Earth Systems
This sphere includes all the water on Earth, like oceans, rivers, and even glaciers.
What is the hydrosphere?
Plants in the biosphere help clean this sphere by taking in carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen.
What is the atmosphere?
It takes Earth about this long to complete one full rotation on its axis, causing day and night.
What is 24 hours?
This is the name for the path Earth takes as it goes around the Sun.
What is an orbit?
Wild animals flee an area after a wildfire fills the air with smoke. What caused the interaction, and what two spheres are affected?
What is: A fire (biosphere) caused changes in the atmosphere and affected other parts of the biosphere (the animals).
Trees, animals, and even YOU are part of this sphere.
What is the biosphere?
A flood causes damage to homes, plants, and animals. Name the two spheres that are interacting with the hydrosphere.
What are the biosphere and geosphere?
Gravity is strongest between objects that have more of this.
What is mass?
It takes Earth about this long to orbit the Sun once. What does this cause?
What is: 365 days (1 year), and it causes the seasons.
True or False: All stars give off the same amount of light, but they look dimmer or brighter depending on how far away they are.
What is False?
A hurricane is an example of an event where what three spheres are involved?
What are the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere?
When glaciers (part of the hydrosphere) scrape across land, they change the shape of valleys and mountains. This is an example of interaction with which other sphere?
What is the geosphere?
If you drop a pencil and a book at the same time, they will hit the ground together (if there’s no air pushing on them). What does this show about gravity?
What is: Gravity pulls objects equally, no matter their weight (mass), if there’s no air resistance.
When the Sun is directly overhead, your shadow is this size.
What is short (or the shortest)?
You see two stars in the night sky. One looks very bright, and one looks dim. The bright one might be closer, or it might be this.
What is: A bigger or hotter star giving off more light?
This sphere can be affected by volcanic eruptions, which release gases and ash into the air. Which two spheres are interacting?
What are the geosphere and atmosphere?
If a drought happens due to changes in weather patterns, how might this affect the biosphere and the geosphere?
What is: Plants and animals may die (biosphere), and the dry soil can crack or blow away more easily (geosphere).
Some stars appear brighter than others. Name two reasons why.
What is: Because of their size and how close they are to Earth?
If it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, what season is it in the Southern Hemisphere? Why?
What is: Summer, because the Southern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun.
The Sun looks much brighter than other stars, even though it's average in size. Why?
What is: Because it is much closer to Earth than any other star.
If humans cut down a large forest, it affects the soil and water nearby. Which three spheres are being affected?
What are the biosphere, geosphere, and hydrosphere?
When the temperature in the atmosphere increases, glaciers begin to melt. How does this change affect the hydrosphere and the geosphere over time?
What is: It adds more water to the hydrosphere and can cause erosion or flooding in the geosphere.
You can jump higher on the moon than you can on Earth, why is this?
If your shadow is long and pointing west, what time of day is it likely to be?
What is early morning?
Rainwater (hydrosphere) washes away soil (geosphere). What is this process called?
What is erosion?