Earth Processes, Earth Science

Geologic Processes Inside the Earth

 Lesson6 chapters
 Questions

Objectives
At the end of the discussion, you will be able to:

 describe where the Earth’s internal heat comes from,

 describe how magma is formed (magmatism), and
 describe what happens after the magma is formed (plutonism and volcanism).

The layers of the Earth include the crust, the mantle, and the core. The core is the hottest layer of
the Earth. The heat coming from this layer is responsible for all geological activities happening on
our planet. Volcanoes, mountains, and continents were formed because of this internal heat.

Why is the core layer hot?

Learn about it!

Internal Heat of the Earth
The Earth has three main layers: the crust or the outermost layer, the mantle or the
middle layer, and the core or the innermost layer.

 The crust is composed of solid rocks and minerals. It holds all known life forms on Earth.
 The mantle is made up of mostly solid rocks and minerals but have areas of semi-solid
magma.
 The core is made up of dense metal, specifically, nickel and iron. It is also considered as the
center and the hottest part of the Earth.

Mantle convection is the movement of the mantle as heat is transferred from the core
to the crust. The temperature of the mantle varies depending whether it is near the crust
or near the boundary of the core. The principal contributors to the heat of the core come
from the decay of radioactive elements and from the heat of the molten outer core which
solidifies near the inner core.

Earth’s heat budget drives most of the geological processes on Earth. This measures
the flow of thermal energy coming from the core, passing through the mantle, and up to
the atmosphere, which is mainly due to the mantle convection. This, however, is
counteracted by the solar radiation.
Magmatism
Magmatism is the activity or the motion of the magma. Rocks that are subjected to high
temperature and pressure melt and become the magma. Magma is a semi-liquid molten
rock mixture that can be found in the lower portion of the crust and the upper part of the
mantle. Depending on the temperature, pressure, and formations in the crust and the
mantle, the magma can be formed in different ways.

Plutonism
On 1788, James Hutton developed the idea about plutonism. He stated that the
formation of intrusive igneous rocks or plutonic rocks came from the solidification of
magma beneath the Earth’s surface. These rocks will reach the Earth’s surface through
the process of uplifting - a force that pulls the crust apart and lets the rocks from the
underground to be brought up.

When the hot molten magma does not solidify, it will be brought up to the Earth’s
surface through uplifting. When the magma reaches the surface, it becomes lava -
streams of molten rocks that cool and solidify to form extrusive igneous rocks.

Volcanism
Magma is being brought up to the surface through a volcano. Volcano is any opening in
the Earth’s crust that allows magma and gases to be released in the upper crust. This
process of bringing up the magma is called volcanism.

Explore!
Our country, the Philippines, has 37 volcanoes. Among 37 volcanoes, 18 of them are
active and show activity in the past 100 years. Why do you think the Philippines has
plenty of volcanoes?

Try it!
Get an ice cube and put it in a glass. Put a teaspoon of salt to the ice cube and leave for
two hours. What do you notice? What is the connection of this experiment with the
contained heat from the mantle and the core?

What do you think?

If the mantle and the core are extremely hot, why is the heat coming from these layers
not felt on the Earth's surface?
Key Points
 The three layers of the Earth are the crust, the mantle, and the core.
 The principal contributors to the heat of the Earth's core are the decay of radioactive
elements and the heat of the molten outer core near the inner core.
 Mantle convection is the movement of the mantle as heat is transferred from the core to the
crust.
 Earth’s heat budget drives most of the geologic processes on Earth.
 Magma are rocks that melted when subjected to high temperature and pressure.
 Magmatism is the activity or the motion of magma.
 Plutonism is the formation of intrusive igneous rocks through the solidification of magma
beneath the Earth’s surface.
 Volcanism is the phenomenon of an eruption of magma onto the surface of the Earth.
 Volcano is the opening on the Earth’s crust where magma, gases, and hot vapor are being
ejected or released.
 Lava is the cooled and solidified magma upon reaching the Earth’s surface.
 Q1

 Single Answer
 Question

 Where does the internal heat of the earth come from?

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 Q2

 Single Answer
 Question

 It is a semi-liquid mixture of rocks found in the lower portion of the crust and upper part of the mantle.

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 Q3

 Single Answer
 Question

 Who developed the idea about plutonism?

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 Q4

 Single Answer
 Question

 It is an opening on the Earth’s crust where magma and gases are being released.

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 Q5

 Single Answer
 Question

 Which of the following drives most of the geologic processes on Earth?

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 Q6

 Multiple Choice
 Question

 Which of the following are the primary contributors to the heat of the core?

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 Q7

 Single Answer
 Question

 How does magma reach the Earth’s surface?

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 Q8

 Multiple Choice
 Question

 How does volcanic eruption affect the climate?

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 Q9
 Single Answer
 Question

 What is the difference between the magma and the lava?

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 Q10

 Single Answer
 Question

 What kind of rocks are formed during volcanic eruption?

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