DIFFERENT

LAYERS OF THE
EARTH
GROUP 2
 The earth is made up of several layers and
each has unique properties, characteristics,
composition and affects the inner processes
of the earth differently. Scientists think about
Earth’s layers in two ways—in terms of
chemical composition and in terms of
physical properties.
 Earth’s layers
based on

Chemical Composition
 The crust is the outmost and
first layer of the earth. It is the

1
hardened part of the earth.

crust
With a depth of about 5 to 70
kilometers (~ 3 to 44 miles)
and makes about 1% of the
entire earth’s volume. The
earth’s crust is split up into
two parts : the oceanic crust
and the continental crust
 Oceanic
The oceanic crust is about 5
kilometers thick below the
ocean. It is composed mainly
of basalt. Takes up to 71% of
the crust. Consists of basalt
and sedimentary rocks.
Continental
The continental crust is
approximately 60 kilometers
thick. It is composed mostly
of granite. takes up to 29% of
the crust. Consists of igneous
rocks .
 The mantle sits on top of the

2 mantle
outer core and is the second
layer of the earth. It is by a
considerable the densest layer
of the earth, approximately the
2900 kilometers deep (1800
miles). For this reason , its
volume is about 84% of the
earth .
 The earths core is the innermost

3 core
section of all layers. It is distinctly
made up of two parts which are
the outer core and inner core.
Both the outer and inner core are
mostly made up of iron, nickel,
and other heavy metals as
conjured by geologists. The major
difference is that the materials of
the outer core are liquid while the
materials of the inner core are in
solid state.
 Outer core
The outer core is liquid and is
conceived to be composed of
about 80% of iron together
with nickel. It is liquid because
it is not under enough
pressure despite the fact that
it has the same composition to
that of the inner core. It is the
layer that follows immediately
after the mantle and has very
high temperatures , up to
about 4400 degrees Celcius .
Inner core
The inner core is solid and the
second thinnest layer of the
earth. It is solid due to the
pressure from the layers
around it that put weight on it
. Similar to the outer core ,the
inner core is mainly made up
of iron and nickel and has
approximate thickness of
between 5159 and 6378
kilometers (3200 and 3960
miles).
 Earth’s layers
based on

Physical Properties
 Lithosphere is the

lithosphere outermost, rigid layer of

Earth. The lithosphere is
made of the crust and the
rigid, upper part of the
mantle. The lithosphere is
divided into pieces called
tectonic plates.
 Asthenosphere is the layer
asthenosphere of weak or soft mantle that
is made of rock that flows
slowly; tectonic plates move
on top of this layer.
mesosphere
Mesosphere is the strong,
lower part of the mantle.
Rock in the mesosphere
flows more slowly than rock
in the asthenosphere.
outer core The outer core is the liquid
layer of Earth’s core. The
outer core lies beneath the
mantle and surrounds the
inner core.
inner core The inner core is the solid,
dense center of our planet.
The inner core extends from
the bottom of the outer core
to the center of Earth.