Layers of the Earth

Continental Crust

This crust is thicker and less dense than oceanic.

Oceanic Crust

This crust is thinner and more dense than continental. The ocean sits on top of the oceanic crust.

Composition

What something is made of!

Viscosity

A measurement of how easily or difficult it is for something to flow. As an example, water has a low viscosity compared to caramel which has a high viscosity (thick, slow moving).

Seismic Waves

A wave of energy that travels through the Earth and away from an earthquake in all directions. It has been used to study the layers of the Earth.

Physical Property

A way to describe the characteristics of matter. For example, it can include, color, size, density, state of matter.

Mantle

The layer of rock between the Earth's crust and core. It contains convection currents which are the cause of the movement of the plates.

Mesosphere

The lower part of the mantle. This layer is between the outer core and the upper parts of the mantle (asthenosphere and lithosphere).

Density

The mass of an object (how much matter, or stuff it has) compared to it's volume (how much space it takes up).

Outer Core

The only liquid layer of the Earth. It is made of iron and nickel.

Lithosphere

The outermost, rigid (solid) layer of the Earth. It is divided into pieces called tectonic plates.

Asthenosphere

The plastic (soft, like taffy) layer of the upper mantle that sits just below the lithosphere.

Inner Core

The solid center of the Earth made of iron and nickel.

Mass

the amount of matter that makes up an object. It is similar to weight but not exactly the same.

Volume

the amount of space an object takes up.