Considering the Earth's Mantle

Use the Silly Putty and plastic cube to investigate how soft, solid materials are different from hard, solid materials. Record your observations of the materials in below.

Hint: Try to answer the following questions: What can the soft, solid material do that the hard, solid material can’t? What happens when you press into each of the solids?

Create sentences that answer both of these questions:

How can Silly Putty and a hard, plastic cube be used to model different layers of Earth?

How are Earth’s plates able to move?

Use at least two different Word Relationships Cards in each sentence. In your group of four, take turns as both the speaker and the listener.

Your group may use the same word more than once. You do not need to use all the vocabulary words.

There are many different ways to answer these questions, and you will need to create more than one sentence in order to express your ideas completely.

Word Bank

mantle

outer layer

plate

plate boundary

Imagine that scientists have found a planet with an outer layer divided into plates made of hard, solid rock, but the mantle below the plates is made of hard, solid rock instead of soft, solid rock as it is on Earth.

Do you think plate motion would take place on that planet? Why or why not? (Use the words in the Word Bank if it helps you answer the question.)