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Earth's Layers Model

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Earth's Layers Model

A science centre needs a clear model to show what lies beneath our feet. Use the clues and visuals to investigate Earth’s layers. Remember: a model simplifies the real Earth, and the layers are not all the same thickness.

Read the model clues

Earth has four main layers. The crust is the thin, solid surface where we live. Beneath it is the mantle, a very hot layer of rock that can slowly flow over long periods. The outer core is liquid metal, and the inner core is solid metal. Temperature generally increases as you travel deeper. Scientists use evidence such as earthquake waves to learn about these hidden layers; no one has drilled anywhere near the centre.

1.Start at Earth’s surface and travel towards its centre. Which order is correct?

Crust, mantle, outer core, inner core
Mantle, crust, inner core, outer core
Crust, outer core, mantle, inner core
Inner core, outer core, mantle, crust

2.Which Earth layer is the thin, solid surface where people live?

3.Decide whether each statement is true or false: (a) The outer core is liquid. (b) The inner core is solid. (c) The mantle is the thinnest layer.

Sort the evidence

A class is sorting layer clues for its model. Match each layer to its description.

4.Match each Earth layer with its description.

Crust
Mantle
Outer core
Inner core

Liquid metal layer
Thin, solid outer surface
Solid metal centre
Very hot rock that can slowly flow

5.A model-maker uses a thin card shell around a much thicker layer of orange clay. Which Earth layers could the card and clay represent?

6.In the model, why should the crust band be much thinner than the mantle band?

7.The model shows four layers as neat rings. Give one way this model is useful and one way it is not exactly like the real Earth.

Earth beneath Aotearoa

Earth’s outer surface is broken into large pieces called tectonic plates. These plates move very slowly. Where plates interact, they can cause earthquakes and help create volcanoes. Aotearoa New Zealand is near a boundary between the Pacific Plate and the Australian Plate, so earthquakes and volcanic activity occur here.

8.Which two natural events in Aotearoa can be linked to movement at tectonic plate boundaries?

Earthquakes and volcanic activity
Snow and tides
Rainbows and clouds
Day and night

9.A friend says, “People can dig a deep hole and see all the way to the inner core.” Use the clues to explain why this is not a good way to learn about Earth’s layers.

10.Write one careful sentence for a museum label explaining what a model of Earth’s layers helps visitors understand.