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Hello, it's me Sue The Science Girl again!   I'm on a new adventure with my 

pal, Tinker. Today, we will be exploring a magical place called, Earth. When it 

comes to Earth Science we must look at Earth as a system of components or 

"sphere's" that depend on each other in order to operate.   Any changes 

which occur to one of these systems affect the others. These Earth systems 

are as follows:

The Lithosphere (the solid earth, plate tectonics, volcanoes, earthquakes)

The Atmosphere (air, weather, climate, gases that surround our planet)

The Hydrosphere (water, oceans, rivers,)

The Biosphere (Biomes, Ecosystems, Food chains)

The Exosphere (our solar system and space)

When we study are studying the Earth's Exosphere   we must begin with the birth of the Universe . 

Most astronomers believe the Universe began in a Big Bang about 14 billion years ago. At that time, 

the entire Universe was inside a bubble that was thousands of times smaller than a pinhead. It was 

hotter and denser than anything we can imagine. Then it suddenly exploded. The Universe that we 

know was born. Time, space and matter all began with the Big Bang. In a fraction of a second, the 

Universe grew from smaller than a single atom to bigger than a galaxy. And it kept on growing at a 

fantastic rate. It is still expanding today. As the Universe expanded and cooled, energy changed into 

particles of matter and antimatter. These two opposite types of particles largely destroyed each 

other. But some matter survived. More stable particles called protons and neutrons started to form 

when the Universe was one second old. Over the next three minutes, the temperature dropped 

below 1 billion degrees Celsius. It was now cool enough for the protons and neutrons to come 

together, forming hydrogen and helium nuclei. After 300 000 years, the Universe had cooled to 

about 3000 degrees. Atomic nuclei could finally capture electrons to form atoms. The Universe filled 

with clouds of hydrogen and helium gas.

Earth's Exosphere:

The Birth of Our Galaxy

As millions of years passed, the dense areas pulled in material because they had more 

gravity. Finally, about 100 million years after the Big Bang, the gas became hot and dense 

enough for the first stars to form. New stars were being born at a rate 10 times higher 

than in the present-day Universe. Large clusters of stars soon became the first galaxies. 

The Hubble Space Telescope and powerful ground-based telescopes are now beginning to 

find galaxies that were created about one billion years after the Big Bang. These small 

galaxies were much closer together than galaxies are today. Collisions were common. Like 

two flames moving towards each other, they merged into bigger galaxies. Our Milky Way 

galaxy came together in this way.

The Earth's atmosphere is divided up into 5 major layers:

Exosphere - The last layer and the thinnest. It goes all the way to 10,000 km 

above the Earth's surface.

Thermosphere - The thermosphere is next and the air is very thin here. 

Temperatures can get extremely hot in the thermosphere.

Mesosphere - The mesosphere covers the next 50 miles beyond the 

stratosphere. This is where most meteors burn up upon entry. The coldest 

place on Earth is at the top of the mesosphere.

Stratosphere - The stratosphere extends for the next 32 miles after the 

troposphere. Unlike the troposphere the stratosphere gets its heat by the 

Ozone Layer absorbing radiation from the sun. As a result, it gets warmer the 

further away you get from the Earth. Weather balloons go as high as the 

stratosphere.

Troposphere - The troposphere is the layer next to the ground or surface of 

the Earth. It covers around 30,000-50,000 feet high. This is where we live and 

even where planes fly. Around 80% of the mass of the atmosphere is in the 

troposphere. The troposphere is heated by the surface of the Earth.

The Earth's Atmosphere:

5 Major Layers

Earth's Atmosphere: Air

     The atmosphere is the air that plants and animals breathe to survive. The atmosphere 

is made up of mostly nitrogen (78%) and oxygen (21%). There are lots of other gases that 

are part of the atmosphere, but in much smaller amounts. These include argon, carbon 

dioxide, neon, helium, hydrogen, and more. Oxygen is needed by animals to breathe and 

carbon dioxide is used by plant in photosynthesis. The atmosphere is very important to 

life on Earth and does many things to help protect life and help life to survive. 

