The Planet of Life
• Earth, the planet we call home, is unique
amongst every known planet because
– It is the only planet that we are certain has liquid
water
– It is the only planet that scientists are certain
contains adequate amounts of gaseous oxygen
– And most importantly, it is the only planet that
has LIVING ORGANISMS
Making The
Earth Unique
THE BEST of 8 or 9
• The earth is the third planet from the sun out
of eight total planets (Pluto is now a dwarfplanet)
• It is located between Venus and Mars.
• It is the densest planet in the solar system
• It is the fifth-largest of the eight planets
• It is also the largest of the Solar System's four
terrestrial planets
U
R
H
e
r
e
The Spheres
The Lithosphere
• The Lithosphere – The layer of land that forms
the earth’s surface
– It comprises the crust and the portion of the
upper mantle that moves as the tectonic plates
move
– This includes the land located under water
Types of Rock
• Igneous Rock: Rock that forms when liquid
rock (lava) cools and solidifies
– IE: Basalt and Granite
• Sedimentary Rock: is rock that forms when
small pieces of rock are compressed and
cemented together do to pressure
– IE: Lime stone and Sand stone
• Metamorphic Rock: occurs when rock is
transformed due to heat and pressure
– IE: Marble and Slate
Igneous Rock
orbicular igneous rock
Sedimentary Rock
Metamorphic Rock
Metamorphic Rock
The Spheres
The Hydrosphere
• The Hydrosphere – Includes all parts of the
earth that are that are made up of water
– describes the combined mass of water found on,
under, and over the surface of a planet
– It is created by the Earth’s water cycle
Hydrosphere
• Approximately 70% of the Earth's surface, is
covered by ocean.
– an area of some 361 million square kilometers
(139.5 million square miles)
• Most of the water on this planet is salt water
– 75% of the salt in the ocean is NaCl (table salt)
The Freshwater
• The water required by most non-marine
organisms is called freshwater
– This is the water that contains minimal amounts
of salt and dissolved ions
• The largest collection of liquid freshwater in
the world is found in the Great Lakes
• Any water found above ground is termed
surface water
• Water found underground is termed ground
water and is usually held in porous rock called
Aquifers
Surface Water
Aquifers
Artesian Well
• Wells in which water flows from underground
aquifers to the surface (because of high
underground pressure) is called an Artesian
Well
The Water Cycle
• The Water Cycle describes the continuous
movement of water on, above and below the
surface of the Earth.
• Depending on the amount of energy found in
the water(temperature) it can be found as a
solid, liquid, or gas
• The cycle consists of the evaporation of water,
it condensation in clouds, and its return to the
lithosphere as rain.
The Spheres
The Atmosphere
• The Atmosphere – consists of the layer air and
gases that surrounds the Earth
– It is retained by the Earth’s gravity
– The atmosphere protects life on earth by:
• Absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation
• Warming the surface through heat retention
(Greenhouse Effect)
• Reducing temperature extremes between day and night
4 Layers of the Atmosphere
• Troposphere: The layer of the atmosphere that
touches the surface of the Earth
– It contains the majority of water vapor in the
atmosphere and is where Weather occurs
• Stratosphere: The layer above the troposphere
up to 50km above the Earth’s surface
– This is where the protective gas, OZONE (O3), occurs.
This protects us from Ultraviolet radiation
• Mesosphere: The layer above the stratosphere
up to 85km above the Earth’s surface
– This is the coldest layer of the atmosphere (-100oC)
• Thermosphere: The outermost layer of the
atmosphere (also called ionosphere)
– This is where the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights)
occurs
The Spheres
The Biosphere
• The biosphere - is the global sum of all
ecosystems.
• It can also be called the zone of life on Earth.
• The biosphere is the global system integrating
all living beings and their relationships,
including their interaction with the elements
of the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and
atmosphere.
Range of the Biosphere
• The Biosphere is considered to be 20km thick,
HOWEVER most of the life is found in a very
narrow range.
• Few organisms live deep in the ocean or high
in the sky
– This is because food is so rare due to a lack of
sunlight
– Most of the life is found around deep ocean vents
• Most life is found only 500m below the
surface of the ocean and 6km above sea level
The LAW
• The law of CONSERVATION OF ENERGY states
that energy is never created or destroyed, it
only changes form
– This means that we are not able to CREATE energy,
all we can do is transfer it into a more useable
form
• Think Solar panels and windmills
Energy Movement
• Energy Moves in waves
– Similar to the waves in the ocean
• How long or short the length of the wave is
(wavelength) depends on how much energy is
present
– The shorter the wave length, the higher the
energy (and often the more dangerous the wave)
Frequency, Wavelength, & Amplitude
• The wavelength and frequency are (for the
sake of this class) the same thing
– It is the distance from one wave peak to the next
wave peak. (or trough to trough)
• The wave’s amplitude is its distance the
middle of the wave to the wave peak
– It’s the amplitude that we use to measure the
wave peak
Different Types of Energy Waves
• Different wavelengths take on different
forms of energy.
– For Example:
• Gamma radiation, X-rays, and ultraviolet light
are all forms of energy with a very small
wavelength
– The small wavelength means they have HIGH
energy
• Infrared, radar, microwaves, and radio waves all
have much larger wavelengths
– This is why we are not harmed when a radio wave
hits our skin
Visible Light
• Visible light (The light we see) is also a
form of energy
– Our eyes work by receiving the energy that
bounces off of things
– Once our eye receives the energy it
transforms it into an electrical signal
– That electrical signal travels up our nerves
to our brain where it creates an image
Color
• The reason we are able to see in color is
because we have special cones in our eyes
that can differentiate slight differences in
energy waves
• The difference in color is actually dependent
on the lights wavelength that is reflected off
of the items we are looking at
R.O.Y.
G.
B.I.V.
• The visible light wavelengths range from Red
being the longest (lowest energy) wavelength
to Violet being the shortest (highest energy)
wavelength.
• Anything that has less energy than the red
wavelength is called infrared (infra = under)
• Anything that has more energy than the violet
wavelength is called ultraviolet (ultra = above)
R.O.Y.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
R. = Red
O. = Orange
Y. = Yellow
G. = Green
B. = Blue
I. = Indigo
V. = Violet
G.
Increase
in
Energy
of
wavelength
B.I.V.
Colorblind???
• Sometimes, perceptions of the world are
different between different people
• This is true when dealing with color if you
consider a person with the genetic disorder
for colorblindness
• People who are colorblind have
nonfunctioning cones (or less functioning
cones) in their eye causing them to not be
able to distinguish the different color
wavelengths
Ecology
• The science that studies the interactions
between living and nonliving parts of the
Earth is called ECOLOGY.
– To study ecology is to better understand the
world and the organisms that live on it.
– It is the study of the distributions, abundance and
relations of organisms and their interactions with
the environment.
– Ecology includes the study of plant and animal
populations, plant and animal communities and
ecosystems.