1. The Planet Earth

2. Warm-Up Display High & Lowest points of Earth from digital text 1 mile = 5,280 ft.

3. In what physical system does Earth exist? Earth is part of a large physical system containing countless objects, all of which revolve around the sun. Eight spheres, called planets, are the largest objects in the solar system. Terrestrial planets have solid, rocky crusts; these four inner planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. Gas giant planets are more gaseous and less dense then the other planets; these four outer planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Explain why Earth’s position in the solar system makes it ideal to sustain human life.

4. Critical Thinking – Answer these questions What prevents most asteroids, comets, and meteoroids from colliding with Earth? Why might the planetary system that contains Earth be called the solar system? What is a system and how does it apply to the solar system?

5. The Planets Create a chart to compare and contrast the planets. Use the following headings: Name, Size, Type, Moons (number of), and Other Features. Use digital text & NASA website

6. Answer these questions… How are the four terrestrial planets alike? How are they different from each other? How are the four outer gas giant planets alike? Which planets are more dense? Why?

7. How does the biosphere support life on Earth? The atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere form the biosphere, the part of Earth that supports life for all people, animals, and plants. Atmosphere is a thin layer of gases that surround Earth and contains the air we breathe. Hydrosphere includes the liquid and frozen surface water, groundwater, and water vapor in and around oceans, lakes, and rivers on Earth. Lithosphere is the land or surface areas on Earth, including the continents, islands, and ocean basins.

8. Atmosphere

9. Hydrosphere

10. Lithosphere

11. Biosphere

12. The Spheres of Earth

13. Changing Landscapes video A relationship exists between climate and landscape. A change in Earth’s climate can cause a change in Earth’s landscape.

14. Earth is the only habitable planet as far as the scientific community is concerned and that humans and other living things exist because of the unique layers found in and above Earth. What organisms might live in the hydrosphere? What are the key resources provided by each layer that make life on Earth possible?

15. Answers Fish and whales live in the hydrosphere. atmosphere—air to breathe; hydrosphere—water to drink, water for plants, a home for fish and other aquatic organisms; lithosphere—food to eat, resources for shelter. The atmosphere and hydrosphere interact to create our climate

16. Forces of Change How is Earth’s structure related to the creation of continents, oceans, and mountain ranges? For millions of years, the surface of the Earth has been moving. The Earth is composed of three layers—the core at Earth’s center, the mantle layer of dense rock on the outer core, and the crust forming Earth’s surface. Many scientists believe Earth was once a single land mass called Pangaea, but then continental drift slowly spread the continents apart. Plate tectonics describes the activities of continental drift and magma flow; referring to the physical processes that create and shape continents, islands, oceans, and mountain ranges.

17. Forces of Change

19. Forces of Change - Pangea

20. Plate Tectonics

22. Continental Shelf

23. Forces of Change Death Valley video

24. How does plate tectonics affect Earth’s surface? Mountains are formed when Earth’s giant continental and oceanic plates collide. Moving plates sometimes cause Earth’s surface to buckle forming folds; in other cases the moving plates cause cracks in Earth's surface called faults. Violent movements of Earth’s crust along fault lines are called earthquakes, which dramatically change the surface of the land and the floor of the ocean. Volcanoes are mountains formed by lava or magma that breaks Earth’s surface.

25. Accretion – Plate Tectonics

26. Mountain Formation

27. Volcanoes

28. What external forces shape Earth’s surface? Wind and water break down the Earth’s surface through weathering and erosion. Physical weathering happens when large masses of rock are broken down into smaller pieces. Glaciers are large bodies of ice that move across the Earth’s surface, changing the landscape as they flow. Soil building takes thousands of years of weathering, erosion, and biological activity and is influenced by five factors; climate, topography, geology, biology, and time.

29. Erosion

30. Physical Weathering

31. Glaciers