EARTH

Earth is the third planet from the Sun and is the largest
of the terrestrial planets. It is the only known planet to
support life.
 Why Earth is the best planet in the
Solar System that can support life?

h"ps://lifesjourneyblog.com/2016/04/21/rest-stop-friday-earth-day/
ATMOSPHERE
•  Oxygen is constantly put into the atmosphere by plants
and trees
•  Smaller presence of carbon dioxide on Earth is useful
as it helps to moderate the planet's temperature and is
absorbed by plants during photosynthesis to produce
oxygen.
•  Earth's atmosphere is thick enough to prevent
poisonous rays of radiation from getting through it.
CLIMATE
•  There is a moderate amount of carbon
dioxide in the planet's atmosphere.

•  The temperature on Earth does not go

from one extreme to the other either
WATER
•  Other liquids contain poisonous elements.
Water doesn't burn skin, it is drinkable, and it
allows life-providing molecules to move around
easily.
•  Water on Earth can be found anywhere, in its
three states (solid, liquid and gas).
LIGHT
•  Plants need sunlight in order to grow
•  Earth spins on its axis in a span of 24
hours, meaning that each side of the planet
receives sunlight regularly.
SUN
•  To allow life to be created and to support
it, earth receives the perfect amount of
heat and light because of Earth’s ideal
distance from the sun.
•  The sun’s gravity keeps earth in its orbit.

SUBSYSTEMS OF
THE EARTH
 Geosphere
It is consist of
three major layers:
core, mantle, and
crust
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/natural_hazards/
tectonic_plates_rev1.shtml
 Geosphere
Outer Core
•  1400 miles thick
•  combination of iron, alloy, and nickel

Inner Core
•  about 750 miles thick and made up
primarily of iron
 Geosphere
Mantle
•  accounts the big volume of the earth
•  covers the core and lies beneath the crust
•  outermost mantle is cool, strong, and hard
•  Innermost mantle is hot, rock is not
stable, soft, plastic, and flows slowly
 Geosphere
Crust
•  outermost layer
•  a thin veneer below a layer is soil and
beneath the ocean water
•  composed almost entirely of solid
rock
 Hydrosphere
•  It is the liquid water component of the
earth which circulates among oceans,
continents, glaciers, and the atmosphere.
•  Ocean makes up 71% of Earth and
contains 97.5% saltwater and 2.5%
freshwater.
https://sites.google.com/site/gccclimatechange/the-different-spheres/the-hydrosphere
 Hydrosphere
•  About 1.8 percent
of Earth’s water is
frozen in glaciers.
•  The glaciers cover
about 10% of
Earth’s land
surface today. http://beforeitsnews.com/self-sufficiency/2014/08/study-blames-humans-for-
most-of-melting-glaciers-2479072.html

https://sites.google.com/site/gccclimatechange/the-different-spheres/the-hydrosphere
h"p://ge@ngthepicture.info/3/
Freshwater

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake footballetc.wordpress.com

Lake Stream

http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2015/09/10/collaborative-management-of-
the-zambezi-river-basin-ensures-greater-economic-resilience
River
Atmosphere
•  The atmosphere is a mixture of nitrogen
(78%), oxygen (21%), and other gases
(1%) that surrounds Earth.
•  It supports life by regulating climate by
acting as a blanket and filter, retaining heat
at night and shielding us from direct solar
radiation during the day.
Layers of the Atmosphere
http://www.vtaide.com/png/atmosphere.htm
Layers of the Atmosphere

Troposphere
-  10 km. from the earth’s surface
-  Formation of weather
-  Jet stream
-  Tropopause
Layers of the Atmosphere

Stratosphere
-  30km – 50 km from Earth’s surface
-  Ozone layer
Layers of the Atmosphere

Mesosphere
-  The “middle layer”
-  50km – 90 km above Earth’s surface
-  Coldest region of the atmosphere
-  The layer where most meteors burn up upon
atmospheric entrance
-  mesopause
Layers of the Atmosphere

Thermosphere
-  Sun’s radiation strips off
-  “Ionosphere”
-  90km – 400km above the Earth’s surface
-  Occasionally seen is the aurora borealis and
aurora australis
-  Many satellites actually orbit the Earth within
thermosphere
Layers of the Atmosphere
Aurora borealis and Aurora australis
Layers of the Atmosphere

Exosphere
-  Topmost part of the atmosphere
-  Composes of hydrogen and helium
-  Thinnest region of the atmosphere
-  400km – 500km above Earth’s surface
Biosphere
•  Biosphere, (from Greek bios = life, sphaira=
sphere) is the layer of the planet Earth where life
exists.
•  The biosphere is all about life. All of the microbes,
plants, and animals can be found somewhere in the
biosphere.
•  The biosphere extends to the upper areas of
the atmosphere where birds and insects can be found.
It also reaches to dark caves deep in the ground or to
the bottom of the ocean at hydrothermal vents.
REFERENCES
•  http://www.bobthealien.co.uk/earthlife.htm
•  https://www.niwa.co.nz/education-and-training/
schools/students/layers
•  http://www.biodiversidad.gob.mx/v_ingles/
planet/whatis_bios.html
•  http://www.geography4kids.com/files/
land_intro.html