Chapter 2 The Living Planet

The Solar System

•Solar System: consists of the sun, eight planets, other celestial bodies, comets and asteroids

•Comedy Strip: Nate Bargatze, “Science”

The Structure of the Earth

•INSIDE:▫core: center of the earth, made of iron

and nickel▫mantle: surrounds the core, several

layers, contains most of the earth’s mass

▫magma: molten rock▫crust: thin layer of rock at the earth’s

surface

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRxqFQoTCIqsk7Hu2ccCFQpSkgodmvoA1w&url=http://newworldatlas.blogspot.com/2011/08/earths-interior-structure.html&bvm=bv.101800829,d.aWw&psig=AFQjCNH3y9KnzwN8JNaDn5Z4tpOS9Gt6ew&ust=1441335242921667

The 4 Spheres

•OUTSIDE:▫Atmosphere: layer of gases surrounding

the earth, includes oxygen, protects the earth from radiation, and includes weather/climate

▫Lithosphere: the crust and uppermost mantle

▫Hydrosphere: the water elements on earth- oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, and water in atmosphere

▫Biosphere: part of the earth where plants and animals live

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRxqFQoTCOWz4Mfv2ccCFcqLkgodICYJzQ&url=http://wwms7thgradescience.weebly.com/ms-vitolins-blog/category/all/5&bvm=bv.101800829,d.aWw&psig=AFQjCNGYH9_ZAJF53LBjISe2LRra0ZDrgg&ust=1441335542073695

Continental Drift (AKA Pangaea)• Earth was once a supercontinent that divided

and slowly drifted apart over millions of years

• Look at pg 29 in textbook• A GIANT PUZZLE

Section 2: Water/Landforms

•Water covers 71% of the planet•4 Major Oceans:

1. Pacific2. Atlantic3. Indian4. Arctic

•Ocean Motion1. Currents: like rivers flowing through the

ocean2. Waves: swells/ ridges produced by wind3. Tides: regular rises and falls of ocean

created by gravitation pull of the moon and sun

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRxqFQoTCNPn5OqH5scCFcnngAodHcUHpw&url=https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/38akty/low_tides_vs_high_tides_in_the_uk/&bvm=bv.102022582,d.eXY&psig=AFQjCNFQKqNJSEWYThMhFk_4lTbK20aBrQ&ust=1441754386177853

•Hydrologic Cycle: the continuous circulation of water between the atmosphere, the oceans, and the earth

•Lakes hold more than 95% of all fresh water supply on earth.▫Drainage basin: area of land that

contributes water to a stream or river- “the place where the water comes from”

Lake Baikal in Russia: Freshwater Great Salt Lake

•Landforms: naturally formed features on the surface of the earth▫23 key types: islands, marsh, mountain,

canyon, cliff, valley, glacier, prairie Ocean and continental

SECTION 3: Internal forces

•Plate Tectonics: giant moving pieces of the earth’s lithosphere(crust)▫Plates move= reshaping the earth▫Pg 37

•4 ways of movement:

3 types of boundaries

Examples of 3 boundariesDivergent: Saudi

Arabia and Eygpt spreading making Red Sea even wider

Convergent: Himalayas are growing in India

Transform: San Andreas Fault

Fault: a fracture in the earth’s crustFault Line: where two plates move past each other

Earthquakes• Earthquake: violent movement of the earth as a

result of tectonic plates grinding or slipping past each other

• Seismograph: device that measures the size of the waves created by an earthquake

• Epicenter: point on the earth’s surface directly above the focus point

• Richter Scale: uses info collected by seismograph to figure out the strength of an earthquake (7.0, 9.9)

• Tsunami: a giant wave in the ocean caused by an earthquake

Haiti Earthquake: January 12, 2010, 7.0 , 316,000 killed

Nepal Earthquake: April 25, 2015, 7.9-8.1, 9,000 killed (23,000 injured)

Laupahoehoe Harbor, Hawaii• Tsunami hit April 1, 1946 • 159 people died (21 schoolchildren and 3 teachers)• 200 ft of ocean floor exposed

Volcano

•Volcano: a mountain or hill, usually conical, having a crater or vent where lava, rocks, and gas erupt from the earth

•Lava: magma that has reached the earth’s surface

•Ring of Fire: a zone around the rim of the Pacific Ocean where a majority of active volcanoes are found (Pg 37)

Mona Loa

-World’s largest active volcano

Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii - One of the world’s most active volcanoes

SECTION 4: External Forces•Weathering: physical and chemical

processes that change the characteristics of rock

•Mechanical Weathering: processes that break rock into smaller pieces▫Water gets into a crack, freezes, and breaks the

rock apart•Chemical Weathering: process when rock is

changed into a new substance ▫Iron rusts (reacts to oxygen in the air and

crumbles)

•Erosion: weathered material is moved by the action of wind, water, ice, or gravity

•Delta: a fan-like landform created from sediment left over when a river enters the ocean

•Loess: yellowish-gray silt and clay sediment that produces very fertile soil (China)

•Glacier: large, long-lasting mass of ice that moves

•Moraine: a ridge or hill formed from left behind rock moved by a glacier

•Soil: loose mixture of rock, organic matter, air, and water that supports plant growth

•3 factors of soil fertility:▫1. Texture▫2. amount of Humus: organic material▫3. amount of air and water