click on the “plate boundary model” layer (click the box to show it and then click the + or arrow to expand the legend). This shows plate boundaries and the names of major plates.
• Find the boundary between the African and South American plates
• Where is this plate boundary, relative to the coastlines of Africa and South America?
• Now click the other layers on and off so that you can see relationships between plate boundaries and these features. If you did not have the “plate boundary layer” available to you, how could you determine where this plate boundary was? Be sure to consider topography as well as the earthquake and volcano layers. List several ways and be specific.
• What type of deformation is occurring as a result of this boundary, if any? What type of structures or features would you expect to see, be specific?
• Travel westward across the South American plate to its boundary with the Nazca plate
• Where is this plate boundary, relative to South America?
• If you did not have the “plate boundary layer” available to you, how could you determine where this plate boundary was? List several ways and be specific.
• What type of deformation is occurring as a result of this boundary, if any?
• What type of structures or features would you expect to see, be specific?

Plate motion

•  Motion across the mid-Atlantic ridge: the South American plate vs. the African plate
• How many years does each colored band represent? _______________________
• On average, continental crust is 2 billion years old; the oldest rocks are 3.8 billion years old, and some of the grains in those rocks are even older.
• What is the age of the oldest seafloor? _______________________________
• On average, which is oldest – the continents or the ocean basins? _________________
• Find the South American plate, the African plate, and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that marks the boundary between them. What happens to the age of the seafloor as distance increases away from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge?
• Is crust being created or destroyed at this plate boundary (and other spreading ridges)? ___________
• Is this plate boundary divergent, convergent, or transform? ________________
• Focus on the northern Atlantic Ocean, near the east coast of the US and the northwest coast of Africa. How long ago did the northern Atlantic Ocean begin to open up or start spreading? Describe your reasoning.
• Did the northern Atlantic Ocean basin start opening at the same time as the southern Atlantic Ocean basin (the area between to the south end of South America and Southern Africa)? How much older or younger is the northern Atlantic basin than the southern Atlantic basin?   Describe your reasoning.
• Clear all layers except the “Seafloor Age” layer. From the Mid-Atlantic ridge, choose either the South American plate side or the African plate side. Click on “Tools” and then “Ruler” to click and measure the distance from the MOR of the various ages of the oceanic crust. Use Excel (or other resource) to make a graph of cumulative distance away from the plate boundary (y-axis) vs. age (x-axis). Format the graph appropriate with title, axes, etc. Have Excel fit a trend line/best fit line from your data. NOTE: each color corresponds to a different age. Use the legend or key provided by Google Earth to determine the age. Copy, save and add your graph to your responses under #26.
• Describe the motion of your chosen plate relative to the Mid-Atlantic ridge, based on this seafloor age data—the direction of motion, the average speed (slope of the best fit line) and whether or not speed and direction has been constant over time.
• Compare these results to independent data from the Tristan da Cunha Volcanic Island/Seamount chain on the African plate off the southwest coast of Africa as follows:
• To access this data, expand the “Volcanic Chains” layer on GE, then expand the “Atlantic Ocean Chains” layer, and then click to display “Tristan da Cunha”. You may need to click off Sea Floor age layer. They are green dots off the southwest coast of Africa.
• These islands and seamounts are volcanic edifices built up on older seafloor, formed by eruption of magma from relatively stationary sources (“hot spots”) underneath the moving plates. The numbers are the radiometric ages in millions of years of volcanic rocks collected from each island/seamount.
• Does data from the Tristan da Cunha Volcanic Island/Seamount chain support the plate motion you deduced from the sea floor age data? Explain.
• If you prefer you can choose to compare your results to data from the New England Seamount chain off the northeast coast of North America—these are on the North American plate on west side of the mid-Atlantic ridge. Does this data support the African plate motion deduced above? Explain. NOTE: You do NOT have to do both but you are free to do so for verification.
•  Apply what you have learned—the Pacific Plate
• Turn your attention to the Pacific plate. Note that the Pacific Ocean is comprised of several plates; we want to focus on the very large Pacific plate (not the Nazca plate, or Cocos plate, or Philippine plate or other plates.) The Pacific plate is “born” underwater at the East Pacific rise, the spreading ridge west of South America. It is being destroyed at convergent boundaries around its northern, western, and southern boundaries. NOTE: No instructions are provided for using the different layers. You should be familiar with them by now. If needed you can go back and review.
• Is the East Pacific Rise spreading faster or slower than the mid-Atlantic Ridge and how can you tell – without doing any calculations? Has the rate been constant over time?
• Make and print out a graph (similar to what you did in question 24) for movement of the Pacific plate away from the East Pacific Rise. Remember to save it under #31.
• Describe the motion of the Pacific plate relative to the East Pacific Rise, based on this seafloor age data – direction of motion, average speed and whether or not speed and direction has been constant over time.
• Consider the Volcanic Chains in the Pacific Ocean (Hawaiian/Emperor, Louisville, and Easter Island). Do these data support the movement you deduce for the Pacific Plate? Explain.
• What does the bend in the Hawaiian/Emperor chain indicate happened about 50 million years ago to the direction of Pacific plate movement?
• Based on the evidence of plate motion, explain how supercontinents form and how they rift apart.

