Earth's Interior

The Earth's interior is composed of four layers, three solid and one liquid—not magma but
molten metal, nearly as hot as the surface of the sun. The deepest layer is a solid iron ball, about
1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) in diameter. Although this inner core is white hot, the pressure is
so high the iron cannot melt. The iron isn't pure—scientists believe it contains sulfur and nickel,
plus smaller amounts of other elements. Estimates of its temperature vary, but it is probably
somewhere between 9,000- and 13,000-degrees Fahrenheit (5,000 and 7,000 degrees Celsius).
Above the inner core is the outer core, a shell of liquid iron. This layer is cooler but still very hot,
perhaps 7,200 to 9,000 degrees Fahrenheit (4,000 to 5,000 degrees Celsius). It too is composed
mostly of iron, plus substantial amounts of sulfur and nickel. It creates the Earth's magnetic field
and is about 1,400 miles (2,300 kilometers) thick.

The next layer is the mantle. Many people think of this as lava, but it's actually rocks. The rock is
so hot, however, that it flows under pressure, like road tar. This creates very slow-moving
currents as hot rock rises. The mantle is about 1,800 miles (2,900 kilometers) thick and appears to
be divided into two layers: the upper mantle and the lower mantle. The boundary between the
two lies about 465 miles (750 kilometers) beneath the Earth's surface.

The crust is the outermost layer of the Earth. It is the familiar landscape on which we live: rocks,
soil, and seabed. It ranges from about five miles (eight kilometers) thick beneath the oceans to an
average of 25 miles (40 kilometers) thick beneath the continents.

Currents within the mantle have broken the crust into blocks, called plates, which slowly move
around, colliding to build mountains or rifting apart to form new seafloor.

Continents are composed of relatively light blocks that float high on the mantle, like gigantic,
slow-moving icebergs. Seafloor is made of a denser rock called basalt, which presses deeper into
the mantle, producing basins that can fill with water.

Except in the crust, the interior of the Earth cannot be studied by drilling holes to take samples.
Instead, scientists map the interior by watching how seismic waves from earthquakes are bent,
reflected, sped up, or delayed by the various layers.
(source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/earth/surface-of-the-earth/earths-
interior/)

Questions:
1. How many layers is Earth composed of?
2. What is the diameter of the deepest layer of the Earth?
3. Why does the inner core is not melting even though it is very hot?
4. Aside from iron, what other elements are found inside earth?
5. What is created by the outer core?
6. What creates a very slow-moving current in the mantle?
7. How thick is the mantle?
8. What is the outermost layer of the Earth?
9. What do you call the broken crust?
10. How do the scientists map the interior of the Earth?
What Is Lithosphere?
SEPTEMBER 14, 2010 BY JERRY COFFEY
Every rocky planet has a lithosphere, but what is lithosphere? It is the rigid outermost shell of a
rocky planet. Here on Earth the lithosphere contains the crust and upper mantle. The Earth has
two types of lithosphere: oceanic and continental. The lithosphere is broken up into tectonic
plates.

Oceanic lithosphere consists mainly of mafic(rich in magnesium and iron) crust and
ultramafic(over 90% mafic) mantle and is denser than continental lithosphere. It thickens as it ages
and moves away from the mid-ocean ridge. This thickening occurs by conductive cooling, which
converts hot asthenosphere into lithospheric mantle. It was less dense than the asthenosphere for
tens of millions of years, but after this becomes increasingly denser. The gravitational instability of
mature oceanic lithosphere has the effect that when tectonic plates come together, oceanic
lithosphere invariably sinks underneath the overriding lithosphere. New oceanic lithosphere is
constantly being produced at mid-ocean ridges and is recycled back to the mantle at subduction
zones, so oceanic lithosphere is much younger than its continental counterpart. The oldest oceanic
lithosphere is about 170 million years old compared to parts of the continental lithosphere which
are billions of years old.
The continental lithosphere is also called the continental crust. It is the layer of igneous,
sedimentary rock that forms the continents and the continental shelves. This layer consists mostly
of granitic rock. Continental crust is also less dense than oceanic crust although it is considerably
thicker(25 to 70 km versus 7-10 km). About 40% of the Earth’s surface is now covered by
continental crust, but continental crust makes up about 70% of the volume of Earth’s crust. Most
scientists believe that there was no continental crust originally on the Earth, but the continental
crust ultimately derived from the fractional differentiation of oceanic crust over the eons. This
process was primarily a result of volcanism and subduction.
We may not walk directly the lithosphere, but it shapes every topographical feature the we see.
The movement of the tectonic plates has presented many different shapes for our planet over the
eons and will continue to change our geography until our planet ceases to exist.
Source: https://www.universetoday.com/73597/what-is-lithosphere/
Questions:
1. What is lithosphere?
2. What composes the lithosphere?
3. What are the two types of lithospheres?
4. What elements is oceanic lithosphere consist of?
5. How do thickening of oceanic crust occurs?
6. Where does oceanic lithosphere produce? Where is it recycled?
7. How old is the oldest oceanic crust? How about the oldest continental crust?
8. What is the other mane for continental lithosphere?
9. How can we describe continental lithosphere?
10. What process is involved in creating continental crust?