Convection in the Mantle
Aligned to HS-ESS2-3 — Next Generation Science Standards.
What this lesson teaches
Heat from Earth's core and radioactive decay drives slow convection in the solid but flowing mantle. Hot rock rises, cools near the surface, and sinks again, and this circulation is the engine that moves tectonic plates.
Worked example
Seismic waves show hot, less dense mantle rising beneath mid-ocean ridges and cold, dense slabs sinking at subduction zones. This convection cell drags the plates riding on top, slowly rearranging continents over millions of years.
Practice questions
- Observe: The deep mantle is hotter than the mantle near the surface. What kind of motion does heating from below tend to create in a fluid?
- Model: Draw a mantle convection cell with arrows showing hot material rising and cool material sinking.
- Explain: If Earth's interior eventually cooled down, predict what would happen to mantle convection and to plate motion, and explain the connection.
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
Convección en el manto
El calor del núcleo de la Tierra y de la desintegración radiactiva impulsa una convección lenta en el manto, que es sólido pero fluye. La roca caliente sube, se enfría cerca de la superficie y vuelve a hundirse, y esta circulación es el motor que mueve las placas tectónicas.
Ejemplo: Las ondas sísmicas muestran manto caliente y menos denso subiendo bajo las dorsales oceánicas y placas frías y densas hundiéndose en las zonas de subducción. Esta celda de convección arrastra a las placas que van encima, reorganizando lentamente los continentes durante millones de años.
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