What is a system?

A system has two distinguishing characteristics. • SYNERGY

• EMERGENT PROPERTIES

• SYNERGY: It means that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. It means, is that when all of the pieces of a system are put together, they are more valuable than all of the pieces would be if they were considered separately.

• EMERGENT PROPERTIES: They are properties that emerge as a result of how the system works together, or properties that do not exist without the system. In other words, emergent properties are characteristics that are unique to the system as a whole.

In the past, scientists have studied the various parts of the Earth. They have looked at botany (how plants work), zoology (animals), geology

(rocks), and physics (forces), but few have studied how all of these work together. Now we

are discovering that the Earth is much more than a bunch of parts. It is a whole. The Earth is

a whole system that works together.

This means that there is an interconnection between all of Earth’s living and non-living

parts.

Everything works together in

important ways. The wind, rain, bacteria, insects, deserts, and

forests all work together as parts of the Earth System.

Atmosphere

• An atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding a planet or other material body of sufficient mass that is held in place by the gravity of the body.

• It is more likely to be retained if the gravity is high and the atmosphere's temperature is low.

Atmosphere of Earth is mostly nitrogen, also

contains oxygen used by most organisms for respiration and car

bon dioxide used by plants, algae and cyanobacteria for ph

otosynthesis, also protects living organisms from genetic damage

by solar ultraviolet radiation.

Hydrosphere

The hydrosphere in physical geography describes the

combined mass of water found on, under, and over the surface

of a planet.

Lithosphere

A lithosphere is the rigid, outermost shell of a rocky planet. The outermost shell of a rocky planet, the crust, is defined on the basis of its chemistry and mineralogy.

Tectonic plates on the lithosphere of the Earth.

What’s the difference between Geosphere and Lithosphere?

Geosphere is a term denoting the solid part of Earth which is made mostly of rock. The main divisions of the geosphere are the crust, mantle, and core. The outer core is unusual in that it is liquid and a part of Earth's interior. The lithosphere (from the Greek for "rocky" sphere) is the solid outermost shell of a rocky planet. On the Earth, the lithosphere includes the crust and the uppermost layer of the mantle (the upper mantle or lower lithosphere) which is joined to the crust.

Biosphere

The biosphere is the global sum of all ecosystems. The biosphere is the

global ecological system integrating all living beings and their relationships,

Some of the biomes on Earth include:• Desert - very dry, either hot or cold• Tundra - cool, treeless, and dry• Chaparral or scrub - coastal area with hot, dry summers and mild, cool, rainy

winters• Taiga or Coniferous Forest - cool and dry, with coniferous trees• Temperate Deciduous Forest - cool and rainy, with deciduous trees• Grassland - Windy, partly dry sea of grass with few trees, including tropical savanna

, prairie, steppe, pampas, etc.• Mountain biomes: there are a lot of different mountainous biomes, from grasslands

at low altitudes, taiga (coniferous forests) below the treeline, and alpine (the same as tundra)

• Temperate Rain Forest - cool and wet• Tropical Rain Forest - warm and very wet• Land Cave - cool and dark• Wetlands - there are many types of wetlands, including swamps, marshes, moors,

bogs, fens, sloughs, etc.• Freshwater Marsh - a wetland located near creeks, streams, rivers and lakes• Temperate ponds• Marine (ocean or sea)

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/biomes/

What is matter?

Matter is stuff. Anything that has mass and volume (weighs something and takes up space)

is matter.

• MATTER CYCLES: Essentially all the matter on Earth has been here since the Earth was formed. It does not go away, and we do not get new matter. Earth recycles.