Structure of the Earth

2

Journey to the centre of the Earth

You are a scientist who is going to travel to the centre of the earth to find out what its made of. Write a paragraph to describe your journey.You must include

• The name of each layer• Information on how thick each

layer is • What material each layer is made

of

Inner Core

Outer Core

Mantle

Crust

Inner Core – Solid, mainly made of iron and nickel 4000°C

Outer Core – Liquid and under huge pressure.

Mantle – hot and flows like a thick liquid.

Crust – 6km to 90km thick and solid. It ‘floats’ on the mantle

6371 km

Inner Core = 1231 km thick

Outer Core = 3488 km thick

Mantle = 1552 km thick

Crust = 100 km thick

6

Hinge Question

• If you were travelling from the centre of the earth outwards, what order would you pass through each layer?

(a) Mantle, Outer core, Inner Core, Crust(b) Inner Core, Outer Core, Mantle, Crust(c) Crust, Mantle, Outer Core, Inner Core(d) Crust, Mantle, Inner Core, Outer Core

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