Crustal Deformation

This section requires some critical thinking as you will NOT be using Google Earth for this short section. Thinking back over this activity and what you have learned about plate tectonics and plate motion, consider other effects it has on the Earth. Include a brief discussion on the effects plate tectonics has on crustal deformation. Make sure you include stress, strain, folds, faults and any other features you can think of. Discuss the types of forces needed to create the features, the time it would take and so on.

Continental Drift versus Plate Tectonics

• Describe the relationship between continental drift and plate tectonics.
• What evidence was used to support continental drift?
• What evidence was used to support plate tectonics?
• Do you agree or disagree with the evidence cited above?
• What are the three types of plate boundaries?
• What are the key features associated with each boundary?

The Role of Plate Tectonics

• Review the overall activity, what role does plate tectonics play in modern geology? (This includes everything from rock types to earthquakes and volcanoes to mountain building, climate change to evolution of life.)
• Save your completed assessment, make sure you name is on the document and you have included the necessary charts and graphs.

Tips and Hints can be found here .

This assessment is adapted from “Using Google Earth to Explore Plate Tectonics” by Laurel Goodell, originally found here .

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• Plate Tectonics Assessment. Authored by : Kimberly Schulte. Provided by : SBCTC. Located at : http://www.columbiabasin.edu . License : CC BY: Attribution

Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool

A complete, free online christian homeschool curriculum for your family and mine, layers of the earth.

The  structure of the Earth  is divided into layers. These layers are both physically and chemically different. The Earth has an outer solid crust, a highly viscous mantle, a liquid outer core, and a solid inner core.

The  crust  is the outermost layer of the Earth. It is made of solid rocks. It is mostly made of the lighter elements like silicon, oxygen, and aluminium.

The  mantle  is the layer of the Earth right below the crust. It is made mostly of oxygen, silicon, and the heavier element magnesium. The mantle is mostly made up of liquid rock. It’s what lava is made of. Lava is escaping rock, which was melted by the heat of the mantle.

The  core  is made of solid iron and nickel, and is about 5000ºC – 6000ºC (9,000ºF – 11,000ºF).

• Outer core  is a liquid layer below the mantle.
• Inner core  is the very center of the Earth. It is very hot and, due to the high pressure, it is solid.

CC BY-SA 3.0

The Causes of Climate Change

Human activities are driving the global warming trend observed since the mid-20th century.

• The greenhouse effect is essential to life on Earth, but human-made emissions in the atmosphere are trapping and slowing heat loss to space.
• Five key greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons, and water vapor.
• While the Sun has played a role in past climate changes, the evidence shows the current warming cannot be explained by the Sun.

Increasing Greenhouses Gases Are Warming the Planet

Scientists attribute the global warming trend observed since the mid-20 th century to the human expansion of the "greenhouse effect" 1 — warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth toward space.

Life on Earth depends on energy coming from the Sun. About half the light energy reaching Earth's atmosphere passes through the air and clouds to the surface, where it is absorbed and radiated in the form of infrared heat. About 90% of this heat is then absorbed by greenhouse gases and re-radiated, slowing heat loss to space.

Four Major Gases That Contribute to the Greenhouse Effect

Carbon dioxide.

A vital component of the atmosphere, carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is released through natural processes (like volcanic eruptions) and through human activities, such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation.

