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Earth Systems
1) What are the five major spheres
of the Earth?
2) Do these spheres interact?
Atmosphere
• A gaseous sphere and it
envelopes the Earth,
• Consists of a mixture of
gases composed primarily
of nitrogen, oxygen,
carbon dioxide, and water
vapor.
Biosphere
• All life on earth,
including man, and all
organisms.
• The life zone on our
planet distinguishes
our planet from the
others in the solar
system.
Cryosphere
• The portion of the
Earth's surface where
water is in a solid
form
• Snow or ice: includes
glaciers, ice shelves,
snow, icebergs, and
arctic climatology
Hydrosphere
• All of the water
on Earth
• 71% of the earth
is covered by
water and only
29% is terra firma
Geosphere
• The Earth's solid
surface. It includes
continental and
oceanic crust as well
as the various layers
of the Earth's interior.
• The geosphere is
layered because
denser materials sank
towards the Earth’s
center as the hot,
molten was Earth
forming over 4 billion
years ago.
Day 2: Earth’s Major Spheres
Match the sphere with its description on the right.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Atmosphere
Biosphere
Cryosphere
Hydrosphere
Geosphere
1. All frozen water (icebergs,
glaciers etc…)
2. The solid Earth
(mountains, rocks, etc..)
3. Thin, gaseous layer that
envelopes the Earth.
4. All water in liquid or gas
form.
5. All life on Earth.
Day 3: System Interactions
• What sphere interactions can
you infer from this
photograph? To identify
sphere interactions, think of
one feature in the image at a
time, decide which sphere it
is a part of, then consider
how it interacts with the
other spheres.
• With a partner, practice
describing interactions in this
scene, tracing the movement
of materials or energy
through all four of Earth's
spheres if possible.
Day 3: Possible Answer
• Plants (biosphere) draw water (hydrosphere) and
nutrients from the soil (geosphere) and release water
vapor into the atmosphere. Humans (biosphere) use
farm machinery manufactured and powered from
minerals and fossil fuels (geosphere) materials to plow
the fields. The atmosphere brings precipitation
(hydrosphere) to water the plants. Energy from the sun
is stored by plants (biosphere). When humans or
animals (biosphere) eat the plants, they acquire the
energy originally captured by the plants. Water from
hydrosphere or wind from the atmosphere can erode
the soil (geosphere)
Day 4: Interactions Cont.
• For each picture cite the
major sphere it describes.
•
Describe any sphere
interactions you can infer
from the scene.
• Whenever possible,
follow the results of an
interaction through all
five spheres.
(These tasks can be divided
among groups to save
time)
Day Five: Quiz (Super-Duper)