The layers inside the Earth

Grade 6 Science Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. 1.

   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 lava that rises straight up from the core
   • From photos taken deep inside the Earth
   • From the way earthquake waves travel through it
2. 2.

   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?

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

3. 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.

4. 3.

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

   • The mantle
   • The inner core
   • The crust
   • The outer core
5. 4.

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

   • The outer core
   • Past the center and out the other side
   • The inner core
   • The mantle
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
   • The mantle
   • Still the crust, since crust is 30 km everywhere
   • The outer core
7. 6.

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

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

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

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

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

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