Name Date Class

School to Home LESSON 1

Spherical Earth
Directions: Use your textbook to respond to each statement.

1. Describe Earth’s four systems.

a. atmosphere
The atmosphere is the layer of gases surrounding
the earth.
b. hydrosphere
The hydrosphere is water found on the surface, underground,
and as liquid water in the atmosphere.
c. geosphere
The geosphere is Earth's entire solid body.

d. biosphere
The biosphere includes all living things on earth.

Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

2. Write an explanation of how Earth formed. Be sure to include the words gravity and
density in your explanation. Share your explanation with your learning partner.
When the solar system formed about 4.6 billion years ago, gravity
caused particles to come together to form spherical Earth. Earth
developed distinct layers based on density -- the inner layer
contains the densest materials, and the outer layer contain less
dense materials.

16 Earth’s Layers
 Name Date Class

Key Concept Builder LESSON 1

Spherical Earth
Key Concept What are Earth’s systems, and how do they interact?

Directions: Earth is made of four systems called the geosphere, the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, and the
biosphere. Write each of the following terms next to the system to which it belongs.

animals carbon dioxide clouds glaciers

lakes nitrogen gas oceans oxygen gas
plants rocks sediments soil

1. geosphere
rocks, sediments, soil

2. atmosphere
oxygen, gas, nitrogen gas, carbon dioxide
Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

3. hydrosphere
clouds, oceans, lakes, glaciers

4. biosphere
plants, animals

Directions: On each line, write the term that correctly completes each sentence.

5. All Earth’s systems interact. The systems are constantly exchanging

energy and matter .

6. The solar system formed about 4.6 billion years ago.

Earth’s Layers 17
Name Date Class

Key Concept Builder LESSON 1

Spherical Earth
Key Concept Why does Earth have a spherical shape?

Directions: On each line, write the term from the word bank that correctly completes each sentence. Some terms
may be used more than once.

center disk distance dust gas gravity

mass rock satellites sphere Sun

1. Scientists can get views of Earth using satellites and other

technology.

2. All planets have the same shape, which is called a sphere .

3. The universal force of gravity caused planets to form into that

shape.

4. The strength of the gravitational pull between two objects is affected by

mass and distance .

Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

5. Gravity pulls all objects toward Earth’s center .

6. The Sun, Earth, and the other planets formed from a huge cloud of
gas and dust .

7. Rotation caused the cloud to take the form of a disk .

8. The center of the cloud formed the Sun .

9. Early Earth was so hot that its rock flowed, forming a relatively
even surface.

18 Earth’s Layers