STAAR Need to Know 1 STAAR Reporting Category 3 Earth and Space Middle School Science Science STAAR Need to Know

STAAR Need to Know 2 Rock Cycle

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4 Plate Tectonics Plate tectonics explains the movement of large sections of Earth’s crust called tectonic plates. The force behind tectonic plate movement is thought to be currents of magma flowing in Earth’s mantle.

PLATE TECTONICS STAAR Need to Know 5

6 Plate boundaries Tectonic plates slowly collide against one another along plate boundaries. Sections of the plates may break off and be pushed down, up, or to the side. Mountain ranges, ocean trenches, earthquakes & volcanic activity are all common along plate boundaries. Pacific Plate is the largest

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8 Changes in the Earth over time Weathering- the process of rocks being broken down into smaller pieces.

STAAR Need to Know 9 Two types of Weathering Mechanical Rocks break into smaller pieces by physical means – Water, ice, wind, gravity, organisms & changing temperatures Chemical Rocks break into smaller pieces by chemical reactions – Air, water, acid & salts react with minerals in rocks to form new substances

STAAR Need to Know 10 Erosion The movement of particles from one location to another is erosion The movement of particles from one location to another is erosion Weathered particles of rock are transported by gravity, living organisms, water, glaciers & wind. Weathered particles of rock are transported by gravity, living organisms, water, glaciers & wind. Destructive

STAAR Need to Know 11Deposition The settling (depositing) of eroded particles as sediments wherever they are transported by wind or water. The settling (depositing) of eroded particles as sediments wherever they are transported by wind or water. Constructive

LAND & EROSIONAL FEATURES STAAR Need to Know 12

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STAAR Need to Know 15 All the land that drains into a specific body of water. Groundwater and surface water both contribute to the water in a watershed. Surface water becomes groundwater by soaking into the sand and soil or by traveling through cracks in rock.

STAAR Need to Know 16 Two important ways that oceans affect climate on land 1.Land heats up faster than water because land has a lower specific heat than water does. This causes the air over land to heat faster than the air over water. The warm air rises, starting a convection current that pulls air toward land from the ocean. This keeps air over the land from getting too hot and brings moist ocean air inland. 2.Warm air holds more water vapor than cold air does. When warm, moist air is cooled, clouds form and can produce precipitation. This warm air can be cooled by rising into the colder upper atmosphere, by moving over cold ocean or lakes, or by mixing with colder air. (Ex. Front boundary- the edge where cool, dry air meets warm, moist air. Often causes stormy weather)

WEATHER SYSTEM STAAR Need to Know 17

WEATHER SYSTEMS STAAR Need to Know 18

WEATHER & CLIMATE STAAR Need to Know 19

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STAAR Need to Know 21 Nitrogen Cycle Nitrogen changes back & forth from nitrogen gas to the nitrogen compounds used by plants & animals. Nitrogen is passed from plants to other organisms through food webs in the ecosystem. Once plants & animals use the nitrogen it returns to the atmosphere as a gas, completing the cycle. Some fertilizers contain nitrogen compounds because plants need nitrogen to grow. Though there is plenty of nitrogen gas in the atmosphere, plants can’t use this form. In nature nitrogen can be changed from a gas to a form that plants can use by lightning or by soil bacteria and fungi in a process called nitrogen fixation.

STAAR Need to Know 22 Problems if too much Nitrogen in environment

STAAR Need to Know 23 Carbon Cycle

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STAAR Need to Know 26 Effects of carbon on environment One of the biggest ways humans affect the carbon cycle is by burning fossil fuels. Burning fossil fuels transforms carbon into carbon dioxide. Higher levels of carbon dioxide cause the atmosphere to hold more heat energy. This may be the cause of warmer temperatures measured in recent years on Earth. (Called “The Greenhouse Effect”) This could affect the climate in many places. The kinds of plants and animals in these climates may change if the warming continues.

STAAR Need to Know 27 Without the carbon and nitrogen cycles, there would be no life on earth!

STAAR Need to Know 28 Catastrophic events affect the earth

STAAR Need to Know 29 Ways humans affect the earth Two common forms of pollution: 1.Gases released into the atmosphere 2.Chemicals that are carried by water into a watershed

STAAR Need to Know 30 Humans can cause extinctions Human can change: The quality of the air, water & soil we use Ecosystems by removing plants & animals & by introducing new species, such as invasive plants & pets Invasive species don’t naturally live in the ecosystem where they are introduced. Invasive species compete with/or drive out native species (species that live naturally in an ecosystem) FIRE ANTS- invasive species- accidentally introduced to North America from South America. They have few predators in NA & aggressively attack & kill many kinds of native plants & animals. They have upset the balance of ecosystems in many southern states.

STAAR Need to Know 31 Renewable

STAAR Need to Know 32 Non renewable

STAAR Need to Know 33 Inexhaustible