The state says you need to know the following
about the structure of the earth:
A student should know that:
A. NATURAL PROCESSES THAT CHANGE THE FEATURES
ON THE EARTH'S SURFACE INCLUDE EROSION, GLACIATION, WEATHERING, EARTHQUAKES,
AND VOLCANOES.
1. Dynamic forces change the
earth's surface by building up or wearing down.
2. New features on the earth's
crust are formed as a result of dynamic forces.
3. The earth's surface can
change abruptly as a result of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, or the
earth's surface can change more slowly as a result of
erosion, glaciation, and weathering.
4. Forces that uplift the
earth's surface include volcanism which forms mountains and volcanoes.
5. Forces that wear the earth's
surface down include weathering, glaciation and erosion. Features
formed as a result of these forces include soil and valleys.
6. Each of these changes has
an impact on people.
7. Fossils provide evidence
that life and environmental conditions have changed.
NOTES - THE STRUCTURE OF THE EARTH
As you go deeper into the earth the materials that the earth is made of change.
As you go deeper the density increases.
As you go deeper temperature and pressure increase, but at different rates.
The above factors interact, causing the earth to form layers.
Chemical makeup of the layers (what the earth is made of):
| Crust - outermost layer - its rocky silicate material contains
much aluminum. Thickness varies from 5 to 40 km.
Mantle - is about 2,900 km thick. Its dense rocky silicates contain much iron and magnesium. It makes up 82 % of the earth's volume and 68 % of its mass. Core - is about 3,500 km thick. The metals iron and nickel make up most of the core. It is very dense. It makes up 32 % of the earth's mass, but only 16 % of its volume. |
 |
| Lithosphere - outer zone. It is cool and rigid. It "floats"
on top of the asthenosphere. The lithosphere includes the crust and the
uppermost part of the mantle (from the chemical layers above.)
Asthenosphere - is soft and flowing, but not completely liquid. This condition is known as plasticity. It is in the mantle of the earth's chemical layers above. (Temperature - 1,300° C - 1,600° C) Convection (a circular flow of matter from a warmer to a cooler place) is happening in the asthenosphere. Mantle - is solid and rigid compared to the asthenosphere. The temperature is not high enough to overcome the high pressure. Temperature (1,600° C - 3,200° C) Outer Core - The temperature is very high and the outer core is liquid. Circulation of molten iron here is thought to be the source of earth's magnetic field. Temperature (3,200 ° C - 4,000° C) Inner Core - Even though the temperature is extremely high, the very high pressure keeps the inner core solid. Temperature (4000° C - 4,500° C) |
 |
The lithosphere includes the crust and the upper mantle.
The two layers of the crust are continental crust and oceanic crust.
Continental crust lies under continents. It varies in thickness. Is less dense than oceanic crust. Has a high percentage of silicon and oxygen, and is contains more aluminum. Rocks of this crust are granite and rhyolite.
Oceanic crust lies underneath oceans. Is more dense than continental crust. Has denser, darker rocks called basalt and gabbro. Some islands are made of oceanic crust (Hawaiian Islands, parts of Alaska, Iceland.)
Soils formed from the different rocks of oceanic and continental
crust can be very different.
Oceanic crust soil is less fertile.
 |
 |
You may wonder how scientists determine what the interior of the earth
is like. Here's how:
| Seismic Waves - shock waves from
an earthquake
Types of seismic Waves P waves - travel by back and forth movement of rock particles S waves - travel by up and down movement of rock particles. These waves do not go through liquids. L waves - when P and s waves arrive at the earth's surface, they become surface or L waves. (They do the most damage during an earthquake.) Rock density determines the speed at which a wave travels. The more dense the rock, the faster the speed of the seismic wave. Different densities of rock cause speed changes. Different densities of rock will also change the angle of a seismic wave. Andrija Mohorovicic found the boundary between the crust and the mantle. How ? At 30 to 35 km, seismic waves speeded up. He inferred that that meant the rocks got more dense and were probably different in their makeup. This boundary between the mantle and the core is called the MOHO. There is a zone a certain distance from an earthquake where no waves can be detected. This is the shadow zone caused by the earth's core. Meteorites are made of iron and nickel. The theory is that since meteorites are probably the remains of planets that have broken apart (most likely their cores), then earth's core is probably made of nickel and iron too. |
When waves do not get all the way through the earth, scientists can
infer that some of the earth's interior is liquid. If some of the
waves bend or refract, scientists can infer that there are different densities
within the earth.
