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Module 47

Science and Health

LAYERS OF THE EARTH

A Ded-BEAM Distance Learning Program supported by the Australian Agency for International Development
 To the Learner

Have you ever wondered what the inside of the earth look like?

Do you know what’s inside the earth? Nobody has really gone into
the center of the earth. Scientists are continuously studying what the
earth is made of. They have established that the earth is composed of
different layers. What are the layers of the earth? Are they of the same
thickness? What materials are they made of? Find out from this module.

Let’s Learn This

Identify the layers of the earth

Differentiate each layer

Let’s Try This

Label the layers of the earth. Choose your answer from the box.

• Mantle
1
• Inner core
• Outer core
2 • crust

3
4

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 Let’s Study This

LAYERS OF THE EARTH

The earth has four spheres: the lithosphere, the solid part which
makes up the continents and land masses; the hydrosphere, the liquid
part which makes up the oceans, seas, rivers and lakes; the
atmosphere, the gaseous part; and the biosphere, the life zone.

The surface of the lithosphere is made of solid rock materials that

originated from the interior. Geologist, the scientist who study the
nature and processes of the earth, studied the earth’s interior through
indirect observation of waves during earthquake and the types of rock
in the lithosphere.

Earth is composed of three layers namely the crust, mantle, and

core

CRUST

The crust is the outermost and the thinnest layer of earth. It is

about 5 to 100 kilometers thick. It is the upper part of the lithosphere.
It is where people and other living things live. It consists of the
continental crust and the oceanic crust.

The continental crust makes up the continents. It is about 32

kilometers thick.

The oceanic crust makes up the ocean floors. It is thinner than

the continental crust. It is only about 4-8 kilometers thick

The crust is composed of about one-fourth land surfaces made up

of 7 continents and big islands.

The continents are in the form of mountains, hills, valleys, and

plains. About three-fourths are water surfaces in the form of oceans,
seas, and lakes.

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 The top part of the crust is made of a light material like granite.
The bottom part of the crust is made of a dark, heavy rock called
basalt. The crust is the only layer of the Earth which Geologist have
seen.

The total distance from the earth’s crust to it’s center is

approximately 6430 kilometers

MANTLE

Mantle is the rocky layer of the Earth between the crust and the
core. It is about 2,900 kilometers thick. It is the largest layer of the
Earth that covers about 67% of the Earth’s mass. The temperature and
pressure of mantle increase in depth ranging from 870 degrees Celsius
to 2200 degrees Celsius. It is believed that magma and lava come from
mantle

The boundary between the crust and the mantle is the

mohorovicic discontinuity, called Moho for short. It is named after
Andrija Mohorovicic, a Yugoslavian scientist who discovered this
special boundary.

CORE

The core is the innermost and the hottest layer of earth. It is

divided into outer core and the inner core. The outer core is made up
of molten iron and nickel. The inner core is made up of solid iron and
nickel.

Its estimated temperature reaches as high as 5000 degrees

Celsius.

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 Let’s Do This

In this activity you will need a hard-boiled egg and cutter of knife.

What to do?

1. Get a hard-boiled egg. This egg will represent the earth.

2. Cut the hard-boiled egg, with the shell intact in half.

a. What three layers do you observe in the egg?

b. Which layer is the thinnest? The thickest?

3. Compare it with the illustration below

c. If the egg was the earth, which layer of the earth would
the shell be?

d. Which layer would the egg white be? The yolk? The
thinnest?

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 Let’s Do More

A. Match column A with Column B. Write the letter

A B

1. crust a. the boundary between crust and

mantle
2. mantle b. the layer consisting of liquid iron
and nickel
3. outer core c. the hottest layer of earth
4. inner core d. the largest layer of earth
5. Moho e. the upper part of the lithosphere
6. Geologist f. the solid part of Earth
7. lithosphere g. scientist who studies the structure of
the earth
h. the study of the structure of Earth

B. Write the description of the Earth’s layer under the proper column

CRUST MANTLE CORE

1. outermost layer
2. innermost layer
3. hottest layer
4. largest layer
5. thinnest layer
6. consist of iron and nickel
7. where people live
8. where magma comes from

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 Let’s Remember This

I learned that:
• The Earth has layers namely: crust, mantle, and
core
• Crust is the outermost and the thinnest layer
where people and other living things live. It
consists of continental crust and oceanic crust. It
is the upper part of the lithosphere
• Mantle is the largest layer where magma and lava
come from
• Core is the hottest and innermost layer of earth. It
is divided into outer core and inner core. The
outer core consists of liquid iron and nickel. The
inner core consists of solid iron and nickel.

Let’s Test Ourselves

A. Choose and write the letter of the correct answer.

1. On what layer of earth does man live?

a. Crust
b. Mantle
c. Outer core
d. Inner core

2. What is the outer core made of?

a. Molten iron
b. Molten nickel
c. Very hot molten rock
d. Both b and c

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 3. What layer of Earth is made of solid iron and nickel?

a. Outer core
b. Inner core
c. Crust
d. Mantle

4. Which of the following best describes the mantle?

a. The mantle contains soil and sand.

b. The mantle contains solid iron and nickel.
c. The mantle contains cold plastic materials.
d. The mantle contains hot and thick liquid rocks.

5. Which is true about the interior of Earth?

a. The temperature and pressure is very low in the core.

b. The temperature and pressure is very high in the core.
c. The temperature and pressure is very high in the crust.
d. The temperature and pressure in the mantle is higher
than in the core.

Science Fact File

INNER CORE – MAGNETIC FIELD

Scientist believes that the inner core is very dense which explains
why there is a magnetic field around the earth. The iron core may have
an effect like that of the magnetic field around a magnet. When the
solid rocky core moves inside the liquid rock above it, it creates a
magnetic field with a north pole and a south pole. This field surrounds
the Earth and extends right out into the space.

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 Answer Key

Let’s try this Let’s Test Ourselves

1. crust 1. a
2. mantle 2. d
3. outer core 3. b
4. inner core 4. d
5. b
Let’s Do This

a. shell, egg white, yolk

b. shell, egg white
c. crust
d. mantle, core, mantle, crust

Let’s Do More

A.
1. e
2. d
3. b
4. c
5. a
6. g
7. f

B.

CRUST MANTLE CORE

Outermost layer Largest layer Innermost layer
Thinnest layer Where magma comes Hottest layer
from
Where people live Consist of iron and
nickel

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