g09.    What is the interior of the earth like?

The interior of the earth was discovered through interpretation of earthquake waves. The crust is the outermost layer; it is 4.8km to 64km thick and made of basalt (ocean crust) and granite (continental crust). The mantle is plastic-like rock.  The top layer of the mantle is aesthenosphere; it is 2880km thick, and has a temperature of 2205^oC. Convection currents from the mantle move the plates and hot spots from the mantle form volcanoes. The outer core is mostly iron and nickel, about 2176km thick with a temperature of 3,700^oC. The inner core is solid. The pressure at this depth is 100 x 10⁶ lb./in.²; it is 1248km thick and has a temperature from 4300^oC to 5537^oC.

m29.    How is oil recovered?

m30.    How is natural gas used?

m41.    How can matter affect the environment?

m55.    What are the environmental impacts of using up our mineral resources?

m74.    How is soil important in the environment?