Question

Describe the interior of the earth, explaining any one layer in detail. Illustrate your answer with a diagram.

Answer 1

The Earth is made up of several layers. While the crust is its outermost layer, the interior of the Earth consists of the mantle, which is a 2,900-km-thick layer lying beneath the Earth's surface. The core is the innermost layer of the Earth, which lies below the mantle.

The innermost layer, called the core, stretches to about 3,500 km. The core is divided into outer core and inner core. The outer core is a 2,300-km-thick layer that lies below the mantle. This layer is in a molten state due to the extreme temperature of 2,200 ^oC and is made up of iron and nickel, collectively known as NiFe. The inner core, which is about 1,200-km-thick, lies below the outer core. Although the temperature is 5,000 ^oC, the NiFe is in a solid state. This is due to the extreme pressure exerted by the rocks of the layers lying above the inner core.

The layers of the interior of the Earth have been illustrated with the following diagram: