Earth & Space Science
The Universe and Its Stars
The sun is a star that appears larger and brighter than other stars because it is closer. Stars range greatly in their distance from Earth.
DocDuck: Universe and Stars
Climates
Climate describe a range of an area’s typical weather conditions and the extent to which those conditions vary over years.
Ms. Rose & Climates
Weather Patterns
Scientists record patterns of the weather across different times and areas so that they can make predictions about what kind of weather might happen next.
Natural Hazards
A variety of natural hazards result from natural processes. Humans cannot eliminate natural hazards but can take steps to reduce their impacts.
Natural Resources
Energy and fuels that humans use are derived from natural sources, and their use affects the environment in multiple ways. Some resources are renewable over time, and others are not.
Human Impacts on Earth Systems
Human activities in agriculture, industry, and everyday life have had major effects on the land, vegetation, streams, ocean, air, and even outer space; but, individuals and communities are doing things to help protect Earth’s resources and environments.
Earth Materials and Systems
Earth’s major systems are the geosphere (solid and molten rock, soil, and sediments), the hydrosphere (water and ice), the atmosphere (air), and the biosphere (living things, including humans). These systems interact in multiple ways to affect Earth’s surface materials and processes. The ocean supports a variety of ecosystems and organisms, shapes landforms, and influences climate. Winds and clouds in the atmosphere interact with the landforms to determine patterns of weather.
History of Planet Earth
Local, regional, and global patterns of rock formations reveal changes over time due to earth forces, such as earthquakes. The presence and location of certain fossil types indicate the order in which rock layers were formed.
Earth and the Solar System
The orbits of Earth around the sun and of the moon around Earth, together with the rotation of earth about an axis between its North and South poles, cause observable patterns. These include day and night; daily changes in the length and direction of shadows; and different positions of the sun, moon, and stars at different times of the day, month, and year.
DocDuck: Earth, Sun and Moon
The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes
Nearly all of Earth’s available water is in the ocean. Most fresh water is in glaciers or underground; only a tiny fraction is in streams, lakes, wetlands, and the atmosphere.
Dive into Earth's Water
Weathering and Erosion
Rainfall helps to shape the land and affects the types of living things found in a region. Water, ice, wind, living organisms, and gravity break rocks, soils, and sediments into smaller particles and move them around.
Plate Tectonics and Large Scale Systems
The locations of mountain ranges, deep ocean trenches, ocean floor structures, earthquakes, and volcanoes occur in patterns. Most earthquakes and volcanoes occur in bands that are often along the boundaries between continents and oceans. Major mountain chains form inside continents or near their edges. Maps can help locate the different land and water features areas of Earth.
Plate Tectonics Adventure - Super Study Buddies
Biogeology
Living things affect the physical characteristics of their regions.