Chapter 4.1 Notes (Earth's History)
How Old is the Earth?
Compare:
Age of Earth to a 24 hour day
If 4,600,000,000 years represents 24 hours, then your lifetime would equal a fraction of a second.
Compare:
4,6000,000,000 years to a 100m soccer field
(your lifetime would equal less than the thickness of 1 blade of grass)
Compare:
4,6000,000,000 years. Assign each of those years a letter.
If one letter represents each year, then your life equals one sentence, and 4,6000,000,000 years equals a library full of books.
Compare:
a million years
to your lifetime.
If your lifetime = 100 years, then a million years is 10,000 times as long as your lifetime.
4,6000,000,000
years is 4,600 times longer than 1 million.
GEOLOGIC TIME - the time scale of the history of the earth and its life.
Imagine this (true) newspaper headline:
The Freehold Daily News
Rocks Wear Down! Major Changes Happening on Earth's Surface!
(The wearing down process)
1. weathering - rock is broken down into smaller particles.
2. erosion - the particles are carried away by wind, waves, ice, water, gravity. the particles are called sediment.
(The building up process)
3. deposition - particles (sediment) are carried by erosion to low places. The buildup of sediment is deposition. This is a building is process.
Imagine this next headline:
NEW ROCK FORMING!
Sedimentary rock builds up layer by layer.
It gets heavier.
There is more pressure.
The sediments become ROCK (sedimentary rock.)
UPLIFT also changes earth's surface.
FOSSILS - traces of past life - can be:
1. remains (bones, teeth, shells, seeds)
2. remains that have been replaced by minerals in ground water
3. molds and casts in the shape of ________
EVOLUTION - the theory that states - inherited traits of a species change over time and new species arise.
We know that earth's surface and organisms have changed over time.
see fossil pictures here:
and
here and here
| Chapter 4.2 Notes (Geologic time scale)
Scientists have learned how to "read" the record of time that is preserved in the rocks. Rock Layering Layers of sedimentary rocks form one on top of the other. Older rocks are found under younger rocks. So going down into deeper layers of rock is like going back in time. This allows scientists to determine the relative age of rocks. (See picture of sedimentary rock) Relative age - We know a certain layer of rock is younger or older than another layer by comparing its position to other layers. Unconformities - a break in the layering of rock (see picture of an unconformity) Absolute age is determining the approximate age of rocks in years. The main method is through radiometric dating. (See chapter 13) Through absolute and relative dating, scientists have pieced together earth's history. Divisions of geologic time There are four large units ( ERAS ) of geologic time. Each era represents a major stage in earth's history. Paleozoic Era - 400 million years long. Plants and animals begin to live on land. This era ended with the extinction of many of its organisms. Mesozoic Era - The time of dinosaurs. Earth was warm and wet. This era ended when most dinosaurs died out. Cenozoic Era - From the end of the Mesozoic Era until today. Climate is cooler and drier. Humans have only been here for a small part of this era. The Periods are divided into Epochs. Science and Society - The earth is our clock. A day is the time it takes the earth to rotate on its axis. A year is the amount of time it takes the earth to revolve around the sun. The age of the earth is the total number of revolutions it has made around the sun. |
Chapter 13
Fossils tell scientists what kinds of organisms lived during each
period of geologic time. If you could travel back in time, the organisms
you would see would be very different than the ones we see now.
Species - a kind of organism; all the members have nearly the same traits
Theory of evolution - Darwin's theory says evolution is a
process by which species change over time.
(and species must have changed since fossil evidence
shows us that species have changed)
Natural selection - slight differences in traits make some individuals better able to survive than others. These individuals are better adapted to their environments. They are likely to survive and pass on their traits.
Extinction - dying out of species that cannot adapt to changes in the environment
Classification of organisms:
*There are 5 Kingdoms
Monerans - one cell, very simple structure (bacteria, algae)
Protists - not plants or animals; may be one celled. They are more complex than monerans.
