Download Earth Science Packet

Earth Science
Packet
Made By Liesl at The Homeschool Den
What is Earth System Science?
A Study of the Earth's Atmosphere:
Earth System Science
The Earth is often divided into four spheres. The
four parts of Earth's system include the:
1) geosphere
2) hydrosphere
3) biosphere
4) atmosphere
The GEosphere:
This consists of the densest part of the world and is mostly made of rocks
and regolith (dust, soil, broken rock)
©2014
Made By Liesl at The Homeschool Den
The hydrosphere:
This consists of the water that exists on, under and over the surface of the
planet. This includes Earth's rivers, lakes, streams, seas, oceans,
underground water. Water covers ________% of the Earth's surface
The Cryosphere: This is the parts of the Earth's
surface where the water is in solid form (glaciers, snow, ice sheets,
ice caps, etc.)
The Biosphere:
All ecosystems together... All the places on Earth where life dwells. The
biosphere is divided into a number of biomes including both land and
water biomes. This includes all life on Earth -- in the air, on land, and in
the water.
©2014
Made By Liesl at The Homeschool Den
The Earth's Atmosphere
Experiments
Air Has Weight!
Place two inflated balloons suspended off a ruler so they are balanced.
Deflate one by putting a pin in it. Are they still balanced or is one side heavier?
Warm Air Rises
Heat causes air to expand and become less dense. The air then rises, leaving an area
of low pressure. Cool air is denser and sinks and replaces the air that has risen. The
replacement of warmed air by cooler air is called a convection current.
Place a balloon on the top of a bottle. Put a rubber band around the balloon to
ensure that the fit is tight. Pour hot water in the pan. Place the bottle in the pan and
observe what happens. Then place the bottle and balloon in the fridge or in a tub of
ice and observe what happens.
©2014
Made By Liesl at The Homeschool Den
The Earth's Atmosphere
The layer of air that surrounds Earth is
called the ______________________.
The atmosphere looks
like a thin blanket
surrounding the planet.
The earth is made of billions and billions of
__________________ particles.
Earth's air contains many gases. Look at the graph.
What percentage of the air is nitrogen? _______
oxygen? ____________
argon? ____________
carbon dioxide? ____________
Water vapor in the atmosphere
ranges from 0-4%.
©2014
Made By Liesl at The Homeschool Den
Earth's atmosphere also contains various particles.
What kinds of things do you think make up the
particles in the air?
Dust particles provide a surface for ___________ _____________
to condense on so it can become precipitation such as ____________,
_______________ or _________________.
Another gas that exists in tiny quantities is _________________. It
is made of ________ oxygen molecules (rather than 2 in oxygen gas.)
Most ozone is in the layer that is 10-50 km (6-30 miles) high. Most
ozone is in the ______________________________ layer. Ozone
protects life on Earth by absorbing some of the ________'s harmful
rays.
©2014
Made By Liesl at The Homeschool Den
Structure of the Atmosphere
The Earth's atmosphere stretches about ___________km
(620 miles) from the surface to outer space.
Scientists have divided the
atmosphere
into
four
zones. The divisions are
based on temperature.
Take a few notes on each
layer (left):
©2014
Made By Liesl at The Homeschool Den
The Layers of the Atmosphere
THERMOSPHERE
On the left side of the chart,
draw air molecules (blue circles)
as they would appear in the
atmosphere.
Draw a picture of where an
airplane traveling long distances
would fly.
Draw pictures of where a
meteor is most likely to burn up.
THERMOSPHERE
Draw a picture of satellite in the
proper zone.
Draw a picture of a
cumulonimbus cloud.
Show where the auroras occur.
_________% of the Earth's
atmosphere by weight is within
10 miles of the surface.
The greater the height above sea level, the thinner the air is. Explain
what you know about hikers who climb Mt. Everest:
©2014
Made By Liesl at The Homeschool Den
Layers of the Atmosphere Activity
Cut out the picture of earth below. Add in 5 concentric circles. and put a brad
through the middle. Label the 5 layers of the atmosphere around the very edge.
©2014
Made By Liesl at The Homeschool Den
Layers of the Atmosphere Activity
Here is a bigger satellite photo of earth that you can use, just cut out your own
circles (as on the previous page).
©2014
Made By Liesl at The Homeschool Den
Layers of the Atmosphere
Activity:
In the end the finished project will look
something like this:
Air pressure
Put hot tap water in a bucket. Place an empty water bottle into the bucket and leave
it there for 2 minutes. Then put the lid on. Remove the bottle from the water. Pour
the water out of the bucket and place very cold water in the bucket. Place the water
bottle in the bucket without removing the cap. Does anything happen to the bottle?
Listen as you remove the cap.
When air is warmed, it ___expands_______________.
What happens when you take a water bottle from a high altitude to a
low altitude? Why?
