Unit 3
Lesson 1
Earth’s
Support of
Life
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Slide # 1
Unit 3 Lesson 1 Earth’s Support of
Life
Prime Time Prep:
Write down 2 things
you think you know
about Global
Climate Change
and
2 questions you
have about GCC
You need your book;
Go get it
NOW please.
Then do the Prime
Time Prep 
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Slide # 2
Unit 3 Lesson 1 Earth’s Support of Life
Living It Up
What do living things
need to survive?
• The basic necessities of life
are air, water, a source of
energy, and a habitat to live
in.
Plate tectonics
#2
Evidence
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Slide # 3
Unit 3 Lesson 1 Earth’s Support of Life
How do Earth and the sun interact to support
life on Earth?
• During photosynthesis,
plants use the sun’s energy,
carbon dioxide, and water
to produce oxygen and
glucose.
• Plants form the foundation
of many food chains. Some
animals eat plants to gain
energy. Other animals eat
these animals.
• In this way, energy from the sun is passed from
plants to other organisms.
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Slide # 4
Unit 3 Lesson 1 Earth’s Support of Life
How do Earth and the
sun interact to
support life on Earth?
• Earth’s rotation allows most
regions of Earth to receive
sunlight regularly.
• Regular sunlight allows
plants to grow in almost all
places on Earth.
• Earth's rotation also protects areas on Earth from
temperature extremes.
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Slide # 5
Unit 3 Lesson 1 Earth’s Support of Life
How do Earth and the sun interact to
support life on Earth?
• Earth’s distance from the sun also protects it from
temperature extremes.
• If Earth were closer to the sun, it might be like Venus,
which is too hot to support life. If it were farther away, it
might be like Mars, which is too cold to support life.
• Earth’s temperatures range from below 0 °C (32 °F) to
above 38 °C (100 °F), allowing life to survive in the
coldest and hottest places on Earth.
Slide # 6
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 3 Lesson 1 Earth’s Support of Life
How do Earth and the sun interact to
support life on Earth?
Which planet is too hot to support life. Which is too cold?
Slide # 7
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Summary
How do Earth and the sun interact to
support life on Earth?
•
•
•
•
Right distance = temperature
Sun’s energy = photosynthesis
Earth’s rotation = regular light and heat
Earth’s tilt = allows for seasons and
variations in climate around the world
Slide # 8
Prime Time Prep:
Work with your tablemate and use
your notes to answer this question:
How do Earth and the sun interact to
support life on Earth?
Slide # 9
How did Earth get so much water?
As early Earth cooled, it released steam and other gases
into the air. The steam formed clouds, water fell to Earth as
rain, and Earth’s oceans began.
Also, icy comets and meteors impacted Earth and
added water to Earth’s oceans.
Water, Water Everywhere
Slide # 10
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 3 Lesson 1 Earth’s Support of Life
What is unique about Earth’s water?
• Earth is unique in the solar system because it contains
water in the solid, liquid, and gas states. Most of the
water is in liquid form.
• Liquid water is essential to
life because cells need
liquid water in order to
perform life processes.
• Water remains a liquid on
Earth because surface
temperatures generally
stay above the freezing
point and below the
boiling point of water.
Slide # 11
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Unit 3 Lesson 1 Earth’s Support of Life
Extremophiles
• Extremophiles are
organisms that live in
extreme environments.
• The Antarctic has icecovered lakes and cold,
dry valleys, but life can
still be found there.
Extremophiles live in a wide variety of places, like Yellowstone National
Park's Grand Prismatic Spring
(National Park Service image by James Peaco)
• A type of worm called a nematode survives in the
cold by producing antifreeze in its cells.
• The presence of extremophiles on Earth makes it
seem possible for life to exist in the extreme
conditions on other planets.
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Slide # 12
Unit 3 Lesson 1 Earth’s Support of Life
Security Blanket
How does Earth’s
atmosphere support life?
• An atmosphere is a mixture of gases that
surround a planet, moon, or other space object.
• Some space objects have atmospheres, and some
do not. It often depends on the strength of the
object’s gravity.
• Because of their size, the gravity of Earth and
Venus is strong enough to hold atmospheres in
place. Why do you think the gravity of Mercury
and the Moon is too weak to hold atmospheres?
Slide # 13
http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/sage/meteorology/lesson1/images/atmosphere&moon.jpg
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 3 Lesson 1 Earth’s Support of Life
How does Earth’s
atmosphere support
life?
