Outline

Planet information
Earth position
Atmosphere of Earth
Day night of Earth
Inner part of Earth
The Lithospheric Plates
Earthquakes
`

P
Planets
l
a
n
Inner Planets are called inner
planets because they orbit
close to the sun. These planets

 
are:
Mercury
                      
Mars
Venus
             

Earth
Outer Planets are called outer
planets because they orbit far
from the sun. These planets are
called:
Jupiter Satur             
Uranus
n

 
Neptune Pluto?

                      
Sun - The Sun is a star at the center of our Solar
System.
Mercury - Mercury is the planet closest to the Sun.
Venus - Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is the hottest planet.
Earth - Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the planet we live on.
Mars - Mars is a red planet and the fourth planet from the Sun.
Jupiter - Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun. This gas giant is the largest
planet.
Saturn - Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun. This gas giant has large,
beautiful rings.

Uranus - Uranus is a gas giant and is the seventh planet from the Sun.
Neptune - Neptune is a gas giant and is usually the eighth planet from the Sun.
Pluto - Pluto is a rocky planet that is usually the farthest planet from the Sun. It
is the smallest planet.
The moon orbits the Earth...

Sun

Earth

moon

...as the Earth orbits the Sun.

 Earth
• Earth is the planet that we live on. It is the 3rd planet
from the sun.
It is called a “Rocky Planet,” because it is made of
rocks.
• Sometimes Earth is called the “Water Planet,” because
it is the only planet with the water we need to live.
• Earth orbits, or circles, the sun in 365 days, or one year.
• While it is orbiting the sun, it also spins like a top! It
spins 1 time in 24 hours, and that is why Earth’s day
lasts for 24 hours.
• Earth is the only planet where plants and animals live
 Atmosphere
• The Earth is surrounded by a blanket of air, which we call the atmosphere. It
reaches over 560 kilometers (348 miles) from the surface of the Earth, so we
are only able to see what occurs fairly close to the ground. Early attempts at
studying the nature of the atmosphere used clues from the weather, the
beautiful multi-colored sunsets and sunrises, and the twinkling of stars. With
the use of sensitive instruments from space, we are able to get a better view
of the functioning of our atmosphere.
• Life on Earth is supported by the atmosphere, solar energy, and our planet's
magnetic fields. The atmosphere absorbs the energy from the Sun, recycles
water and other chemicals, and works with the electrical and magnetic forces
to provide a moderate climate. The atmosphere also protects us from high-
energy radiation and the frigid vacuum of space.
• The envelope of gas surrounding the Earth changes from the ground up. Four
distinct layers have been identified using thermal characteristics (temperature
changes), chemical composition, movement, and density.
Layers of the Atmosphere
Components of Earth
 Earth has day and night.
• Rotation is when something
spins round in round.
• It takes about 24 hours for
the Earth to rotate, or spin.
This is one full day.
• This rotation causes the Earth
to have day and night.
 Seasons
• A season is a time of year that has a certain kind of
weather.
- winter, spring, summer, and fall (autumn)
• Earth follows a path around the sun. This path is called
an orbit.
• As the earth moves around the sun, Earth has different
seasons.
• The sun shines on
different parts of the
Earth at different
times which cause
the seasons.
 Revolution
• Remember that the Earth is tilted all the time
that it is moving around the Sun.
• It takes the Earth one year to move around the
sun. This is called a revolution. It follows an
orbit, or path.
 The Moon

• The moon is the largest

object you can see in the
night sky.
• The Earth has one moon. The moon travels around
the Earth. It takes the moon about 4 weeks, one
month, to travel around the Earth.
• A crater is a hole, valley, or indentation on a planet or
moon made by a large rock.
• There is no life on the moon because there is no air.
• Moonlight is the light of the moon. This light comes
from the sun. Which part of the moon is lighted by the
sun?
- The part of the moon that is facing the sun.
The Four Layers
The Earth is composed of four
different layers. The crust is
the layer that you live on, and
it is the most widely studied
and understood. The mantle
is much hotter and has the
ability to flow. The outer
core and inner core are
even hotter with pressures so
great you would be squeezed
into a ball smaller than a
marble if you were able to go
to the center of the Earth!
Earth’s Layered Structure
The Inner Core

The inner core of the

Earth has temperatures
and pressures so great
that the metals are
squeezed together and
are not able to move
about like a liquid, but
are forced to vibrate in
place like a solid.
The Outer Core

The core of the Earth

is like a ball of very
hot metals. The
outer core is so
hot that the metals in
it are all in the liquid
state. The outer core
is composed of the
melted metals of
nickel and iron.
The Mantle
The Mantle is the
largest layer of the Earth.
The middle mantle is
composed of very hot
dense rock that flows like
asphalt under a heavy
weight. The movement of
the middle mantle
(asthenosphere) is the
reason that the crustal
plates of the Earth move.
The Crust
The Earth's Crust is like
the skin of an apple. It is
very thin in comparison to
the other three layers. The
crust is only about 3-5
miles (8 kilometers) thick
under the oceans (oceanic
crust) and about 25 miles
(32 kilometers) thick
under the continents
(continental crust).
 The Lithospheric Plates

The crust of the Earth is broken into many pieces called

plates. The plates "float" on the soft, semi-rigid
asthenosphere.
The Asthenosphere

The asthenosphere is the semi-rigid

part of the middle mantle that flows
like hot asphalt under a heavy
weight.
 The Lithosphere
The crust and the upper layer of the mantle
together make up a zone of rigid, brittle rock
called the Lithosphere.
 Plate Tectonics

• The Earth’s crust is divided into 12 major plates

which are moved in various directions.
• This plate motion causes them to collide, pull
apart, or scrape against each other.
• Each type of interaction causes a characteristic set
of Earth structures or “tectonic” features.
• The word, tectonic, refers to the deformation of
the crust as a consequence of plate interaction.
 Plate Movement

• “Plates” of lithosphere are moved around by the

underlying hot mantle convection cells
Earthquakes and Plate Tectonics…

…what’s the connection?

• As with volcanoes, earthquakes are not
randomly distributed over the globe

Figure showing the

distribution of
earthquakes
around the globe

• At the boundaries between plates, friction

causes them to stick together. When built up
energy causes them to break, earthquakes occur.
Where do earthquakes form?

Figure showing the tectonic setting of earthquakes

 Resources
• http://images.search.yahoo.com
• http://office.microsoft.com/clipart