©2014
Made By Liesl at The Homeschool Den
The Earth's Atmosphere
Answers are underlined
The layer of air that surrounds Earth is called the atmosphere.
The atmosphere looks like a thin blanket surrounding the planet.
The earth is made of billions and billions of gas particles.
Earth's air contains many gases. Look at the graph.
What percentage of the air is nitrogen? 78
oxygen? 21
argon? 0.93
carbon dioxide? 0.035
Water vapor in the atmosphere ranges from 0-4%.
Earth's atmosphere also contains dust particles. What kinds of things
do you think make up the dust particles in the air?
(dirt, soot, pollen grains, meteor remains, etc.)
Dust particles provide a surface for water vapor to condense on so it
can become precipitation such as rain, snow or hail.
Another gas that exists in tiny quantities is ozone .It
is made of three oxygen molecules (rather than 2 in oxygen gas.)
Most ozone is in the layer that is 10-50 km (6-30 miles) high. Most
ozone is in the stratosphere layer. Ozone protects life on Earth by
absorbing some of the suns's harmful rays.
©2014
Made By Liesl at The Homeschool Den
Structure of the
Atmosphere
The Earth's atmosphere
stretches about 1,000km
(620 miles) from the
surface to outer space.
Scientists have divided the
atmosphere into four
zones. The divisions are
based on temperature.
Take a few notes on each
layer (left)
General Notes (things I've jotted down,
you may need to add to this!):
Troposphere: Most of the clouds are in this layer. This is where
weather occurs. This layer contains about 80% of the total mass of the
atmosphere (including almost all of the water vapor).
The troposphere is warmed from below by the ground. Air is heated by
contact with the Earth. The warm air rises and is replaced by cooler air.
These vertical currents create horizontal winds.
Tropopause: the zone where the troposphere ends and the stratosphere
begins has breaks and overlapping leaves which create the jet stream
winds.
Stratosphere: The almost weatherless part of the atmosphere. It has
very little vertical air movements. Temperature drops much more slowly
in this layer than in the troposphere (in fact, temperature increases at
the top of this layer). Flying in the stratosphere is generally smooth and
the visibility is excellent. Air is thin and offers very little resistance to
a plane. Air planes leave trails as moisture from the plane engine leaves
moisture - condensation trails Within the stratosphere are molecules of
gas called ozone. These absorb a type of solar radiation that is harmful
to life.
Mesophere: This is the coldest layer of the atmosphere. temperature
decreases (30 to -100 F). The air is extremely thin. It contains less
than 0.1 % of the atmosphere's mass. The mesosphere is heated from
below so temperatures decrease as you rise.
Thermosphere: This is the outermost layer. It is hot -- temperatures
increase quickly with height. Temperatures in the thermosphere can
reach thousands of degrees C. The molecules high in this layer absorb a
certain type of solar radiation. The air is extremely thin. Scattered air
particles are ionized or electrified by the removal of electrons. That is
because cosmic rays from space constantly bombard the air particles.
The ionized air forms layers that reflect radio waves back to earth.
That's what makes it possible for us to receive radio waves from
beyond the horizon.
The temperature in this layer is extremely high.
©2014
Made By Liesl at The Homeschool Den
Layer' s of the Atmosphere:
On the left side of the chart, draw air molecules (blue circles) as they
would appear in the
atmosphere.
Draw a picture of where an
airplane traveling long
distances would fly.
Draw pictures of where a
meteor is most likely to
burn up.
Draw a picture of satellite
in the proper zone.
Draw a picture of a
cumulonimbus cloud.
©2014
Made By Liesl at The Homeschool Den
Layer' s of the Atmosphere:
EXOSPHERE
--------------------960km
THERMOSPHERE (600mi)
--------------------190km
MESOSPHERE (120mi)
---------------------50km
STRATOSPHERE (30mi)
---------------------10km
TROPOSPHERE (6mi)
Earth's Surface
Earth's Surface
©2014
Made By Liesl at The Homeschool Den
Geosphere:
To explore more about Earth's geosphere you may want
to do this activity on the layers of the Earth.
Search: Homeschool Den Layers of the Earth Activity or
go to http://www.parents.com/blogs/homeschool-den/2011/01/31/science/earth-science-layers-of-theearth-hands-on-activity/
©2014
Made By Liesl at The Homeschool Den
Biosphere and Biomes:
If you want to go into more dept about biomes, you might want to visit
my website. We made a biomes pin map which allows students to place
pictures of the various biomes (desert, savanna, tundra, etc. on the
map) on the biome map.
Search: Homeschool Den World Biomes Pin Map or go to
http://www.parents.com/blogs/homeschool-den/2012/06/12/science/world-biomes-pin-map/
©2014
Made By Liesl at The Homeschool Den