EARTH’S SYSTEM BASICS
Name two of Earth’s spheres and give an example of something inside each one.
Atmosphere → air, clouds
Hydrosphere → oceans, rivers
Geosphere → rocks, soil
Biosphere → plants, animals
Cryosphere → glaciers, icebergs
What type of boundary forms when two plates move away from each other?
A divergent boundary.
Warm air rises. Explain one reason why.
Warm air is less dense, so it lifts above cooler air.
Explain what matters more in this class: getting the answer quickly or showing your thinking?
Showing your thinking. Fast answers don’t help you actually understand anything.
What happens if you try to memorize answers instead of understanding the diagrams and data?
You’ll get stuck when the question changes even a little bit.
Explain one way the hydrosphere and atmosphere interact during weather.
Evaporation: water from oceans/lakes enters the atmosphere and forms clouds.
Earthquakes occur at plate boundaries. Explain why.
Plates grind, collide, or pull apart, releasing energy as they move.
A station model shows an air pressure reading of 001. What is the air pressure in millibars?
1000.1
Why do we use diagrams, models, and data tables instead of long note-taking?
Because they make you think—you have to look closely, find patterns, and figure things out.
Why is copying someone else’s work—even if you rewrite it—a bad idea here?
Because you didn’t actually think through anything yourself.
A forest fire starts. Describe how one other sphere is affected.
Example: Atmosphere fills with smoke; biosphere loses habitats; geosphere gains ash.
Describe what happens when an ocean plate meets a continental plate.
The denser ocean plate subducts beneath the continental plate.
Why do cold fronts usually bring strong weather?
Cold, dense air pushes warm air upward quickly, forming tall storm clouds.
What should you do FIRST when you’re stuck on a CLT?
Go back to the diagram or data and look again. Most answers come from noticing something you missed.
How does waiting for the teacher to “just tell you the answer” hurt your learning?
You skip the part where your brain figures things out—and that’s the part that helps you learn.
How can increased insolation cause a change in the cryosphere that then affects the hydrosphere?
Stronger sunlight melts ice in the cryosphere, adding more liquid water to the hydrosphere (rivers, oceans, sea level).
Why does a mid-ocean ridge show younger rock in the center and older rock on the sides?
New crust forms at the center and moves outward as plates spread apart.
Explain why places near the ocean often have milder temperatures.
Water changes temperature slowly, so it moderates the nearby land’s climate.
Why is this class designed to be challenging and make you struggle instead of giving you easy work?
Because when you work through something that’s a bit challenging, you actually understand it better and remember it longer—your brain learns more from figuring things out than from easy work.
Why does keeping your phone out during class make you less successful here?
It breaks your focus, and once you lose focus, the task stops making sense.
How can a change in the atmosphere cause a different type of precipitation to form, and how would that change affect either the geosphere or the biosphere?
Geosphere impact: Rain increases runoff and erosion; freezing rain adds weight that breaks branches and damages soil structure.
Biosphere impact: Plants and animals experience flooding, ice damage, or loss of habitat.
A map shows deep earthquakes on one side of a boundary and shallow ones on the other. What does that suggest?
It indicates subduction—the diving plate produces deeper quakes as it sinks.
A location's air pressure is expected to change rapidly. Explain what this means for weather.
The location is expected to have windy conditions.
Why does talking through your reasoning in your group help you understand better?
Explaining your ideas out loud makes things clearer and helps you catch mistakes.
What does it show if you finish a task but can’t explain how you got your answer?
It means you didn’t really understand it—you just followed someone else or guessed.