Year Earth and Environmental Science Semester 1 ATAR Program

Transcription

1 2017 Earth and Environmental Science Semester 1 ATAR Program Week Content Science Understanding & Human endeavour syllabus links 1-2 The beginning: formation of Earth Our position in the solar system Volcanic outgassing and earliest life Water on Earth Life emergence - the atmosphere was derived from volcanic outgassing during cooling and differentiation of Earth, and its composition has been significantly modified by the actions of photosynthesising organisms - Water is present on the surface of Earth as a result of volcanic outgassing and impact by icy bodies from space; water occurs in three phases (solid, liquid, gas) on earth s surface - Current theories state that life emerged under anoxic atmospheric conditions in an aqueous mixture of inorganic compounds, either in a shallow water setting as a result of lightning strike or in an ocean floor setting due to hydrothermal activity. Resources PPT 1: Earth formation, structure and origins of life Chapt 1 Page 1-12, Assessment 3-4 The structure of the Earth Inner & outer core, mantle, crust (Sima & Sial) Composition Evidence for the structure (meteorites, seismic activity including Moho, volcanic bombs..) - Earth is internally differentiated into a layered structure: a solid metallic inner core, a liquid metallic outer core and a silicate mantle and crust; the study of seismic waves and meteorites provides evidence for that theory. PPT 1: Earth formation, structure and origins of life Chapt 1 Page Validation test: In class essay Internal structure Earth

2 5-6 The Rock Cycle Rocks types The rock cycle process Chapt 3 Minerals - Minerals can be characterised by their colour, streak, lustre, PowerPoint: Investigation: 7-10 Types (silicates, sulphides ) transparency, cleavage, fracture, hardness (Moh s scale), Minerals Minerals magnetism and density. The 3 main formations of minerals Physical properties (colour, streak, lustre, transparency, cleavage, fracture, hardness, Chapt 4 special properties, density and specific gravity 9 Field excursion Investigation: Field trip Igneous processes and rocks - Igneous processes form different igneous which can be identified PowerPoint: Investigation and - 13 Formation (intrusive and extrusive processes based on texture and mineralogy including basalt, dolerite, gabbro, Igneous rocks and Extended Task: andesite, diorite, rhyolite, pegmatite, granite, pumice, tuff and including sills, dykes, batholiths and cross processes Igneous rocks and obsidian cutting relationships) processes Volcanoes (location, characteristics including hot spot (intra plate) and subduction zones (plate boundaries)) Classification of igneous rocks and composition (including Bowens reaction series) Acidic, intermediate and basic Identify and classify igneous rocks based on texture and mineralogy (basalt, dolerite, gabbro, andesite, diorite, rhyolite, pegmatite, granite, obsidian, pumice, tuff) - Identify and classify igneous rocks based on texture and mineralogy in samples and photos including basalt, dolerite, gabbro, andesite, diorite, rhyolite, pegmatite, granite, pumice, tuff and obsidian - Scientific study of the origin and maintenance of the Earth s internal heat has been important in developing many significant concepts in the Earth science, including the origin of igneous rocks and volcanoes, the age of the Earth and plate tectonics. Chapt 6 Thermal convection current activity Reconsidering Convection Cells (reading)

3 14-15 Plate tectonics: How igneous processes relate to plate tectonics including fractional crystallisation and differentiation according to Bowens Reaction Series) Energy source for tectonic movement (convection, plume, radioactive decay) Convergent and divergent plate boundaries and characteristics Evidence (hot spots, polar magnetic reversals) Other structures associated with plate boundaries (anticlines, synclines, normal, transform and reverse faults) as structures of plate tectonics 16 Exam revision week - Transfers and transformations of heat and gravitational energy in the Earth s interior drive the movement of tectonic plates through processes, including mantle convection, plume formation and slab sinking. PowerPoint: Igneous rocks and processes Chapt Exam week Exam Plate tectonics cont: Other structures associated with plate boundaries (anticlines, synclines, normal, transform and reverse faults) as structures of plate tectonics - Transfers and transformations of heat and gravitational energy in the Earth s interior drive the movement of tectonic plates through processes, including mantle convection, plume formation and slab sinking. PowerPoint: Igneous rocks and processes Chapt 10 Validation test: plate tectonics

