Structure Of The Earth Flashcards
What is the Earth’s diameter?
Around 12 756 km
How many layers is the Earth made up of?
Three main layers
What are the main layers that the Earth is made up of?
The core
The mantle
The crust
What is the core?
The innermost layer of the Earth
What 2 parts is the core divided into?
The inner core and the outer core
Where is the inner core?
At the centre
True or false? The inner core is the second hottest part of the Earth.
False. It is THE hottest part of the Earth
What temperature is it in the inner core?
Up to 5 500°C
What state of matter is the inner core?
It is solid
What is the inner core made up of?
Iron and nickel
How thick is the inner core?
1 220 km thick
Where is the outer core?
It surrounds the inner core
What state of matter is the outer core?
It is a liquid
What is the outer core made up of?
Also iron and nickel
True or false? The outer core is much cooler than the inner core but is still hotter than your average microwave.
False. The outer core reaches similar temperatures to the inner core
How thick is the outer core?
About 2 250 km thick
Where is the mantle?
Between the crust and the core
True or false? The core is the widest section of the Earth followed by the mantle and lastly the crust.
False. The mantle is the widest section of the Earth followed by the core and lastly the crust
How thick is the mantle?
About 2 900 km thick
What two layers is the mantle made up of?
The upper mantle
The lower mantle
How thick is the upper mantle?
670 km thick
How does the upper mantle compare to the rest of the mantle?
It is weak in comparison and bends and flows under pressure
What state of matter is the upper mantel?
It is semi-molten
What temperature is the upper mantle?
Between 500 and 900°C
What is the upper mantle made up of?
Minerals rich in iron, silica, magnesium and oxygen
What does semi-molten mean?
Half way between a solid and a liquid
Where is the upper mantle?
At the upper boundary with the crust
Where is the lower mantle?
At the boundary with the core
How thick is the lower mantle?
About 2 230 km thick
What state of matter is the lower mantle?
Solid
What temperature is the lower mantle?
Over 4 000°C
What is the lower mantle made up of?
Minerals rich in iron, silica, magnesium and oxygen
Where is the crust?
It os the outer layer of the Earth
How deep is the crust?
In ranges from 5 to 70 km and has variable thickness
What is the thin part of the crust?
The oceanic crust
Which is denser? The oceanic crust or the continental crust?
The oceanic crust
What is the oceanic crust made up of?
Mainly igneous rock, rich in iron and magnesium
Where and how thick is the oceanic crust?
It forms the surface of the ocean basins and is between 5 and 10 km thick
What is the thicker crust?
The continental crust
What is the continental crust made up of?
Mainly granite rock, rich in feldspar with quartz and silica
Where and how thick is the continental crust?
It forms the surface pf the continents and the shallow seabed near their shores. It is 35 to 70 km thick in the continents
