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Earth Science
Unit 2

Planets of the Solar System

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/101-videos/solar-system-101

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What created the Solar System?

The Big Bang

Types of Planets
Terrestrial Planets
Mercury
Shortest orbit around the sun
Venus
Rocky, solid surface
Hottest planet in the solar system
Earth Dont have rings
Our planet
Very few to no moons
The only known planet that supports life
Mars Relatively small
Possibly could have supported life in
the past

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Types of Planets
Gas/Ice Giant Planets
Jupiter
Largest planet
Multiple moons
Saturn
Supports ring systems
Supports a huge ring system
Uranus No solid surface
Rotates on its side
Immense size
Neptune
Outermost planet

Types of Planets
Dwarf Planets
Ceres
Located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter
Largest known object in the solar system that is not a true, full-sized
planet
Pluto
Located in the Kuiper belt beyond Neptune
For many years was known as a full-sized planet till Neil Degrasse
Tyson and the rest of the scientific community ruined it

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Layers of the Earth

3 Layers
Crust
30 miles thick
Consists of the landmasses and the ocean floor
Mantle
1800 miles thick
Made of magma
Moves sluggishly, like melted plastic, or peanut butter

Layers of the Earth

Core
Outer Core
1400 miles thick
Mostly liquid iron and nickel
Inner Core
700 miles thick
12,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which is hotter than the surface of
the sun
Solid due to immense pressure

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What would happen if we tried to land on

Jupiters surface?
We do not yet know if a solid surface exists on Jupiter. Jupiter's clouds are
thought to be about 30 miles (50 km) thick. Below this there is a 13,000 mile
(21,000 km) thick layer of hydrogen and helium which changes from gas to liquid
as the depth and pressure increase. (Source)

A major problem in sending space probes to Jupiter is that the planet has no solid
surface on which to land, as there is a smooth transition between the planet's
atmosphere and its fluid interior. Any probes descending into the atmosphere are
eventually crushed by the immense pressures within Jupiter. (Source)

Plate Tectonics

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Plate Tectonics
Making Inferences About Plate Boundaries

As a group you will combine data of the seafloor, earthquakes, and volcanoes to
make connections between physical processes and plate boundaries.

Transfer the information from your three thematic maps to your blank plate
boundary map then fill in the group worksheet.

Plate Tectonics
Plate tectonics is all the physical
processes that create many of the Earth's
physical features such as the continents,
oceans, and mountain ranges.
The crust is made up of continental
and oceanic crust.
Continental crust is thick and
more buoyant than oceanic crust
Oceanic crust is thin and very
dense, so it sinks more easily into
the mantle.

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Plate Tectonics
The crust is divided into 12 major plates which are moved in
various directions by the mantle.

This motion causes them to collide, pull apart, or scrape

against each other.

Plate Tectonics
Divergent Plate Boundaries

Plates move apart from each other

Convergent Plate Boundaries

Plates move towards each other, oftentimes colliding

When plates collide, they can subduct- when one plate moves under
another

Transform Plate Boundaries

Plates slide past each other

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Plate Tectonics

Divergent Boundaries

Spreading: as plates move apart new material is erupted to fill the gap, sometimes
causing volcanic activity.

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Where are the divergent boundaries if red is the newest

ocean floor and blue is the oldest?

Plate Tectonics

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Convergent Boundaries
Plates move towards each other, oftentimes colliding

When plates collide, they can:

Subduct- when one plate moves under another

Convergent Boundaries
There are three styles of convergent plate boundaries

Continent-continent collision

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Convergent Boundaries
Continent-oceanic crust collision

Convergent Boundaries
Ocean-ocean collision

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Plate Tectonics

Transform Boundaries
Transform boundaries slide
past each other, sometimes
smoothly, and other times
more pressure will cause big
slips that result in earthquakes.

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Hydrosphere
The hydrosphere contains all the solid, liquid, and gaseous water of the planet. It
ranges from 10 to 20 kilometers in thickness. The hydrosphere extends from
Earth's surface downward several kilometers into the lithosphere and upward
about 12 kilometers into the atmosphere.

A small portion of the water in the hydrosphere is fresh (non-salty). This

water flows as precipitation from the atmosphere down to Earth's surface, as
rivers and streams along Earth's surface, and as groundwater beneath Earth's
surface. Most of Earth's fresh water, however, is frozen.

Hydrosphere
Ninety-seven percent of Earth's water is salty. The salty water collects in
deep valleys along Earth's surface. These large collections of salty water are
referred to as oceans. Water near the poles is very cold, while water near the
equator is very warm. The differences in temperature cause water to change
physical states. Extremely low temperatures like those found at the poles cause
water to freeze into a solid such as a polar icecap, a glacier, or an iceberg.
Extremely high temperatures like those found at the equator cause water to
evaporate into a gas.

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Draw this on your Land, Water, and Air Notes

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Our Positive Effects on the Biosphere

Environmental Management
Restoring balance to ecosystems

Preservation
Predator-Prey Relations
Assuming the roles of nearly eradicated predators, such as wolves, to help prevent species
like deer from depleting food resources

Pollution Control
Environmental Awareness
Removal of Invasive Species

Our Negative Effects on the Biosphere

Hunting and Gathering
Extinction
Over fishing, over hunting

Agriculture
Deforestation
Soil degradation
Soils hold the majority of the world's biodiversity, and healthy soils are essential for food production and an
adequate water supply

Industry
Introducing toxic compounds into food webs
Poluutants

Urban Development
Alters habitats
Introducing foreign species to new environments

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Weather
Clouds are made of drops of water or ice. Clouds form when water vapor in the air
becomes so cold it turns into water. Some of the drops of water group together to
make larger drops of water. Other drops of water become so cold that they turn to
ice. When the water drops or ice bits become heavy enough, they fall from the sky
as rain or snow depending on the temperature.

Wind is caused by differences in the atmospheric pressure. When a difference in

atmospheric pressure exists, air moves from the higher to the lower pressure
area, resulting in winds of various speeds.

Types of Weather

Rainy
Snowy
Sunny
Windy
Cloudy

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Weathering (NOT WEATHER!)

The process where rock is dissolved, worn away, or broken down into smaller and
smaller pieces.
3 types of weathering:
Physical
Physically breaks up rock
Ex: Water gets into cracks and joints inside the rock and when it freezes it expands,
cracking the rock further. Over time rocks and boulders can be split in half or broken off
of cliff faces due to this process.
Chemical
Decomposes or decays rocks and minerals by breaking down the bonds that hold them
together
Ex: Water can dissolve limestone. Rainwater is naturally acidic and can easily break
down chalky limestone.
Organic
When plants break rocks with roots or other means.

Erosion
Once the rock has been weakened and broken up by weathering, it is ready
for erosion.

Rock and sediment are picked up and moved to another place by ice, water,
wind, or gravity. These forces carry the rocks and soil from the places where
they were weathered.

Ex: In a span of about 5 million years, the Colorado River cut deeper and deeper into the land.
It eventually formed the Grand Canyon, which is more than 1,600 meters (1 mile) deep and as
much as 29 kilometers (18 miles) wide in some places.

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