The relationship between the properties of matter and
the structure of the Earth.
-mass, volume, density, Earth’s interior, atmosphere
Matter has mass
 What is mass?
Matter has volume
 What is volume?
Measuring Mass
 Which instruments at your experiment stations would
you use to measure the mass of …
 a solid?
 a liquid?
 A gas?
Measuring Volume
 Which instruments at your experiment station would
you use to measure the volume of……….
 a regular shaped solid?
 an irregular shaped solid?
 a liquid?
 a gas
Density
 What is the meaning of density?
 What other measurements do you need to calculate
density?
 What is the formula for density?
 What are the densities of common Earth materials….
 water?
air?
rocks?
Density
 Density is a specific property of matter.
 Matter can be identified by its density.
 Density is a comparison of a substance’s mass
compared to its volume.
 The formula for density is – Mass divided by volume.
 Density is most commonly written as g/cm3 or g/mL.
 Earth’s materials layer by their densitites.
Calculating density
 At your experiment station, find the density of the
three items at your station.
 List the mass of each item
 The volume of each item
 Figure the density of each item
(Make sure that you use the correct tools to calculate your
answers).
Sorting of Earth’s Materials
 List areas on Earth where materials are sorted by
density and particle size.
 In what circumstances would they be sorted by
particle size?
 In what circumstances would they by sorted by
density?
Soils and Streambeds
 Soils and streambeds are sorted by density and particle
size.
 How would they be sorted if the rocks had different
densities?
 How would they sort if they had equal density but
different particle size?
Earth’s Interior Structure
 What is the order of the densities of the interior
structure of the Earth?
 How does this relate to their positioning?
Earth Interior Model
 Draw a picture of Earth’s interior
 Describe how these layers are layered by density.
 Label the four main layers of the Earth
(crust, inner core, outer core, mantle)
 Give the specific densities of the layers.
 How can the inner and outer core be made of the same materials and yet differ
in their states of matter?