Enhancement Module

The Earth’s Lithosphere

Layers of the Earth
You already know that the Earth is composed of different layers. These layers differ in composition.
• Crust : The top layer, the least dense layer, compose of the continental and oceanic crust.
• Mantle: The Middle layer, denser than the crust, compose of the upper mantle, the lithosphere,
and the lower mantle.
• Core: The inside layer, the most dense, compose of the outer core and the inner core.
Plate Tectonics
Plate Tectonics is the theory that the Earth’s outer crust (lithosphere) is divided into several plates that glide over
the plastic-like and less ridged asthenosphere (upper mantle).
What is a Lithosphere
The name 'lithosphere' comes from the Greek words lithos, meaning 'rocky,' and sphaeros, meaning 'sphere.'
Geologists use the term as the name for the layer of the Earth extending from the surface to a depth of around 80 to 120 miles,
depending on location, in which rocks are relatively brittle and rigid. This is the definition we will explore here.

Properties of the Lithosphere

Aside from the fact that that we are living on it, the lithosphere exhibits many geologic processes that, affect our lives. We can
consider the occurrence and global location of volcanoes, earthquakes,
and mountain ranges as well as the shape and present location of the
seven continents through the movement of large pieces of the
lithosphere. The lithosphere is made up of rocks from two of the
Earth's major layers. It contains all of the outer, thin shell of the planet,
called the crust, and the uppermost part of the next-lower layer, the
mantle.
The rocks that make up the lithosphere respond to forces to
which they are subjected to. At the relatively low temperatures found
near the Earth's surface, rocks tend to break under stress. Farther
down, as temperature and pressure increase, the more likely it is that
rocks will be able to accommodate stress by changing shape,
compressing, stretching, and bending, rather than breaking.

Lithosphere

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/lithosphere/
The Earth's crust is just a thin layer surrounding our world. Although it is the only part of the Earth any of us see, it makes up
just one percent of the planet's total volume.

Activity 1.1 Label Me

Objective: Describe the Earth’s Lithosphere
• The students will enhance their skills on communication and critical thinking.
Direction: Label the given diagram. Answer the questions that follow.
Activity 1.2 : ANAGRAMS
• The students will enhance their skills on communication and critical thinking.
Direction: Can you unscramble the letters to find the key words and phrases associated with the lithosphere? Numbers in brackets
refer to the number of words and letters in the answer.
1. E T H E R P O L I S H (11) ____________________________
2. E P A L T S C T T E C O I N (5,9) _____________________
3. O G G E T S L O I (9) ______________________________
4. S T R C U (5) _________________________________________
5. O R C E (4) __________________________________________
6. T EM A L N (6) _______________________________________
7. W O L M E E T A T U E S P R (3, 11)
_____________ _______________________________
8. A R T E H U S F R A C E (5,7) __________ __________
9. T N A S E E R H S P O H E (13) _____________________
10. S E A L Y R (5) _____________________
Things to Fonder:
• The lithosphere is the solid and rigid outer layer of the Earth. It is the Earth's outermost layer, composed of rocks
in the crust and upper mantle that behave as brittle solids.
• The asthenosphere is the layer on which the lithosphere rest; where rocks deform by flowing due to heat and
pressure.

Additional Activities
• Let us now explore a fun, easy model for the layers of the Earth.
 You need a hard-boiled egg. You will cut the egg in half using a butter knife (using the serration of the knife to avoid
breaking the shell too much). Once cut in half:
• Draw the cross-section of the egg. Label each layer (don't forget the shell) with the layers of the Earth.
• Answer the following questions:
o How is a hard-boiled egg a good model for the Earth's interior?
o In what ways does this model differ from the Earth's interior?
o If you were to create a better model for the Earth's interior, what would you create? Be specific as to the materials you would use
and how the activity would be performed.

