Rocks are made out of minerals. Some rocks are just one mineral, while other rocks are several minerals together.
Rocks are all formed inside the earth. The earth has three layers: the crust, the mantle, and the core.
Picture by Maya
The crust is the outside layer. We have all seen the earth's crust and walk on it every day.
The mantle is under the crust, and is the middle layer. The mantle is very hot, hot enough to melt some of the rocks and make them hot like taffy.
The third layer is the core. It's at the center of the earth and is even hotter than the mantle. The core is made out of iron and is so hot that it's a liquid.
Food Fun: To understand the earth's layers, take an apple and get an adult to help you cut it in half. Then look at the apple. Do you see layers? What does each layer represent if you compare it to the earth's layers? For example, the core would be the seeds in the very middle of the apple. What are the other parts?
