Key for Layers of the Earth Study Guide
Crust
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The first layer of the earth is called the crust.
It is the layer of the Earth where we live.
It is the outer most (outside) layer of Earth.
It is a solid and is up to 100 kilometers thick.
It is the coolest in temperature of all the layers.
It is composed (means made of) minerals and rocks and is mostly made of
granite and basalt.
7. The part of the crust where the continents are is known as the continental
crust. This is the thickest part of the crust.
8. The part of the crust beneath the ocean water is known as oceanic crust.
This is the thinnest part of the crust.
Mantle
9. The second layer of the Earth is the mantle.
10. It is the largest layer with a thickness up to 2,900 kilometers.
11. It has the most mass of all the layers.
12. It is a solid made of molten (melted) rock that flows like melted plastic.
13. It is composed (means made of) mostly of magnesium.
14. The mantle’s temperature is higher than the crust reaching up to 3,000 0C.
Core
It is the center (middle) layer of Earth. There are two parts of the core.
Outer Core
15. It is made of molten/liquid iron and nickel.
16. Its thickness is 2,300 kilometers.
17. It is hotter than the mantle.
Inner Core
18. The inner core is made of solid iron and nickel because it is the innermost
region of earth. Since it is under such extreme pressure, the metals
become a solid.
19. The inner core has the highest temperatures of all the layers.
20. It has a thickness of 1,200 kilometers.
21. It is the most dense of all the layers.
Other information
22. If you were able to journey down to the center of the earth, you would
observe an increase in temperature, pressure, and density.
23. The Earth's mantle is made up of very hot material that rises to the top of
the mantle, cools, then sinks, reheats, and rises again, constantly repeating
the cycle. These convection currents(energy transferred by circulation of a
liquid or a gas) cause the Earth's crust to move.
24. If an oceanic plate collided with a continental plate of the crust, the
oceanic plate would be pushed under the continental plate.