Lesson 2- The Earth’s Crust

The Earth's crust is just a thin layer surrounding our world. Although it is the only part of the Earth any of us see, it
makes up just one percent of the planet's total volume.
The Earth’s Crust
• Denser: materials tend to sink while less dense materials tend to float.
• Lithosphere: is the top layer of the Earth.
• Rocks: are made up of natural substances called minerals.
What Is the Earth's Crust
The Earth is not just a solid ball of rock. That rock is made up of layers characterized by different elements and different types
of rock that are either solid or fluid. It also possesses different temperatures and thicknesses. The outermost layer of the Earth is the
crust. It's thin compared to the other layers, a little bit like the peel of an orange. Unlike a fruit peel, though, the crust is broken up
into several pieces, called tectonic plates. These plates move relative to each other so that the surface of the Earth's crust is
always changing, although very slowly.
The Two Types of Crust
There are two types of crust. Oceanic crust is the crust that is under the world's oceans, and continental crust is that
under the continents and other large land masses, like Greenland and Madagascar. Oceanic crust is denser and heavier than
continental crust. It is made mostly of basaltic rock. Basalt is a volcanic rock and it forms the oceanic crust as the mantle, the
molten rock under the crust, wells up and hardens. This happens at midocean ridges where the crust is being pulled apart due to
the motion of tectonic plates. Oceanic crust is about four miles thick.
Oceanic crust may be heavier and denser, but continental crust is a thicker and older part of the Earth's crust. The depth
of continental crust varies more than oceanic crust and can be anywhere between six and 47 miles thick. The rocks that make up
continental crust are less dense and heavy than basaltic ocean crust. Granite is a mineral that's a major component of continental
crust. The crust of the continents is also much older than ocean crust. Unlike the ocean floor, continental crust is not constantly
reforming. You can find rocks as old as four billion years in continental crust.
 Because oceanic crust is denser than continental crust, it is always sinking relative to the continents. New ocean crust forms at
mid-ocean ridges, but old ocean crust gets recycled in regions called subduction zones. These are tectonic plate boundaries at
which two plates are moving toward each other, rather than pulling apart. When ocean crust meets continental crust at a subduction
zone, the heavier oceanic crust sinks under the continent and becomes part of the molten mantle again.
Oceanic and Continental Crust
Because the Earth consist of land and water, the lithosphere can be subdivided into oceanic lithosphere which is found under
the ocean; and continental lithosphere which can be found under the land continents.
Oceanic Crust
• A thin layer of crust that underlies the ocean basins.
• Consists mainly of basalt.
• Younger than continental crust.
• More dense than continental crust.
Continental Crust
• Layer of rock which forms the continents
• Also forms shallow seabed close to shore (continental shelf)
• Floats on top part of the mantle (asthenosphere)
• Older than oceanic crust, mostly granite rock
• Thicker and less dense than oceanic crust

Activity 2.1 Crossword Puzzle

Objective: Differentiate oceanic and continental crust.
• The students will develop their skills on
communication and critical thinking.
Answer the puzzle using the clues.

Across

3. the whole body of salt water that covers three fourths

of the earth's surface
4. characteristics of oceanic crust in terms of density
5. rocks that compose the oceanic crust
6. rocks that compose the continental crust
Down
1. great division of land on the globe
2. __________ shelf - shallow sea beds close to the shore

Activity 2.2 Complete Me

Let us review the properties of continental and oceanic crust. Make a tabulation on your paper and list the
characteristics of each type of crust.

Properties Continental Crust Oceanic crust

Where can be found

Composition

Age

Density

Guide Questions
1. How many sub-layers does the crust have? ____________________________________________________________________
2. Which type of crust is denser? ____________________________________________________________________
3. Oceanic crust always sinks relative to the continents. Why? ________________________________________________________

Things to Fonder:
• The crust is the thin, outer layer of the Earth.
• Oceanic crust underlies the oceans and is made mostly of heavy, dense basalt.
• Basalt forms from the mantle and is recycled back into the mantle.
• The continental crust is lighter, older, and mostly made of granite.
• Granite is a mineral that's a major component of continental crust.
Lesson 3: The Lithospheric Plates
The Lithospheric Plates/ Tectonic Plates
How this drifting apart of major land masses occurred was a mystery for many years and highly debated among
scientists. But when the theory of plate tectonics was introduced, much of the debating quieted down. Plate tectonics is
the theory that Earth's crust is broken up into plates.
It is as if the planet's surface is cracked, much like the cracks that would form on the outside of a hardboiled egg if
you were to drop it. These large cracks in the earth's surface form plate-like sections of Earth's crust referred to as
tectonic plates.
These plates are actually pieces of the planet's lithosphere, which is the outermost shell of the earth made up of
the earth's crust and upper part of the mantle, and for this reason, tectonic plates are sometimes called 'lithospheric plates.'
These plates float on top of the hotter and more fluid asthenosphere, which is the layer below the lithosphere. There are
major tectonic plates that very slowly move around on the surface of our planet along with a number of minor plates. Let's
take a look at the plates of the lithosphere.

Activity 3.1 Major and Minor Plates

Objectives:
 Infer that the Earth’s
lithosphere is divided into
plates.
 To improve creativity skill
of students.
A. Color each given plate.

B. Guide Questions
1. What are tectonic plates?
 2. Six of the seven tectonic plates are named for the continent they contain, the largest plate is exceptional. Name the largest
plate and give the reason why it is exceptional?
3. Earth scientist use the terms tectonic plates. They do use the term plate tectonics. What is the difference?
Things to Fonder:
• The lithosphere is broken into large pieces called tectonic plates.
• Six of the seven major tectonic plates are named after the continents they contain. The one exception is the Pacific plate,
which lies beneath the Pacific Ocean.
• The Pacific plate is the only major tectonic plate that is mainly underwater, it is also the largest.