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9th grade How Earth formed and separated into layers worksheet

6 printable versionsBuilding Confidence10 questions · answer keyFree · no account

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How Earth formed and separated into layers

Grade 9 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

  1. a hot, mixed young Earth, then a layered Earth. Why did Earth separate into layers, by Ari's reading?

    • Earth formed in layers from the start
    • Dense iron sank and lighter rock rose while Earth was molten
    • Light rock sank to the center
    • The Moon's pull stacked the layers

  2. What had to happen before Earth's iron could sink to the center, by Bo's reading?

    • Earth had to be hot enough to partly melt
    • Nothing; the layers were there from the start
    • The iron had to float to the top
    • Earth had to cool and freeze solid

  3. Read this first

    Table, Earth's layers (USGS), with columns Layer, Thickness, State

    Crust, about 5 km (oceans) to 30 km (continents), solid, brittle; mantle, about 2,900 km, hot, semi-solid rock; outer core, about 2,200 km, liquid iron-nickel; inner core, about 1,250 km, solid iron-nickel.

  4. Which material ended up at Earth's center, by Kira's reading (USGS)?

    • A giant magnet that makes the magnetic field
    • Light crust rock
    • Iron and nickel
    • Water

  5. Which layer is liquid, by Jun's reading (USGS)?

    • The outer core
    • The inner core
    • The crust
    • Each layer

  6. About how thick is the crust under the oceans, by Luz's reading (USGS)?

    • About 500 km
    • About 5 km
    • About 2,900 km
    • About 1,250 km

  7. What creates Earth's magnetic field, by Milo's reading (USGS)?

    • The spinning liquid outer core
    • A giant bar magnet in the crust
    • The Moon
    • The solid crust's iron rocks

  8. Table, Earth's layers (USGS), with columns Layer, Thickness, State

    Crust, about 5 km (oceans) to 30 km (continents), solid, brittle; mantle, about 2,900 km, hot, semi-solid rock; outer core, about 2,200 km, liquid iron-nickel; inner core, about 1,250 km, solid iron-nickel.

  9. Which order runs from least dense to most dense, by Noah's reading?

    • They are equally dense
    • Core, mantle, crust
    • Crust, mantle, core
    • Mantle, crust, core

  10. Lighter material rose as Earth sorted itself. Which layer did it form, by Ren's reading?

    • The inner core
    • The outer core
    • The crust
    • No layer; it sank

  11. Timeline ruler in billions of years. About how old is Earth, by Tala's reading (USGS)?

    • About 4.54 million years
    • About 4.54 billion years
    • About 6,000 years
    • About 13.8 billion years, the universe's age

  12. Which formed first: the solar system's oldest solids or Earth's layers, by Zee's reading?

    • Earth's layers came first
    • Earth formed long before the Sun
    • They formed in the same instant
    • The oldest solids, then Earth and its layers
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9th grade How Earth formed and separated into layers worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

How Earth formed and separated into layers. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can explain why Earth separated into layers: in a hot, partly molten Earth, dense iron and nickel sank and lighter rock rose.
  • I can use USGS layer thicknesses and densities, including the liquid outer core and solid inner core.
  • I can link the liquid outer core to the magnetic field and compare Earth with the Moon and Mercury.

Standard: HS-ESS1-6

Words to know

differentiation: Sorting of a planet into layers by density

core: Earth's iron-nickel center: liquid outer, solid inner

mantle: The thick, hot, semi-solid rock layer

crust: The thin, rigid outer layer

lithosphere: The rigid crust plus upper mantle

Common mistakes

Your child reversed the density order. In a molten young Earth, dense iron and nickel sank to the center and lighter rock rose; USGS: the core is nearly twice as dense as the mantle.

Your child thought Earth formed already layered. Earth gathered from gas and dust, then sorted into layers while it was hot and partly molten.

Your child got the time scale wrong. USGS: Earth is about 4.54 billion years old.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with how earth formed and separated into layers?

Your child reversed the density order. In a molten young Earth, dense iron and nickel sank to the center and lighter rock rose; USGS: the core is nearly twice as dense as the mantle.

Are these 9th grade science worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

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