Unit Questions for Unit 2
Spheres of the Earth System
Topics:  Earth Facts, The Earth System, Spheres,
 

1. How old is the Earth? ____________________________________
2. How long ago did life apparently start on Earth? _________________
3. What's the name of our nearest star? _______________________
4. How many planets orbit the Sun? _____________________________
5. What is the diameter of the Earth? (in km) ______________________
6. What is the angle of the Earth's tilt? __________________________
7. What is the range of temperatures on Earth? ____________
8. What percent of the Earth is covered by water? _______ Land? _____
9. How long does it take for light from the Sun to arrive on the Earth? ___________________
10. How fast is Earth moving in it's orbit?_________________________________
11. What are the 3 most common gases in the Earth's atmosphere?  ____________
12. What is Earth's average distance from the Sun?  __________________
13. What is the Earth's mass?   ___________________________
14. What are the layers inside the Earth?  __________________________________
15. What is the Earth's core probably made of?______________________________
16. Where does the name Earth come from?  ___________________
17. Where is the thickest part of the Earth's crust? ____________  the thinnest? _____________
18. How many natural satellites does Earth have?  ____________________
19. What is plate tectonics?________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________
20. What is an aurora?  ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

21.  What is the name of the line between day and night (the edge of the night shadow)?  _______________________

22.  Earth has an atmosphere, but the Moon basically does not.  What differences does it make to have an atmosphere?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

27.  Tell four reasons why Earth's atmosphere is important.
 
 
 
 
 
 

27.  The Sun send energy toward the Earth.
        How much energy have scientists measured at the top of the atmosphre?  _______________________
 
 
 

Activity 2.1  Components of the Earth System

28.  Write a definition:  What is the Earth System?

30.   Give an  example of an interaction between...

        a.  the ocean and the atmosphere  -
 

         b.  the lithosphere and the hydrosphere -
 

         c.  the biosphere and the atmosphere -
 
 
 

Activity 2.2a/b     A Biography of Rachel Carson

31. Who was Rachel Carson and when did she live?
 
 
 

32.   What important book did Rachel Carson write and why was it important?
 
 
 
 

33.  What was Rachel Carson's biggest concern about the environment?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Activity 2.3  The Water Cycle - Sphere Connections

34.   Describe two new things you learned about  the hydrosphere  when you did this activity.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Activity 2.4   Investigate the ESS Spheres.

35.   On the SOAR-High web pages where do you go to find information about  the spheres?
 
 

36.  Read the other student's web projects on the ESS Spheres.   Tell something you learned about
each sphere from the student webpages,  and

hydrosphere -
 
 

lithosphere  -
 
 

anthroposphere -
 
 

cyrosphere -
 
 

biosphere -
 
 

atmosphere -

37.   Make an  Inference:

  Here is an observation:   Here is a satellite image of clouds on the Earth during the month of June, 1991.   I see many clouds over the oceans (Heavy clouds show up as RED,   Medium clouds show up as YELLOW,  and No clouds show up as BLUE )    What inference can you make from this observation?  (Think about what you know about the water cycle).
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

38.   Synthesize these ideas:
Idea 1:   Your classroom Terrarium is a model for the Earth System. It shows us how the different parts depend on each other.   The terrarium model is limited, because it is not exactly like the real Earth.  It is a very simple system and the Earth system is very complex. For example, the terrarium animals may get some of their oxygen from the terrarium plants, but they also get oxygen from the air in the classroom.  In the Earth system we all (all animals!) depend on the Earth's plants... there's no other place to get oxygen.  The terrarium is not a complete exact copy of the Earth, but it does help us think about the relationships and helps us understand. in the Earth system.

Idea 2:  Scientists are using computer models to study the Earth system.  They put gigabytes of data into large computers and tell the computers the rules, then ask questions about what will happen.  For example they put years of historical climate temperature data into a computer and asked the computer what will happen to the Earth... will it become warmer?

Question:   What do you think are the problems with computer models?  Are they reliable?  Do they help us understand the Earth?   Compare the positive and negatives of computer models to the terrarium model of the Earth System.