     The atmosphere protects Earth like a big blanket of insulation. It absorbs the heat 

from the Sun and keeps the heat inside the atmosphere helping the Earth to stay warm, 

called the Greenhouse Effect. It also keeps the overall temperature of the Earth fairly 

steady, especially between night and day. So we don't get too cold at night and too hot 

during the day. There is also a portion of the atmosphere of Ozone. Ozone helps to protect 

the earth from the Sun's radiation. 

Earth's Atmosphere: Weather

    The science of weather is called meteorology. Meteorologists study the weather and try to predict it. Predicting 

the weather is not easy as there are so many factors and variables involved. 

    Wind is the result of air moving around in the atmosphere. Wind is caused by differences in air pressure. Cool 

air is heavier than hot air. A lot of cool air will create an area of high pressure. A lot of hot air will create an area 

of low pressure. When areas of low pressure and high pressure meet, the air will want to move from the high 

pressure area to the low pressure area. This creates wind. The larger the difference in temperature between the 

two areas of pressure, the faster the wind will blow. 

    On the Earth there is always an area of low pressure at the poles where the air is always cold. There is also 

higher pressure at the equator where the air is hot. These two major areas of air pressure keep the wind 

constantly moving about the Earth. The spin of the Earth also affects the direction of winds. This is called the 

Coriolis Effect. 

   When water falls from clouds it's called precipitation. This can be rain, snow, sleet, or hail. Rain forms from the 

water cycle. The sun heats up water on the Earth's surface. Water evaporates into vapor and travels into the 

atmosphere. As more and more water condenses, clouds form. Eventually water droplets in clouds become large 

and heavy enough that gravity pulls them back to the ground in the form of rain. 

   We get snow when the temperature is below freezing and small ice crystals stick together to form snowflakes. 

Hail generally gets formed in large thunderstorms where balls of ice get blown several times up into the cold 

atmosphere. Each time another layer of water on the ball of ice gets frozen making the ball larger and larger 

until it finally falls to the ground. 

    Clouds form from condensed water vapor. This can occur in a number of ways. One way is when warm air or a 

warm front, meets up with cold air or a cold front. The warm air will be forced upward and into colder air. When 

the warm air starts to drop in temperature, water vapor will condense into liquid droplets and clouds will form. 

Also, warm damp air can blow up against a mountain. The mountain will force the air up into the atmosphere. As 

this air cools, clouds will form. That's why there are often clouds at the top of mountains. There are three main 

types of clouds called:

 cumulus, cirrus, and stratus. 

  Lithosphere: Earth's Composition

It may seem like the Earth is made up of one big solid rock, but it's really made up of a number of parts. Some of them 

constantly moving! You can think of the Earth as being made up of a number of layers, sort of like an onion. These layers 

get more and more dense the closer to the center of the earth you get. 

Crust: The crust is the thin outer later of the Earth where we live. Well, it looks thin on the picture and it is thin relative to 

the other layers, but don't worry, we're not going to fall through by accident anytime soon. The crust varies from around 

5km thick to 70km thick. The continental crust is made up of rocks that consist primarily of silica and alumina called the 

"sial". 

Mantle: The next layer of the Earth is called the mantle. The mantle is much thicker than the crust at almost 3000km 

deep. It's made up of slightly different silicate rocks with more magnesium and iron. 

Outer Core: The Earth's outer core is made up of iron and nickel and is very hot (4400 to 5000+ degrees C). This is so hot 

that the iron and nickel metals are liquid! The outer core is very important to earth as it creates something called a 

magnetic field. The magnetic field the outer core creates goes way out in to space and makes a protective barrier around 

the earth that shields us from the sun's damaging solar wind. 

Inner Core: The Earth's inner core is made up of iron and nickel, just like the outer core, however, the inner core is 

different. The inner core is so deep within the earth that it's under immense pressure. So much pressure that, even 

though it is so hot, it is solid. The inner core is the hottest part of the Earth, and, at over 5000 degrees C, is about as hot 

as the surface of the sun. 

Lithosphere: Plate Tectonics

Tectonic plates: The tectonic plates are a combination of the crust and the outer mantle, also called the lithosphere. These plates 

move very slowly, around a couple of inches a year. Where the plates touch each other is called a fault. When the plates move and the 

boundaries bump up against each other it can cause an earthquake.

