Ch. 3 – Lesson 1 Earth’s Systems Biosphere – All living things (plants/animals) Geosphere – All solid/rock Hydrosphere – Water Atmosphere - Gases

Lesson 1 Vocabulary Biosphere: The earth’s system that contains all living things Atmosphere: The mixture of gases that form a layer around Earth Hydrosphere: System that contains all of Earth’s water Geosphere: The solid part of Earth Groundwater: Water that is stored in cracks and pores beneath Earth’s surface Mineral: A naturally occurring inorganic solid that have crystal structures and definite chemical structure Rock: A natural occurring solid composed of minerals and other materials such as organic matter.

1. Define ‘atmosphere’ The atmosphere is the 5 layers of gases surrounding Earth.

2. Why is the atmosphere important? The atmosphere makes life on Earth possible.

3. Examine the pie chart. 78% Nitrogen 21% Oxygen 1% Other trace gases 0.93% Argon 0.03% Carbon dioxide

4. Earth’s Atmosphere Cont. 4. Water vapor & Carbon Dioxide are important gases for weather conditions & found in the troposphere.

TROPOSPHERE (tropo-change) • Layer closest to Earth’s surface • Averages 10 km in thickness • As altitude increases temperatures decrease. (the higher the colder) • Greatest air pressure-very dense. • It’s where we live, planes fly, & all weather occurs. • “Tropo” means change. ● Water vapor & carbon dioxide are found here.

STRATOSPHERE (strato-spread out) Some Jets can fly here. Weather balloons will float up into this layer. Contains ozone layer (which absorbs harmful UV rays from the sun). 10-50 km above Earth’s surface. Cold but gets warmer as you approach the ozone layer.

Click: good ozone and stratosphere vid 1min

What is destroying the ozone layer? Air pollutants CFC’s from refrigerators, air conditioners, aerosol sprays, car exhaust etc.

MESOSPHERE (meso-middle) Coldest layer – It gets colder the higher you go. Meteors burn up here creating shooting stars. “Meso” means middle

THERMOSPHERE (thermo-heat) HOTTEST layer (over 2000*C) even though the air is thin. Auroras happen here Thick layer (400km) Has low air pressure-its less dense. “Thermo” means heat.

EXOSPHERE (exo-outer) Satellites & International Space Station orbit Earth here. Blends into cold regions of outer space Lowest air pressure with very few gas molecules. Thickest layer (up to 10,000 km) “Exo” means outer.

The structure of Earth’s atmosphere. # Layer Pressure Temperature Depth (km) Notes 1 Troposphere highest Decreases as altitude increases 0-10 You live here. 99% water vapor/ carbon dioxide 75% of the gases Weather happens here 2 Stratosphere decreases Increases (0*C) 11-50 Ozone layer here Jet planes 3 Mesosphere Decreases, Coldest layer (-100*C) 51-85 Shooting stars 4 Thermosphere Very hot (over 2000*C) 86-500 Highest temperature Thickest atmosphere Meteors Auroras happen here 5 Exosphere lowest COLD >500 Satellites Beyond is outer space

What does it mean???? Prefixes Suffix Atmo: gas sphere: ball Exo: outer Thermo: heat Strato: layer Tropo: change

Hydrosphere 97% Salt water (Ocean = Reservoirs) 3% Freshwater 79% Ice caps (Cryosphere) 20% Groundwater 1% Fresh Water Surface (Rivers, Swamps, Lakes)

Geosphere – solid part of Earth Made up of soil, rock, and metal CRUST = thin brittle outer layer, found under soil of continents/under the ocean

Geosphere – Inner Layers MANTLE = Middle/Largest layer; made of rock, but hotter and denser than the crust; temperature can be so high that rocks flow similar to melted plastic CORE = made of metal iron and small amounts of nickel Outer core = liquid (iron/nickel) Inner core = solid iron

Rocks Minerals are the building blocks of rocks A ROCK is a naturally occurring solid made of minerals and sometimes other materials such as organic matter

3 TYPES OF ROCKS Igneous: form when liquid rock cools and hardens. Liquid rock that is under the crust is called magma. When it pours out onto the Earth’s surface, it is then called lava Sedimentary: rocks that have been placed by weathering or erosion(wind, water, etc. break rocks down into smaller pieces). Over millions of years, these layers are compressed and cemented together by extreme pressure. Metamorphic: Form from extreme heat and pressure deep in the earth’s crust…which ends up changing their shape and size…forming new rocks. The rocks do NOT melt…they just change size.