The Earth's four spheres Flashcards
What is the lithosphere?
The solid Earth that includes the continental and ocean crust as well the various layers of Earth’s interior.
What is internal structure of the Earth?
Crust: outermost and thinnest portion, consists of continental crust (29%) and oceanic crust (covers 71% of Earth’s surface).
Mantle: solid zone, largest (68% of its mass, rich in iron, silicon, oxygen and magnesium).
Core: very hot, solid and liquid.
What is the biosphere?
The part of the Earth and its atmosphere in which life can exist composed of ecosystems.
What are the 3 parts the biosphere is made up of?
Atmosphere (air)
Hydrosphere (water)
Lithosphere (rock and sediments)
What are ecosystems?
Composed of communities of organisms and their environment.
What are communities?
Populations of different species of organisms.
What are habitats?
The place where an organism lives and to which it is adapted.
What is the hydrosphere?
All water on Earth. The Earth’s liquid water constitutes the hydrosphere. The vast majority of Earth’s water is in the oceans (salt water), smaller quantities of fresh water are in lakes, rivers, and ground water.
What components make up the hydrosphere?
The cryosphere (frozen water), the atmosphere, and the biosphere.
Where is fresh continental water stored?
The snow pack, underground reservoirs, the root zone (first few meters of the soil), vegetation, surface waters (rivers, lakes, man-made reservoirs, wetlands etc.)
What is the cryosphere?
The cryosphere describes the portions of the Earth’s surface where water is in solid form, including sea ice, lake ice, river ice, snow cover, glaciers, ice caps and ice sheets, and frozen ground (which includes permafrost).
What is the atmosphere?
The gases that envelope and surround the Earth make up the Earth’s atmosphere.
What are the functions of the atmosphere?
Protecting the Earth from UV rays.
Balances the global temperature on the Earth.
What is the composition of the atmosphere?
Oxygen (21%), Nitrogen (78%), Argon (1%), others (0.03%)
What is the nitrogen cycle?
Nitrogen cycles in the atmosphere, it is removes from the atmosphere by bacteria and lightening. These nitrogen compounds are then taken up by plants and utilized in growth and development.
