The structure of the Earth and how its motion creates the seasons. The landforms of the earth and the forces that shape the land. The role of wind and water in creating climate. The different climate and vegetation zones found on the earth. The factors that make up all the world s cultures. The growth and movement of the world s population. How people use resources and affect the environment.
Vocabulary Words Moon Canyon Geography Mr. Everest 365 ¼ Seasons Isthmus 23 ½ Marianna Trench plateau
The functions of the atmosphere. What are plate tectonics and continental drift? Location of moon and earth in relation to the sun. What is weathering? Know the various types of landforms. Know the name and location of each of the continents and oceans.
What are some of the human and physical features in the area of the United States where you live? How does the sun affect life on earth?
How do geographers look at the world? What tools do geographers use? In the photo on page 23, what are two physical characteristics that are shown. What do geographers study to determine the human characteristics of a place? Why is it important for geographers to know exactly where places are located on the earth.
Why do people have to manage resources carefully? How is prehistory different from history? What are two kinds of characteristics of a place do geographers study? What is the difference between GPS and GIS? How are artifacts and fossils the same and different?
The solar system is composed of objects that are in orbit around our sun. This include 8 plants (poor Pluto) and thousands of other smaller bodies. Each planet travels along its own path around the sun called an orbit. Earth makes one orbit every 365 ¼ days. Life Earth could not exist without the Sun. The layer of air surrounding the Earth is called the atmosphere and is 1000 miles thick. The atmosphere is 99% composed of Nitrogen and Oxygen.
The moon is the Earth s nearest neighbor and takes 30 days to complete 1 orbit around the Earth. The Earth spins on it s axis and makes one complete spin every 24 hours. The Earth is tilted 23 ½ degrees on its axis. This, combined with its revolution around the sun, results in changing seasons on the Earth.
The summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere is the day with them most hours of sunlight and the fewest hours of darkness. The winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere is the day with fewest hours of daylight. Spring and summer begin midway between the two solstices. This is called the equinox. This occurs twice each year and is when day and night are equal in length.
The Earth has three layers At the center is the inner core the solid. Around the inner core is a layer of liquid metal. Surrounding the core is a layer called the Mantle. The mantle is solid near the outer core but is outer part of the mantle is sometimes melts. The uppermost layer of the earth is called the crust. The crust also contains seven land areas called continents.
Name the seven continents. Asia Africa Europe North America South America Australia Antarctica
The theory of plate tectonics is used to explain the earth s structure The earth s curst is composed of several plates, or huge slab of rocks, that float on liquid part of the mantle below. Where the plates meet they either buckle to form mountain ranges or one plate is forced under another one. Along the plate boundaries is were most earthquakes and volcanoes occur. This is commonly referred to as the Ring of Fire. What happens with two continental plates collide?
Weathering is the process of breaking surface rock into boulders, gravel, sand, and soil. Weathering can be caused by water, frost, chemicals, and plants. Erosion is the process of wearing away or moving weathered material. Erosion is caused by water, wind, and ice. How does erosion hurt some areas yet benefit others?
The earth s surface is composed of many types landforms. Each has had an effect on the cultures of the people living on the earth. Mountains are towers of rock formed by collisions of tectonic plates or by volcanoes. Mt. Everest, located in the Himalaya Mountains is the world s tallest at 29,035 feet. Plains are low-lying stretches of flat or gently rolling land. Examples include the Great Plains and the North European Plains.
Plateaus are also large flat areas but have a higher elevation. The Colorado Plateau in the United States covers several states. Between mountains and hills lie valleys. Valleys can be formed by rivers or glaciers. An isthmus is a narrow piece of land that connects two larger pieces of land. A peninsula is a piece of land with water on three sides. A small body of land completely surrounded by water is an island.
Off the coast of the continents lies a plateau called a continental shelf. Tall mountains and valleys line the ocean floor. The volcano that makes up the island of Hawaii is actually the tallest mountain on earth when measured from the ocean floor. Valleys on the ocean floor are called trenches. The deepest is the Mariana Trench. This trenches plunges 35,840 ft below sea level.
Water covers 70% of the Earth s surface. A strait is a narrow body of water between two pieces of land. A similar but wider body of water is called a channel. The beginning point of a river is its source. The mouth of a river is where it empties into a larger body of water. This often forms a delta.