UNIT 2: PLANET EARTH (EL PLANETA TIERRA)

1- THE LAYERS OF THE EARTH ( CAPAS DE LA TIERRA)

ATMOSPHERE

GEOSPHERE
CRUST

TROPOSPHERE

STRATOSPHERE

MANTLE

HYDROSPHERE
CORE

IONOSPHERE

-The Earth is called the Blue Planet.

-About 75% of its surface is covered by water

THE ATMOSPHERE
Its a gaseous layer that surrounds the whole planet

It contains gases (nitrogen and oxygen)

It has different layers:

The troposphere

the stratosphere

the ionosphere

-Its closest to the surface

-Its 12 km thick
-We can observe meteorological conditions

-its above the troposphere

-it includes the ozone layer

-its above the stratosphere

-the top is about 400 km high
-it reflects radio waves
-There isnt a lot of air

THE GEOSPHERE
Its a solid part of the Earth.

It has different layers:

The crust

the mantle

the core

Its the outer layer

its under the crust

its the inner layer

Its made of rocks

it can be very hot

its made of iron

It includes the continents, islands and ocean floors

some rocks are in liquid form (magma)

temperatures are very high

THE HIDROSPHERE
It includes all the water that exists

Liquid state
Oceans rivers

solid state
seas

lakes

2- MINERALS AND ROCKS

MINERALS
They are solid bodies that form rocks.
They are not living things

snow

ice

gaseous state
water vapour

We can classify them by properties:

Hardness

lustre

colour

Hard and resistant

soft and less resistant

metallic appearance or lustre

non-metallic lustre

green

Diamond

chalk

gold, copper

granite

malachite

ROCKS
They consist of one or more minerals

They can be:

Sedimentary

igneous

metamorphic

Sedimentary rocks:

Composed of particles of other rocks

Formed by erosion, sedimentation and compaction
Weathering breaks rocks ------------) layers of sediment ------------) sandstone and conglomerate

yellow

sulphur

Some include organic materials like coal and petroleum

Igneous rocks:
Formed from hot, melted rocks (magma).
When the magma cold, it changes back to solid rock
Basalt, granite

Metamorphic rocks
Formed under the surface when rocks become very hot or when they are under pressure
Slate

3- Energy inside the Earth

Volcanoes
It forms when hot magma rises the Earths surface

Earthquakes
They are caused by sudden movements of the Earths crust

4-WATER ON THE EARTH

Water pollution and treatment
Avoid wasting water: to protect the supplies of fresh water

Many human activities cause water pollution. We need to purify it

Purified water: its clean but it isnt for drinking. We need to disinfect it

Potable water: its good for drinking

4- GLOBES AND MAPS

Globes

maps

Are three-dimensional models of the Earths surface

are flat, two-dimensional representations of the Earths surface

Show areas and distances without any distortions

areas and distances are distorted

Meridians and parallels

Meridians

Semicircular lines that go from the North Pole to the South pole
Are numbered in degrees: 0 to 180 East and 0 to 180 West
Meridian 0 or Greenwich Meridian is the Prime Meridian.

Parallels
Circular lines that go around the Earth from east to west
Are numbered in degrees: 0 to 90 North and 0 to 90 South
The Equator is parallel 0. It divides the Earth in two parts: The Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere.
Geographic coordinates

Latitude is the distance in degrees from the Equator

The equator is at latitude 0

Longitude is the distance in degrees from the Prime Meridian or Greenwich Meridian
The Prime Meridian is at longitude 0