The Lithosphere: the part of the land that is moving is the Earth's surface called the lithosphere. The lithosphere is made up of the 

Earth's crust and a part of the upper mantle. The lithosphere moves in big chunks of land called tectonic plates. Some of these plates 

are huge and cover entire continents. 

Major and Minor Tectonic Plates: most of the Earth is covered by seven major plates and another eight or so minor plates. The 

seven major plates include the African, Antarctic, Eurasian, North American, South American, India-Australian, and the Pacific 

plates. Some of the minor plates include the Arabian, Caribbean, Nazca, and Scotia plates.

Continents and Oceans: there are two main types of tectonic plates: oceanic and continental.

Oceanic - Oceanic plates consist of an oceanic crust called "sima". Sima is made up primarily of silicon and magnesium 

Continental - Continental plates consist of a continental crust called "sial". Sial is made up primarily of silicon and aluminum.

Plate Boundaries: there are three main types of boundaries:

Convergent Boundaries - A convergent boundary is where two tectonic plates push together. Sometimes one plate will move 

under the other. This is called subduction. Although the movement is slow, convergent boundaries can be areas of geological activity 

such as the forming of mountains and volcanoes. They can also be areas of high earthquake activity.

Divergent Boundaries - A divergent boundary is one where two plates are getting pushed apart. The area on land where the 

boundary occurs is called a rift. New land is formed by magma pushing up from the mantle and cooling as it reaches the surface.

Transform Boundaries - A transform boundary is one where two plates slide past each other. These places are often called faults and 

can be areas where earthquakes often occur.

A volcano is an opening in the Earth's crust where hot liquid rock from deep within the Earth, 

called magma, erupts to the surface. A volcano can be active, dormant, or extinct. An active 

volcano is one that has recently erupted or is currently erupting. A dormant volcano is one that 

hasn't erupted for a long time, but has the potential to still erupt. An extinct volcano is one that 

scientists think will never erupt again. 

Types of Volcanoes: 

Cinder cones - These are volcanoes formed from particles and blobs of lava ejected from a 

single vent at the top. They generally don't get taller than around 1,000 feet. 

Composite volcanoes - These volcanoes are also shaped like a cone, but are formed from layers 

of lava over many years. They can grow into huge mountains over 8,000 feet tall from their 

base. 

Shield volcanoes - They form from wide thin layers of lava that eventually are shaped like a 

shield. 

Lithosphere: Volcanoes

Lithosphere: Earthquakes

Earthquakes happen when two large pieces of the Earth's crust suddenly slip. This causes shock waves to shake the 

surface of the Earth in the form of an earthquake. Earthquakes usually occur on the edges of large sections of the 

Earth's crust called tectonic plates. These plates slowly move over a long period of time. Sometimes the edges, 

which are called fault lines, can get stuck, but the plates keep moving. Pressure slowly starts to build up where the 

edges are stuck and, once the pressure gets strong enough, the plates will suddenly move causing an earthquake. 

Foreshocks and Aftershocks: before and after a large earthquake there will be smaller earthquakes. The ones that 

happen before are called foreshocks. The ones that happen after are called aftershocks.

Seismic Waves: shock waves from an earthquake that travel through the ground are called seismic waves. They are 

most powerful at the center of the earthquake, but they travel through much of the earth and back to the surface. 

They move quickly at 20 times the speed of sound. Scientists use seismic waves to measure how big an earthquake 

is. They use a device called a seismograph to measure the size of the waves. The size of the waves is called the 

magnitude. To tell the strength of an earthquake scientists use a scale called the Richter scale. The larger the 

number on the Richter scale, the larger the earthquake. You usually won't even notice an earthquake unless it 

measures at least a 3 on the Richter scale.

Epicenters and Hypo-centers: the place where the earthquake starts, below the surface of the earth, is called the 

hypo-center. The place directly above this on the surface is called the epicenter. The earthquake will be the 

strongest at this point on the surface. 

