The Earth System

Question 1

What is force?

Answer 1

Force is a natural power that acts on an object.

Question 2

What is gravity?

Answer 2

Gravity is the force that makes objects fall toward Earth’s center.

Question 3

What is a particle?

Answer 3

A patrician is a very small fragment of a much larger object.

Question 4

What is energy?

Answer 4

Energy is the ability to do work.

Question 5

The earth system involves a constant flow of ____________ through different parts.

Answer 5

Matter

Question 6

Explain the water cycle?

Answer 6

Water evaporates from the ocean, rises into the atmosphere, and then falls from the sky as rain. The rainwater then flows into and over Earth, and then back into the ocean.

Question 7

What can new rock form from?

Answer 7

New rock can form from molten material inside Earth called magma.

Question 8

What is sediment?

Answer 8

Sediment is small particles

Question 9

What happens if enough small particles collect at the bottom of the ocean?

Answer 9

If enough of the small particles collect, the weight of the sediment can crush all the particles together. The particles can then be cemented together to form new rock.

Question 10

What is the flow of rock through the Earth system called?

Answer 10

The flow of rock through the Earth system is called the rock cycle.

Question 11

What are the two main sources that drive the Earth system?

Answer 11

The two main sources that drive the Earth’s system are heat from the sun and heat flowing out of Earth as it cools.

Question 12

The Earth system has four main spheres, what are they?

Answer 12

The four main spheres are the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the geosphere, and the biosphere.

Question 13

What can be considered a major source of energy for Earth processes?

Answer 13

The sun can be considered part of the Earth system as well.

Question 14

Who greatly affect the air, water, land, and life of Earth?

Answer 14

Humans greatly affect the air, water, land, and life of Earth.

Question 15

Describe what the atmosphere is?

Answer 15

The atmosphere is Earth’s outer most layer. It is a mixture of gases-mostly nitrogen and oxygen. It also contains dust particles, cloud droplets, and the rain and snow that form from water vapor. It contains Earth’s weather, and is the foundation for the different climates around the world.

Question 16

What is the definition for atmosphere?

Answer 16

Atmosphere is the relatively thin envelope of gases that forms Earth’s outermost layer.

Question 17

Describe the geosphere?

Answer 17

The geosphere is nearly all of Earth’s mass found in Earth’s solid rocks and metals, in addition to other materials.

Question 18

What are the three main parts of the geosphere?

Answer 18

The three main parts of the geosphere are a metal core, a solid middle layer, and a rocky outer layer.

Question 19

Describe the hydrosphere?

Answer 19

About three quarters of Earth is covered by a relatively thin layer of water. Earth’s Water can take the form of oceans, glaciers, rivers, lakes, groundwater, and water vapor. Of the surface water, most is the salt water of the ocean. Only a tiny part of the hydrosphere is fresh water that is drinkable by humans.

Question 20

What is the definition for hydrosphere?

Answer 20

Contains all of Earth’s water.

Question 21

The feedback of the melting glaciers affects what spheres?

Answer 21

The feed back of the melting glaciers affects the geosphere (the ground), hydrosphere (glaciers), and the atmosphere (climate).

Question 22

The earth system consists of the sun and four main?

Answer 22

Spheres , the hydrosphere, atmosphere, geosphere, and the biosphere.

Question 23

The sphere that contains humans is the_________.

Answer 23

Biosphere

Question 24

Describe the biosphere.

Answer 24

Life exists at the top of mountains, deep underground, at the bottom of the ocean, and high up in the atmosphere. In fact, life exists in all kinds of conditions. But life as we know it cannot exist without water.

Question 25

What is the definition for biosphere?

Answer 25

The parts of the Earth that contain living organisms make up the biosphere.

Question 26

What tears rocks apart?

Answer 26

Ice, rain, wind and changing temperatures tear the rock part.

Question 27

What is weathering?

Answer 27

Weathering is when ice, rain, wind, and changing temperatures tear the rocks apart.

Question 28

What are destructive forces?

Answer 28

Destructive forces are ice, rain wind, and changing temperatures.

Question 29

What do destructive forces do?

Answer 29

Destructive forces destroy and wear away land masses through processes like erosion and weathering.

Question 30

What is erosion?

Answer 30

Erosion is the wearing down and carrying away of land by natural forces such as water, ice, or wind.

Question 31

Forces that erode mountains are called?

Answer 31

Forces the erode mountains are called destructive forces.

Question 32

What a some destructive forces that act on mountains to erode them?

Answer 32

Ice, rain, wind, and changing temperatures.

Question 33

What are the Himalayas a result of?

Answer 33

The Himalayas are the result of the collision of two sections of Earth’s lithosphere, or Earth’s top layer of stiff, solid rock.

Question 34

What is the slow movement of Earth’s plates called?

Answer 34

The slow movement of Earth’s plates is called plate tectonics.

Question 35

Forces that construct, or build up, mountains are called?

Answer 35

Constructive forces

Question 36

What do constructive forces do?

Answer 36

Constructive forces shape the land’s surface by building up mountains and other land masses.

Question 37

How do volcanoes build up Earth’s surface.

Answer 37

Volcanoes build up Earth’s surface by spewing lava that hardens into rock.

Question 38

How do earthquakes built up Earth’s land masses?

Answer 38

Earthquakes build up land masses by lifting up mountains and rocks.