Layers of the Earth Webquest Name ______Hr____

Explore the following websites and answer the corresponding questions below.

Part I. The Layers of Earth :

A.  Go to the The Volcano World website: http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/earths-layers-lesson-1

1.  Label the 4 main layers of the Earth.

(Note: The Mantle has two parts. Consider them as one layer in this instance.)

(#2 is sometimes separated into upper and lower)

2.  What causes the mantle to “flow”? ______

3.  What are the two main metals that make up the Earth’s core? ______and ______

4.  Describe, in your own words, how the earth’s layers were formed? (see “The Four Layers”)

______

______

B.  The Earth’s Layers:

Use the following sites to help you understand the Earth’s interior--http://www.mnh.si.edu/earth/main_frames.html (Select the “Multi-Media Version” and then the “Plate Tectonics and Volcanoes” tab. Now, click on “Inner Earth” and read the Introduction (2 slides) and then click on words CRUST, MANTLE (info on Lithosphere here!), and CORE . Then try this next interactive website....

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/science_up_close/606/deploy/interface.html

1.  The Lithosphere is the Earth’s Crust and the uppermost part of the Earth’s Mantle. What is special about it? ______

2.  Complete the following table:

Types of Crust
Oceanic / Continental
Thickness: km / Thickness: km
Made of: / Made of:
VIP #1:
/ VIP #1
VIP #2:

/ VIP #2:

C.  Tectonic Plates: http://www.sciencemonster.com/earth-science/layers-of-the-earth.html –only use the first 3 pages!!!

1.  What are tectonic plates?______

2.  What is something else that you learned from pages 1-3? ______

______

Part II. Convection Currents and the Mantle

Heat transfer is the movement of heat energy from a warmer object/place to a colder object/place. There are three ways in which heat can be transferred: radiation, conduction, and convection. Click on the following 3 links and answer the questions below.

A. Go to https://www.wisc-online.com/learn/natural-science/earth-science/sce304/heat-transfer--conduction--convection--radiation ,

then Convection, Conduction and Radiation , and also this Heat Transfer website.

1.  How is heat transferred by conduction? ______

______

2.  Explain the process of convection.______

______

3.  How is heat transferred by radiation?______

______

B.  On the Heat Transfer web page, click the “Mini Quiz” tab at the top and answer the quiz questions. Put your answers below.

1.  _____ 2. _____ 3. _____

C.  Go to www.universetoday.com/26717/earths-mantle/ to learn about what influence convection currents have on Earth. Read and answer the following questions.

1.  Describe how convection currents occur in Earth’s mantle. ______

______

2.  What is a constructive force caused by the convection in the mantle? ______

______

3.  What is a destructive force caused by the convection in the mantle? ______

______