Definitions
What is astronomy?
The study of the universe
What is biosphere?
All living organisms in the Earth system and their environments; one of the four spheres of the Earth system
What are the sciences that are included in Earth science?
geochemistry, geophysics, geobiology, and paleontology, meteorology, oceanography, and astronomy
What are the three main parts of the geosphere?
crust, mantle, and core
What is geology?
The study of the Earth's surface and interior.
Which sphere composes of all water in the Earth system—gaseous, solid, and liquid; one of the four spheres of the Earth system.
What is the difference between historical geology and physical geology?
Historical geology is understanding Earth’s history. Physical geology is understanding the processes that shape Earth
List three ways that humans affect Earth’s systems.
Any combination: contaminating water, polluting air, disposing of toxic waste into oil
What is meteorology?
The study of processes that govern the Earth’s atmosphere.
Which sphere is the rocks, mountains, lithospheric plates, and other physical features of the Earth, except for water; one of the four spheres of the earth system?
Geosphere
What science combines chemistry, physics, geology, and biology?
Oceanography – it studies the composition and movement of seawater as well as coastal processes and the topography of the seafloor and marine life
What is the difference between a scientific theory and a hypothesis?
A hypothesis is a possible explanation for how or why things happen.
A scientific theory is well-tested and widely accepted by the scientific community
What is oceanography?
The scientific study of the ocean and seas
What is the Lithosphere?
The rigid outer layer of Earth composed of the crust and uppermost mantle
Resources are divided into two categories. Give an explanation and examples for both.
1. Renewable resources can be replenished over relatively short time spans. (ex: Plants and animals used for food, natural fibers used for clothing, and forest products used for lumber and paper are all renewable resources.)
2. Non-renewable Resources: Natural resource that cannot be re-made, re-grown or regenerated on a as fast as it's consumed. (ex: Oil, natural gas, coal, iron, aluminum, and copper)
What sort of energy allows the tectonic plates to move?
Plate tectonics depends on Earth’s internal heat
What is atmosphere?
A mixture of gases that surrounds a planet or moon
Describe the parts of a tree in terms of it being a system.
1. Roots transport food and water up through the trunk, which holds the tree upright.
2. Trunk transports food and serves as support for branches and leaves.
3. Leaves help keep the tree moist and shaded and release excess water through pores
Which of Earth’s spheres do each of these features belong: pond, forest , mountain, cloud?
pond: hydrosphere, forest: geosphere, mountain: geosphere, cloud: atmosphere
Large numbers of tiny ocean organisms die every day, fall to the ocean floor, get buried and are eventually converted to oil and natural gas. Why are these two fuels considered nonrenewable?
It takes too long (millions of years) for the organisms to be converte