There are five main layers of the Earth: crust, upper mantle, lower mantle, liquid outer core, and solid inner core. The crust is the thinnest outer layer of the Earth, on which the continents are located. It is followed by the mantle - the thickest layer of our planet, which is divided into two layers. The core also separates into two layers - a liquid outer core and a solid spherical inner core. There are several ways to create a model of the Earth's layers. The simplest and most common options are a three-dimensional model of sculpted clay, plasticine or modeling dough, or a flat image on paper.

What will you need

Play dough model

  • 2 cups of flour
  • 1 cup coarse sea salt
  • 4 teaspoons potassium tartrate
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 glasses of water
  • Pot
  • Wooden spoon
  • Food coloring: yellow, orange, red, brown, green, and blue (if you don't have one, use what you have)
  • Fishing line or dental floss

paper model

  • 5 sheets of heavy paper or thin card stock (brown, orange, red, blue, and white)
  • Compasses or stencil with circles of 5 different diameters
  • Glue stick
  • Scissors
  • Large sheet of cardboard

foam model

  • Large styrofoam ball (13-18 cm diameter)
  • Pencil
  • Ruler
  • Long serrated knife
  • Acrylic paints (green, blue, yellow, red, orange and brown)
  • tassel
  • 4 toothpicks
  • Scotch
  • Small strips of paper

Steps

Model from the test

    To make a three-dimensional model, you will need to buy sculpting clay or plasticine, or prepare dough for modeling. In any case, seven colors are needed: two shades of yellow, orange, red, brown, green and blue. It is recommended to cook the dough with your own hands under the supervision of parents.

    Prepare dough for modeling. If you bought sculpting clay or clay, skip this step. Mix all the ingredients (flour, salt, potassium tartrate, oil and water) until smooth, without lumps. Then transfer the mixture to a saucepan and heat over low heat, stirring constantly. The dough will thicken as it heats up. When the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the pan, remove the pan from the burner and let it cool to room temperature.

    • The cooled dough must be kneaded for 1-2 minutes.
    • This step is recommended to be performed under parental supervision.
    • Large salt crystals will still be visible in the dough - this is normal.
  1. Divide the dough into seven balls of different sizes and add the dyes. First, make two small golf ball sized balls. Next, make two medium-sized balls and three large balls. Use a few drops of food coloring for each balloon according to the following list. Knead each piece of dough to evenly distribute the color.

    • two small balls: green and red;
    • two medium balls: orange and brown;
    • three large balls: two shades of yellow and blue.
  2. Wrap the red ball in the orange dough. You will be building the earth model from the inner layer to the outer layers. The red ball will represent the inner core. The orange dough is the outer core. Flatten the orange ball slightly to wrap the dough around the red ball.

    • The entire model must be spherical to resemble the shape of the Earth.
  3. Wrap the resulting sphere in two yellow layers. The next layer is the mantle, which corresponds to the yellow dough. The mantle is the widest layer of planet Earth, so wrap the inner core in two thick layers of yellow dough in different shades.

    • Roll out the dough to the desired thickness and wrap around the ball, carefully connecting on all sides to get a single layer.
  4. Next, roll out and wrap the brown layer around the model. The brown dough will represent the earth's crust, the thinnest layer of the planet. Roll out the brown dough to get a thin layer, and then wrap around the ball in the same way as the previous layers.

  5. Add the world ocean and continents. Wrap the globe in a thin layer of blue dough. This is the last layer of our model. The ocean and continents are part of the crust, so they should not be considered as separate layers.

    • Finally, give the green dough the approximate shape of the continents. Press them against the ocean, positioning them like they are on a globe.
  6. Cut the balloon in half with dental floss. Place the ball on the table and pull the thread over the center of the sphere. Imagine an imaginary equator on the model and hold the thread over this place. Cut the ball in half with the string.

    • On the two halves, a clear cross-section of the layers of the Earth will be visible.
  7. Label each layer. Make small checkboxes for each layer. Wrap a strip of paper around a toothpick and secure with tape. Make five flags: crust, upper mantle, lower mantle, outer core, and inner core. Paste each checkbox into its respective layer.

    • Now you have two halves of the Earth, so you can use the half with flags to show the layers of the planet, and the other with the ocean and continents as a top view.
  8. Collect interesting facts for each layer. Find information about the composition and thickness of each layer. Provide information on density and temperatures present. Make a short report or infographic to supplement the 3D model with the necessary explanations.

    paper model

    foam model

    1. Prepare the necessary materials. This model uses a Styrofoam sphere in the form of the Earth, the fourth part of which is cut out so that you can see the internal structure of the planet. The incision should be made under parental supervision.

