Page 45 - Laboratory Manual in Physical Geology

A CTIVIT Y 1.3 Modeling Earth Materials and Processes

Name: ______________________________________ Course/Section: ______________________ Date: ___________

A. Geoscientists conceptualize Earth as a dynamic system of interacting

material spheres (subsystems). The rocky body of Earth (geosphere)
has an average radius of 6371 km and consists of four main
compositional layers: inner core, outer core, mantle, and crust.
These are overlain by the hydrosphere and atmosphere.

1. If Earth’s geosphere had the radius of a men’s
basketball (119 mm), then how thick would each
sphere be? Fill in the chart below, then draw
(with a ruler and drafting compass) and label
each sphere on the pie-shaped slice of this
basketball. Label each sphere. For example,
the inner core has already been done.

THICKNESS
IN MM, IF THE
ACTUAL GEOSPHERE
SPHERE THICK- IS THE SIZE
NESS OF A
BASKET-
BALL

Atmosphere: 16 km
mostly nitrogen
(N), oxygen (O),
and argon (Ar)
gases in air.
Nearly all of the
materials in air Inner
occur in a sphere core
just 16 km
(10 mi) thick
(troposphere).
“Space” (no air)
begins about
1000 km above
sea level.

Hydrosphere: 3.7 km
mostly water
(H O, ocean) in
2
a liquid state. Draw in blue!
Crust: mostly 25 km
oxygen (O),
silicon (Si),
aluminum (Al),
and iron (Fe).
Mantle: mostly 2900 km
oxygen (O),
silicon (Si),
magnesium (Mg),
and iron (Fe) in
a solid state.
Outer Core: 2250 km
mostly iron (Fe)
and nickel (Ni)
in a liquid state.

Inner Core: 1196 km 22.3 mm
mostly iron (Fe)
in a solid state

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