Earth's Hydrosphere: How the Ocean's Formed

As water entered the oceans from the atmosphere, it brought with it dissolved gasses released from the mantle 

by volcanoes and geysers. Water also flowed as runoff from the land, bringing in dissolved minerals from the 

rocks on the surface. These minerals include the salts which make seawater taste salty.

The geochemical cycles had their beginnings here, with minerals entering the oceans from the land and sky and 

minerals leaving the oceans through tectonic activity and by evaporation/deposition processes. These cycles 

were well established about 1 billion years ago. Since then the overall composition of the oceans has remained 

very constant.

Mid-ocean ridge: is a mountain range on the floor of the world's oceans. Rift valleys in the center of the mountain 

range runs down its spine. It sometimes reaches 3,128 above the seafloor.

Rift valleys: the youngest rocks on the ocean floor are located in the rift valleys where magma pushes up the 

crust as it move from the upper mantle to vents on the ocean floor. The molten lava cools and forms parallel 

lines of basalt rocks on each side of the rift valley during an eruption.

Seafloor spreading:   a theory that oceanic crust forms along submarine mountain zones (mid-ocean ridge 

system), and spreads out laterally away from them. 

Earth's Hydrosphere: Water Cycle

About 70% of Earth's surface is covered by water. Not only is water everywhere, but all life depends on water. 

The tiniest bacteria and the largest dinosaurs have all needed water. The hydrosphere is the world of water that 

surrounds all of us. Water is in the air, on the land, between the rocks, and in every living thing. Water, in its 

purest form, is the compound H2O. There are two hydrogen (H) atoms bonded to one oxygen (O) atom. 

Generally, you won’t find pure water. There are usually other compounds, ions, or particles mixed with water.

Hydrologic cycle: Let’s say you're a water molecule. We’re going to have you move through the hydrologic cycle. 

You’ll start by sitting on the surface of the Pacific Ocean. All of a sudden you are filled with energy, evaporate, 

and move up into the atmosphere. Winds are moving and you see yourself flying over the ocean towards land. 

Things start to get cold and all water vapor around you begins to condense. You all clump together and now 

you’re too heavy to stay in the clouds. You fall to the surface in a raindrop. If you are one of the first drops to 

fall, you might be absorbed into the soil. If you are at the end of a storm, you might wind up in runoff and drain 

into a river. From that river you could flow all the way back to the ocean and start your journey over again. 

Earth's Hydrosphere: Fresh Water

Our planet has a very nice temperature range that allows water to remain in a liquid state. If we were a colder place like Pluto, all of 

the water would be permanently frozen and solid. On the other hand, if we were on a very hot planet, all of the water would be in a gas 

state. Water vapor and solid water are relatively useless to the organisms of Earth. 

Earth's states of water: solid, liquid, and gas. There are solids in the deep glaciers, liquids of the oceans, and the vapor state of clouds. 

All of the physical states are equally important because they are all connected. 

Freshwater: water from a river spills over the edge to form a waterfall While groundwater is the clean, beautiful water under our feet 

that can be tapped for drinking water, there are many other sources of fresh water across the planet. The others are not as filtered 

and clean. Bodies of water such as lakes, rivers, and reservoirs are collections of fresh water across the surface of the land. These 

sources of water can eventually percolate into the groundwater, evaporate back into the atmosphere, or flow back into the oceans and 

seas. 

Lakes: enormous holding areas of freshwater. Some lakes are situated in mountain areas where snow from the surrounding mountains 

drains into one area. The mountains form a bowl where water pools up. When the lake reaches a certain level, the water spills out and 

flows down the side of the mountain as a river or stream. 

Flowing Water: rivers, creeks, and streams are similar but have different names because of their sizes. A stream can be a trickle of 

water moving through a forest after it rains. The other end of the spectrum is rivers such as the Mississippi or the Nile. These examples 

are huge rivers that are constantly flowing into the ocean. Streams often merge into larger streams and rivers. The point of these 

types of freshwater is to direct runoff water from higher elevations to lower elevations and eventually the ocean.

Groundwater: water that is under the ground. Civilization gets most of its water from groundwater sources. There is more 

groundwater under the surface of the Earth than in all the lakes and streams put together. Unfortunately, groundwater is also polluted 

more than any other source of fresh water. 

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