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EARTH SCIENCE
6th Grade
The Earth System
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System: a group of parts that work together as a
whole.
Energy allows Earth to work as a system as it moves
matter through its parts.
The Earth System
The Atmosphere
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The relatively thin envelope of gases that forms
Earth’s outermost layer.
Mostly made of nitrogen and oxygen.
The Geosphere
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The geographic makeup of the Earth.
Three main parts: a metal core, a solid middle
layer, and a rocky outer layer.
The Hydrosphere
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Contains all of Earth’s water.
About ¾ of Earth’s surface is covered, but more
water can be found underground and in different
parts of the water cycle.
The Biosphere
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The parts of Earth that contain living organisms.
Making Connections
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Brainstorm a way 2 of the systems interact with
each other and write it in your notebook. You are
going to share this idea with a partner in 1 minute.
With your partner, come up with a way that 3 of
the system interact. You will share your idea with
another pair in 1 minute.
Making Connections

As a group of 4, come up with a way that all 4
parts of the Earth’s system interact. We will share
our ideas with the class in 2 minutes.
EARTH’S SURFACE
Chapter 1: Mapping Earth’s Surface
Lesson 1: Exploring Earth’s Surface
What is Topography?
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Topography: the shape of the land; an area’s
elevation, relief, and landforms.
elevation: the height above sea level of a point on
Earth’s surface.
Relief: the difference in elevation between the
highest and lowest parts of an area.
Landforms: feature formed by the processes that
shape Earth’s surface (hills, valleys, etc.).
Types of Landforms
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Plain: landform made of nearly flat or gently
sloped land.
A coastal plain is along the seacoast; an interior
plain is away from the coast.
The Great Plains extend from Texas into Canada.
Types of Landforms
Types of Landforms
Types of Landforms
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Mountain: landform with high elevation and high
relief.
A mountain range is a group of mountains that are
closely related in shape, structure, area, and age.
A mountain system is made of different mountain
ranges.
A mountain belt is a long, connected chain of ranges
and systems.
Types of Landforms
Types of Landforms
Types of Landforms
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Plateau: landform with high elevation and a level
surface.
Landform Regions
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Landform region: a large area of land where the
topography is made up mainly of one type of
landform.
An upland is a region of hilly topography; a
lowland is a region of plains with low elevation.
EARTH’S SURFACE
Chapter 1: Mapping Earth’s Surface
Lesson 2: Models of Earth
Maps and Globes
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Globe: a sphere that represents Earth’s entire
surface.
Map: flat model of all or part of Earth’s surface as
seen from above.
Both are drawn to scale and use symbols.
Maps have projections to show the curved surface
of Earth.
Maps and Globes

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Globe: a sphere that represents Earth’s entire
surface.
Map: flat model of all or part of Earth’s surface as
seen from above.
Both are drawn to scale and use symbols.
Maps have projections to show the curved surface
of Earth.
Map Projections

Map projection: framework of lines that helps to
transfer points on Earth’s 3-D surface onto a flat
map.
A
Mercator projection is based on a cylinder with grid
lines; the size and shape of landmasses becomes more
distorted toward the poles.
Symbols and Keys

Symbols: shapes or pictures that stand for features
on Earth’s surface.
 Physical
features (ex: river) and man-made features
(ex: highway).

Key: a list of all of the symbols used on the map.
 Sometimes
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called a legend
Compass rose: shows direction
Scale
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Scale: relates distance on a map to distance on
Earth’s surface.
Three different ways to give scale:
 Ratio
scale: 1 : 500
 Bar scale
 Equivalent scale: 1 cm = 500 m
Degrees
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Distances on Earth are measured in degrees from
the equator and the prime meridian.
A degree is 1/360 of the distance around a circle.
They can be divided into minutes and seconds for
more precise measurement.
The Equator
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The equator is an imaginary line that goes around
the Earth and divides it into Northern and Southern
hemispheres.
 Hemisphere:
one half of a sphere (Earth)
The Prime Meridian
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The Prime Meridian is an imaginary line that goes
from the North Pole to the South Pole; divides the
Earth into Eastern and Western hemispheres.
 Passes
through Greenwich, England.
Latitude
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Latitude: distance in degrees north and south of the
equator.
The equator is 0 degrees; the North Pole is 90
degrees N and the South Pole is 90 degrees S.
Each degree of latitude = approx. 111 km.
Longitude
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Longitude: distance in degrees east and west of the
prime meridian.
The prime meridian is 0 degrees; the lines of
longitude go to the east and west to 180 degrees.
Each degree of longitude at the equator = approx.
111 km.
EARTH’S SURFACE
Chapter 1: Mapping Earth’s Surface
Lesson 3: Mapping Technology
Making Maps
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Surveying: finding distances and elevations using
instruments and geometry.
Pictures from airplanes used to be used to create
maps, now computers can digitally form them.
Digitizing: process of changing the location of map
points into numbers.
Aerial Photographs
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Aerial photographs: taken by cameras in
airplanes; show man-made and nature-made
landforms.
Can show how land changes over time.
Satellite Imaging
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Satellite images: taken from satellites that orbit
Earth; images are made of pixels that are
translated into photos.
Different colored pixels represent different heights
of elevation.
GPS
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Global Positioning System (GPS): satellite images
can detect location and motion of objects.
satellites are used to detect your location; a 4th
satellite is used to detect your elevation.
3
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Global Information System (GIS): system of
hardware/software to create interactive maps.
EARTH’S SURFACE
Chapter 1: Mapping Earth’s Surface
Lesson 4: Topographic Maps
Topographic Maps
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Topographic map: map showing the surface
features of an area.
Contour Lines
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Mapmakers use contour lines to show elevation,
relief, and slope on maps.
 Contour
lines: connect points of equal elevation.
 Contour interval: change in elevation from one contour
line to the next.
 Index contour: every fifth contour line; darker than the
rest.
Reading Topographic Maps
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Step 1: become familiar with the map’s scale and
contour lines.
Step 2: determine the contour interval.
Step 3: begin at a labeled index contour and count
lines up or down to a certain feature.
Reading Topographic Maps
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Closely spaced lines = steep slopes
Widely spaced lines = flatter areas.
Closed contour lines/loops = hilltop
V-shaped contour lines downhill = ridge line
V-shaped contour lines uphill = valley