Ch.

1
Sec. 1 Earths Interior

Activity pg. 6 - How do Scientists Find Out

Whats Inside Earth?

Canister
1

Observations

2
3
1.Without opening the canisters, what differences
do you notice between them?

2.Apart from their appearance on the outside, are

the canisters similar in any way?
3.How did you obtain this evidence?

geologists use 2 types of evidence

to learn about Earths interior
1. direct evidence
from rock
samples
2. indirect
evidence from
seismic wavesearthquakes

Layers of Earth

crust

3 main
layers
of Earths
interior

mantle

core1. inner core

2. outer core

The Crust

The crust is a layer of

solid rock that
includes both dry
land and the ocean
floor.

crust
layer of rock
forms Earths outer skin

crust
2 types of crust:
1. oceanic crust
made of basaltdark rock w/ fine
texture
2. continental crust
made of graniterock w/ light color
& coarse texture

 Earths mantle is made up of rock that is very

hot, but solid. Scientists divide the mantle into
layers based on the physical characteristics of
those layers.

The Mantle

mantle

layer of hot solid rock

from base of crust
3,000 km deep

2 parts of mantle:
1. lithosphere=
rigid layer of uppermost part of
mantle & crust
floats on top of 2. asthenosphere
soft layer
that flows

core
2 parts:
1. inner core- solid
2. outer core- liquid
currents in liquid
outer core force
solid inner core to
spin produces
Earths magnetic
field

core

made of iron & nickel

Creating Data Tables pg. 11

Depth

20 km
150 km
2,000 km
4,000 km
6,000 km

Name of
Layer

What Layer
Is Made Of

How to make a model of the

1. In a Ziploc bag, combine 1/2 cup (1 bottle) of
glue and 1/2 cup of warm water.
2. Add a few drops of food coloring to tint the
mixture to the desired shade.
3. In a second Ziploc bag, combine 1 teaspoon of
Borax and 1/2 cup of water. Mix thoroughly.
4. Pour the Borax mixture into the glue mixture. It
will be very thick.
5. Knead slightly as the mixture starts to come
together.
ASTHENOSPHERE
-SOFT LAYER OF THE MANTLE ON
WHICH THE LITHOSPHERE FLOATS

Edible Earth
Crust= graham crackers
Mantle= black cherry Jello
Outer core= peach Jello

Inner core= raspberry Jello

Write a description
of each layer of
Earth.

Write a story about a journey to the center of Earth.

Directions are on pg. 13 in your textbook.

1-2 written pages + 1 page with a picture

Have a beginning, middle and end to your story
You must include at least 3 facts for each main
layer (composition, depth, thickness, how the
layers are separated into different layers,etc.)

Activity: Core
of the Matter

Build a 3-D model of the planets to depict the interiors

of each. Punch a hole in a paper plate and spin it on a
phonographic record player at 77 rpm. With different
colored markers, draw the layers of the planet to
correspond in scale to the planets interior. For
example, for a simplified earth draw to scale a core, a
mantle, and a crust. Repeat this on both sides of three
plates. (On some turntables, an upside down plate will
override the rotating section. To get a plate to spin
upside down, first place a spare plate right-side-up on
the player, then place the upside down plate on that.)
Cut and combine the plates so the three of them
intersect perpendicular to each other on an X-, a Y-,
and a Z-axis. To do this, cut a slit halfway across two
plates and intertwine them. Cut a third plate in half.
On each half cut a slit from the cut edge (what was
formerly the center of the plate) halfway outward. Cut
partial slits on the combined plates to accommodate
the two halves. Hang and shabang.