Earth Science LabName:

Block: Date:

PLANET EARTH IN CROSS-SECTION

Background Information: When you observe pictures of the Earth taken from the space shuttle, you will probably be surprised by what you see. Earth may look nearer than you expected, or you may have thought you would see more detail. This activity will help you better visualize how Earth’s larger structures compare with the actual size of the Earth.

Purpose:

  1. To construct a scale model of the layers of the Earth.
  2. To compare various heights and thicknesses of the layers of the Earth to the radius of the Earth.

Materials: Each group will need a cut piece of newsprint paper, pencil, colored pencils, ruler, & meter

stick.

Procedures:DO NOT SPEND ALL OF CLASS TIME COLORING YOUR MODEL!!!

  1. Near the very bottom of your paper extension make a dot and label it “center of the Earth”.
  1. Calculate the scale distances for the different layers of the Earth and list in the table below. To do this, divide the average thickness by 100.

LAYER / AVG. THICKNESS
(km) / SCALE
(cm)
Inner Core / 1271
Outer Core / 2270
Mantle / 2885
Crust / 25
  1. Using a pencil mark the layers of the Earth onto your newsprint based on your calculations. Begin from the center of the Earth and add each successive layer in order. Do not measure from the center of the Earth for each layer. Label each layer.
  1. Coloreach layer using the following key: DO NOT SPEND ALL OF CLASS TIME COLORING!

Crust= Brown

Mantle= Red

Outer Core= Orange

Inner Core= Yellow

  1. The Lithosphere is a special layer that includes the crust and a small portion of the upper mantle. It is the rigid outer shell of the Earth. Just below the lithosphere is another special layer, a region of the mantle, called the Asthenosphere. In this layer, because of enormous heat and pressure, the solid rock acts like silly putty. Calculate the scale distances for these two layers in the table below.

LAYER / AVG. THICKNESS
(km) / SCALE
(cm)
Lithosphere / 100
Asthenosphere / 200
  1. Draw the boundaries for these layers using a black DOTTED LINE. Begin from the surface of the Earth for the lithosphere and measure down. From the end of the lithosphere, measure and label the asthenosphere. Label the layers.
  1. Calculate the scale distances for the atmosphere using the table below. Draw each layer and label it using the surface of the Earth as your starting point and go up. Add each layer, do not start from the surface for each!

LAYER / AVG. THICKNESS
(km) / SCALE
(cm)
Troposphere / 12
Stratosphere / 50
Mesosphere / 80
Thermosphere / 140
  1. Color the entire atmosphere BLUE.
  1. Calculate the distances for each of the points below. Draw a picture to represent each item.

OBJECT / AVG. THICKNESS
(km) / SCALE
(cm)
Altitude of Space Shuttle / 300
Altitude of Cruising Plane / 12.2
Deepest Ocean Trench / 11
Mount Everest / 8.8

Analysis Questions: Use what you’ve learned in this lab and your INB to answer the questions below.

  1. Measure the model you just made using a meter stick. What is the radius of the Earth from the center to the surface in km? (Hint: you divided each measurement by 100 to convert to cm.)
  1. The circumference of the Earth is approximately 40,000 km. What percentage of the Earth’s circumference is represented by the width of your newsprint? (Hint: see hint from Question 1)
  1. List the layers of the Earth from least dense to most dense. (Hint: use all 6!)
  1. What causes the layers of the Earth to be separated out by density?
  1. Which layer of the Earth does life exist in? How does the thickness of this layer compare to the radius of the Earth?
  1. In which layers of the Earth do you think the most energy transfer happens? (Keep in mind we are a rocky body that floats in space!)
  1. What layer of the Earth is made of semi-molten material?
  1. Is the inner core made of solid or liquid material? Why/how?
  1. What layer of the Earth do both the asthenosphere and lithosphere exist in?
  1. According to your data, what layer does the lithosphere “ride” or “float” on top of?
  1. Why would the lithosphere be described as “floating” on top of this layer?
  1. According to your data, what is the thickest layer of the Earth?
  1. What layer of the Earth contains “the center of the Earth”?
  1. With your group members name three features or manmade structures on the Earth’s surface that we would consider to be enormous (NOT listed from above):
  1. Now look at your large model of the layers of the Earth and compare the size of the features you named with the actual size of the Earth.