Unit 3 Lesson 1 Earth’s Spheres
Florida Benchmarks
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• SC.6.E.7.4 Differentiate and show interactions among the geosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, atmosphere and biosphere.
• MA.6.A.3.6 Construct and analyze tables, graphs, and equations to describe linear functions and other simple relations using both common language and algebraic notation.
What on Earth?
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What is the Earth system?
• A system is a group of related objects or parts that work together to form a whole.
• The Earth system is all of the matter, energy, and processes within Earth’s boundary.
• Earth is a complex system full of living and nonliving things and the matter and energy that continuously cycle through the smaller systems.
Unit 3 Lesson 1 Earth’s Spheres
What is the Earth system?
• The geosphere is the mostly solid, rocky part of Earth. It extends from the center of Earth to the surface of Earth.
• The crust is the thin, outermost layer of the geosphere.
• Oceanic crust is 5 to 10 km thick. Continental crust is 15 to 70 km thick.
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Unit 3 Lesson 1 Earth’s Spheres
What is the Earth system?
• The mantle is below the crust. It is about
2,900 km thick.
• A small layer of solid mantle, right below the crust, flows and causes movement of the plates of the crust.
• The core of Earth has a radius of about 3,900 km. It is made of iron and nickel.
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Unit 3 Lesson 1 Earth’s Spheres
What is the Earth system?
• Describe the characteristics of the layers of Earth.
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Unit 3 Lesson 1 Earth’s Spheres
Got Water?
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What is the hydrosphere?
• The hydrosphere is the part of Earth that is liquid water.
• Oceans, lakes, rivers, marshes, and groundwater are part of the hydrosphere.
• Water is constantly moving through Earth and even into and out of living things.
Unit 3 Lesson 1 Earth’s Spheres
What is the cryosphere?
• The cryosphere is made up of all of the frozen water on Earth.
• Snow, ice, sea ice, glaciers, ice shelves, icebergs, and frozen ground are all part of the cryosphere.
• Changes in the cryosphere can play an important role in Earth’s climate and species’ survival.
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Unit 3 Lesson 1 Earth’s Spheres
What a Gas!
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What is the atmosphere?
• The atmosphere is a mixture of mostly invisible gases that surrounds Earth.
• About 78 percent of the atmosphere is nitrogen. Oxygen makes up 21 percent of the atmosphere.
Unit 3 Lesson 1 Earth’s Spheres
What is the atmosphere?
• Other gases in the atmosphere include argon, carbon dioxide, and water vapor.
• Some of the energy from the sun is trapped by Earth’s atmosphere, which helps keep temperatures high.
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Unit 3 Lesson 1 Earth’s Spheres
What is the atmosphere?
• Part of the atmosphere absorbs and reflects harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun.
• Other parts of the atmosphere cause space debris to burn up before reaching Earth’s surface.
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Unit 3 Lesson 1 Earth’s Spheres
What is the biosphere?
• The biosphere is made up of living things and the areas of Earth where they are found.
• Organisms usually need oxygen or carbon dioxide to carry out life processes.
• Liquid water, moderate temperatures, and a stable source of energy are also important for most living things.
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Unit 3 Lesson 1 Earth’s Spheres
What’s the Matter?
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How do Earth’s spheres interact?
• All of the five spheres of Earth interact as matter and energy change and cycle through the system.
• If matter or energy never changed from one form to another, life on Earth would not be possible.
Unit 3 Lesson 1 Earth’s Spheres
How do Earth’s spheres interact?
• Matter moves between Earth’s spheres.
• Sometimes, matter moves through many spheres before returning to a sphere.
• Energy moves between spheres. Energy also moves back and forth between spheres.
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Unit 3 Lesson 1 Earth’s Spheres
How do Earth’s spheres interact?
• How many of the parts of the Earth system can you identify in this image? How do they interact?
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Unit 3 Lesson 1 Earth’s Spheres