EARTH SCIENCE

The Earth's Structure

The earth is made up of three different layers: the crust, the mantle and the core.

The crust
This is the outside layer of the earth and is made of solid rock, mostly basalt and granite. There are two types of crust;
oceanic and continental. Oceanic crust is denser and thinner and mainly composed of basalt. Continental crust is less
dense, thicker, and mainly composed of granite.
The mantle
The mantle lies below the crust and is up to 2900 km thick. It consists of hot, dense, iron and magnesium-rich solid rock.
The crust and the upper part of the mantle make up the lithosphere, which is broken into plates, both large and small. To
learn more about these plates see the Plate Tectonics page.
The core
The core is the centre of the earth and is made up of two parts: the liquid outer core and solid inner core. The outer core is
made of nickel, iron and molten rock. Temperatures here can reach up to 50,000 C.
Layers by Composition
The layers scientists recognize are pictured below.

A cross section of Earth showing the following layers: (1) crust (2) mantle (3a) outer core (3b) inner core (4) lithosphere (5)
asthenosphere (6) outer core (7) inner core.

Core, mantle, and crust are divisions based on composition:

1. The crust is less than 1% of Earth by mass. The two types are oceanic crust and continental crust.Continental
crust is felsic and oceanic crust is mafic.

2. The mantle is hot, ultramafic rock. It represents about 68% of Earth's mass.

3. The core is mostly iron metal. The core makes up about 31% of the Earth.

Layers by Mechanical Properties

Lithosphere and asthenosphere are divisions based on mechanical properties:

1. The lithosphere is composed of both the crust and the portion of the upper mantle and behaves as a brittle,
rigid solid.

2. The asthenosphere is partially molten upper mantle material and behaves plastically and can flow.
Summary
 By composition, Earth is divided into core, mantle, and crust.

 By mechanical properties, the crust and upper mantle are divided into lithosphere and asthenosphere.

 Continental crust is felsic, oceanic crust is mafic, the mantle is ultramafic, and the core is metallic.