THE EARTHS INNER LAYERS

LAYERS Thickness in
Kilometers
Crust 40
Mantle 2900
Outer Core 2200
Inner Core 1278
CRUST
The outermost layer of the
Earth.
Subdivided into two regions:
(Continental crust and Oceanic
Crust)
Elements in the Earth’s Crust
Element Percentage
Oxygen 46.60
Silicon 27.72
Aluminum 8.13
Iron 5.00
Calcium 3.63
Sodium 2.83
Potassium 2.59
Magnesium 2.09
Titanium 0.40
Hydrogen 0.14
MANTLE
Makes up about 80% of the
Earth’s total volume and 68%
of its total mass.
Mainly made up of
silicate rocks.
The lower part of the mantle
consist of more iron than the
upper part.
Beneath the lithosphere lies
the soft, weak layer known as
asthenosphere made of hot
molten material.
Its temperature is about 300-
o
800 C.
OUTER CORE
Its temperature reaches up to
o
2000 C.
Made up of melted iron and
nickel moving around the
solid inner core creating
earth’s magnetism.

INNER CORE
Made up of solid iron and
nickel.
Its temperature reaches to
o
about 5000 C.
Is believed to be solid due to
pressure freezing, which is
common to liquids subjected
to tremendous pressure.
Some clues that the inner core
and the outer core are made
up of Iron and Nickel.
Iron and Nickel are both
dense and magnetic.
The overall density of the
earth is much higher that
the density of the rocks in
the crust.