Name:

Worksheet: The Structure of the Earth

Complete the passage by filling in the blanks. Use the key words provided in the
Word Bank to fill in the blank spaces of the paragraph.
NOTE* for Gifted and Talented Students: There are more words present in
the Word Bank than needed and some words may even be used multiple
times.

Our planet Earth is the third planet from the Sun. The Earths

Word Bank

structure is similar to that of an onion as it is made up of several

different ____________. Firstly, starting in the centre of the

upper mantle

Earth is the ____________, which is made up of two distinct

lower mantle*

parts: the solid ____________ ____________ and the liquid

solid

____________ ____________. They are both made of iron and

nickel and the extremely hot temperatures of nearly 5000C in
the ____________ ____________ keep these metals in a
____________ state. The temperature ____________ to

liquid
gaseous*
lithosphere

6000C in the ____________ ____________, however the

extreme pressures keep the metals in a ____________ state.
Next is the ____________. It is the thickest layer of the Earth at
nearly 3000km deep and composed of magnesium and iron

inner core
outer core
layers

molecules. On the outer layer of Earth is the ____________,

which is made up of aluminium and silicon. It can range from as
thin as 5km at points such as the ocean floor to 70km thick on
the land we live on. Together, the ____________ and
____________ ____________ are termed the ____________.
This layer sits on top of the asthenosphere and is often made up
of solid silicate minerals.

crust
core
increases
decreases*
mantle