      • All materials and supplies can be found at home or at an art supply store.
    2. Draw circles along the horizontal and vertical center of the Styrofoam ball. You need to cut about a quarter of the foam ball. The circles dividing the ball into horizontal and vertical halves will help you with this. Perfect accuracy isn't necessary, but try to stick to the center.

      • Hold the ruler in the center.
      • Hold the pencil in place above the ruler.
      • Have a friend rotate the ball horizontally while you hold the pencil and make sure the line is centered.
      • After drawing a full circle, repeat the procedure vertically.
      • As a result, you will get two lines that divide the ball into four equal parts.
    3. Cut out a quarter of the ball. Two intersecting lines will divide the ball into four parts. You need to cut out one quarter with a knife. We strongly recommend that you perform this action under the supervision of parents.

      • Position the ball so that one of the lines points straight up.
      • Place the knife over the line and gently cut back and forth until you reach the center of the ball (horizontal line).
      • Flip the ball over so that the horizontal line is now pointing up.
      • Cut carefully until you reach the center of the ball.
      • Gently wiggle the cut out quarter to separate it from the styrofoam ball.

The bowels of the Earth are very mysterious and practically inaccessible. Unfortunately, there is still no such apparatus with which you can penetrate and study the internal structure of the Earth. The researchers found that at the moment the deepest mine in the world has a depth of 4 km, and the deepest well is located on the Kola Peninsula and is 12 km.

However, certain knowledge about the depths of our planet is still established. Scientists have studied its internal structure using the seismic method. The basis of this method is the measurement of vibrations during an earthquake or artificial explosions produced in the bowels of the Earth. Substances with different density and composition passed vibrations through themselves at a certain speed. This made it possible to measure this speed with the help of special instruments and analyze the results obtained.

Scientists' opinion

The researchers found that our planet has several shells: the earth's crust, mantle and core. Scientists believe that about 4.6 billion years ago, the stratification of the bowels of the Earth began and continues to stratify to this day. In their opinion, all heavy substances descend to the center of the Earth, joining the planet's core, while lighter substances rise up and become the earth's crust. When the internal stratification ends, our planet will turn into a cold and dead one.

Earth's crust

It is the thinnest shell of the planet. Its share is 1% of the total mass of the Earth. People live on the surface of the earth's crust and extract from it everything necessary for survival. In the earth's crust, in many places, there are mines and wells. Its composition and structure is studied using samples collected from the surface.

Mantle

Represents the most extensive shell of the earth. Its volume and mass is 70 - 80% of the entire planet. The mantle is solid but less dense than the core. The deeper the mantle is located, the greater its temperature and pressure become. The mantle has a partially melted layer. With the help of this layer, solids move to the core of the earth.

Nucleus

It is the center of the earth. It has a very high temperature (3000 - 4000 o C) and pressure. The core consists of the densest and heaviest substances. It is approximately 30% of the total mass. The solid part of the core floats in its liquid layer, thereby creating the earth's magnetic field. It is the protector of life on the planet, protecting it from cosmic rays.

Non-fiction film about shaping our world

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In the twentieth century, through numerous studies, mankind revealed the secret of the earth's interior, the structure of the earth in the context became known to every schoolchild. For those who do not yet know what the earth consists of, what are its main layers, their composition, what is the name of the thinnest part of the planet, we will list a number of significant facts.

In contact with

The shape and size of the planet Earth

Contrary to popular misconception our planet is not round. Its shape is called the geoid and is a slightly flattened ball. The places where the globe is compressed are called poles. The axis of the earth's rotation passes through the poles, our planet makes one revolution around it in 24 hours - an earth day.

In the middle, the planet is surrounded by an imaginary circle dividing the geoid into the Northern and Southern hemispheres.

Apart from the equator there are meridians - circles perpendicular to the equator and passing through both poles. One of them, passing through the Greenwich Observatory, is called zero - it serves as a reference point for geographic longitude and time zones.

The main characteristics of the globe include:

  • diameter (km.): equatorial - 12 756, polar (near the poles) - 12 713;
  • length (km.) of the equator - 40,057, meridian - 40,008.

So, our planet is a kind of ellipse - a geoid, rotating around its axis passing through two poles - North and South.

The central part of the geoid is surrounded by the equator - a circle dividing our planet into two hemispheres. In order to determine what the radius of the earth is, use half the values ​​of its diameter at the poles and the equator.

And now about that what is the earth made of what shells it is covered with and what sectional structure of the earth.

Earth shells

Basic shells of the earth distinguished according to their content. Since our planet is spherical, its shells held together by gravity are called spheres. If you look at s trinity of the earth in a section, then three areas can be seen:

In order(starting from the surface of the planet) they are located as follows:

  1. The lithosphere is a solid shell of the planet, including mineral layers of the earth.
  2. Hydrosphere - contains water resources - rivers, lakes, seas and oceans.
  3. Atmosphere - is a shell of air that surrounds the planet.

