Welcome to Mr. Stafford’s Earth Science Class!

1. Welcome to Mr. Stafford’s Earth Science Class!

2. What to expect • This class will be geared to prepare you for your future science courses. • You will see some basic chemistry, biology, math, etc. • The material we cover will definitely include all things earth. • Volcanoes • Rocks • Atmosphere • And so on

3. A little Quiz about myself • Can you guess what city in North Carolina I’m from?

4. I attended Porter Ridge High School. Can you guess the school’s mascot? • What year do you think I graduated from high school? • 2007

5. What college did I attend? Hint: it’s very cold • Do you think I joined a Fraternity? • Eventually became President

6. With all that being said, how old do you think I am? • I’ll never say

7. About You • On a sheet of paper, tell me: • Your preferred name/age/grade • What are your hobbies? • What types of clubs/sports do you participate in? • Name one thing you could teach someone else? • What is one place you would like to visit in your lifetime? • What is your weakest/strongest subject? • Do you have access to the internet at home? • Is there any kind of condition or situation that I need to be aware of? (home or school) • What are your goals after high school? • If you plan on attending college, what schools do you have in mind? • Name anything you want to learn that pertains to Earth Science. • Contact information for your parents

8. So what is Earth Science? • For thousands of years, early human history, it was believed that supernatural forces caused all the major events, such as earthquakes, volcanoes, and tidal waves

9. Earth Science is the study of the earth and of the universe around it. • Four main branches of Earth Science • Geology • Oceanography • Meteorology • Astronomy

10. Why is Earth Science Important? • What kinds of things threaten our survival? • Ecology is the area of science looks at biology and earth science. Answers questions like how a particular group of animal or plant is influenced by their environment. • Environmental pollution • Protecting the environment

11. Earth’s Future Assignment • On your laptops, go to www.sascurriculumpathways.com/login • Log in as student, username is: wwhs • On the right hand side of the screen you will see a quick launch box. Enter the code 474 • Click on Forecasting Earth’s Future and begin reading the assignment. • Use the links provided to write your essay.

12. Warm-up #1 Jan. 6 • Earth Science – the study of earth and the universe around it. • 4 main branches: • Geology • Oceanography • Meteorology • Astronomy • You can also include Environmental Study • If you had to choose, what type of branch would you consider pursuing or making a career out of? Tell me why

13. http://exploringorigins.org/timeline.html About how old is earth? Where on the timeline do you think humans came about? What about the dinosaurs?

14. Scientific Method • State a problem • Often a result of observation. • What causes tornadoes to form? Why is oil found only in certain locations and not in others? • Gather information/Research • Investigate the problem, see what has been done already. • Form a Hypothesis • A possible explanation or solution to the problem. Based on facts, established through observation

15. Scientific Method • Test the Hypothesis/Experiment • A hypothesis will not be accepted by the scientific community unless there is evidence to support it. • Gather Data/Make Observations • You will take measurements or record observations in order to analyze the results. • State a Conclusion • After analyzing the data, a conclusion can be drawn. Here your hypothesis is either accepted or rejected.

16. Formation of the Earth • The Nebular Hypothesis • Suggests that the bodies of our solar system evolved from an enormous rotating cloud called the solar nebula. • Made up of mostly hydrogen and helium

17. Assignment • We are going to split into groups of 3 or 4. • Each group will be investigate all the areas of Earth Science. • Geology, Oceanography, Meteorology, Astronomy, Environmental science • In your group use your textbook and laptops to find the definition of each branch and the major topics covered by them • The information you gather should go under your notes section

18. Geology • The study of the origin, history, and structure of the solid earth and the processes that shape it • Many fields:

19. Oceanography • The study of earth’s oceans and other bodies of water.

20. Meteorology • The study of earth’s atmosphere

21. Astronomy • Study of the universe beyond earth

22. Environmental Science • The branch of biology that deals with the relationship of organisms and their environments

23. Warm-up #2 Jan. 9 • Earth System Science • Earth is a dynamic planet with many separate but interactive parts or spheres. Its aim is to understand earth as a system made up of numerous interacting parts, or subsystems. • Tries to put together what we know from the main branches discussed earlier. • What do you think are the main spheres of Earth? There are 4 of them.