4 2017 Earth and Environmental Science Semester 2 ATAR Program Week Content Syllabus links Resources Assessment Sedimentary and surface processes - Some sedimentary rocks can be identified according to their PowerPoint and Investigation and Surface processes and products (physical composition and texture, including conglomerate, breccia, links: Sedimentary Extended Task: sandstone, limestone, siltstone, mudstone and shale. and chemical weathering) rocks and processes Sedimentary rocks Transport, deposition and lithification - Simple sedimentary structures are used as evidence of past and processes Year processes and are related to depositional environments, including the use of cross-bedding, graded bedding and mud Chapt 5 cracks Weathering and Soils Soils have different properties depending on the conditions they are subjected to and parent rock (including ph, permeability, nutrients, electrical conductivity) - Soil formation requires interaction between atmospheric, geological, hydrological and biotic processes; soil is composed of rock and mineral particles, organic material, water, gases and living organisms. Powerpoint: Weathering and Soils Year Chapt 7 Extended Task: Soils in Australia Mapping Find locations on a map Read and understand topographic maps Construct cross-sections from simple geological maps where dip is perpendicular to cross-section Construct simple geological maps from field data External resources Investigation: practical skills exercise

5 28-31 Geological Principles: Geological Time and Palaeontology Relative and numerical dating Superposition, original horizontality, crosscutting relationships, unconformities Past environments (including presence of water, nature of substrate) Formation and preservation of fossils The classification of fossils The importance of index fossils and role in reconstructing ancient environments; depositional and climatic Succession of fossil assemblages in strategic column Diversification of organisms over time and catastrophic collapse of ecosystems (such as end of Cretaceous extinction) The geological time scale The use of radioisotopes in date determination and approximate age of earth Stratigraphic correlation - Fossil evidence indicates that life first appeared on Earth approximately 4 billion years ago. Index fossils enable correlation of rock strata for relative dating. - In any one location, the characteristics (including temp, surface water substrate, organisms and available light) and interactions of the atmosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere, give rise to unique and dynamic environments. - The characteristics of past environments and communities (including the presence of water, nature of the substrate, organism assemblages) can be inferred from the sequence and internal textures of the sedimentary rocks and enclosed fossils, including banded iron formations (BIF) and Ediacara fauna. - The diversification and proliferation of living organisms over time (including increases in marine animals in the Cambrian period) and the catastrophic collapse of ecosystems (including the mass extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous period) can be inferred from the fossil record. - Observation of present day processes can be used to infer past events and processes by applying the Principle of Uniformitarianism. - Early attempts to place Earth s past events in sequential order used a relative geological timescale based in stratigraphic principles, including superposition and cross-cutting relationships; subsequently radiometric dating techniques enabled these events to be assigned specific ages on an absolute timescale. Powerpoint: Geological Principles: Geological Time and Palaeontology Year Chapt 2 Investigation: Lab report on Fossils Extended Task: The reconstruction of past environments - A relative geological timescale can be constructed using stratigraphic principle, including original horizontality, faunal

