What is the relative distribution of the Earth's core, mantle, and crust?

What is the relative distribution of the Earth's core, mantle, and crust?

• A. Big core, thin crust
• B. Small core, thick crust
• C. Uniform composition
• D. Crust larger than core's volume

Answer: (A)

Earth's interior is layered, not uniform. A metallic core sits at the center, surrounded by a thick silicate mantle, and an outer crust that forms only a thin veneer on the surface. The crust is measured in tens of kilometers thick, while the core extends thousands of kilometers from the center outward. Because the crust is so thin compared with the depth of the core, the core constitutes a large portion of Earth’s internal volume and mass relative to the crust. The mantle lies in between, making up most of the planet’s volume, but the key idea is that the core is large while the crust is very thin.

Earth's interior is layered, not uniform. A metallic core sits at the center, surrounded by a thick silicate mantle, and an outer crust that forms only a thin veneer on the surface. The crust is measured in tens of kilometers thick, while the core extends thousands of kilometers from the center outward. Because the crust is so thin compared with the depth of the core, the core constitutes a large portion of Earth’s internal volume and mass relative to the crust. The mantle lies in between, making up most of the planet’s volume, but the key idea is that the core is large while the crust is very thin.