ORIGIN OF THE

GEOSPHERE

A c t i v i t y 7. 2
1. How many compositional layers does the earth have?
Describe the composition of each.
 CRUST
Most common chemical
elements in the crust are
oxygen (46.6%), silicon
(27.7), aluminum (8.1), iron
(5.0), calcium (3.6),
potassium (2.8), sodium
(2.6), and magnesium (2.1).

EARTH’S
COMPOSITION
 CRUST
Located at the top of the
lithosphere with a thickness
of 3 km and up to 100 km.
It is composed of a variety
of igneous, metamorphic
and sedimentary rocks like
basalts and granites

EARTH’S
COMPOSITION
 MANTLE
The mantle under the crust
is about 1,800 miles deep
(2,890 km). It is composed
mostly of silicate rocks rich
in magnesium and iron.

EARTH’S
COMPOSITION
 MANTLE
The upper mantle extends
from about 7-35 km from
the surface down to a
depth of 410 km; the lower
mantle, which reaches from
660 km-2,891 km.

EARTH’S
COMPOSITION
 CORE
The solid, inner core of iron
has a radius of about 760
miles (about 1,220 km),
according to NASA. It is
surrounded by a liquid,
outer core composed of a
nickel-iron alloy. The outer
core is about 1,355 miles
EARTH’S (2,180 km) thick.
COMPOSITION
2. How many mechanical layers does the Earth have? Describe the
phase (solid, liquid, gas) and strength (rigid, ductile) of each layer.
MECHANICAL LAYERS OF THE EARTH

The solid center of the Earth is in the

inner core. Surrounding it is the outer
core where temperature and pressure
are so balanced that the iron is molten
and exists as a liquid. The difference
between the inner and outer cores is
not one of the composition but the
physical states of the two: one is a
solid, the other is a liquid.
MECHANICAL LAYERS OF THE EARTH

Within the upper mantle, from 350-

100 and 200 km below the Earth’s
surface, is a region called the
asthenosphere ("weak sphere"), where
the balance between temperature and
pressure is such that rocks have little
strength. Rocks in the asthenosphere
are weak and easily deformed, like
butter or warm tar.
MECHANICAL LAYERS OF THE EARTH
Above the asthenosphere is the
outermost strength zone, where rocks
are cooler, stronger, and more rigid
than those in the plastic
asthenosphere. This region, which
includes the uppermost mantle and all
of the crust, is called the lithosphere
("rock sphere"). It is rock strength, not
rock composition, that differentiates
the lithosphere from the
asthenosphere.
MECHANICAL LAYERS OF THE EARTH
The mesosphere makes up most of
the volume of the mantle. It is entirely
solid and the temperature and
pressure of the rock in the
mesosphere keep it from breaking,
thus no earthquakes originate from
the mesosphere. The upper
mesosphere is a transition zone in
which the rock rapidly becomes
denser with depth in response to the
increasing lithostatic pressure.
MECHANICAL LAYERS OF THE EARTH

The lower mesosphere starts at a

depth of 660 km from earth's surface.
There is an abrupt increase in density
and this is caused by changes in the
crystal structures of the most
abundant minerals in the rock. The
lower mesosphere undergoes little
density change from its top boundary
at 660 km to its base at 2900 km
where it meets the outer core.
3. The mesosphere is a mechanical layer that is rigid and composed mainly of iron
and magnesium. In which part of the figure in the USGS website is the mesosphere
located?