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  • Scale Model Earth

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    1. Students will create a scale model of the Earth by drawing concentric circles representing the layers of the Earth - inner core, outer core, mantle, and crust - on a large piece of butcher paper, with each layer's thickness reduced by a scaling factor of 1:60,000,000. 2. Students will add surface features like mountains and oceans to the scale model and label each layer with its density, phase, and composition. 3. The activity aims to help students understand the layered structure of the Earth and how scientists use seismic waves to determine the planet's internal composition.

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    1. Students will create a scale model of the Earth by drawing concentric circles representing the layers of the Earth - inner core, outer core, mantle, and crust - on a large piece of butcher paper, with each layer's thickness reduced by a scaling factor of 1:60,000,000. 2. Students will add surface features like mountains and oceans to the scale model and label each layer with its density, phase, and composition. 3. The activity aims to help students understand the layered structure of the Earth and how scientists use seismic waves to determine the planet's internal composition.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    219 views4 pages

    Scale Model Earth

    Uploaded by

    chabries
    1. Students will create a scale model of the Earth by drawing concentric circles representing the layers of the Earth - inner core, outer core, mantle, and crust - on a large piece of butcher paper, with each layer's thickness reduced by a scaling factor of 1:60,000,000. 2. Students will add surface features like mountains and oceans to the scale model and label each layer with its density, phase, and composition. 3. The activity aims to help students understand the layered structure of the Earth and how scientists use seismic waves to determine the planet's internal composition.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    of 4

    7th Grade Integrated Science

    Standard II, Objective 2

    Title: Scale Model of Earth

    Description: Students will draw a scale model of Earth.

    Materials: 1.5 m x 1.5 m piece of butcher paper (butcher paper is about 1 meter
    wide. You will need to cut a piece in half and glue to another to get these
    dimensions)

    1 meter of string, metric rulers, markers, student sheet (see below)

    Time Needed: 100 minutes

    Background: Earth is a remarkably round, smooth object when viewed from


    space. It is important that students understand that from their view of Earth, it is
    bumpy but from space, it is quite smooth. A picture of Earth taken from space is
    helpful to have to point this out to them. Make sure students understand that the
    layers of Earth are NOT visible from space. You might also discuss the reasons
    scientists use models (for things to small, too large, too dangerous or that
    occurred in the past) to study and test. Remind them that no one has ever drilled
    into Earth past the Core although it has been attempted. Temperatures,
    pressures and difficulty with the drilling process currently make it very difficult to
    drill very far into Earth.

    Procedures:
    1. Discuss the introduction on the lab sheet.
    2. Describe where materials are located.
    3. Demonstrate how a pencil and string can be used for a compass.

    4. Emphasis that the layers of Earth are additive. Each level of thickness must
    be measured from the previous one, NOT from the center each time.
    5. If you would like students to do some research, do not give them the
    information on the 3rd table on the student sheet. This information is probably
    available in their books or if you have computers, this website is a good one:

    http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/vwlessons/lessons/Earths_layers/Earths_la
    yers1.html

    6. Students can display their work on the walls of your room and you can quickly
    discuss the merits of each or have student groups report.

    Scoring guide:

    1. Student works and participates in group............................................4


    2. Group produces reasonably accurate model.....................................4
    3. Model is correctly labeled..................................................................4
    4. Student correctly records data and answers analysis questions......4
    5. Student writes thoughtful and thorough conclusion..........................4

    Student sheet below:


    7th Grade Integrated Science name____________________

    Title: Scale Model of Earth

    Introduction: Earth is not just a ball of rock. It is a complex, layered ball of


    rock. Earthquake waves traveling through Earth do not pass straight through.
    They bounce off of layers composed of different materials with different densities,
    states and composition. Scientists measure earthquake waves and have made
    models of what they think is inside Earth. In this activity, you will make a scale
    model of Earth and see the layers and features of the crust in their true
    proportions.

    Materials:
    1.5 x 1.5 piece of butcher paper, 1 meter string, metric rulers, markers.

    Procedures:
    1. To make a scale model, every part of the object being modeled needs to be
    “shrunk” mathematically. This is done by dividing every part by the same
    number. To make our model, the shrinking factor is 1: 60,000,000. Earth will be
    60 million times smaller in our model than in real life. In the metric system, our
    conversion factor will be 60 km on Earth = 1 cm on our model.
    2. Start by dividing the numbers of the real Earth on the data table below by 60.
    Put that number in the column for thickness on the model.
    3. Find the center of your large piece of paper. Put a dot there. Tie a pencil to
    your string. Measure the thickness you calculated for the inner core on your
    paper, starting from the dot. Use the string like a compass and hold it on the
    center and rotate the pencil in a circle the correct size around it.
    4. Continue making circles; remember to draw each time from the center but add
    the thickness of each layer to the layer before it.
    5. Add the surface features last.
    6. When you are done, label each layer by name and write it’s density, phase
    and composition on it.
    7. Answer the analysis questions when you are done.

    Data:

    Layers of Earth

    Earth Layer Real thickness (km) Our model thickness (cm)


    Inner core 1255
    Outer core 2220
    Mantle 2895
    Crust 40
    Surface Features

    Feature Real Height (or depth) Our Scaled Size (cm)


    km
    Orbit of Space Shuttle 300
    Mt. Everest 8.8
    Grand Canyon 1.7
    Deepest well 8
    Deepest ocean depth 11

    Layer Density (g/cc) Phase Composition


    Inner Core 12.7-13.0 Solid Iron
    Outer Core 9.9-12.1 Liquid Iron, nickel
    Mantle 3.3-5.5 Solid and semi- Magnesium, iron,
    solid (“plastic”) silicate
    Crust 2.7-3.0. Solid Silicate,
    magnesium,
    aluminum

    Analysis questions

    1. Which layer of Earth is thickest? Thinnest?

    2. If you saw Earth from outer space, how smooth would it appear?

    3. How much of Earth would you see looking out a space shuttle window?

    4. How do we know Earth has layers?

    5. What happens to the density of Earth as you go toward the center?

    6. Earth was a molten (liquid) ball of rock when it formed. Why did some
    elements sink to the center?

    7. Why might the outer core be a liquid?

    Conclusion:

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