There are two cores. An inner core and an outer core, but for junior cert all you need to know is that the core is the centre of the earth. It can be as hot as 5,4000 degrees in the core, this extreme heat is what turns the rock in the mantle into semi-molten rock. This part of the Earth is smaller than the size of the mantle.

The temperature in the mantle ranges from 500 degrees celsius to 900 degrees celsius. These conditions make it impossible for humans to survive there. Convection currents are formed when the heat from the core melts the rocks in the mantle and these currents are made. These currents cause plate movement.

This layer only takes up one percent of inside the earth and is 30km thick. The crust is broken into tectonic plates (slabs of rock) and where two or more plates meet are called plate boundaries. At these plate boundaries a lot of activity occurs. Such as volcanoes, mid-ocean ridges, fold mountains, earthquakes and tsunamis forming.

More information on each layer

The Mantle

The Crust

The Core