Explore the World of Earth Science

HESIT (SUMMER 2010)

HESIT 2010, Dr. Joseph Ametepe (Hollins University)

The Earth Science standards connect the study of the Earth's composition, structure, processes, and history; its atmosphere, fresh water, and oceans; and its environment in space. The standards emphasize historical contributions in the development of scientific thought about the Earth and space. The standards stress the interpretation of maps, charts, tables, and profiles; the use of technology to collect, analyze, and report data; and science skills in systematic investigation. Problem solving and decision making are an integral part of the standards, especially as they relate to the costs and benefits of utilizing the Earth's resources. Major topics of study include plate tectonics, the rock cycle, Earth history, the oceans, the atmosphere, weather and climate, and the solar system and universe.

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/index.shtml


http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/content/visualizations/es0101/es0101page01.cfm?chapter_no=visualization


http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/navigation/visualization.cfm

http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/geol

ogy/rocks_intro.html http://edmall.gsfc.nasa.gov/aacps/unit/unit3.pdf http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_d

ocs/science/index.shtml

http://mineral.galleries.com/minerals/by_name.htm


Solar System Concepts

Astronomical Unit (AU)

Scale of the Solar System

Inner and Outer worlds (terrestrial and Jovian planets)

Model of the Solar System Sun (Our parent Star)

Physical/Chemical Properties

Importance of Sun

Life of our Parent star


The Moon

Physical/Chemical Properties

Phases of the Moon The Planet Earth (Our Home in Space)

Position of Earth

Physical/Chemical Properties of Earth

Earth Compared to other planets

Effects of density differences and energy transfer on activities of the atmosphere, oceans, and Earth’s

interior.


The Moon, Earth, and Sun System

Rotation and Revolution

Day/Night

Eclipses (Lunar and Solar eclipse)

Earth’s Tilt/Revolution and Season

The Cause of tides The Planet Earth

Atmosphere (Troposphere, Stratosphere, mesosphere, ionosphere, and magnetosphere)


Earth Pattern, Cycles, and Change

Idea of Cycles (Sequences of events that repeat itself)

Moon, Earth, and Sun

Earth through time

Water Cycle

Water in all three states (States of Matter)


Plate Tectonics (Continental Drift & Sea floor spreading)

Pangaea (The mother of all continents) – 200 million yrs agoContinents (Asia, Africa, North America, South America,

Europe, Antarctica, and Australia)

The Oceans (The Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the

Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and the

Arctic Ocean) Rocks Properties (hardness, color and streak, luster, cleavage,

fracture) Identification of Common Rocks


Rock Types (Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic)

Igneous (intrusive and extrusive)

Sedimentary (clastic and chemical)

Metamorphic (foliated and unfoliated) Rock Cycles Minerals

Uses of Minerals Soils


PART IScale of Things

Definition of Astronomy

Numbers – How big is a billion?

Relation of Earth Science to Astronomy

Light Years (LY), Astronomical Unit (AU), Why the different units?

Solar System Scale

Scale in the Milky Way (100,000 LY across)

1 LY = Dist. traveled by light in a year = 6 Trillion miles(185,000 years to count the # of years in a LY)


Question: Is the LY a unit of time or distance? What about the parsec? c = speed of light = 3.0 x 108 m/s = 186,000 mi/s

Structure of the Universe

Age of the Universe

The Big Bang Theory

Expanding Universe (Red and Blue shift – Doppler effect)

Collection of Galaxies

Milky Way Galaxy

Collection of Stars


Solar System

Planets – Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, & Neptune.

Inner Planets (Terrestrial): Mercury, Venus, Earth, & Mars

Outer Planets (Jovian): Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and

Neptune

Physical Properties: distance from the Sun, Size, density, Volume


HESIT 2010, Dr. Joseph Ametepe

(Hollins University)

The Planet Earth (Our Home in Space)Core, Mantle, Crust & Atmosphere

Crust – Oceans & Continents (continental & oceanic crust)

Density & BuoyancyDensity of Common rock: 2000-3000 kg/m3

Density of water: 1000 kg/m3

Note: The continents made up of this rock cannot float on an interior of the Earth made of water; they would sink!!!


