SHS Earth System
SHS Earth System
SHS Earth System
System
Objectives
• Present Facts about the Earth;
• Identify the factors that allow a planet to support life;
• Define the concept of a system;
• Recognize the Earth as a system composed of subsystems;
and
• Determine the interconnection of the Earth System.
Essential Questions
• What are some facts about the Earth?
• What makes planet Earth habitable?
• What are the four earth systems?
• How are the four system connected to each other?
Facts About the
Earth
• The Earth’s rotation is gradually slowing.
• Earth is at the right distance from the Sun, the star it orbits. If
Earth was closer, it would have been too hot for life. If it was
more distant, temperatures may have been very low. (Goldilocks
Zone or Habitable Zone)
Atmosphere:
Water:
• Presence of water is another key factor. Water allows many
reactions and also works as a universal solvent.
Time for evolution:
• Earth is lucky to have a star as long-living as Sun. This ensured
billions of years of time for evolution of life, not to mention
settlement of planet itself.
Molten core:
• Earth's core allows the recycling of material and generates a
magnetic field that protects us from radiation and Solar Flares.
Characteristics of a Habitable Planet Earth
The Moon:
• The Earth has a slight tilt and teeters like a top as it spins, which
can cause drastic shifts in climate over the course of thousands of
years. But because of the moon's stabilizing effect on our orbit, our
climate is a lot more steady. Plus, the moon causes the tides, and
some biologists think life began in tidal pools.
Stable rotation:
• condensation
• precipitation
• evaporation
• transpiration
• infiltration
• surface run-off
What is System?
• A set of interconnected components that
are interacting to form a unified whole
• Biosphere
• Hydrosphere
• Lithosphere
Atmosphere
• The atmosphere is the thin gaseous layer that
envelopes the lithosphere.
• Mantle – middle layer of the earth between the crust and the core; makes
up about 83% of Earth’s interior
• Core – innermost layer of the earth; outer core is in a liquid state whereas
inner core is in solid state
How are the four systems connected?
• Water Cycle is one of the
example.