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Earth Science: Spheres of Earth

Don’t take notes . . .

. . . yet

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• Science: the study of the natural world through observation and experiment

– Life Science (Biology): the study of living things• zoology, botany, anatomy, genetics, neuroscience, ecology

– Earth Science (Geoscience): the study of the natural processes of the Earth and space• Astronomy, meteorology, climatology, geology, hydrology

– Physical Science (Physics & Chemistry): the study of matter and energy

What is science?

Who studies science?

• Scientists: study the natural world to learn more about how things work

• Engineers: use science to solve problems

• Hobbyists: study science for fun

• Citizens: study science to make informed decisions

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Why study science?

• Career Options– Lots of opportunity in STEM fields

for scientists, engineers, technicians, and others

• Hobby & Enjoyment– You might want to be a stargazer, a

rockhound, or just like to learn about how the worl works

• Informed Citizen– Democracy only works well if its

citizens vote and educate themselves on the issues

Spheres of Earth

• Earth is a system, called the ecosphere

• Earth is a system made of smaller, interacting systems

• To more easily study the natural world, we divide the study of earth into spheres . . .

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Spheres Foldable

1. You will need: ruler, scissors, pencil, 2 pieces of printer paper

2. Take 1st piece of printer paper, fold bottom edge to 1” below top edge

3. Measure 5.5” from left side, draw a line

4. Cut along the line completely, keep the 5.5” piece, recycle the 3” piece

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1. Take 2nd piece of printer paper, fold in half “hotdog” style

2. Unfold it, fold in half again “hamburger” style

3. Unfold it, fold top edge to the middle, then fold bottom edge to middle

4. Cut each “door” in half along fold line to create four “doors”

1. Unfold, glue an “Ecosystem (Earth)” globe to the center inside of foldable facing “hotdog” style

2. Close “doors” and trim inside corners so you can see the globe with “doors” closed

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1. Take “4-door” foldable, and glue the back to the 5.5” half-fold paper so that a tab extends to the right

• Label each “door” and “tab” as follows:

Atmosphere(Air)

Geosphere(Land)

Hydrosphere(Water)

Biosphere(Life)

Exo

sp

here

(Sp

ace)

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Ecosphere

• Ecosphere: the entire Earth system

– Ecology: study of living organisms and how the interact with their physical surroundings

– Environmental Science: study of the environment, including the physical, biological, and information sciences

Time to start taking notes . . .

. . . in your foldable!

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Atmosphere

• Atmosphere (air): contains all the air in the Earth system

– Includes wind, weather, gases (oxygen, nitrogen, water vapor, & others)

– Is layered by density, movement, temperature, composition

– Meteorology: study of weather

– Climatology: study of climate

Hydrosphere

• Hydrosphere (water): all of the water in the Earth system

– Includes oceans, lakes, rivers, groundwater, glaciers, rain, clouds

– Cryosphere (ice): all of the frozen water in the Earth system, such as glaciers, ice caps, and snow

– Hydrology: study of water

– Oceanography: study of the oceans

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Geosphere• Geosphere (Land): the study of all the land, or

rock, in the Earth system

– Includes continents, islands, ocean floors, rock all the way to the Earth’s core

– Layered by density, movement, tempeature, composition

– Lithosphere: upper layer of Earth’s interior, includes the crust

– Pedosphere: soil

– Geology: study of rocks and Earth’s

internal processes

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Biosphere

• Biosphere (Life): all living things found within the Earth system

– Includes plants, animals, fungi, microorganisms, middle-school students

– Anthrosphere: everything made or modifed by humans in the Earth system

– Biology: study of life

– Zoology: study of animals

– Botany: study of plants

– Anthropology: study of humans

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Exosphere

• Exosphere (Space): includes everything outside of the Earth system

– Includes stars, planets, asteroids, comets, galaxies, the universe

– Astronomy: the study of space

– Astrology: the study of the influence stars have over human lives . . . so, so not science

– Aerospace Engineering: study and

design of atmospheric and space

flight