24. Earth’s Major Spheres • There are four major sphere we use to describe the physical and interactive environment: • Hydrosphere • Atmosphere • Geosphere • Biosphere

25. Hydrosphere • What does the prefix hydro- mean? • All water makes up the hydrosphere • Only 3% of all water is fresh • Streams • Glaciers • groundwater

26. Atmosphere • Life-sustaining, thin, gaseous envelope that surrounds the Earth • Provides the air we breath • Protects us from the sun’s intense heat and UV radiation • The constant exchange of energy produces weather and climate

27. Geosphere • Beneath both the atmosphere and the ocean • Divided into 3 layers: • Core • Mantle • Crust

28. Biosphere • Includes all life on Earth • Plants and animals depend on the physical environment for life • Without life the makeup and nature of the solid earth, hydrosphere, and atmosphere would be very different.

29. Variables • Independent Variable • During an experiment, these are what you are changing • Ex. The different types of fertilizer you give a plant • Dependent Variable • These are the things you are measuring • Ex. The growth of the plants • Control Group • These groups aren’t changed and remain constant • Used for comparisons

30. International System of Units • Known as SI • This system was originally proposed in 1670, but was not actually created until 1791. In 1875, 17 countries, including the US, agreed to use the new system of measures as the standard. • It has changed over the years

31. Units You Should Use

32. The meter is the length of path traveled by light in vacuum during a time interval of 1/299,792,458 of a second. • By the way, this definition depends on the fact that the speed of light is defined (not measured) as exactly 299,792,458 meters per second.

33. SI Units • The SI units are not only based on scientific fact, but also allow you to deal with large or small quantities more easily • We use prefixes which are all powers of 10 of the base unit to convert between units

35. Conversions • In order to convert between units we must use a process called factor labeling. Given value What you are looking for Unit of what you are given

36. Examples Convert 64.8 cm to m 64.8 cm 10-2 m 100 cm

37. Examples • Convert 0.2410 Kg → g 0.2410 Kg 103 g 100 Kg

38. Practice • 0.75 Kg to milligrams Given value What you are looking for Unit of what you are given

39. TICKET OUT THE DOOR • The earth scientist most likely to study storms is __________ • The study of solid earth or rocks is called __________ • A possible explanation for a scientific problem is called what? • A meteorite land in your back yard. Which earth scientist would you call to study the meteorite? Why? • List the 6 scientific steps

40. Warm-up #3 Jan. 10 Theory An explanation of why Theories can never be proven as fact Theories usual have models associated with them They are continually modified and retested Law An explanation of how These are scientific fact Laws usually have equations associated with them. Theory of Evolution Law of Thermodynamics

41. Warm-up #4 Jan. 11 • Plate Tectonics • According to this theory, Earth’s Lithosphere is broken into several individual sections called plates. • These plates move slowly and continuously across the surface • This is what generates earthquakes, volcanic activity and deformation of large masses of rock into mountains • In your journal, record what you think it means to be both accurate and precise.

42. Measurements in data collection • Measurements in science have 2 parts. A number and a unit. Without the unit the number is irrelevant • Measurements also need to have 2 qualities • Accuracy • Precision

43. Accuracy and Precision • Accuracy is defined as the correctness of measurement. • Precision is the exactness of a measurement or how close a group is to one another.

44. Accuracy and Precision in Measurements • Accuracy is defined as being within 5% of the accepted value for that measurement • Precision is determined by the measuring instrument. The smaller the divisions are on a the measuring device the more precise the measurement will be.

45. Since measuring devices determine precision, you must use the device correctly to be as precise as possible • All measurements must have a digit of uncertainty at the end • A digit of uncertainty (DOU) is one place that past what can be measured EXACTLY. • The DOU is an estimate

46. Once your data has been collected it needs to be ORGANIZED What is the best way to organize data??

47. GRAPHS!! • The best and most common way of organizing data are through charts and graphs. • Give me some types of graphs: • Bar graphs • Line graphs • Pie graph

48. Graphs are a good way of visually organizing lot of information for quick access and understanding • They show trends that may not be seen through data alone • One thing that all graphs have in common is a title that explains the graph

49. Line Graphs • Shows change, most commonly change over time • A line graph is drawn with the independent variable on the x-axis and the dependent on the y-axis

50. Title Dependent Variable Independent Variable