Curated OER
Our Amazing, Powerful Sun
Students examine where energy comes from and how it can be used. In this solar energy lesson students explore different aspects of the sun.
Curated OER
Changes Inside Planets
Learners relate meteorites to the mantle and crust of asteroids. In this planetary lesson students complete experiments to model the separation of light.
Curated OER
Motions
Ninth graders differentiate between energy waves transmitted from a quarry or mine as opposed to energy waves transmitted by an earthquake. They analyze seismograms of blast events from at least two quarries or mines. The energy waves...
Curated OER
Changes Inside Planets
Students investigate the concept of planetary differentiation. They complete an experiment to simulate it using gelatin and food. The lesson includes vocabulary to increase reading comprehension skills as part of the inquiry. The lesson...
Purdue University
Purdue University: Earth's Interior Structure
Purdue University provides a great lesson plan for learning about the Earth's interior structure. Focuses on the crust, mantle and core. Also includes examples and great charts that students will enjoy looking at.
Georgia Department of Education
Ga Virtual Learning: Earthquakes and the Earth's Interior
In this interactive tutorial you will learn about earthquakes and seismic waves. Learn about why and how these form and also discuss the hazards - direct and indirect - posed by earthquakes. You will then learn how our knowledge of...
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Earth Science: Earth's Interior
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Discover how scientists learn about Earth's interior using seismic waves, meteorites, density, and the magnetic field. Additional resources are available for download.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Essential Science for Teachers: Earth and Space 3
Visit an active volcano site to find out the connection between the movement of the Earth's plates and the processes deep within the Earth's interior. [58:23]
Other
Impact Tectonics: Earth's Interior, Gravity, and Magnetism [Pdf]
Topics covered in this slideshow include the Earth's interior, seismic S- and P-waves, the crust and mantle, phase boundaries encountered by seismic waves, the Earth's internal heat, gravity and density, gravitational anomalies, the...
Other
Tulane University: Earthquakes and Earth's Interior
College instructor's notes on seismology includes earthquake origins, seismic waves, risks and damage assessments, and other information about the interior structure of the Earth.
Vision Learning
Visionlearning: Earth Structure: Virtual Journey to Center of the Earth
Find out about the interior structure of the Earth and the role of seismic waves as they move through Earth's layers. The research details both compositional layers as well as mechanical layers.
Columbia University
Columbia University: Evidence for Internal Earth Structure and Composition
This resource describes how seismic waves have helped us to understand the composition of the Earth's interior. It discusses seismic discontinuities, including the Mohorovicic Discontinuity or Moho, and what we have learned about the...
Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology
Iris: Exploring the Earth Using Seismology
Earthquakes create seismic waves that travel through the Earth. By analyzing these seismic waves, seismologists can explore the Earth's deep interior. This fact sheet uses data from the 1994 magnitude 6.9 earthquake near Northridge,...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Let's Build the Earth!: The Structure of the Earth's Crust and Interior
In this activity, students will make observations then construct a "sample" model representation of the Earth's layers. They will compare and contrast the movement and material in each layer explaining the location and what it contains.
US Geological Survey
Usgs: The Interior of the Earth
This site provides a detailed discussion of the Earth's interior. Facts about the crust, mantle, and core are given along with diagrams of each. Also presents a table that lists the thickness and types of rock found in each part of the...
NC State University
North Carolina State University: The Earth's Interior
Improve understanding of word processing and knowledge of the layers of Earth's interior. Links to North Carolina State Standards.
Georgia Department of Education
Ga Virtual Learning: Earth Origin, Composition, and Structure
In this lesson, you will learn about how the Earth formed as well as the composition and structural layers of the Earth's interior.
Columbia University
Columbia University: Evidence for Internal Earth Structure and Composition
College-level research information describes how the movement of Earth's interior causes seismic wave activity.
Purdue University
Purdue University: 3 D Earth Structure Model
Take a journey to the center of the Earth and learn about the structure, material properties, and conditions inside our planet.
National Earth Science Teachers Association
Windows to the Universe: Structure of Earth's Interior
Windows to the Universe provides a brief overview of the structure of the interior of Earth.
Other
Moorland School: Earth Science Zone: The Structure of the Earth
Take a look at the Earth from the inside out. This site shows the different layers of the earth with an explanation of the rocks and materials in each layer. Includes a quiz on the structure of Earth.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Open Course Ware: Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences: Solar System
A university-level course that looks at the structure of the solar system, the sun, the planets, and other bodies in space. Includes course readings, assignments, and study notes.
NOAA
Noaa: Structure of the Earth [Pdf]
Create a model to help learn the layers and structures within the Earth. Identify characteristics of each layer of the Earth.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Earth Science: Interior of the Sun
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Identify the layers of the sun's internal structure.