TEKS: 6.10A

Inner Core  Thickness:  Composition:  Temperature:  Interesting Fact(s): 1,250 km Solid Fe 6,000°C The deepest, most dense layer in the Earth; hot enough to melt iron, but the pressure of the rest of the layers keep it solid

Outer Core  Thickness:  Composition:  Temperature:  Interesting Fact(s): 2,200 km Molten Fe, Ni 4,000–5,000°C “ Only liquid layer. As the Earth rotates, the liquid outer core spins, creating the Earth's magnetic field.”

Lower Mantle  Thickness:  Composition:  Temperature:  Interesting Fact(s): 2,900 km Fe, Mg 3,700°C “ Largest layer made of semi-solid rock.”

Upper Mantle  Thickness:  Composition:  Temperature:  Interesting Fact(s): 670–2,800 km Si, O, Mg, Fe, Al, Ca 2,800–3,200°C Rocky and rigid; hot enough to melt rocks; semi-solid; has the property of “plasticity”

Asthenosphere  Thickness:  Composition:  Temperature:  Interesting Fact(s): 100 – 250 km deep Plates move on this layer carried by convection currents; located below the lithosphere. This layer is a solid that moves like a liquid (semi-solid), called plasticity.

Lithosphere  Thickness:  Composition:  Temperature:  Interesting Fact(s): Made of the rigid portion of the upper mantle and crust; floats on the asthenosphere. The lithosphere is divided into large areas called plates, which are constantly moving. 40–100 km

Crust  Thickness:  Composition:  Temperature:  Interesting Fact(s): 5 km under the ocean and 30 km under the continents Water, Si, Al, Ca -57°C to 400°C The thinnest, most upper layer of the Earth. The continental crust is thicker than the oceanic crust. It is also the coolest layer. The crust is broken into many pieces, called tectonic plates, which slowly move on the Asthenosphere.