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.

   On the same cutaway, layer B is the thick layer just under the thin outer shell. Which layer does Bo write for B?

   • The mantle
   • A sea of liquid lava
   • The inner core
   • 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 core
   • The crust
   • The thickest layer
   • The mantle
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.

   “Poster outline:” Luz is making a poster of Earth's layers. Which list goes from the outside in?

   • Inner core, outer core, mantle, crust
   • Crust, outer core, mantle, inner core
   • Mantle, crust, inner core, outer core
   • Crust, mantle, outer core, inner core
7. 5.

   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 falls, then rises
   • It stays the same
   • It keeps rising
   • It keeps falling
8. 6.

   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 crust
   • The mantle
   • The outer core
   • The inner core
9. 7.

   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?

   • Liquid, like the mantle
   • Solid, because it is the coolest layer
   • Solid, because the pressure is enormous
   • Liquid, because it is the hottest
10. 8.

    “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 crust floats on liquid lava
    • Yes; the mantle is a sea of lava
    • No; the mantle is liquid metal

11. 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.

12. 9.

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

    • The crust, since we stand on it
    • The inner core, at the center
    • The mantle, about 2,900 km
    • The outer core, about 2,200 km
13. 10.

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

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