(seaweed, protozoz)
Fungi - absorb nutrients from other organisms. (mushroom, yeast, mold)
Plants - many-celled, photosynthesis
Animals - many-celled, eat food
Fossils form when something dies and is protected from destructive forces... Usually sediments bury the organism.
Types of fossils:
Petrified - mineralied copies - bone is covered by sediment and matter is then dissolved away by
seeping water. Minerals replace the original matter. The bone remains have the same shape.
Molds, Casts, Imprints
Mold - matter dissolves away and leaves a mold
Imprint - mold of thin object - a leaf, for example
Cast - if matter fills the cavity (the mold) a cast is formed
Trace Fossil - footprints, tracks
Coprolites - waste materials which have become petrified
Unchanged - may be a frozen whole body or the actual bones that have not petried. For ex. - dinosaurs in the tarpits, the "ice man"
See some pictures of fossils here:and
here
| Interpreting fossils
I - the principle of superposition - means that younger rock layers form on top of older rock layers ("relative age dating") II - the layers of rock do not always stay where they form A - How rock layers can move and change
Precambrian
Humans only about the last 2 million years |
People have looked at the shaped of continents and noticed that they seem to fit together.
1912 - Alfred Wegener collects evidence and proposes the first theory of continental drift. He says that all the world's landmasses had once been joined in a giant supercontinent that he called Pangaea.
Pangaea began to split apart during the Mesozoic Era. Gondwanaland formed (in the south.) It later split into Africa, South America, Antarctica, India, Australia.
Laurasia formed (in the north.) It later split into North America, Europe, and Asia. India later collided with Asia. http://pubs.usgs.gov/publications/text/historical.html
Scientists believe the continents were once joined and that the continents' locations on the earth's surface have changed because:
Fossil evidence: New organisms appear in only one area. Several plants and animal species have been found on different continents. The organisms could not walk across the oceans and seeds are too heavy to have blown across the oceans. http://pubs.usgs.gov/publications/text/continents.html
Rock Evidence: Folded mountain ranges in South America and Africa line up. The mountain ranges are made of the same age and type of rock.
Glacier evidence: movement of ice age
glaciers makes sense only if the continents were once joined.
|
Convection occurs in the mantle. There are two models for this: 1) convection takes place in the asthenosphere 2) convection takes
place in the asthenosphere and
|
 |
Sonar provided scientists with topography of ocean floor. They mapped it and discovered underwater mountain ranges that formed one long ridge. This mid-ocean ridge had a deep valley running the length of its crest. http://pubs.usgs.gov/publications/text/baseball.html (see map of the mid-ocean ridge)
Rocks on the ocean bottom were younger than continental rock and rocks were youngest near the mid-ocean ridge.
Theory of Sea-floor Spreading - the mid-ocean ridge was a huge crack in the crust where the hot mantle pushed upward.
Pieces of the crust on each side of the crack move away from each other. Molten rock from the mantle wells up, forming new crust.
Old crust is being swallowed up in ocean
trenches at the same time so the ocean bottom is recycled every 300 million
years.
There are parallel magnetic stripes
on either side of the mid-ocean ridge. They show that the earth's magnetic
field reversed itself many times in the past.
New theory - Plate Tectonics: The lithosphere of the earth is divided into plates which are constantly moving.
Each plate is made up of crust and mantle.
There are two kinds of crust -
oceanic and continental.
Oceanic crust is dense, made of gabbro
and basalt.
Continental crust is less dense, made
of granite and rhyolite.
Continental plates - 6 continental plates - mostly continental crust - have one continent and some oceanic crust.
Oceanic plates - 1 major oceanic plate - made of entirely oceanic crust.
Plate boundary - where plates meet
Divergent
- plates move away from each other
Convergent
- where plates come together
Transform
- plates slide beside each other
Types of convergent boundaries:
Oceanic-oceanic: one oceanic
plate is pushed down under another. This is called subduction.
The melting plate causes volcanoes to form and creates a deep trench.
Oceanic-continental: the oceanic plate is denser and subducts (dives) under the continental plate. Mountain ranges with volcanoes form.
