Copy - 4.4 Spheres of Earth

Module 4 Lesson 4

Earth's Spheres & Systems

start

• Define geosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere
• explain interactions among the geosphere, hyrosphere, cryosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere
• compare and contrast interactions among the geosphere, hyrosphere, cryosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere

Objectives

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:

Earth's Spheres KWL

The Earth is a complex system

A system refers to parts of a whole that work together. The Earth is an amazing system with different parts that change the Earth's surface over time. Energy causes matter to move all around the Earth system.

• The Earth has gravity which pulls things down to the lowest places on the surface

• The Earth has a hot, metal core at its center

• The sun radiates energy that reaches the surface of the Earth

The Earth is a complex system

Where does the energy for the Earths' system come from?

In your own words, write the meaning of these vocabulary word parts.

Word Parts

Click on each term to learn more!

Geosphere

Atmosphere

Biosphere

Cryosphere

Hydrosphere

Let's look at the different parts of the Earth system more closely

• Water moves around the Earth in the water cycle.

• About 2% of the Earth's water is freshwater and most of that is found as ice near the north and south poles.

• About 98% of the water on Earth is saltwater.

• Almost 75% of the Earth is covered in water.

The hydrosphere refers to all the water on Earth.

Hydrosphere

Circle the images that belong to the Hydrosphere

Annotate on the screen:

• A glacier is a frozen river of ice made from compacted snow. Glaciers flow downhill justl ike rivers do - only very slowly.

• Includes frozen continental ice sheets, glaciers, icebergs, snow, and more.

The Cryosphere is all the ice on Earth.

Cryosphere

Circle the images that belong to the Cryosphere

Annotate on the screen:

• Includes plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, and all other living things.

• Some ecosystems on Earth have many diverse organisms like rainforests or coral reefs.
• Some ecosystems of the Earth can't support as many different species of organisms - like deserts or certain sections of the ocean floor.

The Biosphere refers to all the living organisms on Earth.

Biosphere

Circle the images that belong to the Biosphere

Annotate on the screen:

• There is also water vapor, dust, pollen, spores, and many other tiny things floating in the air.

Layers of the Atmosphere

• Air is made of about 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.9% argon and smaller amounts of trace gasses.

The Atmosphere is the layer of gasses that surrounds our planet (the air around us).

Atmosphere

Circle the images that belong to the Atmosphere

Annotate on the screen:

• The Earth is constantly recycling rocks! This is known as the Rock Cycle
• Volcanoes release lava which cools and hardens to form new rocks.
• Rocks get worn down by wind and rain, and smaller rocks are compressed together underground to create new rocks.

The Rock Cycle

• It is also known as the Lithosphere

The Geosphere is all the rock that makes up the surface of our planet.

Geosphere

Circle the images that belong to the Geosphere

Annotate on the screen:

What interactions can you think of ?

• Water causes erosion on the land
• Flooding moves soil and rocks to new places
• A mountain range can affect patterns of rainfall (rain shadow)

• Cloud cover impacts temperature on land
• A volcano erupts adding Carbon Dioxide to the air

• Plants and animals need water to survive
• Oceans, lakes, and rivers are home to many plants and animals

• Winds cause waves in the ocean
• Winds cause major rainstorms and flooding

• Wind can carry seeds to new places
• The survival of organisms is impacted by the air temperature
• Animals breathe in oxygen in the atmosphere

• Plants need soil to grow
• the remains of dead plants & animals get decomposed and turned into nutrients in the soil

Hydrosphere & Geosphere

Atmosphere & Geosphere

Atmosphere & Hydrosphere

Atmosphere & Biosphere

Hydrosphere & Biosphere

Geosphere & Biosphere

Common Interactions

Biosphere

Atmosphere

Geosphere

Hydrosphere

For each of the following process, identify which 2 spheres are interacting. Type the correct names in the box below.

Which Spheres are Interacting ?

Water and ice work hand-in-hand!

• When water freezes, it becomes ice - turning it into cryosphere matter.
• When ice thaws, it becomes water - turning it into hydrosphere matter.

The Cryosphere is sometimes included as part of the hydrosphere!