To determine which conclusion is supported by the information given in the table, let's go through the data step by step.
1. Thicknesses of the Layers:
- Lower mantle: 2,171 km
- Outer core: 2,259 km
- Inner core: 1,221 km
2. Analyzing Each Conclusion:
- The mantle is thinner than the crust:
- The table does not provide any information about the thickness of the crust, so we cannot conclude this.
- The core is the thickest of Earth's layers:
- To verify this, we need to add the thicknesses of the outer core and inner core.
- Outer core: 2,259 km
- Inner core: 1,221 km
- Combined thickness of the core (Outer core + Inner core): 2,259 km + 1,221 km = 3,480 km.
- Comparing with the lower mantle (2,171 km), the core (3,480 km) is indeed thicker.
- The inner core is thicker than the outer core:
- The thickness of the inner core is 1,221 km, and the thickness of the outer core is 2,259 km.
- The outer core is thicker than the inner core, so this statement is incorrect.
- The mantle is the thinnest of Earth's layers:
- The lower mantle thickness (2,171 km) is more than the inner core thickness (1,221 km), so this statement is also incorrect.
Given this analysis, the conclusion that is supported by the information in the table is:
- The core is the thickest of Earth's layers.
