The layers inside the Earth

Grade 6 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cutaway of the Earth, not to scale:

3. 1.

   Ari labels a cutaway of the Earth. Layer D is the ball at the very center. Which layer is D?

   • The inner core
   • The mantle
   • The crust
   • The outer core
4. 2.

   Layer A is the thin outer shell that Kira stands on every day. Which layer is A?

   Use the picture in question 1.

   • The mantle
   • The core
   • The crust
   • The thickest layer
5. 3.

   A column of four blank boxes labeled first (surface) to fourth (center). Jun lists Earth's layers from the surface inward. Which layer comes second?

   • The crust
   • The outer core
   • The mantle
   • The inner core
6. 4.

   Cutaway, not to scale, with an arrow from the surface down to the center labeled "trip down". Milo imagines a trip from the crust down toward the center (with a very good snack bag). What happens to the temperature on the way?

   • It keeps rising
   • It keeps falling
   • It falls, then rises
   • It stays the same
7. 5.

   Cutaway, not to scale, with the four layers labeled crust, mantle, outer core and inner core. Noah reads that one layer of the Earth is liquid metal. Which layer is it?

   • The outer core
   • The inner core
   • The mantle
   • The crust
8. 6.

   Cutaway, not to scale, with the inner core shaded and labeled hottest. The inner core is the hottest layer. Is it solid or liquid, by Pia's reading?

   • Solid, because the pressure is enormous
   • Liquid, like the mantle
   • Liquid, because it is the hottest
   • Solid, because it is the coolest layer
9. 7.

   “Cutaway, not to scale:” Lava pours out of volcanoes. Does that mean the whole mantle is liquid, as Ren wonders?

   • No; the mantle is mostly solid, with small magma pockets
   • Yes; the mantle is a sea of lava
   • Yes; the crust floats on liquid lava
   • No; the mantle is liquid metal

10. Table (USGS, rounded), Layer thickness (USGS), with columns Layer and Thickness

    Crust about 5 km under oceans and about 30 km under continents; mantle about 2,900 km; outer core about 2,200 km; inner core about 1,250 km.

11. 8.

    Tala reads the USGS thickness table. Which layer is the thickest?

    • The inner core, at the center
    • The mantle, about 2,900 km
    • The outer core, about 2,200 km
    • The crust, since we stand on it
12. 9.

    Using the USGS thickness table, Zee looks for the thinnest layer. Which is it?

    • The inner core, since it is in the middle
    • The crust
    • The outer core
    • The mantle, since the crust is thicker
13. 10.

    About how thick is the liquid outer core, according to the USGS table Esme is reading?

    • About 2,900 km
    • About 2,200 km
    • About 1,250 km
    • About 30 km