Understanding the Earth's Composition: Layers and Structure

1. The Structure of the Earth By: Randi Angell Mary Bloor Heidi Dardinger

2. Terrestrial Planets: • Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars • Characteristics: • 3 compositional layers: crust, mantle, and core • Core composed of rock and nickel mixture • Composition similar to a meteorite

4. Layers:

5. The Crust: • Outer most layer of the Earth • In the oceans, it is about 4 miles thick • On the thickest continents, it can be up to 40 miles thick The Mantle: • 1,800 miles thick • Weaker and hotter rock than the crust • Oxygen, Silicon, and Magnesium

6. Apple Analogy: • Think of the earth as an apple. • The outer skin of the apple is the crust. • The inside part, the fruit that you eat, is the mantle. • And the core of the apple is the earth’s core.

7. The Inner Core: The Outer Core: • 1,300 miles thick • Liquid Iron • Sphere at the center of the earth • 1,500 miles across • Solid iron

8. Volcanic Activity: • Evidence that the internal heat of the earth is being maintained. • Heat is being transferred from the core to the surface. • Heat is moved in the mantle through: • Conduction • Convection

9. Why is There Life on Earth?: • Liquid Water • Gravity • Protective Atmosphere • Life-Sustaining Gases

10. The structure of our planet gives it many of it’s unique characteristics which are responsible for the presence of human life on Earth!