Earth is SPHERICAL (radius 6400km) & made up of layers: 1. CRUST: At surface, thin and solid. Thickest 70km, thinnest under oceans (5km)
2. MANTLE: Under crust, half way to center of earth (3000km thick),almost entirely solid but can flow very slowly.
3. CORE: Dense and made of metals (nickel and iron),outer core liquid, inner solid.
- Scientists used to think mountains and valleys formed by shrinking (crust solidified as earth cooled down then earth continued to shrink forming wrinkles)
4. LITHOSPHERE is Earth's crust and upper mantle.It is cracked into pieces called TECTONIC PLATES. - Mountains form at boundaries between plates.Huge forces push up the crust. Can cause volcanoes/earthquakes. - Plates move a few cms each year. Natural radioactivity in Earth produces heat which creates convection currents in the mantle & move plates.
- Alfred Wegener 1915 proposed theory of continental drift but not accepted as a theory. why not?............in 1960's new evidence found on ocean floor and Weg's ideas used to develop theory of plate tectonics.
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