1. Section1- Earth: A Unique Planet Section 2- Energy in the Earth System Section 3- Ecology

2.  Third Planet from the sun  Made mostly of rock  ~71% of Earth’s surface covered by water  Global ocean  Oblate Spheroid

3.  3 major compositional zones  5 major structural zones

4.  Crust  Mantle  Core

5.  Lithosphere  Asthenosphere  Mesosphere

7.  Two magnetic poles  North and South  Extends beyond the atmosphere  Affects the Magnetosphere

8.  Gravity  Isaac Newton  Law of gravitation

9.  Weight is a measure of the strength of the pull of gravity on an object  Mass of an object does not change with location, but the weight of an object does

10.  Weight varies according to location on Earth’s location on Earth’s surface

11. System The operation of the Earth’s system is a result of interaction between two most basic components of the universe  Matter  Energy

12.  Closed- A system in which energy, but not matter, is exchanged with the surroundings  Open- A system in which both energy and matter are exchanged with the surroundings

13.  Open  However, very limited amounts of matter are exchanged

14.  Matter on Earth is in solid, liquid, and gaseous states  4 spheres that are storehouses of all of the planet’s matter are:  Atmosphere  Hydrosphere  Geosphere  Biosphere

16.  First Law of Thermodynamics  Energy is transferred between systems  It cannot be created or destroyed  Second Law of Thermodynamics  When energy transfer takes place, matter becomes less organized with time

17.  Earth’s Interior  Decay of radioactive atoms generates heat to keep the interior hot  Sun  Solar radiation warms Earth’s Atmosphere and surface

18.  The Nitrogen Cycle  Nitrogen must be “fixed”  The Carbon Cycle  Short Term Cycle  Long Term Cycle  The Phosphorus Cycle  Moves through every sphere but the atmosphere  It is rarely a gas  The Water Cycle  Precipitation  Evaporation  Condensation

19.  Ecology  The study of the complex relationships between living things and their nonliving, or abiotic, environment

20.  Ecosystem  Each ecosystem on Earth is distinct  Self-supporting  Producers  Consumers  Decomposers

21.  The Earth is what type of System?  Open, but with limited amount of matter and energy exchange  Organisms use energy and matter  These are limited  Populations growth inside a ecosystem is limited as well  Carry Capacity  The largest population that an environment can support at any given time

22.  Changes in any one part of an ecosystem may affect the entire system  Environmental change  Forest Fire  great damage and disruption  Grass and fast-growing plants  shrubs and small animal species  larger tree species and larger animals  These will return to balance the ecosystem

23.  Sun  Ultimate source of energy  Photosynthesis  How plants capture solar energy through a chemical process  Food Chain  Food Web