6 succession, superposition, cross-cutting relationships, inclusions, unconformities and correlation. - Precise dates can be assigned to points on the relative geological timescale using data derived from the decay of radioisotopes in rocks and minerals; this establishes an absolute timescale and places the age of the Earth at approximately 4.5 billion years. - In recent decades advances in science (including microbiology) have provided new ways to analyse and interpret the evidence for evolution in the fossil record and to model the conditions for the origin of life. - Improved understanding of complex events in the Earth s history (such as oxygenation of the atmosphere) requires integration of knowledge and concepts from multiple scientific disciplines (such as chemistry and palaeontology) The Atmosphere and Hydrosphere: Weather and Climates: Our sun and the Earth in orbit The seasons Equatorial and Polar Regions The atmosphere (formation and structure - thermosphere, mesosphere, stratosphere and troposphere Transfer of solar energy to the Earth s surface The naturally occurring Greenhouse Effect Systematic atmospheric circulation (due to heating and cooling, earth s rotation and revolution) - The modern day atmosphere has a layered structure characterised by changes in temperature: the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere and thermosphere. - the net transfer of solar energy to earth s surface is influence by its passage through the atmosphere, including impeded transfer of ultraviolet radiation to Earth s surface due to its interaction with atmospheric ozone, and by the physical characteristics of Earth s surface, including albedo - most of the thermal radiation emitted from the Earth s surface passes back out into space, but some is reflected or scattered by greenhouse gases towards Earth; this additional surface warming produces a phenomenon known as the naturally occurring Greenhouse Effect Powerpoint: The atmosphere and hydroshpere Year Chapt 8 Investigation and Extended Task: climate changes in Australia

7 Formation of hydrosphere and water cycle Factors affecting climate and climate changes in Australia Ocean Currents - The movement of atmospheric air masses due to heating and cooling, and Earth s rotation and revolution, cause systematic atmospheric circulation - The behaviour of the global oceans as a heat sink, and Earth s rotation and revolution, cause systematic ocean currents; these are described by the global ocean conveyor model - The interaction between Earth s atmosphere and oceans changes over time and can result in phenomena, including El Nino and La Nina - identification of cyclic changes in the atmosphere and hydrosphere, including El Hino and La Nina, requires systematic collection and analysis of data, such as air pressure and seasurface temperature records, to reveal patterns that are not evident at small spatial or short temporal scales - Water is present on the surface of Earth as a result of volcanic outgassing and impact by icy bodies from space; water occurs in three phases (solid, liquid, gas) on earth s surface. ALSO COVERED IN FORMATION OF THE EARTH Ecosystems Ecology and Environmental Science Biodiversity The Ecosystem (energy and how do they work) Biomes The cycling of matter - The water cycle is an important component of Earth system processes - Energy is neither created nor destroyed, but can be transformed from one form to another (for example, kinetic, gravitational, heat and light) and transferred between objects - Processes within and between Earth systems require energy that originates either from the sun or the interior of the Earth - Thermal and light energy from the Sun drives important Earth processes, including evaporation and photosynthesis Year Chapt 9 Test: Weather, climates and ecosystems

8 Energy and matter flow through biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem Paleoecology Photosynthesis transforms energy from the sun into energy for living things Satellite technologies enable the monitoring of primary production (biomass) Biogeochemical cycle of matter (nitrogen cycle, carbon cycle) Human activities influence this flow Western Australia case study - Photosynthesis is the principal mechanism for the transformation of energy from the Sun into energy forms that are useful for living things Energy and matter flow through biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem - Biogeochemical cycling of matter, including nitrogen, involves the transfer and transformation of energy between the biosphere, geosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere - Energy is stored, transferred and transformed in the carbon cycle; biological elements, including living and dead organisms, store energy over relatively short time scales, and geological components store energy for extended periods - satellite technologies enable the estimation, comparison and monitoring of primary production (biomass production due to photosynthesis) globally and in a range of different contexts

9 Earth and Environmental science assessment outline Predominant Assessment type Weighting Week Investigation: Mineralogy 5% 8 Investigation: Field Trip 10% 10 Investigation: Sedimentary rocks and surface processes 5% 22 Investigation: Fossils and past environments 5% 31 Investigation: Igneous rocks and processes 5% 13 Extended Task: Soil study in Australia 5% 24 Extended Task: Climate change 5% 34 Test: Internal structure of the Earth 5% 3 Test: Earth structures plate tectonics 5% 19 Test: mapping practical skills 5% 27 Test: Weather, climates and ecosystems 5% 37 Exam mid year 20% 7 Exam end of year 20% 37