Video Transcript
Which of the following correctly
describes the lithosphere? (A) The lithosphere includes the
uppermost part of the mantle only. (B) The lithosphere includes all of
the crust and also includes the uppermost part of the underlying mantle. (C) The lithosphere includes all of
the crust and also includes all of the underlying mantle. (D) The lithosphere includes the
crust only. (E) The lithosphere is the layer of
the mantle that is the hottest among all the layers.
This question asks about the
lithosphere. To help us answer the question,
let’s take a closer look at the outermost internal layers of Earth. The first layer of the Earth is the
crust. The crust is the thinnest internal
layer of the Earth and is made of solid rocks. Below the crust is the mantle. The mantle is the thickest internal
layer of Earth and makes up approximately 80 percent of the planet’s volume.
The uppermost part of the mantle is
solid rock. The crust and the uppermost part of
the mantle form the lithosphere, the solid outer part of Earth. The lithosphere is broken up into
solid, rigid bodies called plates. These plates move across the
asthenosphere. The asthenosphere is subject to
higher temperatures than the lithosphere and is partially molten.
From this information, we can
determine which of the answer choices correctly describes the lithosphere. The correct statement is the
lithosphere includes all of the crust and also includes the uppermost part of the
underlying mantle.