Continental - continental:
both plates have the same density so they fold, forming tall
mountains.
| Chapter 7
Earthquakes - movements of the earth's crust when plates shift
and release stored energy
Focus of an earthquake - where an earthquake actually begins. This may be below the earth's surface. Epicenter of an earthquake - the point on the earth's surface
directly above the focus.
Types of seismic waves: Primary (P) waves are longitudinal, arrive first Secondary (S) waves transverse, arrive next L waves (surface) when P and S waves get to the surface - they cause the most damage Seismographs detect seismic waves Richter and Mercalli Scales describe the strength of an earthquake. Earthquake zones- - near the edges of plate boundaries "Ring of Fire" extends nearly all the way around the Pacific Ocean Mid Atlantic Ridge - new ocean crust is being formed as the ocean floor spreads Mediterranean - Asian belt - plates are colliding, causing earthquakes. |
Volcanoes - when magma reaches the earth's surface, it is called lava. An eruption occurs when lava forces its way to the surface.
Active - erupted in the last century
Dormant - no eruption for hundreds of years
Extinct - no eruption in thousands of years
Parts of a volcano
Magma chamber - large pockets of magma underground
Pipe - long vertical crack through which magma moves
Vent - the opening through which the magma or lava
exits
Crater - hollowed out area surrounding the vent
Types of Volcanoes
Cinder cone volcanoes - form from explosive eruptions. Ash and debris build up around the vent. They are steep near the top, but their bases slope gently.
Shield volcanoes - have flat tops. Lava coming out of these is runny. As the lava cools it thickens and collects.
Composite volcanoes - have alternating layers
of debris and lava.
Areas of volcanic activity
The ring of fire, the oceanic ridge systems, hot spots
| The state says you need to know this about
water:
B. THE MOVEMENT OF WATER THROUGH AN ECOSYSTEM IS CALLED THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE. 1. Water goes through the process of evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and runoff. * 2. Water is a solvent. As it passes through the hydrologic cycle it dissolves minerals and gases and carries them to the oceans. 3. Living organisms remove, use, and return water to the atmosphere. 4. Fresh water, limited in supply, is essential for life and for most industrial processes. Rivers, lakes, and groundwater can be depleted or polluted, becoming unavailable or unsuitable for life. Properties of Water 1. Occurs in all three phases
2. It gains and loses energy slowly. 3. Its solid phase (ice) is less dense than its liquid phase. 4. Water is a polar molecule. (It has a slight electric charge) Its molecules tend to stick together. Surface tension occurs because water molecules attract each other. When a force pulls one molecule, others follow, like beads on a string. Water can dissolve many other substances. It is known as a universal solvent. Polar molecules are soluble in water. Non-polar molecules are not. The Water Cycle is the movement of water continuously from one place on earth to another. The sun's energy drives the water cycle. Water has three phases:
Phase changes:
condensation - gas to liquid
Precipitation - water falling from the atmosphere - collection,
underground water, rivers, streams, lakes.
Running water may cause weathering and erosion. Evaporation can happen at any time during the water cycle. It is important not to waste fresh water. Water is essential to all living things. Human beings are about 68% water. Humans and animals "cycle" water through their bodies. Photosynthesis - plants use light, water, and carbon dioxide to make sugars. Transpiration - water moves upward through a plant and exits into the air through tiny holes in leaves. People use water
Sources of water: wells, lakes, reservoirs, rivers, streams Our use of water is part of the water cycle. Properties of ocean water Chemical properties of ocean water Low salinity in areas where large rivers flow into the ocean, mixing fresh water or in areas of high rainfall or melting ice. Temperature - warm
surface waters
Notes (Ocean Currents) Current – a flow of water moving through the ocean.
Currents flow horizontally, vertically, near
Surface currents – are driven by winds blowing over the ocean’s
surface. The path of the winds
Winds blowing toward the poles curve eastward. Winds blowing toward the equator curve westward. Gyre - circular pattern of surface currents. In the Northern
Hemisphere, they flow clockwise. In
Deep currents – do not generally mix with surface currents.
