Protecting the "Spheres"
When we protect our rivers and oceans from plastic pollution, we are helping this specific "sphere" of the Earth.
What is the hydrosphere?
On Earth Day, we celebrate these organisms because they use sunlight to create the energy that starts every food chain.
What are producers (or plants)?
Recycling involves melting down old soda cans to make new ones. This is considered a physical change because this remains the same.
What is the identity of the matter (it is still aluminum)?
Earth Day is celebrated once every time the Earth completes one of these around the Sun.
What is a revolution (or orbit)?
This is the "R" in the phrase "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" that means to use less of a natural resource in the first place, like turning off the lights to save electricity.
What is Reduce?
Planting trees helps the atmosphere by absorbing this gas and releasing oxygen for us to breathe.
What is carbon dioxide?
If a toxic chemical enters a food web, this type of animal—found at the very top of the chain—usually suffers the most.
What is an apex predator (or tertiary consumer)?
When we burn fossil fuels, it causes a chemical change that releases these teeny tiny particles spread out particles of matter into the air, which can be seen as smog.
What are gases?
Using solar panels on Earth Day is smart because this star provides a nearly "infinite" amount of energy compared to other stars.
What is the Sun?
When Oklahomans practice "No-Till" farming, they are trying to prevent this process where wind and water carry away the top layer of soil.
What is erosion?
This is the percentage of Earth’s total water that is actually fresh and available for humans to use, making water conservation very important.
What is less than 1%? (Accept 0.5% to 3%).
This Earth Day activity involves putting worms in a bin to break down organic waste, highlighting the role of these organisms in an ecosystem.
What are decomposers?
This Earth Day, you might use a solar oven. It works by capturing energy from the Sun to increase the speed of these tiny things inside your food.
What are particles(or atoms)?
This force, which we celebrate for keeping our atmosphere attached to the planet, pulls all objects toward the center of the Earth.
What is gravity?
Some cities use "permeable pavement" (sidewalks that let water soak through). This helps the environment by preventing this, which happens when rainwater washes pollutants into our local streams.
What is runoff?
Compost bins turn food scraps into rich soil. This represents an interaction between the biosphere (living things) and this "sphere" (the soil/rocks).
What is the geosphere?
When we protect a "wetland," we are protecting a place where many different species live together, otherwise known as this.
What is an ecosystem?
To reduce waste, we use "reusable" items. Even when a reusable bottle is empty, it isn't truly empty because it is filled with this state of matter.
What is gas (or air)?
We see different constellations during the "Earth Day" season (Spring) than we do in the Winter because of Earth's position here.
What is its orbit (or position in its path around the sun)?
To help bees and butterflies, Oklahomans can plant these types of plants, which have lived in our state for thousands of years and require less water and no chemicals.
What are native plants?
In Oklahoma, "Rain Gardens" are built to catch rainwater. This helps the environment by allowing the hydrosphere (water) to soak into this specific layer of the geosphere to be filtered naturally.
What is soil (or the Earth's crust/groundwater)?
When we restore a forest, we are helping the "movement of matter." This is the process where atoms are cycled from the air and soil into plants, then to animals, and eventually back to the soil by these organisms.
What are decomposers?
On Earth Day, we learn that plastic in the ocean breaks down into "microplastics." Even though these pieces are too small to see with the naked eye, we know they still have mass and take up space because of this scientific principle.
What is Matter? (Everything is made of particles too small to be seen).
If you were to measure the shadow of a sundial at noon on Earth Day (April 22nd) versus the first day of summer, the shadow would be a different length because of this.
What is the position of the Sun in the sky (due to Earth’s tilt/orbit)?
Many Oklahoma towns use "Green Belts" or sections of protected land. By keeping these areas natural, we are protecting the biodiversity of this "sphere," ensuring many different living things can survive.
What is biosphere