Four

Systems
of

Our
Earth
 Composition of Earth
 Earth Has 4 main systems that interact:

Earth’s
systems

Atmosphere Hydrosphere Biosphere Geosphere

Air/gases water life land/rock

Composition of Earth
 Earth Has 4 main systems that interact:

 The Atmosphere
 The Hydrosphere
 All of Earth’s water, whether in the atmosphere,
glaciers, oceans, lakes or rivers.
 The Biosphere
 The Geosphere
The Hydrosphere – water Earth
Our Earth is mostly water
 Approximately
70% of the
Earth’s surface is
water
 30% of the
Earth’s surface is
land
Pie charts
represent %
of the whole
The Hydrosphere
 Water on Earth is a unique feature that clearly
distinguishes our "Blue Planet" from others in
the solar system.

 Not a drop of liquid water can be found

anywhere else in the solar system. Earth has
just the right mass, the right chemical
composition, the right atmosphere, and is the
right distance from the Sun that permits water
to exist mainly as a liquid.

 Water is the universal solvent and the basis of

all life on our Planet.
Our Water Cycle
 Water, which covers the majority of the Earth’s
surface (the hydrosphere), circulates through the
crust, oceans, and atmosphere in what is known
as the water cycle.
Water Cycle—water is in constant
motion
 The Sun provides water cycle’s energy
 Water on the surface absorbs heat and
evaporates, entering the atmosphere
 Condensation—water vapor changes back into
liquid.
 Clouds of water become heavy and water falls to
Earth as precipitation.
 The cycle repeats itself continuously.
The Water Cycle
http://www.kidzone.ws/water/index.html

Run and get a glass of water and put it on the table

next to you. Take a good long look at the water.
Now -- can you guess how old it is?

The water in your glass may have fallen from the sky
as rain just last week, but the water itself has been
around pretty much as long as the earth has!

When the first fish swam in the ocean, your glass of

water was part of that ocean. When the
Brontosaurus walked through lakes feeding on
plants, your glass of water was part of those lakes.
When kings and princesses, knights and squires
took a drink from their wells, your glass of water was
part of those wells.
And you thought your parents were OLD
Evaporation:
 Evaporation is when the sun heats up water
in rivers or lakes or the ocean and turns it into
vapor or steam. The water vapor or steam
leaves the river, lake or ocean and goes into
the air.
 Do plants sweat?
Well, sort of.... people perspire
(sweat) and plants transpire.
Transpiration is the process
by which plants lose water
out of their leaves.
Transpiration gives
evaporation a bit of a hand in
getting the water vapor back
up into the air.
Condensation:
Water vapor in the air gets cold
and changes back into liquid,
forming clouds. This is called
condensation.
You can see the same sort of
thing at home... pour a glass of
cold water on a hot day and
watch what happens. Water
forms on the outside of the
glass. That water didn't
somehow leak through the
glass! It actually came from the
air. Water vapor in the warm
air, turns back into liquid when it
touches the cold glass.
Precipitation:
 Precipitation occurs when so
much water has condensed
that the air cannot hold it
anymore. The clouds get
heavy and water falls back to
the earth in the form of rain,
hail, sleet or snow.
Collection:
When water falls back to earth
as precipitation, it may fall
back in the oceans, lakes or
rivers or it may end up on
land. When it ends up on
land, it will either soak into the
earth and become part of the
“ground water” that plants and
animals use to drink or it may
run over the soil and collect in
the oceans, lakes or rivers
where the cycle starts
Fill in the diagram in your notes
The earth has a limited
amount of water. That
water keeps going
around and around and
around and around and
(well, you get the idea)
in what we call the
"Water Cycle". This cycle
is made up of a few main
parts:
evaporation (and
transpiration)
condensation
precipitation
collection
 Accumulation - the process in which water pools in large bodies (like
oceans, seas and lakes).
Condensation - the process in which water vapor (a gas) in the air turns
into liquid water. Condensing water forms clouds in the sky. Water drops
that form on the outside of a glass of icy water are condensed water. (This
term appears twice in the diagram.)
Evaporation - the process in which liquid water becomes water vapor (a
gas). Water vaporizes from the surfaces of oceans and lakes, from the
surface of the land, and from melts in snow fields.
Precipitation - the process in which water (in the form of rain, snow, sleet,
or hail) falls from clouds in the sky.
Subsurface Runoff - rain, snow melt, or other water that flows in
underground streams, drains, or sewers.
Surface Runoff - rain, snow melt, or other water that flows in surface
streams, rivers, or canals.
Transpiration - the process in which some water within plants evaporates
into the atmosphere. Water is first absorbed by the plant's roots, then later
exits by evaporating through pores in the plant.
How are the
Hydrosphere
and
Atmosphere
connected?
Bill Nye’s take on the water
cycle…
 http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQIVx_BOCJU

 http://jp.youtube.com/watch?feature=related&hl=en&v=2XU9_

 http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=dGSkcrw00HM&feature=relate