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Inside the Earth

AstronomyScience
Astronomy►
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Table of Contents
  • Earth’s Layers
    • Core
    • Mantle
    • Surface and crust

Earth’s Layers

Inside the Earth Diagram The Earth is made of many different and distinct layers. The deeper layers are composed of heavier materials; they are hotter, denser and under much greater pressure than the outer layers.

Core

The Earth has a iron-nickel core that is about 2,100 miles in radius. The inner core may have a temperature up to about 13,000°F (7,200°C = 7,500 K), which is hotter than the surface of the Sun. The inner core (which has a radius of about 750 miles (1,228 km) is solid. The outer core is in a liquid state and is about 1,400 miles (2,260 km) thick.

Mantle

Earth's outer layers Under the crust is the rocky mantle, which is composed of silicon, oxygen, magnesium, iron, aluminum, and calcium. The upper mantle is rigid and is part of the lithosphere (together with the crust). The lower mantle flows slowly, at a rate of a few centimeters per year. The asthenosphere is a part of the upper mantle that exhibits plastic properties. It is located below the lithosphere (the crust and upper mantle), between about 100 and 250 kilometers deep.

Earth's layers from the crust to the core Convection (heat) currents carry heat from the hot inner mantle to the cooler outer mantle. The mantle is about 1,700 miles (2,750 km) thick. The mantle gets warmer with depth; the top of the mantle is about 1,600° F (870° C); towards the bottom of the mantle, the temperature is about 4,000-6,700° F (2,200-3,700° C). The mantle contains most of the mass of the Earth. The Gutenberg discontinuity separates the outer core and the mantle.

Surface and crust

The Earth’s surface is composed mostly of water, basalt and granite. Oceans cover about 70% of Earth’s surface. These oceans are up to 3.7 km deep. The Earth’s thin, rocky crust is composed of silicon, aluminum, calcium, sodium and potassium. For a page on soil, click here.

The crust is divided into continental plates which drift slowly (only a few centimeters each year) atop the less rigid mantle. The crust is thinner under the oceans (6-11 km thick); this is where new crust is formed. Continental crust is about 25-90 km thick. The lithosphere is defined as the crust and the upper mantle, a rigid layer about 100-200 km thick. The Mohorovicic discontinuity is the separation between the crust and the upper mantle.

Earth's Crust

Label Earth's Layers Printout
Label Earth's Layers Printout

Read the definitions then label the layers of the Earth in this printable worksheet.

Label the Outer Layers of the Earth Printout
Label the Outer Layers of the Earth Printout

Label the parts of the mantle and crust in this printable worksheet.

Label Seafloor Spreading Printout
Label Seafloor Spreading Printout

Label the growth of new oceanic crust as two plates diverge in this printable worksheet.

Soil Layers
Soil Layers

Soil covers much of the land on Earth, learn more about it here!

Label the Soil Layers Printout
Label the Soil Layers Printout

Label the soil layers in this printable worksheet.

Label Subduction (Plate Convergence) Printout
Label Subduction (Plate Convergence) Printout

Label the subduction of an oceanic plate under a continental plate (plate convergence).

All About Volcanoes
All About Volcanoes

Learn all about volcanoes with this informative page.

Label Volcano Diagram Printout
Label Volcano Diagram Printout

Label the lava, vent, conduit, crater, magma chamber, ash cloud and crust.

Label Water Cycle Printout
Label Water Cycle Printout

Label the water cycle in this printable worksheet.

Other Links:
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Label Earth's Layers Printout
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PLATE TECTONICS - Paleontology and Geology Glossary
The Earth
Introduction
How Fast is Earth Moving?
Continental Drift
Oceans
The Atmosphere
Clouds
Magnetosphere
Moon
Axis Tilt & Seasons
How is its Mass Determined?
Inside the Earth
Water Cycle
Greenhouse Effect
Why is the Sky Blue?
Activities & Links
Geologic Time Chart
The Planets
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
(Pluto - dwarf planet)
Your weight on the planets
Your age on the planets
The Solar System
— Our Solar System —
The Sun
The Planets
The Moon
Asteroids
Kuiper Belt
Comets
Meteors
Zoom Astronomy
— All About Astronomy —
Table of Contents
Index
More on Astronomy
Stars
Our Solar System
Astronomy Glossary
Hall of Astronomers
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