When the density of object is greater than a fluid, that object will sink in that fluid.

The average ρEarth = 5500 kg/m3

ρcore = 12,000 kg/m3

ρmantle = 5000 kg/m3

ρcrust = 3000 kg/m3

ρoceans = 1000 kg/m3

ρatms. = 1 kg/m3 (Floats above the continents and oceans)

The Earth has a much higher density interior than the crust,

therefore, the crust floats on the higher density mantle.


The Earth’s Atmosphere

Gas Composition: NOAC

Nitrogen – 78%

Oxygen – 21% (Presence of oxygen, makes Earth unique)

Argon – 0.9%

Carbon dioxide – 0.03%

Water vapor & other trace gases – rest


Main Division of Atmosphere:

Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, and Ionosphere.

Meter Stick Model (Meter stick represents the atmosphere

Scale: 1 cm = 1 km On this scale, the Earth would be larger than a

football field.


5 cm Half the atmosphere lies below this level8 cm The tallest mountain, Mt. Everest 9 – 12 cm Cruising altitude of jet airliners10 cm 90% of the atmosphere is below this level15 cm Top of the troposphere, most of the

weather occurs below this level24 cm Altitude record for a jet, set by SR-7130 cm 99% of the atmosphere is below this level15 – 50 cm Stratosphere20 – 50 cm Location of the ozone layer50 – 90 cm Mesosphere90 – 250 cm Thermosphere200 cm Low Earth Orbit satellites and Space

Shuttle


Earth-Moon-Sun system revisited

Rotation and Revolution (Difference)

The motion of the Earth, Moon, and Sun (revolution and rotation)

The Earth completes 1 revolution around the sun every 365 days.

The moon revolves around the Earth about once every month.

Eclipses: Solar and Lunar eclipse Solar eclipse: when the moon passes directly between the sun

and Earth


A lunar eclipse: Moon moves into Earth’s shadow

A lunar eclipse occurs at full moon.

Suggested Class Activity: Modeling solar & Lunar Eclipse Phases of the moon: Caused by the moon’s position relative to the Earth and the sun. The phases of the moon:

New,

Crescent (waxing and waning),

HESIT 2010, Dr. Joseph Ametepe

(Hollins University)

Gibbous (waxing and waning), Quarter (first and third), and Full moon.

Suggested Class Experiment: Model the formation of the eight moon phases, sequence the phases in order, and describe how the phases occur.


PART II Weather and Climate What is the difference between Weather and Climate? Weather : short-term conditions of temperature, humidity,

wind speed, etc., at a given location. Weather is created by energy transfer between the Earth’s

surface and the atmosphere. Suggested Class Experiment: Ask class to listen to the

weather channel in your locality for a week. Keep weather log.


Weather factors Temperature: A measure of the amount of heat energy in the

atmosphere Air pressure: Is due to the weight of the air and is determined by several

factors including the temperature of the air. Fronts: the boundary between air masses of different temperature and

humidity is called a front. Formation and types of cloudsCirrus, Stratus, cumulus, and cumulonimbus (thunderstorms, tornadoes)

clouds are associated with certain weather conditions.

http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Atmosphere/clouds/cloud_types.html


Storms: Extreme atmospheric conditions create various kinds of storms such as thunderstorms, hurricanes, and tornadoes.

Different atmospheric conditions create different types of

precipitation.

Reintroduce “the water cycle.” http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/

Water/water_cycle.html


Suggested Class Experiment: Use thermometer to compare air temperature over a period of time

Suggested Class Experiment: How to read relative humidity

Suggested Class Experiment: How to read relative humidity chart

Suggested Class Experiment: Differentiate between cloud types – take class out to observe different types of clouds

Suggested Class Experiment: Compare and contrast the formation of different types of precipitation


Climate means generalized or averaged weather for a given region.

Major factors that affect climate:

Latitude, Elevation, Proximity to bodies of water, and Position relative to mountain.