• Earth’s atmosphere is
composed mainly of
nitrogen and oxygen. It
also has traces of carbon
dioxide and other gases.
• Plants and some single-celled organisms use carbon
dioxide for photosynthesis.
• Plants, animals, and most other organisms use
oxygen to perform cell processes.
Slide # 14
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How does Earth’s
atmosphere support life?
• Earth’s atmosphere was originally
just hydrogen and helium. These
gases, being very light, escaped
into space.
• Volcanoes released water vapor,
carbon dioxide, and ammonia into
the atmosphere. Solar energy
broke ammonia apart into nitrogen
and hydrogen.
• Bacteria used carbon dioxide to
perform photosynthesis, releasing
oxygen into the atmosphere.
http://scijinks.jpl.nasa.gov/atmosphere-formation
Slide # 15
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 3 Lesson 1 Earth’s Support of Life
How does Earth’s
atmosphere support
life?
• As the sun’s radiation
reaches Earth, some of
it is reflected back into
space, some is
absorbed by
atmospheric gases, and
some is absorbed by
Earth’s surface.
• Earth's surface then radiates heat, which is absorbed and
re-radiated by atmospheric gases through a process called
the greenhouse effect. Glass lets light through, but not
heat
• The greenhouse effect keeps Earth warmer than it would
be if Earth had no atmosphere.
Slide # 16
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 3 Lesson 1 Earth’s Support of Life -- Atmosphere
If all the heat stays in the
atmosphere, the Earth would get too
hot. Perhaps it would be better to
think of the atmosphere as a blanket,
and not a greenhouse?
Slide # 17
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 3 Lesson 1 Earth’s Support of Life
How does Earth’s atmosphere support life?
Slide # 18
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 3 Lesson 1 Earth’s Support of Life
How does Earth’s atmosphere
support life?
• One type of solar radiation that can
harm life is ultraviolet radiation.
It can damage the genetic material
in organisms.
• Earth has a protective ozone layer that blocks
most ultraviolet radiation before it reaches Earth's
surface.
• Each molecule of ozone is made up of three
oxygen atoms. Some human-made chemicals,
(CFCs) have damaged the ozone layer.
Slide # 19
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 3 Lesson 1 Earth’s Support of Life
How does Earth’s atmosphere support life?
Slide # 20
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 3 Lesson 1 Earth’s Support of Life
How does Earth’s atmosphere support
life? • What is the greenhouse effect?
• How does the ozone layer protect living organisms?
https://www.fas.org/irp/imint/docs/rst/Sect16/originals/Fig16_8.jpg
Slide # 21
http://www.gea-consulting.com/hvac-blog/bid/86725/OzoneLayer-Healing-but
Unit 3 Lesson 1 Earth’s Support of Life
Key Topics: Copy this for a study guide
The Sun – how does the sun help make life on Earth possible?
light
temperature
Earth’s rotation and tilt
Earth’s Water – compare amounts to other planets
How did Earth get its water?
How does water support life of Earth?
Earth’s Atmosphere – compare composition to other planets
What gases are in our atmosphere?
How did our atmosphere form?
How does our atmosphere support life on Earth?
Greenhouse Effect
Ozone
http://www.gea-consulting.com/hvac-blog/bid/86725/Ozonehttps://www.fas.org/irp/imint/docs/rst/Sect16/originals/Fig16_8.jpg
Slide # 22
Layer-Healing-but
Watch this
video:
Bill Nye
explains climate
change (4
mins)
Bill Nye What if all the ice melted? (6 mins)
Bill Nye Climate Change Grief Nat Geo (45 mins)
6 Degrees PBS (60 mins +)
Slide # 23
Slide # 24
Our ecological or carbon footprint measures how our
lifestyle impacts global climate change.
If you are NOT using an iPad/iPhone, use this link to find
out what your carbon footprint is!
If you are using an iPad/iPhone, do not put in your real
birthday and pick Holland Elementary School, but
use this link to find out what your carbon footprint is!.
Slide # 25
http://ete.cet.edu/gcc/?/globaltemp_teacherpage/
Slide # 26
http://climate.nasa.gov/images-of-change?id=587#587-fire-andrecovery-in-yellowstone-national-park-u.s.
http://climate.nasa.gov/images-of-change?id=535#535shrinking-mrdalsjökull-ice-cap,-iceland
Slide # 27
SlideFirefox
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