Earth doesn't exactly rock, but hard materials, such as stone and metal, are main ingredients in our planet's layers. These rocky layers are known collectively as the geosphere.
Watch this animation to learn more about the geosphere . Then answer the questions in the Take Notes box below.
Before you watch, you might want to check the definition of specific terms. In addition to geosphere, the glossary words atmosphere and hydrosphere will be used.
You may pause the animation, rewatch it as many times as you like, and read the transcript.
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Earth is made up of different things.
The non-living things that make up our planet can be separated into three main “spheres”.
Our atmosphere - the gas portion of our planet.
Our hydrosphere - the water layer (oceans, lakes, glaciers, etc).
And our geosphere - the rock component of our planet.
This geosphere isn’t just the solid rock we see from our place on its surface. If we peel back the onion of Earth to its center, there are 4 main layers to the geosphere:
The top layer we call home is the crust - This layer is typically solid rock that varies in thickness and density.
Then there is the mantle- a thick, hot, liquid layer of rock.
Next up is the outer core made of liquid metal, followed by the inner core made of solid metal.
The deeper into the Earth you go, a few general patterns emerge: The pressure increases, the heat increases, and the density increases.
So as much as we’d like to consider ourselves on solid ground, the layers of our planet are always changing beneath our feet.
Type the answers to these questions in the note box, below.
1. What are the three different “spheres” of Earth?
2. List the four layers of the geosphere.
3. As we go deeper into the Earth’s layers, what happens to the planet’s pressure, heat and density?