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Layers of Earth
Unit 4 Layers of the Earth
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Inner core | Ball of hot, solid metal at Earth’s center |
| Inner core | Very high pressure causes it to be solid |
| Outer core | Layer of liquid metal surrounding the inner core |
| Outer core | Less pressure and lower temperature than inner core |
| Mantle | Thickest layer of Earth made up of hot rock; less dense than core |
| Mantle | Uppermost part of mantle is cool and rigid. Just below that, the rock is hot and soft enough to move like a thick paste. |
| Crust | Thin layer of cool rock that surrounds Earth like an eggshell; 2 types |
| Continental crust | Includes all continents (less dense; mostly composed of granite) |
| Oceanic crust | Includes all the ocean floors(more dense; mostly composed of basalt) |
| Lithosphere | Made up of the crust and the cool, rigid part of the upper mantle. |
| Lithosphere | It is broken into tectonic plates and sits on top of the asthenosphere |
| Asthenosphere | Layer of hotter, softer rock in Earth’s upper mantle; flows like tar |
| Relative position | The location of something in comparison to its surroundings |
| Composition | The makeup of a substance; the composition of carbon dioxide (CO2) is one carbon atom and 2 oxygen atoms |
| Density | The amount of “stuff” present (mass) in a certain amount of space (volume) |
| Density | Mass/Volume |
| Convection currents | Hotter, less dense rock rises. Cooler, denser rock sinks back down, only to be heated and rise again |
| Convection | heat transfer by the movement of fluids |