They flow from the poles toward the
Upwelling – the upward movement of deep water near the coasts. Fish are plentiful here. Shoreline currents – near the shore, travel short distances
NOTES (Tides) *Matter exerts a gravitational pull on other matter. *The sun and the moon exert a gravitational pull on the earth. *Liquid water shows the effects of this gravitational pull more than the solid earth. *The ocean surface rises and falls because of the gravitational pull. *These daily changes in water level are called tides. *High tide – the highest level that ocean water reaches on shore. *Low tide – the lowest level that ocean water reaches on shore. Tide Patterns – repeat every 24 hours and 50 minutes. #Semidiurnal tides – two high tides, two low tides #Diurnal tides – one high tide, one low tide #Mixed tides – have a mix of diurnal and semidiurnal patterns Monthly tide patterns Spring tides – occur twice each month. Spring tides have the greatest difference between high and low tides. Neap tides – have the least difference between high and low tides. |
Notes - (The Atmosphere)
What is air made of? (Composition of air)
Nitrogen 78% (essential for life)
Oxygen 21% (essential for life)
Carbon dioxide 0.03% (essential for plant life)
Water vapor (from 0% to 4%)
Argon 0.9%
Trace gases (neon, helium)
The Oxygen - Carbon Dioxide Cycle - a cycle which keeps the total amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide the same.
Plants * convert carbon dioxide to oxygen and carbon through photosyntesis
* dead plants decompose, returning carbon to the earth
* if plants burn, carbon dioxide is released.
Animals * animals breathe in oxygen and release carbon dioxide
* dead animals decay, returning carbon to the earth
Fossil fuels * dead plants that did not decompose (this takes millions
of years) and become fossil fuels- coal oil, natural gas. When we
burn these, they add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
The Nitrogen Cycle - a cycle that keeps the amount of nitrogen on earth the same.
The nitrogen in the air can't be used directly by most organisms.
* Lightning converts nitrogen to compounds that are brought to earth by rain
* Bacteria living in plant roots remove nitrogen from air and release it to the soil
* Bacteria in soil help decay dead organisms and when they do this, they produce nitrogen.
* When coal or gas is burned, nitric oxides are
released to the air.
| Air density - Air is matter. Air has density. Density
is affected by gravity. Gravity decreases as you go
higher. Density of the air decreases too. Temperature also affects density. Cold air is more dense than warm air. Air pressure - * warm air is less dense and exerts less pressure.
Heat transfer -
Convection - The transfer of heat in a gas or a liquid. Heated air rises, then cools. It sinks forming a convection cell. Uneven heating of the earth between the poles and the equator sets up large convection cells in the atmosphere. Radiation - Energy that travels through empty space. The earth receives radiant energy from the sun. Some of the radiant energy is absorbed by the atmosphere. Some is reflected back into space. It is important to protect your skin from absorbing too much of the sun's radiant energy. Use sunscreen, wear protective clothing, stay out of the sun between 10:00 A.M. and 3:00 P.M. |
Chapter 17.3 Notes (The Changing Atmosphere)
The Origin of the Atmosphere
The early atmosphere of the earth contained
mainly carbon dioxide. It was probably formed by volcanicactivity.
(Volcanoes spewed carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrogen.) Earth's
core cooled
a bit, volcanic activity slowed down,
water vaporcondensed 
clouds, rivers, lakes form. Primitive plants produce oxygen during
photosynthesis. Less
carbon dixide, more oxygen meant the earth could cool down.
The Current Atmosphere (Today)
Today's atmosphere is made up of mainly
nitrogen (78%) and oxygen (21%) There are 3 other
gases which are very important even
though their concentration is low:
*carbon dioxide
- needed by plants, needed to keep air temperature
comfortable by absorbing outgoing solar radiation
*Ozone - protects
organisms from harmful ultraviolet radiation
*Water vapor - plants
and rely on water to sustain life
Problems in today's atmosphere
Smog - pollution formed from the burining
of fossil fuels (gasoline, coal)
The pollution may combine with moisture to form a haze or the
pollution may react with sunlight to form a haze. Smog causes
health problems - headaches, respiratory problems.
Greenhouse effect - When heat is trapped
in the earth's atmosphere by
carbon dioxide. Without the greenhouse effect the earth would
freeze, but today there is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
The atmosphere absorbs more heat and people are concerned
concerned about global warming. This could change life on
earth.