In addition, the biosphere is also distinguished, which includes all living organisms that inhabit other shells.

Important! Many scientists refer the population of the planet to a separate vast shell called the anthroposphere.

The earth's shells - the lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere - are distinguished according to the principle of combining a homogeneous component. In the lithosphere - these are solid rocks, soil, the internal contents of the planet, in the hydrosphere - all of it, in the atmosphere - all the air and other gases.

Atmosphere

The atmosphere is a gaseous envelope its composition includes: , nitrogen, carbon dioxide, gas, dust.

  1. Troposphere - the upper layer of the earth, containing most of the earth's air and extending from the surface to a height of 8-10 (at the poles) to 16-18 km (at the equator). Clouds and various air masses form in the troposphere.
  2. The stratosphere is a layer in which the air content is much lower than in the troposphere. His average thickness is 39-40 km. This layer begins at the upper boundary of the troposphere and ends at an altitude of about 50 km.
  3. The mesosphere is a layer of the atmosphere that extends from 50-60 to 80-90 km above the earth's surface. Characterized by a steady decrease in temperature.
  4. Thermosphere - located 200-300 km from the surface of the planet, differs from the mesosphere by an increase in temperature as altitude increases.
  5. Exosphere - starts from the upper boundary, lying below the thermosphere, and gradually passes into open space, it is characterized by low air content, high solar radiation.

Attention! In the stratosphere at an altitude of about 20-25 km there is a thin layer of ozone that protects all life on the planet from harmful ultraviolet rays. Without it, all living things would have perished very soon.

The atmosphere is the earth's shell, without which life on the planet would be impossible.

It contains the air necessary for the breathing of living organisms, determines suitable weather conditions, protects the planet from the negative impact of solar radiation.

The atmosphere consists of air, in turn, air is approximately 70% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.4% carbon dioxide and other rare gases.

In addition, there is an important ozone layer in the atmosphere, at about 50 km altitude.

Hydrosphere

The hydrosphere is all the liquids on the planet.

This shell by location water resources and their degree of salinity includes:

  • the world ocean is a huge space occupied by salt water and includes four and 63 seas;
  • the surface waters of the continents are freshwater, as well as occasionally brackish water bodies. They are subdivided according to the degree of fluidity into reservoirs with a course - rivers on and reservoirs with stagnant water - lakes, ponds, swamps;
  • groundwater - fresh water below the earth's surface. Depth their occurrence varies from 1-2 to 100-200 and more meters.

Important! A huge amount of fresh water is currently in the form of ice - today in the permafrost zones in the form of glaciers, huge icebergs, permanent non-melting snow, there are about 34 million km3 of fresh water reserves.

The hydrosphere is primarily, a source of fresh drinking water, one of the main climate-forming factors. Water resources are used as means of communication and objects of tourism and recreation (leisure).

Lithosphere

The lithosphere is solid ( mineral) layers of the earth. The thickness of this shell ranges from 100 (under the seas) to 200 km (under the continents). The lithosphere includes the earth's crust and the upper part of the mantle.

What is located below the lithosphere is directly the internal structure of our planet.

The slabs of the lithosphere mainly consist of basalt, sand and clay, stone, and also the soil layer.

The scheme of the structure of the earth together with the lithosphere is represented by the following layers:

  • Earth's crust - upper, consisting of sedimentary, basalt, metamorphic rocks and fertile soil. Depending on the location, there are continental and oceanic crust;
  • mantle - located under the earth's crust. It weighs about 67% of the total mass of the planet. The thickness of this layer is about 3000 km. The upper layer of the mantle is viscous, lies at a depth of 50-80 km (under the oceans) and 200-300 km (under the continents). The lower layers are harder and denser. The composition of the mantle includes heavy iron and nickel materials. The processes occurring in the mantle determine many phenomena on the planet's surface (seismic processes, volcanic eruptions, formation of deposits);
  • The central part of the earth is the core, consisting of an inner solid and an outer liquid part. The thickness of the outer part is about 2200 km, the inner one is 1300 km. Distance from surface d about the core of the earth is about 3000-6000 km. The temperature in the center of the planet is about 5000 Cº. According to many scientists, the core land by composition is a heavy iron-nickel melt with an admixture of other elements similar in properties to iron.

Important! Among a narrow circle of scientists, in addition to the classical model with a semi-molten heavy core, there is also a theory that an inner luminary is located in the center of the planet, surrounded on all sides by an impressive layer of water. This theory, in addition to a small circle of adherents in the scientific community, has found wide circulation in science fiction literature. An example is the novel by V.A. Obruchev "Plutonia", which tells about the expedition of Russian scientists to the cavity inside the planet with its own small luminary and the world of animals and plants extinct on the surface.

