Lesson 101:
INTRODUCTION TO EARTH SCIENCE
Earth Scientists study the origin, structure, and phenomena of the planet Earth. This lesson introduces students
to the main branches of Earth Science: Astronomy, Meteorology, Oceanography, and Geology.
Fundamental Questions
Attempting to give thorough and reasonable answers to the following questions will help you gauge your level of understanding this lesson.
Students that can confidently answer these questions have mastered the concepts of this lesson.
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Why is it important to learn about the Earth?
Why does the Earth’s history matter to humans?
Which branch of Earth Science is the most important?
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How can studying the history of the universe save us
from extinction?
Are humans important to Earth?
How can we be sure of the Earth's age?
Lesson Objectives
At the end of this lesson, students should have mastered the objectives listed below.
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Students can list and describe the four branches of Earth Science.
Students gain an appreciation for how old the Earth and the Universe are.
Students are able to compare human history to Earth’s history.
Students understand the basic history of Earth.
Students can construct a timeline to visually show when significant events happened in Earth’s history.
Students begin to understand the “limitations” of science.
Students recognize the importance that Earth Science plays in our everyday lives.
Students summarize some of the relationships between people and the natural environment.
Important Terms
The following terms are some of the vocabulary that students should be familiar with in order to fully master this lesson.
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four branches
astroastronomy
meteormeteorology
oceanography
geo-
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geology
atmosatmosphere
hydrohydrosphere
lithoslithosphere
biobiosphere
Big Bang
age of Earth
age of Universe
ecology
Assessment Questions
The following are examples of questions that students should be able to answer. These or similar questions are likely to appear on the exam.
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How old is the Earth?
How old is the Universe estimated to be?
What does a geologist study?
Name and briefly describe the branches of Earth
Science.
Identify the branch(es) of Earth Science shown in
each photo.
What have humans gained by studying
meteorology?
What have humans gained by studying
astronomy?
What have humans gained by studying geology?
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When did modern humans like you come into
existence?
* What percentage of the Earth's history have
modern humans been in existence for?
* What percentage of the Universe's history has
the Earth been in existence for?
List 5 phenomena that are related to Earth
Science and could be considered natural
hazards.
* What technique is used to determine the age of
the Earth?
Related Web Sites
The following are some web sites that are related to this lesson. You are encouraged to check out these sites to obtain additional information.
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http://www.buzzle.com/articles/earth-sciences/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T20RT0GgOB4
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_earth_science
Printed on 9/9/2014
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http://science.pppst.com/geology.html
http://www.earthsciweek.org/seed/introduction.html
http://geology.com/articles/what-is-earth-science.shtml
Related Book Pages
The following are the pages from your book that correspond to this lesson.
Comprehensive E.S. Book
pp. 2-10
Intensive/Honors E.S. Book
pp. 4-10
Meteorology/GIS Book
NA
Massachusetts Standards
The following are the Massachusetts Framework Standards that correspond to this lesson.
Earth Science Learning Standard(s) 4.3
What’s Next?
Notes
2
I.
INTRODUCTION TO EARTH SCIENCE
A. The Four Branches of Earth Science:
1. ________________ – study of stars, planets,
asteroids, and all other objects in space
(__________- means “star”)
2. ____________________ – study of the Earth’s
atmosphere, weather, and climate (_______
means “from the sky”)
3. ________________ – study of Earth’s oceans
4. __________ – study of Earth’s structure and
history (_______- means “earth”)
B. There are four Earth systems that are studied by
scientists:
1. _____________ – blanket of gases that
surrounds Earth (_____- means “vapor”)
2. ____________ – all the water in Earth’s oceans,
lakes, seas, rivers, glaciers, and atmosphere
(_____- means “water”)
3. ____________ – Earth’s rigid outer shell that
includes the rocky crust and solid upper mantle
(________- means “rock”)
4. _________________ – all of the Earth’s
organisms and the environments in which they
live (______- means “life”)
C. Ages of Existence
1. The approximate age of the Earth is
______________ years old.
2. The approximate age of the universe is
______________ years old.
3. Life is believed to have originated on Earth
______________ years ago.
TIMELINES OF EXISTENCE
There are 7 timelines of historical events listed below. Place the events on the appropriate
timeline found on the back of this page. Place a "tick mark" on the timeline where the event
happend and label the letter (A-U) that goes with each event. Be sure to use a pencil,
because it is easy to make mistakes.
Abbreviations:
k.y.a. = thousand years ago
m.y.a. = million years ago
b.y.a. = billion years ago
Timeline 1
A. First IPOD (2001)
B. The Year You Were Born (?)
C. MTV Launched (1981)
D. Moon Walk (1969)
E. Einstein Died (1955)
F. End of WWII (1945)
G. Great Depression (1929)
H. Titanic Sank (1912)
Timeline 2
H. Titanic Sank (1912)
I. Independence Day (1776)
J. Telescope Invented (1609)
K. Fall of Rome (476 AD)
L. Rise of Rome (510 BC)
M. Egypt (3000 BC)
Timeline 3
L. Rise of Rome (510 BC)
N. First Civilizations (6 kya)
O. Modern Humans (100 kya)
Timeline 4
O. Modern Humans (100 kya)
P. Earliest Human Ancestors (3.9 mya)
Timeline 5
P. Earliest Human Ancestors (3.9 mya)
Q. Dinosaur Extinction (65 mya)
R. Dinosaurs Evolve (250 mya)
Timeline 6
R. Dinosaurs Evolve (250 mya)
S. First Life (3.5 bya)
T. Earth Forms (4.54 bya)
Timeline 7
R. Dinosaurs Evolve (250 mya)
S. First Life (3.5 bya)
T. Earth Forms (4.54 bya)
U. The Big Bang (13.82 bya)
TIMELINES OF EXISTENCE
There are 7 timelines below. Place a "tick mark" on the timeline where the events listed on the back of this page happend and label the letter (A-U) that
goes with each event. Be sure to use a pencil, because it is easy to make mistakes.
Abbreviations:
k.y.a. = thousand years ago
m.y.a. = million years ago
b.y.a. = billion years ago
100 y.a.
80 y.a.
60 y.a.
40 y.a
20 y.a.
Today
5000 y.a.
4000 y.a.
3000 y.a.
2000 y.a
1000 y.a.
Today
100 k.y.a.
80 k.y.a.
60 k.y.a.
40 k.y.a
20 k.y.a.
Today
5 m.y.a.
4 m.y.a.
3 m.y.a.
2 m.y.a
1 m.y.a.
Today
500 m.y.a.
400 m.y.a.
300 m.y.a.
200 m.y.a
100 m.y.a.
Today
5 b.y.a.
4 b.y.a.
3 b.y.a.
2 b.y.a
1 b.y.a.
Today
20 b.y.a.
16 b.y.a.
12 b.y.a.
8 b.y.a
4 b.y.a.
Today