Like many atmospheric gases, methane comes from both natural and human-caused sources. Methane comes from plant-matter breakdown in wetlands and is also released from landfills and rice farming. Livestock animals emit methane from their digestion and manure. Leaks from fossil fuel production and transportation are another major source of methane, and natural gas is 70% to 90% methane.

Nitrous Oxide

A potent greenhouse gas produced by farming practices, nitrous oxide is released during commercial and organic fertilizer production and use. Nitrous oxide also comes from burning fossil fuels and burning vegetation and has increased by 18% in the last 100 years.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

These chemical compounds do not exist in nature – they are entirely of industrial origin. They were used as refrigerants, solvents (a substance that dissolves others), and spray can propellants.

FORCING:  Something acting upon Earth's climate that causes a change in how energy flows through it (such as long-lasting, heat-trapping gases - also known as greenhouse gases). These gases slow outgoing heat in the atmosphere and cause the planet to warm.

Another Gas That Contributes to the Greenhouse Effect:

Water vapor.

Water vapor is the most abundant greenhouse gas, but because the warming ocean increases the amount of it in our atmosphere, it is not a direct cause of climate change. Credit:  John Fowler  on  Unsplash

FEEDBACKS:  A process where something is either amplified or reduced as time goes on, such as water vapor increasing as Earth warms leading to even more warming.

Human Activity Is the Cause of Increased Greenhouse Gas Concentrations

Over the last century, burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil has increased the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). This increase happens because the coal or oil burning process combines carbon with oxygen in the air to make CO 2 . To a lesser extent, clearing of land for agriculture, industry, and other human activities has increased concentrations of greenhouse gases.

The industrial activities that our modern civilization depends upon have raised atmospheric carbon dioxide levels by nearly 50% since 1750 2 . This increase is due to human activities, because scientists can see a distinctive isotopic fingerprint in the atmosphere.

In its Sixth Assessment Report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, composed of scientific experts from countries all over the world, concluded that it is unequivocal that the increase of CO 2 , methane, and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere over the industrial era is the result of human activities and that human influence is the principal driver of many changes observed across the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere.

"Since systematic scientific assessments began in the 1970s, the influence of human activity on the warming of the climate system has evolved from theory to established fact."

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The panel's AR6 Working Group I (WGI) Summary for Policymakers report is online at https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/ .

Evidence Shows That Current Global Warming Cannot Be Explained by Solar Irradiance

Scientists use a metric called Total Solar Irradiance (TSI) to measure the changes in energy the Earth receives from the Sun. TSI incorporates the 11-year solar cycle and solar flares/storms from the Sun's surface.

Studies show that solar variability has played a role in past climate changes. For example, a decrease in solar activity coupled with increased volcanic activity helped trigger the Little Ice Age.

But several lines of evidence show that current global warming cannot be explained by changes in energy from the Sun:

• Since 1750, the average amount of energy from the Sun either remained constant or decreased slightly 3 .
• If a more active Sun caused the warming, scientists would expect warmer temperatures in all layers of the atmosphere. Instead, they have observed a cooling in the upper atmosphere and a warming at the surface and lower parts of the atmosphere. That's because greenhouse gases are slowing heat loss from the lower atmosphere.
• Climate models that include solar irradiance changes can’t reproduce the observed temperature trend over the past century or more without including a rise in greenhouse gases.

1. IPCC 6 th Assessment Report, WG1, Summary for Policy Makers, Sections A, “ The Current State of the Climate ”

IPCC 6 th Assessment Report, WG1, Technical Summary, Sections TS.1.2, TS.2.1 and TS.3.1

2. P. Friedlingstein, et al., 2022: “Global Carbon Budget 2022”, Earth System Science Data ( 11 Nov 2022): 4811–4900. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-4811-2022

3. IPCC 6 th Assessment Report, WG1, Chapter 2, Section 2.2.1, “ Solar and Orbital Forcing ” IPCC 6 th Assessment Report, WG1, Chapter 7, Sections 7.3.4.4, 7.3.5.2, Figure 7.6, “ Solar ” M. Lockwood and W.T. Ball, Placing limits on long-term variations in quiet-Sun irradiance and their contribution to total solar irradiance and solar radiative forcing of climate,” Proceedings of the Royal Society A , 476, issue 2228 (24 June 2020): https://doi 10.1098/rspa.2020.0077

Header image credit: Pixabay/stevepb Four Major Gases image credit: Adobe Stock/Ilya Glovatskiy

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