Structure of the Earth

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/structure-of-the-earth

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the crustal types?Continental crust (granitic) and oceanic crust (basaltic)
2. What is the outer core function?Generates Earth's magnetic field via convection of liquid iron-nickel
3. What is the Earth's crust made of?The crust is the outermost layer. It has thicker continental crust made of granitic rocks and thinner oceanic crust made of basaltic rock.
4. Why does the Earth have plate tectonics?Convection currents in the mantle push tectonic plates. This movement causes seafloor spreading, mountain building, and other surface changes.

Asthenosphere: The mechanically weak, ductile upper layer of the Earth's mantle beneath the lithosphere.
Geodynamo: The physical process within the Earth's outer core that generates the planet's magnetic field.
Mantle Plumes: Upwellings of hot, buoyant rock from deep within the Earth's mantle.