Ozone depletion - ozone in the stratosphere
protects organisms from
harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun. Some ultraviolet radiation is
necessary, but too much can cause skin cancer, cataracts, ...
An ozone hole was discovered. It is thought to be caused by the
release of chloroflorocarbons (aerosol cans, air conditioners,
styroChapter 19.1 (Air in Motion)
Weather occurs in the layer of earth directly above the earth's atmosphere (the TROPOSPHERE.)
The state wants you to know that:
Uneven heating
of the earth's surface produces weather systems.
The cycling
of water in and out of the atmosphere plays an important role in determining
weather and climate.
Ocean currents
affect local and global weather conditions.
A weather map
can be used to predict temperature and precipitation for several days in
a given area.
Check out this weather mini lesson: https://www.angelfire.com/nj/PflommScience/temperature1.html
Water vapor enters the air when liquid evaporates. The water vapor is
invisible, but when the air contains a lot of water vapor, particles condense
to form droplets when air is cooled. the amount of water vapor in
the air is called humidity.
Warm air can hold much more water than cool air.
Clouds form by surface heating and convection. The sun heats an area of the ground, the ground heats the air above it, this air becomes less dense as molecules move farther apart, the warm air rises in a column, it begins to cool in the troposphere and condense to form a cloud. When moisture falls from a cloud to the ground we have precipitaion. (rain, snow, sleet, freezing rain, hail)
Air Masses
When a large amount of air sits over
one location an air mass with certain characteristics forms.
Polar
Continental - forms over cold, dry land. (During winter they form
over Canada.)(produce cold, dry weather)
Maritime - forms over cold polar oceans (produce cold,
wet weather)
Tropical
Continental - forms over hot, dry land areas (causes hot dry weather)
Maritime - forms over a warm body of water. (cause
warm, humid weather with rain rain and maybe thunderstorms)
Equatorial - forms near the earth's equator (hot)
Arctic - forms near the North Pole (cold)
____________________________________________________________________________
FRONTS - the boundary where
two air masses come together
Collisions of the air masses at these
boundaries cause WEATHER CHANGES.
Cold front
- a cold air mass pushes away a warm, moist air mass. These move
quickly and produce
wind and rain. Thunderstorms are common.
Warm front
- a warm air mass creeps over a cold air mass. Cloudy skies with
rain
or snow develop.
Stationary fronts
- two nonmoving air masses
Occluded fronts
- a warm front with a cold air mass ahead of it and behind it
Air has pressure. Colder air exerts more presssure than warmer air. (remember molecules move apart in warmer air)
Different pressure in different types of air masses cause movement of the air mass. Do you remember "Science in Your Bathroom" from sixth grade? A shower curtain will blow in toward you because warm air in the shower is rising, so cooler air from outside rushes in.
So differences in air pressure can cause winds.
Temperature differences occur because the sun heats the earth's surface
unevenly.
Temperature differences lead to pressure differences.
Think back to sixth grade again and remember the spinning cardboard. You spun cardboard on a pencil point and tried to draw a straight line with a ruler. You did not get a straight line, but a curved line. The earth's rotation causes wind to move in circular pattern.
Weather prediction https://www.angelfire.com/nj/PflommScience/temperature1.html
Causes of Climate
1) Latitude - As latitude increases (gets closer to the poles) the sun's rays strike at more of an angle.
2) Altitude - As altitude increases less air presses down on earth's surface. Particles of air spread farther apart, and the air is less dense. Less dense air cannot hold as much heat so the temperature decreases.
3) Distance from the ocean - water heats up and cools
down more slowly than land. So coastal areas have more "moderate"
temperatures. Inland, far from oceans the land heats up and cools
down quickly so there are hot summers and cold winters inland.
Ocean currents can also carry currents of warm or
cool water - these cool or warm currents can warm(or cool) the air above
them.foam, ...)
People Can Help
The Clean Air Act - sets standards for
cars, factories, ... about the amounts
of pollutants that can be released into the air.
Ozone - 112 nations have united and have agreed to stop using chloroflorocarbons.
