The layers inside the Earth

Grade 6 Science Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. 1.

   “Cutaway, not to scale: earthquake-wave paths from one side of Earth;” S waves from earthquakes cannot travel through liquid. Instruments on the far side of Earth pick up no S waves. What does Esme conclude?

   • The whole mantle is liquid lava
   • Scientists drilled straight down to the core to check
   • There is a liquid layer deep inside: the outer core
   • The inner core is the liquid layer
2. 2.

   The deepest hole ever drilled is about 12 km deep. So how do scientists know what is inside the Earth, as Jun explains?

   • From photos taken deep inside the Earth
   • From lava that rises straight up from the core
   • From rock samples drilled out of the core
   • From the way earthquake waves travel through it
3. 3.

   Cutaway, not to scale, with the inner core labeled hottest and solid, and arrows pressing inward labeled pressure. Earthquake waves show that the inner core is solid, even though it is the hottest layer. Why can it stay solid, according to Kira?

   • It is made of stone, not metal
   • It is liquid; the waves are wrong
   • It is actually the coolest layer
   • The pressure there is enormous

4. Read this first

   Use this

   Table, Depth to the bottom of each layer (USGS, rounded), with columns Layer and Bottom depth, depth below a continent: crust to about 30 km; mantle to about 2,900 km; outer core to about 5,100 km; inner core to the center, about 6,370 km.

5. 4.

   Using the depth table, which layer would Luz reach at a depth of 3,500 km?

   • The inner core
   • The mantle
   • The crust
   • The outer core
6. 5.

   “not to scale” Ocean crust is only about 5 km thick. Which layer would Noah reach 10 km below the sea floor?

   • A layer of liquid lava
   • Still the crust, since crust is 30 km everywhere
   • The outer core
   • The mantle
7. 6.

   Pia's friend says the crust floats on an ocean of liquid lava. Which response is best?

   • Disagree: the mantle is mostly solid rock that flows slowly
   • Agree: the mantle is liquid metal
   • Disagree: the crust sits right on the core with no mantle between
   • Agree: lava from volcanoes shows it
8. 7.

   A video claims the center of the Earth is the coolest place, since sunlight cannot reach it. Ren checks. Which response is best?

   • Disagree: temperature rises with depth; the core is hottest
   • Disagree: the center is a ball of liquid that stays cool inside
   • Agree: the inner core is solid because it is cold
   • Agree: sunlight warms just the surface
9. 8.

   Zee builds a clay model of Earth's layers with the crust as thick as the mantle. What is wrong with the model?

   • The mantle should be runny clay, like lava
   • The crust should be a very thin outer skin
   • The inner and outer core should swap places
   • Nothing; the crust is the thickest layer
10. 9.

    “Drawing of a model cut in half:” In Ari's model, the outer core is solid clay and the inner core is a small water balloon. What is wrong?

    • The states are swapped: outer core liquid, inner core solid
    • The core should be the thinnest layer
    • Nothing; the center is liquid
    • The mantle should be the water balloon
11. 10.

    Drawing of the model colored red at the surface, fading to blue at the center. Bo colors the model from red at the surface to blue at the center, to show hot to cold. What is wrong?

    • Nothing; deeper layers are cooler
    • The crust should be hottest, since it is nearest the Sun
    • The mantle should be the hottest color
    • The colors are backward; the center is hottest