Meteorology – a branch of Earth Science dealing with the study of

weather and climate. Question: What drive weather and Climate?


Answer: Energy from the Sun (Connection between Earth & Sun). In the broad sense, the intricate systems and subsystems governing weather and climate behave as a machine does.

The Sun accounts for 99.9% of the energy input at Earth’s

surface. The rest is provided by heat moving upward from the Earth’s

interior and tidal interaction. The Earth’s atmosphere absorbs and retains heat. What is Convection (Important concept) Earth’s Troposphere – Earth’s atmosphere where convection

occurs.


Convection occurs whenever cool fluid overlies warm fluid. Question: How do meteorologists predict weather

patterns/conditions? Meteorologist use data to predict weather patterns (How do they

collect data?) Meteorologists gather data by using a variety of weather

Instruments Barometer, Hygrometer, An anemometer, Rain gauge, & thermometer.

Instruments (Meteorological tools) Barometer: measures air pressure


Experiment: Measure air pressure using a barometer, compare the humidity at different times of the day, analyze the changes in air pressure occurring over time and predict what the changes mean in terms of changing weather patterns.

Working with a weather station – School project to build a weather

station

Hygrometer: measures moisture in the air

Anemometer: measure wind speed (how fast wind is blowing) Rain Gauge: measures precipitation (rain, drizzle, hail, snow, sleet,

freezing snow)Thermometer: temperature of air


Suggested Class Experiments Measure the amount of moisture in the air using a

hygrometer Measure wind speed using an anemometer Measure precipitation using a rain gauge Measure the temperature of air using a thermometer


Suggested Class Project:

1. Analyze and report information about temperature and precipitation on weather maps.

2. Design an investigation where

weather data are gathered using meteorological tools and charted to make weather predictions


Geological Active Earth Surface Activities: Volcanoes, Earthquakes, Wind/Ocean activities,

crust (plate) movement, etc.

Lithosphere & Asthenosphere Lithosphere: Plates of the Earth (Crust + small part of upper mantle) Lithosphere: Portion of the Earth that undergoes plate tectonics


Asthenosphere: part of the mantle that flows, a characteristic called plastic behavior (The Toothpaste Model)

Asthenosphere: mantle convection, which plays an

important role in moving lithospheric plates. Note: No drilling gear can penetrate (withstand) the

pressure below a depth of about 10 km (~ 6 miles). Geologists use other techniques to probe the deep recesses of our planet.


Introduction to Continents and Oceans Pangaea (The mother of all continents) – 200 million yrs

agoContinents (Asia, Africa, North America, South

America, Europe, Antarctica, and Australia) The Oceans (The Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and the

Arctic Ocean) Globe + Maps + Latitudes + Weather/Climate



http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/interior/plate_tectonics.html


Plate Tectonics (Crust divided into Plates) Plate Movement is referred to as “Plate

Tectonics” Note: The theory of plate tectonics broadly

paints a unified picture of how continents drift, how oceans widen, how continents, converge, and why violent events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur.


Location of Plate Boundaries (Earthquakes and Volcanoes)

Note: Volcanoes are also distributed in long belts that circle the Earth. A dramatic example is known as the "Ring of Fire" because it is the site of frequent volcanic eruptions.

Types of Plate Motion◦ Convergent, Divergent, and transform


Example: Divergent (Plates move away from each other): The mid-Atlantic

Ridge

Convergent (Plates move toward each other) - Example: the Nazca Plate pushed beneath the South American PlateOceanic-continentalOceanic – oceanicContinental - continental

Transform (Plates slide past each other): Example: The San Andreas fault in California.



http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/IBCAO_betamap.jpg



Layers of the Earth (After 4.5 Billion years of cooling)

The Mantle: Minerals rich in iron, magnesium, silicon, and oxygen

Crust: Rich in Oxygen, and Silicon (lesser

amounts of aluminum, iron, magnesium, calcium, potassium, and Sodium

Crust: (Basalt rock – relatively dense oceanic

crust and granite - lower density continental crust)


Crust – low density, thin, ~ 30 km (average) Mantle – higher density, extends from base

of crust to 2900 km Core – highest density, mainly Fe & Ni,

extends from base to mantle to center of Earth (6370 km)

Radius of Earth ~ 6400 km Can you calculate the volume of the Earth? What about Earth’s rotation speed?


