Why are rocks not melting deep in the earth’s crust?

Magma is generated within Earth's mantle, the thick layer between Earth's crust and outer core. Rock found deep within the crust is extremely hot, soft, and pliable, but rock does not become liquid until much deeper in the upper mantle. Pockets, or chambers of magma, can originate at various depths within the earth. The composition of the magma varies and indicates the source materials and depth from which they originated. Silicon dioxide (SiO2) is the predominant ingredient in magma. Other ingredients include aluminum oxide, iron, magnesium, calcium, sodium, potassium, titanium, manganese, phosphorus, and water.

step 1: initiation

initiation is the beginning of transcription. it occurs when the enzyme rna polymerase binds to a region of a gene called the promoter. this signals the dna to unwind so the enzyme can ‘‘read’’ the bases in one of the dna strands. the enzyme is now ready to make a strand of mrna with a complementary sequence of bases.

step 2: elongation

elongation is the addition of nucleotides to the mrna strand. rna polymerase reads the unwound dna strand and builds the mrna molecule, using complementary base pairs. there is a brief time during this process when the newly formed rna is bound to the unwound dna. during this process, an adenine (a) in the dna binds to an uracil (u) in the rna.

step 3: termination

termination is the ending of transcription, and occurs when rna polymerase crosses a stop (termination) sequence in the gene. the mrna strand is complete, and it detaches from dna.

the solute can move "downhill," from regions of higher to lower concentration, relying on the specificity of the protein carrier to pass through the membrane. this process is called passive transport or facilitated diffusion, and does not require energy.