2. Earth’s Interior and Plate Tectonics
Beginning
• The earth began as a
molten ball of liquid
rocks and made up of
randomly mixed
materials.
• Over time the
materials separated.
• Dense materials such
as nickel and iron
sank in the center of
the earth and form
the core.

3. Earth’s Interior and Plate Tectonics
Beginning
• Less dense
materials rose to
the top and form
the earth’s crust

4. Earth’s Interior and Plate Tectonics
Beginning
• As it cool it’s
crust, mantel
and core
developed

5. Layers of the Earth
Crust
• Made up of Rocks/Minerals Upper Mantle called
• 5 - 70 KM thick Lithosphere Mantle
• Solid. As rocks and minerals Middle Mantle called • Varied Minerals
grew cold, they solidify. Asthenosphere • 2,900 KM thick
Lower Mantle called • Mesosphere is liquid
Mesosphere • Asthenosphere is pyro-plastic
Outer Core • Lithosphere is solid
• Made up of Nickel and Iron
• 2,220 KM thick
• Liquid. Due to the heat of the
inner core, Iron and Nickel
melts and remain liquid. Inner Core
• Made up of Nickel and Iron
• 1,228 KM thick
• Solid due to high pressure
from the weight of the upper
layers. The hottest layer.

6. Plate Tectonics
• Plate Tectonics
– The theory
that earth’s
surface is
made up of
large moving
plates

7. Plate Tectonics
• Lithosphere –
the thin outer
shell of Earth,
consisting of
the crust and
the rigid upper
mantle.

8. Plate Tectonics
• Athenosphere
– The zone of the
mantle beneath
the lithosphere
– consists of slowly
flowing solid rock.

9. Plate Tectonics
• Magma –
molten rock
within the
earth.
• Heats up
materials
causing it to
expand

10. Plate Tectonics
• Expanding
region of
athenosphere
pushes
lithosphere
upwards.
• This causes
the
lithosphere
to crack.

11. Two kinds of Plate Movements
• Divergent Movement
• Convergent Movement