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?

   • There is a liquid layer deep inside: the outer core
   • The inner core is the liquid layer
   • The whole mantle is liquid lava
   • Scientists drilled straight down to the core to check
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 rock samples drilled out of the core
   • From photos taken deep inside the Earth
   • From lava that rises straight up from 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 liquid; the waves are wrong
   • It is actually the coolest layer
   • The pressure there is enormous
   • It is made of stone, not metal

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

   Using the same depth table, which layer is at 6,000 km below the surface, by Milo's count?

   • The inner core
   • The outer core
   • The mantle
   • Past the center and out the other side
7. 6.

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

   • The outer core
   • Still the crust, since crust is 30 km everywhere
   • A layer of liquid lava
   • The mantle
8. 7.

   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
   • Agree: lava from volcanoes shows it
   • Disagree: the crust sits right on the core with no mantle between
9. 8.

   The crust, a drill hole labeled about 12 km, and the mantle far below. Tala's cousin says scientists have drilled down into the mantle and looked at it. Which response is best?

   • Disagree: the deepest hole is about 12 km, still in the crust
   • Agree: the mantle starts just below the soil
   • Disagree: the crust is about 1,000 km thick
   • Agree: drilling is how the core was mapped
10. 9.

    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
11. 10.

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