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Objectives Outline Chap 1.1 Chap 1.2 Chap 1.3 Chap 1.4
Planet Earth A.
Textbook 1) Table of Contents 2) Division of Units and Semesters a) In addition to the normal end-of-chapter tests, there will be tests given when units are completed. b) Unit 1 Test will include Chapters 1, 2, and 3. 3) Glossary 4) Atlas 5) Index B. Environmental Science: The study of the complex interactions of human populations with matter, energy, and other life forms. 1) A composite science that incorporates science, math, social studies, English, medicine, economics, political science, geography, and sociology.
A.
Unique among planets. 1. Earth is one of the nine planets in the solar system 2. Mnemonic Sentence to remember planets in order:
My Very Eager Mother Just Sold Us Nine Pizzas Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto
3. Four inner planets and Pluto are composed of rock. 4. Other planets are composed of gases. B.
Unique Earth 1. Moderate temperature changes (ave. » 30 F during 1 day) 2. Contains lots of water. 3. Has an atmosphere with high oxygen content. 4. Earth is the only planet that supports living organisms. a. Organisms: Living things. b. Earth is the only planet with a biosphere. 1) Biosphere: Regions of the Earth that support and contain life. C.
Divisions of the Earth: 1. Lithosphere: the layer of land that forms the Earth's surface. 2. Hydrosphere: includes all parts of the Earth that are made up of water. 3. Atmosphere: the layer of gases that surrounds Earth. D.
Essentials of Life: 1. Water a. Found on other planets only as ice or water vapor. b. On Earth water is primarily liquid. Water has unique properties that make life possible. 1) Heat Capacity: Water is able to absorb and release a tremendous amount of heat energy. This is why the Earth has a lot more stable surface temperature range than the other planets or the moon. 2) Universal Solvent: Water is able to dissolve a great number of materials. Organisms use this to transport materials and to provide a medium for chemical reactions to take place. a) Solvent: Dissolves materials. 3) Density of Water: Water's highest density is a 4C. This is why ice floats on water. This is fairly unique of water. Most materials become more dense when they are solids. If this were not the case lakes and oceans would freeze from the bottom up. 2. Atmosphere: If the world were the size of a basketball, the atmosphere would be the thickness of a sheet of paper. a. 80% Nitrogen (N2) and 20% Oxygen (O2). b. The atmosphere also helps maintain surface temperatures. c. Organisms use the gases to live. Mammals need oxygen and plants need carbon dioxide. The atmosphere also provides water vapor for some organisms. d. The atmosphere allows the water cycle to occur. 3. Energy: a. All living organisms need energy to live. 1) Could be in the form of food. 2) Could be the energy from the light of the sun. 3) Directly or indirectly, 99.99% of all of Earth's energy comes from the sun. b. Solar Energy 1) The sun transmits energy to the Earth in the form of light. 2) Each type of light has different wavelengths. 3) Most wavelengths of light are invisible to man a) The visible portion of light is tiny compared to the entire spectrum. This is called the visible spectrum. b) Infrared is the type of light that transmits heat energy. 4. Shelter: Organisms need a place to live. E. Ecology: the study of the interactions among nonliving and living parts of the Earth. 1. Root of Ecology is Greek word oikos: means home 2. ending –ogy means study. 3. Literally ecology means study of home.
Lithosphere: The layer of land that forms the Earth's surface. The Lithosphere varies in thickness from about 10 to 200 kilometers. It is formed of three types of rocks. These rocks are named on the basis of how they were formed. Igneous Rock: Formed by the cooling of liquid rock to solid rock. Examples: Cold Lava, Granite, and Basalt. Sedimentary Rock: Compressed sediments of rock that became cemented together. Examples: Limestone, Sandstone This is the layer in which fossils are found. Metamorphic Rock: Rock that has been transformed by heat and pressure. Examples: Marble, Slate, Gneiss B. Hydrosphere: Includes all parts of the Earth that are made up of water. About 70% of the Earth's surface is covered by water. Because of its large proportion of water, Earth is sometimes called the water planet. 1. Fresh Water: Has less salt. Makes up less than 3% of the hydrosphere. Fresh water is divided into two types; surface and ground water. a. Surface Water: Includes water in lakes, streams, glaciers, oceans, and ice caps. 1) Ice: 66% of all fresh water exists in frozen glaciers and ice caps. 2) Lakes, rivers, and streams. b. Ground Water: It takes a long time (years) for water to seep through the soil and rocks and replenish the aquifers. Because we are pumping out water faster than it is being replaced many aquifers around the United States are drying up. 1) Aquifers: an underground layer of porous rock that contains water. Water moves very slowly in these underwater rivers and lakes. 2) Artesian Wells: water flows to the surface due to high pressure underground. 3) Gysers: water is forced to the surface because of boiling deep within the earth surface. c. Salt Water: contains salt, primarily NaCl, dissolved in water. Ocean water has about 35 g/L that is salt. Salt water composes about 97% of the hydrosphere.
A. Simple Facts 1. Gases are the most dense (thickest) toward the Earth, and become less dense (thin) the farther the distance from the earth. Application: SST, Denver, CO 2. Specific Gases: Nitrogen (78%), Oxygen (21%), Water Vapor, Carbon Dioxide (0.04%), Ozone, Carbon Monoxide, Hydrogen, many others. B. Layers of Atmosphere (pg 9 Picture) 1. Troposphere: Bottom 25 km of Atmosphere. Contains all breathable air, all weather activity, all of the air moisture, and all living organisms in the atmosphere. This is the region of the atmosphere where planes fly. a. Carbon dioxide is given off by organisms, and is converted to oxygen by plants and plankton. b. Carbon dioxide can act as a heat "trap", we call this the "greenhouse effect". 2. Stratosphere: Between 25 km and 50 km from Earth. Contains the ozone layer. No weather activity. a. Ozone layer: O3, The upper layer of the stratosphere is the ozone layer. It acts as a filter for ultra violet light (light from the sun). Ultra violet light is damaging to life on Earth. 3. Mesosphere: Between 50 and 85 km from Earth. a. The coldest layer of the atmosphere with temperatures as low as –100 C. 4. Thermosphere: From 85 to 600 km from Earth. a. The warmest layer of the atmosphere where temperatures may get up to 2,000 C. (Ionosphere) b. Contains the ionsphere: region of atmosphere where gas molecules have lost their electrons. The molecules are bombarded with energy from the sun without any filters. These energy rays strip the molecules of electrons and they become ions. c. When these ions collide with free electrons, light is given off. This occurs most often near the Earth's poles, resulting in a light called an aurora (Northern Lights).
1-4.
The
Biosphere: Regions of the Earth that support and contain life. A. The Biosphere is about 20 km thick. 1. Most animals live in a very narrow range. a. Deep in the ocean life is rare because the pressure is so high and very little food is available. b. High in the mountains very few organisms live because the air pressure is too low and the temperatures are too cold. 2. Most life exists between 500 m below the surface of the ocean and about 6 km above the oceans. B. Interaction between Biosphere and Organisms: 1. All organisms obtain the materials they need to survive from the biosphere. 2. All organisms depend upon all three regions of the biosphere, even though they spend their time predominantly in one region. 3. All organisms depend upon the biosphere for the energy they need. a. Almost all of the energy comes from the sunlight either directly or indirectly. Plants convert sunlight into food that animals can eat, etc. 4. Changes in the biosphere affect organisms, and organisms can cause changes in the biosphere. For example: a. Change in the composition of salt in seawater can affect the life that it supports (Persian Gulf). Beavers damming up a river affect the biosphere.
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