Earth Systems
This “sphere” includes all living things on Earth — plants, animals, and people.
What is the biosphere?
This is when water falls from the sky as rain, snow, sleet, or hail
What is precipitation?
This “sphere” is the layer of gases surrounding Earth.
What is Atmosphere?
This type of water makes up the oceans and has lots of dissolved minerals.
This is water found underground in spaces between rocks and soil.
This system is made of rocks, minerals, and landforms like mountains and valleys.
What is the geosphere?
This plant process releases water vapor into the air through leaves.
What is transpiration?
This force pulls objects toward the center of Earth.
What is Gravity?
This type of water is found in rivers, lakes, glaciers, and drinking water.
What is Fresh Water?
This process changes liquid water into water vapor, often using heat from the sun.
What is Evaporation?
This term describes all the different parts of Earth working together: land, water, air, and life.
What is the Earth System?
This is when water vapor cools and changes back into liquid droplets, forming clouds.
What is condensation?
A basketball rolls down a hill without being pushed. Which force is acting on it?
What is Gravity?
This word describes precipitation that is neither evaporated or absorbed and flows over Earth’s surface into places that collect water
What is Runoff?
A student digs a hole at the beach. At first it’s dry, but then water starts filling the bottom from below the sand. What kind of water is he seeing?
What is Groundwater?
A scientist is studying how pollution in the air affects tree growth. She is looking at how two spheres interact. What is she looking at?
What are the atmosphere and the biosphere?
On a hot day, a student notices her wet swim towel dries on the sidewalk after lunch. Which step of the water cycle is happening?
What is evaporation?
During a windy day, tree branches sway back and forth. Which Earth system is interacting with the biosphere?
What is the atmosphere?
A student notices that after a heavy storm, dirty water flows down the street and into a drain. What process is he observing?
What is water runoff?
A city wants to capture rainwater to use for watering parks. Which TWO water cycle processes must happen before the water can be collected in tanks?
What are condensation & precipitation?
A volcanic eruption sends ash into the air, destroys plants, and melts ice. Name three spheres affected by this volcanic eruption and explain why!
What are the geosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere? (hydrosphere can count if explained well)
Explain what would happen to the water cycle if the temperature in an area suddenly became much colder for several months.
*Answers may vary.
Sample Answer: What is evaporation would slow down, precipitation might become snow instead of rain, and water would be stored as ice?
Describe how the atmosphere and gravity work together to keep life possible on Earth.
*Answers may vary.
Sample Answer: What is they hold in the air we breathe, protect us from space, and keep water and weather close to Earth?
Explain why fresh water is more limited on Earth even though there is so much total water.
*Answers may vary.
Sample Answer: What is because most water on Earth is salt water, and only a small percentage is fresh water we can easily access?
A town is designing a new park, but they can’t build near the river because it floods each spring. What engineering vocabulary word describes this limit?
What is a Constraint?