EE Chapter 1 "Planet Earth"

Planet EarthChapter 1

1.1 Planet of Life

• Living things are called organisms.

• Lithosphere – Layer of land that forms Earth’s surface.

• Hydrosphere – All the parts of Earth that are made up of water.

• Atmosphere – Layer of air that surrounds Earth.

1.1 Planet of Life

• Earth supports life due to the presence of liquid water.

• Earth maintains a steady surface temperature due to the heat being absorbed in the summer and released in the winter through water.

• Planets are characterized by composition, density, and distance from the sun.

1.1 Planet of Life

• Air is a mixture of many gases.– N, O, CO2, and WV are the most common.

• Heat transfer through conduction, convection, and radiation.

• The interactions among nonliving and living parts of the Earth are the subject of ecology.

Why is the sky blue?

• A clear cloudless day-time sky is blue because molecules in the air scatter blue light from the sun more than they scatter red light.  When we look towards the sun at sunset, we see red and orange colors because the blue light has been scattered out and away from the line of sight.

1.2 Earth’s Land and Water

• Lithosphere

• 3 Main rock types:– Sedimentary, Igneous, and Metamorphic

• Majority of rock is Igneous, however the rocks that we are in contact with are Sedimentary for the most part.

• Major Minerals – Silicates

Examples of rocks that would form from lava include basalt, obsidian, scoria, and pumice.

1.2 Earth’s Land and Water

• Hydrosphere• More than 70% of Earth is covered in water.

– 97% Salt and 3% Fresh

• 2/3 or 66% of Freshwater is in our ice caps.• As our ice caps melt our freshwater

decreases and our saltwater increases.• Surface water – ponds, lakes, and streams• Groundwater - aquifers

1.2 Earth’s Land and Water

• Aquifer – an underground layer of porous rock that contains water.

• Artesian Well – Wells in which water flows to the surface due to high pressure underground.

• Projections have shown that natural freshwater will disappear within 40 years.

• Wells do not replenish as they once did due to personal demand and the amount of pavement.

1.3 The Atmosphere

• 4 Atmospheric layers based on temperature change.

• Troposphere – Most weather, Ours!• Stratosphere – Ozone Layer• Mesosphere – Coldest Layer• Thermosphere – Warmest Layer• The atmosphere becomes less dense the

farther you travel from Earth.

1.3 The Atmosphere

• US winds blow from the west to the east.

• 78% N and 21% O with the remaining 1% coming from Dust, WV, CO2, and other gases.

• Ozone – O3, oxygen gas that blocks UV rays.

• Ionosphere – Layer within the Thermosphere where charged particles react producing colorful displays of light called an Aurora.

1.4 The Biosphere

• All the parts of Earth that support and contain life.

• Biosphere = the thickness of an apple’s skin. 20 km or 12.4 miles

• Limiting Factors (Temperature, Oxygen, Depth, Sunlight, Pressure, and Food)

Carbon Dioxide Cycle