The Spheres of the Earth What are they

The Spheres of the Earth What are they and How do they interact?

Earth Systems Described • Everything that happens on our planet is part of a complex set of interactions between air, water, land, and life. • On a global scale, each part can be thought of as a sphere, roughly the same size and shape as the planet. • The 4 parts are called the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere.

Geosphere – “Land” *All of the rocks and “hard material” of the earth *Consists of the core, mantle and crust of the Earth. (The Lithosphere: is the term for earth’s crust) *Examples: Continents, ocean floor, mountains, volcanoes, rocks, sand, dust, bricks

Hydrosphere – “Water” • All of the Earth’s water • Contains all of the solid, liquid and gaseous water on Earth. • 97% of the hydrosphere is found in salty oceans. • The remainder is found as vapor or droplets in the atmosphere & as liquid in ground water, lakes, rivers, glaciers and snowfields.

Atmosphere – “Air” • The atmosphere contains all of the Earth’s air and is divided into troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and ionosphere. • Examples: Ozone, oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, Wind

Biosphere – “Life” • The biosphere is the collection of all Earth’s life forms. • Life is Distributed in major life zones known as biomes: forests, deserts, and marine. • EXAMPLES: Humans, animals, plants, microbes (bacteria), Fungus

Interactive Image of the Earth’s Spheres https: //www. classzone. com/books/earth_science/terc /content/investigations/es 0103 page 02. cfm? chapter_no=investigation http: //www. ucmp. berkeley. edu/education/dynamic/se ssion 4/sess 4_interactions. htm

Class Activity Example: https: //www. classzone. com/books/earth_science/terc /content/investigations/es 0103 page 03. cfm? chapter_no=investigation How do the Spheres interact on Earth? 1. Use the different Earth images provided. In small groups: Identify what parts in the image represent each of the four spheres. (Use the questions on the following slide to work on your image. ) 2. Each group will write down their answers for the teacher and then present their findings to the class.

Identifying the Spheres in your Image Use the following questions: A. List the major features in the image and tell which sphere each one represents. B. Describe sphere interactions you can infer from the scene. https: //www. classzone. com/books/earth_science/t erc/content/investigations/es 0103/images/es 01 03_p 5_smlfire_b. jpg

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