Monday November 5, 2012

1. MondayNovember 5, 2012 (The Birth and Evolution of a Planet; Earth’s Spheres)

2. The Launch Pad Monday, 11/5/12 Please pick up a worksheet on your way in. List three things that the Earth has that the Moon doesn’t have. an atmosphere liquid water life

3. Announcements Happy November!

5. Recent Events in Science NASA Adds Up Hurricane Sandy's Rainfall from Space Read All About It! http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121101172152.htm NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, or TRMM, satellite acts as a rain gauge in space as it orbits Earth's tropics. As TRMM flew over Hurricane Sandy since its birth on Oct. 21, it was gathering data that has now been mapped to show how much rain the storm dropped along the U.S. eastern seaboard.

6. The Grand Oasis in Space As Apollo 8 orbited the Moon on Christmas Eve, 1968, the astronauts remarked at how beautiful our home planet looked hanging there in the vastness of space.

7. Almost to a man, the astronauts were glad they got to go, but always kept an eye turned back toward home. So, this is the story of our home planet, a world that is unique, fragile, and vulnerable.

8. The Birth of a Planet We have seen that the Nebular Hypothesis Theory assumes that our Solar System was formed from a flat, rotating disk with the protosun at the center. The inner planets begin to form from metallic and rocky substances that can only crystallize at higher temperatures. In the colder outer Solar System, the larger planets began forming from gases and ices, such as H2O, CO2,NH3, CH4, and other compounds. Here in the inner Solar System, in the planet that would one day be known as Earth, iron and nickel melted and sank to form the metallic core, while lighter, rocky materials rose to form the upper mantle and Earth’s crust.

9. Early Evolution of Earth Flattening and spinning. Gravity, shock waves, condensing, “dust bunny” analogy. Origin of Earth - The Nebular Hypothesis • Most researchers believe that Earth and the other planets formed at essentially the same time. • Our solar system evolved from an enormous rotating cloud called a protoplanetary disk. (A) • The nebula was composed mostly of hydrogen and helium gases, and dust. • About 5 billion years ago the nebula began to contract. (B) • The nebula assumed a flat, disk shape (accretion disk) with the protosun (pre-Sun) at the center. (C) • The inner planets begin to form from metallic and rocky clumps. (D) • The larger outer planets began forming from fragments with a high percentage of ices • Today (E)

10. The Formation of the Early Earth Figure 12.5

11. Early Evolution of Earth Formation of Earth’s Layered Structure • As Earth formed, the decay of radioactive elements and heat from high-velocity impacts caused the temperature to increase. • Iron and nickel began to melt and sink toward the center • Lighter rocky components floated outward, toward the surface • Gaseous material escaped from Earth’s interior to produce the primitive atmosphere

12. Cores discovered by tracking seismic waves traveling through the Earth.

13. Earth’s “Spheres” Geosphere Hydrosphere Cryosphere Atmosphere Biosphere Lithosphere Asthenosphere Pedosphere

14. Earth’s “Spheres” Geosphere the solid matter of the Earth, as distinct from the seas, plants, animals, and surrounding atmosphere

15. Geosphere Geosphere

16. Earth’s “Spheres” Hydrosphere The ocean is the most prominent feature of the hydrosphere, as it covers nearly 71% of Earth’s surface and contains about 97% of Earth’s water The hydrosphere also includes fresh water found in streams, lakes, and glaciers, as well as that found underground.

17. Hydrosphere

18. Earth’s “Spheres” Cryosphere The cryosphere is very important to our understanding of climate change. Cryosphere This is the frozen part of the Earth's surface, including the polar ice caps, continental ice sheets, glaciers, sea ice, and permafrost.

19. Cryosphere Cryosphere

20. Earth’s “Spheres” • One-half of the atmosphere lies below 3.5 miles (18, 500 feet.) • Our atmosphere shields us from harmful solar rays. • Our atmosphere is the thin, tenuous blanket of air that surrounds Earth. Atmosphere

21. Atmosphere Atmosphere

22. Earth’s “Spheres” Earth’s Biosphereincludes all life, and is concentrated near the surface in a zone that extends from the ocean floor upward for several kilometers into the atmosphere. Biosphere

23. Biosphere

24. Earth’s “Spheres” The lithosphere is the rigid outer layer of solid Earth that can be broken. It includes the crust and the uppermost mantle, which constitute the hard and rigid outer layer of the Earth. Lithosphere

25. Lithosphere

26. Earth’s “Spheres” • The asthenosphere is the weaker, hotter, and deeper part of the upper mantle. Asthenosphere

27. Asthenosphere Asthenosphere

28. Earth’s “Spheres” Pedosphere The pedosphere is the uppermost part of the lithosphere that chemically reacts to the atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere through the soil forming process.

29. Pedosphere Pedosphere

30. Worksheet The Birth of a Planet Earth’s Spheres To research this worksheet, download the PowerPoint notes for Monday, 11/5.

31. VideoApollo 13 Highlands