Four Systems

of

Our

Earth

Composition of Earth Earth Has 4 main systems that interact:

Earth’s systems

Atmosphere Hydrosphere Biosphere Geosphere

water life land/rockAir/gases

Composition of Earth

Earth Has 4 main systems that interact:

The Atmosphere The Hydrosphere

All of Earth’s water, whether in the atmosphere, glaciers, oceans, lakes or rivers.

The Biosphere The Geosphere

The Hydrosphere – water Earth

Our Earth is mostly water

Approximately 70% of the Earth’s surface is water

30% of the Earth’s surface is land

Pie charts represent % of the whole

The Hydrosphere Water on Earth is a unique feature that clearly

distinguishes our "Blue Planet" from others in the solar system.

Not a drop of liquid water can be found anywhere else in the solar system. Earth has just the right mass, the right chemical composition, the right atmosphere, and is the right distance from the Sun that permits water to exist mainly as a liquid.

Water is the universal solvent and the basis of all life on our Planet.

Our Water Cycle Water, which covers the majority of the Earth’s

surface (the hydrosphere), circulates through the crust, oceans, and atmosphere in what is known as the water cycle.

Water Cycle—water is in constant motion The Sun provides water cycle’s energy Water on the surface absorbs heat and

evaporates, entering the atmosphere Condensation—water vapor changes back into

liquid. Clouds of water become heavy and water falls to

Earth as precipitation. The cycle repeats itself continuously.

The Water Cyclehttp://www.kidzone.ws/water/index.html

Run and get a glass of water and put it on the table next to you.  Take a good long look at the water.  Now -- can you guess how old it is?  

 The water in your glass may have fallen from the sky as rain just last week, but the water itself has been around pretty much as long as the earth has!  

When the first fish swam in the ocean, your glass of water was part of that ocean.  When the Brontosaurus walked through lakes feeding on  plants, your glass of water was part of those lakes.  When kings and princesses, knights and squires took a drink from their wells, your glass of water was part of those wells.

And you thought your parents were OLD

Evaporation:   Evaporation is when the sun heats up water

in rivers or lakes or the ocean and turns it into vapor or steam. The water vapor or steam leaves the river, lake or ocean and goes into the air.

Do plants sweat?

Well, sort of.... people perspire (sweat) and plants transpire.  Transpiration is the process by which plants lose water out of their leaves.  Transpiration gives evaporation a bit of a hand in getting the water vapor back up into the air.

Condensation:   Water vapor in the air gets cold

and changes back into liquid, forming clouds. This is called condensation.

You can see the same sort of thing at home... pour a glass of cold water on a hot day and watch what happens.  Water forms on the outside of the glass.  That water didn't somehow leak through the glass!  It actually came from the air.  Water vapor in the warm air, turns back into liquid when it touches the cold glass.

Precipitation:  Precipitation occurs when so

much water has condensed that the air cannot hold it anymore.  The clouds get heavy and water falls back to the earth in the form of rain, hail, sleet or snow.

Collection: 

When water falls back to earth as precipitation, it may fall back in the oceans, lakes or rivers or it may end up on land.  When it ends up on land, it will either soak into the earth and become part of the “ground water” that plants and animals use to drink or it may run over the soil and collect in the oceans, lakes or rivers where the cycle starts

Fill in the diagram in your notesThe earth has a limited

amount of water.  That water keeps going around and around and around and around and (well, you get the idea) in what we call the "Water Cycle". This cycle is made up of a few main parts:

evaporation (and transpiration)

condensation

precipitation

collection

Accumulation - the process in which water pools in large bodies (like oceans, seas and lakes).Condensation - the process in which water vapor (a gas) in the air turns into liquid water. Condensing water forms clouds in the sky. Water drops that form on the outside of a glass of icy water are condensed water. (This term appears twice in the diagram.)Evaporation - the process in which liquid water becomes water vapor (a gas). Water vaporizes from the surfaces of oceans and lakes, from the surface of the land, and from melts in snow fields.Precipitation - the process in which water (in the form of rain, snow, sleet, or hail) falls from clouds in the sky.Subsurface Runoff - rain, snow melt, or other water that flows in underground streams, drains, or sewers.Surface Runoff - rain, snow melt, or other water that flows in surface streams, rivers, or canals.Transpiration - the process in which some water within plants evaporates into the atmosphere. Water is first absorbed by the plant's roots, then later exits by evaporating through pores in the plant. 

How are the Hydrosphere and Atmosphere connected?

Bill Nye’s take on the water cycle…

http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQIVx_BOCJU

http://jp.youtube.com/watch?feature=related&hl=en&v=2XU9_2zkQSE

http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=dGSkcrw00HM&feature=related