Printed on 9/9/2014

1

Lesson 101:

INTRODUCTION TO EARTH SCIENCE Earth Scientists study the origin, structure, and phenomena of the planet Earth. This lesson introduces students

to the main branches of Earth Science: Astronomy, Meteorology, Oceanography, and Geology.

Fundamental Questions

Attempting to give thorough and reasonable answers to the following questions will help you gauge your level of understanding this lesson. Students that can confidently answer these questions have mastered the concepts of this lesson.

1. Why is it important to learn about the Earth? 2. Why does the Earth’s history matter to humans? 3. Which branch of Earth Science is the most important?

4. How can studying the history of the universe save us from extinction?

5. Are humans important to Earth? 6. How can we be sure of the Earth's age?

Lesson Objectives

At the end of this lesson, students should have mastered the objectives listed below.

1. Students can list and describe the four branches of Earth Science. 2. Students gain an appreciation for how old the Earth and the Universe are. 3. Students are able to compare human history to Earth’s history. 4. Students understand the basic history of Earth. 5. Students can construct a timeline to visually show when significant events happened in Earth’s history. 6. Students begin to understand the “limitations” of science. 7. Students recognize the importance that Earth Science plays in our everyday lives. 8. Students summarize some of the relationships between people and the natural environment.

Important Terms

The following terms are some of the vocabulary that students should be familiar with in order to fully master this lesson.

1. four branches 2. astro- 3. astronomy 4. meteor- 5. meteorology 6. oceanography 7. geo-

8. geology 9. atmos- 10. atmosphere 11. hydro- 12. hydrosphere 13. lithos- 14. lithosphere

15. bio- 16. biosphere 17. Big Bang 18. age of Earth 19. age of Universe 20. ecology

Assessment Questions

The following are examples of questions that students should be able to answer. These or similar questions are likely to appear on the exam.

1. How old is the Earth? 2. How old is the Universe estimated to be? 3. What does a geologist study? 4. Name and briefly describe the branches of Earth

Science. 5. Identify the branch(es) of Earth Science shown in

each photo. 6. What have humans gained by studying

meteorology? 7. What have humans gained by studying

astronomy? 8. What have humans gained by studying geology?

9. When did modern humans like you come into existence?

10. * What percentage of the Earth's history have modern humans been in existence for?

11. * What percentage of the Universe's history has the Earth been in existence for?

12. List 5 phenomena that are related to Earth Science and could be considered natural hazards.

13. * What technique is used to determine the age of the Earth?

Related Web Sites

The following are some web sites that are related to this lesson. You are encouraged to check out these sites to obtain additional information.

1. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/earth-sciences/ 2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T20RT0GgOB4 3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_earth_science

2

4. http://science.pppst.com/geology.html 5. http://www.earthsciweek.org/seed/introduction.html 6. http://geology.com/articles/what-is-earth-science.shtml

Related Book Pages

The following are the pages from your book that correspond to this lesson.

Comprehensive E.S. Book Intensive/Honors E.S. Book Meteorology/GIS Book

pp. 2-10 pp. 4-10 NA

Massachusetts Standards

The following are the Massachusetts Framework Standards that correspond to this lesson.

Earth Science Learning Standard(s) 4.3

What’s Next?

Notes

I. INTRODUCTION TO EARTH SCIENCE

A. The Four Branches of Earth Science:

1. ________________ – study of stars, planets, asteroids, and all other objects in space (__________- means “star”)

2. ____________________ – study of the Earth’s atmosphere, weather, and climate (_______ means “from the sky”)

3. ________________ – study of Earth’s oceans

4. __________ – study of Earth’s structure and history (_______- means “earth”)

B. There are four Earth systems that are studied by scientists: 1. _____________ – blanket of gases that

surrounds Earth (_____- means “vapor”) 2. ____________ – all the water in Earth’s oceans,

lakes, seas, rivers, glaciers, and atmosphere (_____- means “water”)

3. ____________ – Earth’s rigid outer shell that includes the rocky crust and solid upper mantle (________- means “rock”)

4. _________________ – all of the Earth’s organisms and the environments in which they live (______- means “life”)

C. Ages of Existence 1. The approximate age of the Earth is

______________ years old. 2. The approximate age of the universe is

______________ years old. 3. Life is believed to have originated on Earth

______________ years ago.

Timeline 1

A. First IPOD (2001)

B. The Year You Were Born (?) Timeline 4

C. MTV Launched (1981) O. Modern Humans (100 kya)

D. Moon Walk (1969) P. Earliest Human Ancestors (3.9 mya)

E. Einstein Died (1955)

F. End of WWII (1945) Timeline 5

G. Great Depression (1929) P. Earliest Human Ancestors (3.9 mya)

H. Titanic Sank (1912) Q. Dinosaur Extinction (65 mya)

R. Dinosaurs Evolve (250 mya)

Timeline 2

H. Titanic Sank (1912) Timeline 6

I. Independence Day (1776) R. Dinosaurs Evolve (250 mya)

J. Telescope Invented (1609) S. First Life (3.5 bya)

K. Fall of Rome (476 AD) T. Earth Forms (4.54 bya)

L. Rise of Rome (510 BC)

M. Egypt (3000 BC) Timeline 7

R. Dinosaurs Evolve (250 mya)

Timeline 3 S. First Life (3.5 bya)

L. Rise of Rome (510 BC) T. Earth Forms (4.54 bya)

N. First Civilizations (6 kya) U. The Big Bang (13.82 bya)

O. Modern Humans (100 kya)

TIMELINES OF EXISTENCEThere are 7 timelines of historical events listed below. Place the events on the appropriate

timeline found on the back of this page. Place a "tick mark" on the timeline where the event

happend and label the letter (A-U) that goes with each event. Be sure to use a pencil,

because it is easy to make mistakes.

Abbreviations:

k.y.a. = thousand years ago

m.y.a. = million years ago

b.y.a. = billion years ago

4 b.y.a. Today

There are 7 timelines below. Place a "tick mark" on the timeline where the events listed on the back of this page happend and label the letter (A-U) that

goes with each event. Be sure to use a pencil, because it is easy to make mistakes.

Abbreviations:

k.y.a. = thousand years ago

m.y.a. = million years ago

b.y.a. = billion years ago

20 b.y.a. 16 b.y.a. 12 b.y.a. 8 b.y.a

100 m.y.a. Today

5 b.y.a. 4 b.y.a. 3 b.y.a. 2 b.y.a 1 b.y.a. Today

500 m.y.a. 400 m.y.a. 300 m.y.a. 200 m.y.a

20 k.y.a. Today60 k.y.a. 40 k.y.a

5 m.y.a. 4 m.y.a. 3 m.y.a. 2 m.y.a 1 m.y.a. Today

100 k.y.a. 80 k.y.a.

5000 y.a. 4000 y.a. 3000 y.a. 2000 y.a 1000 y.a. Today

TIMELINES OF EXISTENCE

100 y.a. 80 y.a. 60 y.a. 40 y.a 20 y.a. Today