You can help - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle;
conserve energy; use ozone safe
products.
| Chapter 19 - Weather Text page 438 |
Earth's Rotation
As the earth revolves around the sun it is spinning or rotating like a top. It spins around an imaginary line called its axis. The earth makes one complete rotation in 23 hours and 56 minutes.
Earth's Revolution
Earth revolves once around the sun in
about 365 days (one year.) The path it follows is known as its orbit.
During its elliptical orbit, its distance from the sun changes. The
closest point is earth's
perihelion. The farthest
point is its aphelion.
Seasons
Because of the tilt of the earth's axis
(23.5°), the amount of sunlight falling on a region of the earth changes
throughout the year.
 |
 |
 |
Solstices and Equinoxes
zenith - highest point in the sky, directly
overhead
solstice - when the noon sun is directly
overhead
equinox - when the noon sun is directly
over the equator
(See web lesson)http://vortex.plymouth.edu/sun.html
or http://vortex.plymouth.edu/sun/sun.html
| Chapter 23.2 (Earth's Moon)
The moon is the earth's only natural
satellite. It has almost no atmosphere, no weather, no water,
Moon has an elliptical orbit around
the earth. the gravity of the earth and the moon pull on each other.
The moon rotates once on its axis every
27.3 days
Chapter 23.3 (The Earth - Moon System)
The moon is visible from
earth because sunlight reflects off its surface.
Refer to page 551 and
your classnotes for pictures of the moon's phases.
Eclipses of the moon When one planet passes
between the sun and the other planet it casts a
Tides - changes
in ocean levels caused by moon's gravitational pull
Highest high tides and
lowest low tides occur when earth, moon and sun
Lowest high tides and
highest low tides occur when sun, moon and
|
C. TECHNOLOGY IS APPLIED TO SPACE EXPLORATION
1. Space program development
include unmanned probes, manned probes, manned spacecraft, telescopes,
and weather, communications and earth survey satellites which are used
by scientists to explore the universe.
2. Space program developments
have provided a variety of products that can be used in daily life such
as freezer to oven ceramic dishes, cordless drills, football masks equipped
with radios, rechargeable cardiac pacemakers, hang gliders, and food processing
methods.
THE STUDENT SHOULD BE ABLE TO:
The sun is a star. It is the center of our solar system.
Look up the planets in UXL Science or
Inner planets:
The four inner planets have common features: core of nickel and iron;
rocky mantle, crust
They also have their differences:
Mercury - hot during the day, frozen at night
Venus - rotates in the opposite direction of the other planets
Earth - has oxygen in its atmosphere
Mars - has the tallest mountain and deepest canyon
Outer planets:
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto
First four are mostly gas, have numerous moons, have rings
Pluto is more like a moon
Asteroids - irregularly
shaped, large bodies - like small planets
Asteroid belt
- between Mars and Jupiter
About 2000 asteroids
cross earth's orbit at times. Every million years or so, an asteroid
collides with the earth.
Meteoroid - large
chunk of rock or metal in orbit around the sun (smaller than an asteroid)
Meteor -
the light that results when a meteoroid enters earth's atmosphere
Meteorite
- when a meteoroid does not completely burn up, it is called a meteorite
Comets - icy object
that orbits the sun in a huge elliptical orbit
| ECOLOGY / ENVIRONMENT
FOR THE GEPA: A STUDENT SHOULD KNOW THAT: A. PERSONAL AND SOCIETAL ACTIVITIES IMPACE
THE ENVIRONMENT
B. HUMAN PRACTICE AFFECTS THE USE AND MANAGEMENT
OF NATURAL RESOURCES.
C. INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS MAY HAVE DIFFERING POINTS OF VIEW ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES. D. IN AN ECOSYSTEM, LIVING COMMUNITIES AND
THEIR PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT FUNCTION TOGETHER AS AN INTERDEPENDENT AND RELATIVELY
STABLE SYSTEM.
THE STUDENT SHOULD BE ABLE TO:
Infer possible causes of environmental damage.
Our Environment - everything around us (air, water, minerals, organisms,
energy) is related through cycles and interactions.
How do humans interfere with the nitogen cycle? Carbon dioxide oxygen cycle, water cycle? Endangered species - Losing even one species affects other organisms because many different organisms affect an ecosystem
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Phases
of the Moon