Earth's Major Systems
What are Earth's major systems?
Hydro
bio
geo
atmo
What spheres are interacting: wind creates waves.
wind = atmo
waves = hydro
What is recycling?
Using materials again
What is groundwater?
Groundwater is water that is located beneath the surface of the land.
How much fresh water is readily available for human consumption?
Less than 0.1%.
What is one way that living things of the biosphere interact with the atmosphere?
Living things must have air to survive.
What process is happening in this interaction: wave action carries sand that polishes rocks on the beach.
Weathering = breaking down and sculpting rocks.
Erosion = transporting the fragments away
What is conservation and why should we practice it?
Conservation is the careful use and protection of natural resources.
We should practice it because if nonrenewable resources such as oil and coal get used up, they will be gone forever.
People often dig wells to get fresh water. Where do you think this water comes from?
How does the water in the atmosphere return to Earth's surface?
Water returns to the surface by condensing and falling as rain or snow.
What is included in the geosphere?
Earth’s solid and molten rocks, sediments and soil.
What is this process called: water vapor forms clouds.
Condensation.
What is the difference between renewable and nonrenewable resources?
Renewable resources are continually being replaced and will not run out. Nonrenewable resources form slowly so that they cannot be replaced quickly enough to keep from running out.
How much of Earth's water is salt water?
97%
How can water in the hydrosphere change the geosphere?
Flowing water changes rocks into sediments. It also moves the particles to new locations.
Identify the system to which each of the following belongs: water in a pool, pebbles on a beach, a bee visiting a flower, the oxygen that you breathe.
water = hydro
pebbles = geo
bee/flower = bio
oxygen = atmo
What is one way that parts of the biosphere and hydrosphere interact?
Answers may vary.
Are trees a renewable or nonrenewable resource? Explain your answer.
Trees are renewable. If trees are cut down, new trees can grow again.
The places on Earth that store water are called reservoirs. List the following in order, from the reservoir with the greatest amount of water to the reservoir with the least amount of water: groundwater, oceans, lakes, glaciers.
Oceans, glaciers, groundwater, lakes
What are ways we can conserve our resources? (at least two)
• Turn off water
• Compost
• Use alternative
transportation
• Recycle
• Plant new trees when you cut
them down
• Set aside land to conserve
ecosystems
Beavers often build dams on streams, forming ponds. Which systems are interacting when a beaver builds a dam?
beaver = bio
streams/ponds = hydro
How can a mountain affect the weather?
Cool temps = condensation = precipitation
can block wind
List two renewable resources and two nonrenewable resources.
Renewable: air, cotton, water, meat, vegetables, wind, etc.
Nonrenewable: gasoline, natural gas, oil
List three ways that you and your family use water everyday. How could you reduce pollution in your everyday water use?
Brush teeth, take showers, and cook with water.
Not putting chemicals down the drain and by not using chemicals on lawns and gardens.
The amount of water in the atmosphere differs from place to place. Would you usually expect to find more water in the atmosphere over the land or over the ocean? Explain.
There would be more water in the atmosphere over the ocean because the water from the ocean can evaporate into the atmosphere.