Earth Apollo 17 astronauts captured a snapshot of the Earth systems on their way to the moon in 1972.  All of the matter (solid, liquid and gases) and all the processes that move energy and materials from one part of the planet to another make up Earth system

Looking at this image, what are the major parts of our planet that interact?

Earth's 4 Spheres The 4 major parts of the earth that interact are: the rocks (land), water (ocean, lakes etc), air and living things (plants and animals) Each part can be considered a sphere: The Geosphere (rocks), the Hydrosphere (water), the Atmosphere (air) and Biosphere (life)

The 4 spheres all interact

Geosphere The Geosphere aka the Lithosphere is the crust and outermost mantle, which consists of the hard and rigid outer layer of the earth

Hydrosphere The Hydrosphere are all the waters on the earth such as lakes, oceans, seas, snow, glaciers and sometimes including water over the earth's surface such as clouds.  The earth's surface is covered by 71% water

Atmosphere The atmosphere is the envelope surrounding the earth that is retained by earth's gravity.  The atmosphere is mostly nitrogen (78%) and oxygen (21%) and contains water vapour, ozone and wind

Biosphere The Biosphere is the part of the earth where living things can exist such as plants, animals, insects and microbes

List several features in each sphere from the following picture

List features from each sphere from the following picture

Nasa weekly Top 10 Look at the photos: What features are seen and from what Sphere? Describe the feature