Such a common earth structure map, including the earth's crust, mantle and core, every year more and more improved and refined.

Many parameters of the model with the improvement of research methods and the advent of new equipment will be updated more than once.

For example, in order to know exactly how many kilometers to outer part of the nucleus, it will take more years of scientific research.

At the moment, the deepest shaft in the earth's crust, dug by man, is about 8 kilometers, so the study of the mantle, and even more so the core of the planet, is possible only in a theoretical context.

Layered structure of the Earth

We study what layers the Earth consists of inside

Conclusion

Having considered sectional structure of the earth we have seen how interesting and complex our planet is. The study of its structure in the future will help mankind to understand the mysteries of natural phenomena, will more accurately predict devastating natural disasters, and discover new, as yet undeveloped mineral deposits.

Definition 2

Hydrosphere- the water shell of the planet's surface, consisting of all the water bodies that exist on Earth.

The thickness of this water shell is different in different areas. The average depth is $3.8$ km, and the maximum depth is $11$ km. The hydrosphere is a powerful geological force that carries out the cycle of both water and other substances.

Another new shell appears with the advent of life on Earth - this biosphere. The term was introduced E. Suessom ($1875$).

Definition 3

Biosphere- this is that part of the shells of the Earth in which various organisms live.

The boundaries of this shell are associated with the presence of conditions necessary for normal life, so its upper part is limited intensity of ultraviolet radiation, and the lower one with temperatures up to $100$ degrees.

Remark 3

Biosphere considered the highest ecosystem of the Earth, because it is a combination of all biogeocenoses.

The appearance of man on Earth led to the emergence of anthropogenic factors, which, with the development of civilization, intensified and led to the emergence of a specific shell - noosphere. This term was first introduced E. Leroy($1870-1954$) and T.Ya. de Chardin ($1881-1955$).

The noosphere is the highest stage in the evolution of the biosphere, and is closely related to the development of human society. This is the sphere of interaction between society and nature. Within the boundaries of this interaction, intelligent human activity becomes the determining factor.

Remark 4

Noosphere is part of biosphere, the development of which is directed the mind of man.

The Earth, like many other planets, has a layered internal structure. Our planet is made up of three main layers. The inner layer is the core, the outer layer is the earth's crust, and the mantle is located between them.

The core is the central part of the Earth and is located at a depth of 3000-6000 km. The core radius is 3500 km. According to scientists, the core consists of two parts: the outer - probably liquid, and the inner - solid. The core temperature is about 5000 degrees. Modern ideas about the core of our planet were obtained in the course of long-term studies and analysis of the data obtained. Thus, it has been proven that the content of iron in the core of the planet reaches 35%, which determines its characteristic seismic properties. The outer part of the core is represented by rotating streams of nickel and iron, which conduct electric current well. The origin of the Earth's magnetic field is associated with this part of the core, since the global magnetic field is created by electric currents flowing in the liquid substance of the outer core. Due to the very high temperature, the outer core has a significant impact on the areas of the mantle that are in contact with it. In some places there are huge heat and mass flows directed to the surface of the Earth. The inner core of the Earth is solid and also has a high temperature. Scientists believe that such a state of the inner part of the core is provided by a very high pressure in the center of the Earth, reaching 3 million atmospheres. With increasing distance from the Earth's surface, the compression of substances increases, and many of them pass into the metallic state.

The intermediate layer, the mantle, covers the core. The mantle occupies about 80% of the volume of our planet, it is the largest part of the Earth. The mantle is located upwards from the core, but does not reach the surface of the Earth, from the outside it is in contact with the earth's crust. Basically, the substance of the mantle is in a solid state, except for the upper viscous layer about 80 km thick. This is the asthenosphere, translated from Greek means "weak ball". According to scientists, the substance of the mantle is constantly moving. With an increase in the distance from the earth's crust towards the core, the mantle substance passes into a denser state.

Outside, the mantle is covered by the earth's crust - an outer strong shell. Its thickness varies from several kilometers under the oceans to several tens of kilometers in mountain ranges. The earth's crust accounts for only 0.5% of the total mass of our planet. The composition of the bark includes oxides of silicon, iron, aluminum, alkali metals. The continental crust is divided into three layers: sedimentary, granite and basalt. The oceanic crust consists of sedimentary and basalt layers.

The lithosphere of the Earth is formed by the earth's crust together with the upper layer of the mantle. The lithosphere is composed of tectonic lithospheric plates, which seem to “glide” over the asthenosphere at a speed of 20 to 75 mm per year. The lithospheric plates moving relative to each other are different in size, and the kinematics of movement is determined by plate tectonics.

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