LESSON 1: PLATE TECTONICS
Science
10-ENDURANCE | SIR RK | 1ST QTR 2022
INTERNAL STRUCTURE AND
COMPOSITION OF THE EARTH
THE CRUST
● The layer we live on, the crust is
the thinnest and least dense layer
of the solid earth.
● Made up of light rock material that
range from 2 miles to 75 miles
deep.
● Usually contains silicon, aluminum,
and calcium.
● The two types of crust are oceanic
crust and continental crust.
● Composed of plates on which the
continents and oceans rest.
● The crust of the earth is broken
into many pieces called plates.
OCEANIC CRUST
Oceanic crust is the crust in the ocean’s
floor.
CONTINENTAL CRUST
Continental crust is the crust that makes
up the continent.
THE MANTLE
● The largest and thickest layer of
the earth.
● Consists of about 80% of the
earth’s mass.
● It is a very hot surface at about
900°C.
● This layer is composed of very hot
dense rock (ferro-magnesium
silicate rocks) that flows like
asphalt under a heavy weight.
CONVECTION CURRENTS
The hot material (magma) in the mantle
rises to the top of the mantle, cools,
then sinks, reheats, and rises again.
The convection currents cause
changes in the earth’s surface.
THE CORE
● The core is the densest layer of
the internal structure of the earth.
● About 3,500 thick from the center.
● Made up of heavy metals like iron
+ oxygen, silicon, and nickel
alloy.
THE OUTER CORE
The outer core is the only layer of the
earth that is liquid. Located below the
mantle and is about 1,400 miles thick. It is
composed of the melted metals nickel
and iron.
THE INNER CORE
The inner core is the solid center of the
planet. It is composed mostly of iron. The
inner core of the earth has temperatures
and pressures so great that the metals are
squeezed together and are not able to
move about like a liquid, but are forced to
vibrate in place like a solid.
BOUNDARIES BETWEEN THE
LAYERS OF THE EARTH
● Lithosphere - the solid outer
section of the earth. It is made up
of the crust as well as the upper
layer of the mantle.
LESSON 1: PLATE TECTONICS
Science
10-ENDURANCE | SIR RK | 1ST QTR 2022
● Asthenosphere - a part of the
uppermantle that flows like hot
asphalt under heavy weight.
Lithospheric plates float and move
around here.
● Mohorovicic Discontinuity - also
known as moho, it is the interface
between crust and mantle.
● Gutenberg Discontinuity - marks
the boundary between the mantle
and the outer core.
● Travels only on the surface of the
earth.
● Moves slower than body waves.
● Can cause serious damage.
LOVE WAVES
- Named after Augustus Edward H.
Love
- Fastest type of surface wave
- Moves from side to side
- Can cause the real damage to
structures during an earthquake

RAYLEIGH WAVES
- Named after John William Strutt,
SEISMIC WAVES
also known as Lord Rayleigh.
● Waves of energy caused by the - Waves roll in circular motion
sudden breaking of rock within the - Responsible for an even greater
earth. devastation during an earthquake
● Measured using seismometers
and recorded using
seismographs. CONTINENTAL DRIFT
● There are two types of seismic Alfred Wegener proposed this theory
waves: body waves and surface that explains how continents split apart
waves. and shifted position on earth’s
surface.
BODY WAVES *not included in the pointers to review but still
keep in mind just in case
● Body waves travel through the
layers of the planet.

PRIMARY WAVES OR P-WAVES

- Fastest moving waves
- Compressional waves
- Can travel through solids and
liquids
- Pushes and pulls the rock it
moves through

SECONDARY WAVES OR S-WAVES

- The second wave you feel in an
earthquake
- Moves slower than P-waves
- Can only travel through solids
- Moves up and down or side-to-side

SURFACE WAVES