Geosphere
What is the geosphere?
The solid part of the earth that consists of all rock, and the soils and sediments on the earth’s surface
What is the atmosphere?
The mixture of gasses that surrounds the earth.
What is the hydrosphere?
The hydrosphere is all the water on or near earth's surface
What is the biosphere?
The biosphere is the narrow layer around earth’s surface where life can exist
What is an aquifer?'
BONUS +50 What percent of the world's water is freshwater?
An aquifer is an underground area in the rock for water movement and storage
BONUS 3%
Name 2 geologic events that can happen along a fault, or a break in the earth's crust.
Volcano
Earthquake
Mountain range
Explain the greenhouse effect. How does it help to support life on earth?
Light and heat leaving the atmosphere is reflected back in by gasses such as carbon dioxide and methane.
In which layer of the atmosphere is the ozone layer located?
Stratosphere
Earth is a closed system. What does 'closed system' mean?
Matter cannot come or go from the environment.
Name three ways that gasses might be added or removed from the atmosphere.
Respiration
Photosynthesis
Volcanoes
Burning fossil fuels/emmisions
Name one volcano that we discussed in class, and name a notable effect of this volcano.
Mt. Saint Helens
Yellowstone Supervolcano
Eyjafjallajökull
Krakatoa
78% of the earth’s atmosphere is made up of which element?
Nitrogen
Name the three main components to the water cycle.
Evaporation, Condensation, Precipitation
How does energy enter the biosphere? How does energy flow through the biosphere?
Energy enters the biosphere as sunlight, plants make food, animals eat plants, and as it goes along, some energy is lost.
What are the three ways that energy moves through the atmosphere
Radiation
Conduction
Convection
What are seismic waves and what do they tell us?
They radiate from the focus point of an earthquake. We use them to learn about the earth's interior, and how they move has helped us to determine what makes up each layer of the earth.
Using your knowledge of the troposphere, what are two of the reasons that people could typically die on a tall peak such as Mt. Everest?
Colder temperatures
Less oxygen (and less molecules in the air overall)
Name the four oceans.
BONUS! +50 which is the deepest?
Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic
BONUS! Pacific
Why does land that is near the ocean change temperature less rapidly than land that is located further inland?
Because water absorbs and retains heat
Draw the earth on the white board and label the three main layers of the geosphere.
Crust
Mantle
Core
Draw the earth and label the four layers of the atmosphere on the board.
Thermosphere
Mesosphere
Stratosphere
Troposphere
What is the thermocline?
The zone in the ocean in which temperature rapidly decreases as sunlight decreases
Name 3 of the 4 factors that allow life to exist on earth.
1. Liquid water
2. Nutrient cycling
3. Gravity
4. Sunlight
What moves currents at the surface of the ocean?
Mostly wind