Earth and Life Science Quarter 1 – Module 6:
THE EARTH’S
INTERNAL
HEAT
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Describe where the Earth’s
internal heat comes from.
Identify the sources of Earth’s
internal heat: radiogenic and
primordial heat.
Describe the parts and functions
of Earth’s interior.
Describe the processes of heat
transfer in Earth’s mantle.
Heat energy plays a vital role in our planet. It is
one of the extreme factors in what makes the
world livable. The heat inside of our planet
moves continents, builds mountains, and causes
earthquakes.
Where does all this
heat inside the earth
come from?
Earth’s Internal Heat –
According to Arevalo, [Link] (2009), the heat of Earth’s interior
comes from the following sources:
[Link] contained in
the planetesimals that
accreted to form
Earth; heat produced
when these
planetesimals collided;
Earth’s Internal Heat –
According to Arevalo, [Link] (2009), the heat of Earth’s interior
comes from the following sources:
[Link] from friction
when melted material
was redistributed
within Earth and;
[Link] produced by
radioactive decay.
Radioactive Decay
involves the disintegration of natural radioactive isotopes inside Earth. The radioactive
isotopes uranium-235 (235U), uranium-238 (238U), potassium 40 (40K), and thorium-
232 (232Th) in Earth’s mantle are the primary source.
Radioactive decay produced more heat early in Earth’s history than it does today
because fewer atoms of these isotopes still exist. Heat contributed by radioactivity is
now roughly a quarter what it was when Earth formed.
SOURCES OF THE EARTH’S INTERNAL HEAT
PRIMORDIAL HEAT RADIOGENIC HEAT
generated generated by
during Earth’s long-term
formation radioactive
decay.
PRIMORDIAL HEAT
• Heat from
accretion
and
bombardmen
t on the
Earth during
the early
RADIOGENIC HEAT
• the thermal energy
released as a result of
spontaneous nuclear
disintegration.
• the heat generated by
long-term radioactive
decay in the Earth’s
interior.
• It involves the
disintegration of natural
radioactive elements
The radioactive decay heats up
magma in the asthenosphere creating
CONVECTION CURRENT.
• Estimated at 47 terawatts (TW), the
flow of heat from Earth's interior to
the surface, comes from two main
sources in equal amounts: the
radiogenic heat produced by the
radioactive decay of isotopes in the
mantle and crust, and the primordial
heat left over from the formation of
the Earth.
• Radioactive elements exist
everywhere on the earth in a fairly
significant concentration. Without the
process of radioactive decay, there
would be fewer volcanoes and
RADIOACTIVE DECAY PLAYS A
SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN EARTH’S
INTERNAL HEAT
• Radioactive elements can be
found anywhere on the
planet.
• When a radioactive element
decays, it produces heat.
• Spontaneous nuclear
disintegration of radioactive
elements produced thermal
Thermal energy
transfer is heat
moving from a
warmer object
to a cooler
object. This is
known as
thermal energy
transfer.
HOW THE HEAT TRANSFER?
CONDUCTION CONVECTION RADIATION
CONDUCTION the process by which heat
energy is transmitted through
collisions between neighboring
atoms or molecules.
It happens in the earth’s
surface (lithosphere)
Heat from the Earth's core and
radiation from the Sun is
transferred to the surface of
the Earth by conduction.
Contact of the atmosphere with
these warm surfaces transfers
thermal energy, which then
heats up the rest of the air
through convection.
CONVECTION The transfer of heat in fluids
(liquids or gases)
It happens in the zones
where large quantities of
fluids or molten rocks exist
(outer core and the mantle)
In CONVECTION CURRENT,
the mantle of the earth
moves slowly because of the
transfer of heat from the
interior of the earth up to the
surface. This results in the
movement of tectonic plates.
The heat transfer in empty
RADIATION space/contactless transfer.
It happens between the
atmosphere and Earth’s surface,
and in the hottest parts of the
core and the lower mantle.
When the land and water become
warm in summer, they emit long–
wavelength infrared radiation
that is readily absorbed by the
atmosphere. This continues
during night time too. Convection
in the air then spreads out the
thermal energy throughout the
STRUCTURE OF THE
EARTH
CONTINENTA
CRUST L
OCEANIC
MANTL UPPER
E LOWER
OUTER
CORE
INNER