Chapter 8, Problem 1E

What is the thickest interior layer of Earth? The thinnest?

To determine

The thickest and the thinnest interior layer of earth.

Explanation of Solution

Introduction:

Measuring the thickness of different layers of the earth is possible as all layers have different properties. This is the reason due to which during earthquake waves travel with different velocities in each layer of the earth. When the wave enters another layer, then due to the change in the denseness of the medium, refraction of seismic wave takes place which makes it possible to know the thickness of the layer indirectly.

In general, the earth is known to have $4$ layers namely the crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core. Earth’s crust is a layer where the humans live. It is further of two types which are oceanic crust varying from $5-10\text{km}$ and continental crust varying from $30-45\text{km}$. Thus, the crust is thinnest among all the layers.

The mantle is the layer next to the earth’s crust layer, and it covers approximately $84\%$ of the earth’s volume. It is the thickest among all the layers of the earth with a thickness of approximately $2900\text{km}$.

Conclusion:

Therefore, Earth’s crust is the thinnest layer and mantle is the thickest one among all the layers.