The Structure of the Earth and Plate TectonicsStructure of the EarthThe Earth is made up of 3 main layers:CoreMantleCrustInner coreOuter coreMantleCrustThe CrustThis is where we lie!The Earth"s crust is made of:Continental Crust# thic$ %&'#('$m)# *uoyant %less dense than oceanic crust) # mostly oldOceanic Crust# thin %+( $m)# dense %sin$s under continental crust)# youn,-ow do we $now what the Earth is made of./eophysical sureys: seismic0 ,raity0 ma,netics0 electrical0 ,eodesy1c2uisition: land0 air0 sea and satellite/eolo,ical sureys: fieldwor$0 *oreholes0 mines3hat is Plate Tectonics. If you loo$ at a map of the world0 you may notice that some of the continents could fit to,ether li$e pieces of a pu44le5Plate TectonicsThe Earth"s crust is diided into &6 ma7or plates which are moed in arious directions5This plate motion causes them to collide0 pull apart0 or scrape a,ainst each other5Each type of interaction causes a characteristic set of Earth structures or 8tectonic9 features5The word0 tectonic0 refers to the deformation of the crust as a conse2uence of plate interaction53orld Plates3hat are tectonic plates made of.Plates are made of ri,id lithosphere5The lithosphere is made up of the crust and the upper part of the mantle53hat lies *eneath the tectonic plates.:elow the lithosphere %which ma$es up the tectonic plates) is the asthenosphere5Plate Moement8Plates9 of lithosphere are moed around *y the underlyin, hot mantle conection cellsPractical E;ercise &Supercontinents!3hat happens at tectonic plate *oundaries.