Divided into five main layers Lithosphere

Cooler temp., rigid & brittle, outermost layer, surface to about 100 km deep

Asthenosphere◦ Hotter, plastic, partially molten, from 100 – 700 km

Mesosphere ◦ Plastic and rigid behavior, high pressure, 700 –

2900 km Outer core – liquid Inner core - rigid


http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Interior_Structure/interior.html

http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/images/earthint_image.html&edu=elem

http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/images/earthro2.mpeg


http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/climate/cycles_general.html

http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/geology/rocks_intro.html


Igneous Rocks (From Magma or molten rock)◦ Magma when below the Earth and Lava when above◦ Intrusive (Plutonic): formed below the Earth’s surface◦ Extrusive (Volcanic): formed above the Earth’s surface

Sedimentary Rocks (From Sediments)◦ ¾ of Rocks at Earth’s Surface◦ Preserves environmental record of when they formed◦ Clastic SR: from many broken bits of other rocks, Chemical SR –

by chemical processes: made from mineral crystals such as halite and gypsum, Organic SR – from remains of living things: clamshells, plankton, skeletons, etc.

Metamorphic Rocks (From other rocks due to temperature & pressure)◦ Foliated◦ Non-foliated


http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/geology/ig_intro.html

http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/geology/sed_intro.html

http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/geology/meta_intro.html

http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/geology/hist_geotime.html


Almost all of the rock that we have on Earth today is made of the same stuff as the rocks that dinosaurs and other ancient life forms walked, crawled or swam over.

While the stuff that rocks are made from has stayed the same, the rocks themselves, have not. Over time rocks are recycled into other rocks.

Moving tectonic plates are responsible for destroying and forming many different types of rocks.


Craters (Moon & Mercury) Telescopes Binoculars Sun Spot Exercise Solar System Model Eclipses Model (Moon, Earth, Sun System) Seasons Model Phases of the Moon Ellipse Galaxies (Hubble’s Law of recession) Tides using charged rod to attract water


Why many craters on the Moon & Mercury? Importance of Atmosphere How does the sky on the moon look like? Earth’s Atmosphere Atmosphere of Mercury Weather on the Moon and Mercury Atmospheres of inner and outer planet NASA Exploration of the Moon


Solar system review Are there other solar systems? Are there other “Earth-like” planets out

there? Comparing planets (terrestrial & jovian) Jovian planets Terrestrial planets Scale of the solar system

◦ Soccer field◦ Meter stick – concept of astronomical unit (AU)


Sun, Earth, and Moon System Rotation & revolution of Sun, Earth, and Moon Rotation – Day & Night

◦ Seconds, minutes, hours, days Revolution – Earth Year Earth between Sun and Moon Moon between Sun and Earth Other years on other planets Tides

◦ Attraction of water by a charged rod


New Moon Waxing phases

◦ Moon is getting larger and brighter◦ Waxing cresent, 1st quarter, waxing gibbous

Waning phases◦ Moon is getting smaller and dimmer◦ Waning gibbous, 2nd quarter, waning cresent

Full Moon◦ When we see the full lit moon

Extension of Eclipses exercise


About ¼ the size of Earth ~240,000 miles from Earth Permanent dark sky on moon (why?) Daytime temp. is 250 0F & night time -2900F Craters, mountains, seas of hardened lava

(Maria), huge rocks 28 days - 1revolution around Earth Causes oceans to have high & low tides Tides – important to marine life &

environment


Sun, Earth, Moon relationship Ecliptic Relation between the ecliptic & equator Sun in the Northern Hemisphere Sun in the Southern Hemisphere Tilt of the Earth – responsible for seasons The sky Different types of stars


The Big-bang theory Galaxies Milky-way galaxy Collection of galaxies Galaxies receding away from each other


Divergent boundaries Convergent boundaries Transform boundaries


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