1. Geography Chapter 2 Earth in Space
In this chapter you will learn about earths, location in the universe, and the interactions of earth’s land, water, air and life.

2. Section 1 Discussion Questions
What is the Earth’s position in the solar system?
How do rotation and revolution affect the Earth?
How does are position in the solar system effect earth?
How does the rotation of the earth effect our everyday lives?

3. Section 1 The Solar System
Space and the Universe
Stars=galaxies= The Milky Way
A. Planets
1. Solar System - sun and group of bodies that revolve around it (planets, dwarf planets, small solar system bodies like asteroids and comets.)
2. 8 planets- Pluto considered dwarf planet in 2006 (International Astronomical Union) has a small rocky core.
3. Earth and other planets are shaped like a oblate spheroid -flattened at poles and bulging at equator
4. Moons are natural satellites that orbit planets
This photo is of the Eagle Nebula in 1995 from the Hubble telescope ( 1st telescope placed in orbit around earth) and it shows where new stars are forming. The pillars are gas and dust that when condensed and ignited create stars. The light from these stars takes travels 186,282 miles per second, but still takes ten billion years to reach the light of the telescope.
Space and the Universe
When you look at the night sky you see stars, which are part of the universe. Universes is made up of all existing things including space and earth. Universe is billion years old. Space is filled with large objects called stars. When stars are group together in large clusters it is called galaxies. The Milky Way is the galaxy in which we live and all the planets we learn about in school are in.
The planets
Solar system is the sun a group of bodies around it. Because of the sun these objects are attracted to it through gravity. Planets do not generated their own light but instead it is reflected from the sun. Pluto and UB313 ( largest dwarf Xena) are considered dwarf planets. planets are flat at the top and bulging in the center around their equators. Moons are natural satellites that orbit the planets. we have one moon but many man made satellites. Mercury and Venus have no moons and Saturn has eighteen moons.
The Tunguska Event
Asteroids have direct impact on the planet. They are natural satellites and when they impact the earth they cast off fragments of dust and some become meteors. If a meteor exploded just beyond the earths surface it can cause wide spread damage. Scientist believe such an event occurred in Siberia Russia June 30, It destroyed thousands of miles of subarctic forest with a force 1,000 times greater than the force we released on Hiroshima Japan during WWII. Effects recorded after include disturbances in the earths magnetic field and genetic mutations in certain plant and animal species.
Videos
Solar system picture goes over all the planets ( national geographic)
Asteroid hitting the earth picture is an animated movie of the earth being hit.
Asteroid photo is the WWII bombing of Japan and comparable to an asteriod ( study asteriod impact to understand such things)
Burnt tree photo of Tunguska Russia measures and asteroid impact

4. B. The Sun, Earth and Moon 1. Diameter of Earth is 8,000 miles
* 3rd from sun and 5th largest
* Has an elliptical (oval Shaped
Orbit )
2. Diameter of Sun is 865,000 miles
3. Moon orbits Earth every 29.5 days and is ¼ the size of earth.
4. All exert gravitational forces on each other which affect physical processes on Earth like tides.
The sun is an average star in age and in size. It is responsible for heating up the solar system.
Moon has no air water or life and has many craters because of meteor impact. These to forces exert gravitational pull on the earth which influence the natural processes on earth. A good example of this is ocean tides.

5. Tides geography
Asteriod photo is the WWII bombing of Japan and comparable to an asteriod
Picture of waves connects to national geographic and is used to explain waves and how they work.
when the sun and the moon are combined tides are higher than normal called spring tides occur twice a month during the full or new moon. When the sun and the moon are separated by forty five degrees it is a neap tide and is lower than a high tide. This happens during quarter moons.
The picture with ships is an example of high tide in the Bay of Fundy. These are some of the highest tides on earth located off the southeastern shore of the Canadian Providence of Nova Scotia. They can reach heights of more than fifty feet at high tide. Because the bay in narrow and works as a funnel neck the water has no place to go and can’t escape. As a result of this the water piles up. Another spectacular phenomena of this is the tidal bore ( tidal bore picture is a video). As the incoming water rushes in the water pushes up stream and causes rivers to rise and reverse their flow.

6. Earth’s Rotation, Revolution and Tilt
A. Solar Energy-energy from sun in form of heat and light. It impacts life in many ways.
B. Rotation
1. Earth spins on axis- allows equal heat and cooling
2. One complete spin is called rotation (24 hours)
3. Rotates from west to east - sun rises in the east and sets in the west
Most of earths energy comes from the sun known as solar energy. How much solar energy a place receives depends on the earths tilt in that region. This affects the clothes we wear, crops we grow, and even sports we play.
Imagine the earth is spinning on a rode which one spin on the axis = one 24 hr day
Remember the international date line is where a new day starts. Because the earth is spinning all parts of the earth are able to receive solar energy even though the amounts differ.

7. C. Revolution- Earths elliptical orbit 1
C. Revolution- Earths elliptical orbit 1. Earth makes one trip around the sun in 365 ¼ days in an ellipse. 2. Feb. 29th is added every 4 years to make that year 366 (leap year)
Not only do we rotate on an axis, but we also revolve around the sun. This means that we circle the sun using an elliptical orbit. This takes 365 ¼ days which equals our year. To make things easy our year is 365 days, except when the extra fourth of a day add up to equal a full day then we have a leap year February 28th.

8. 1. Tilted at 23 ½ degrees as it orbits
D. Tilt
1. Tilted at 23 ½ degrees as it orbits
2. The tilt affects the amount of solar energy hitting the earth
Reading Check: How do rotation, revolution and tilt affect the amount of solar energy received at different locations on the Earth?
If earth was not tilted on it’s axis everywhere in the world would experience 12 hrs of day light and 12 hrs of night.
Because it is tilted on an axis this is not the case.
As the earth revolves around the sun the axis stays tilted in the same direction ( refer to the picture). The axis is fixed in relation to the north star.

9. Section 2 Discussion Questions
How does the angle of the Sun’s rays affect the amount of solar energy received at different locations on Earth?
What are solstices and equinoxes?

10. Section 2-Earth-Sun Relationships
Solar Energy and Latitude
A. Low latitudes near Equator receive lots of solar energy year round (tropics)-rays more direct.
B. Rays are direct in tropics and indirect in mid-latitudes.
C. Polar regions receive the least- North and South poles
Solar –energy review
Energy-energy from sun in form of heat and light. It impacts life in many ways.
Remember that the earth is not tilted directly up or down but is tilted at an angle so that when it spins ( or rotates) not everywhere on the earth receives the same amount of direct sun light.
Use blow up globe to display this. Or bathroom globe with flashlight.
Pull up transparency ( angle of the sun’s rays hitting Earth)
Middle latitudes are the places between the poles and the equator
Can also change the amount of day light- example when the north pole is pointed toward the sun the days are longer and warmer.
Mention to students what is happening to the temperature now in Missouri.
What does this mean for the rays hitting the earth and the earths tilt?
What do we call this when the temperatures change?

11. II. The Seasons A. 4 seasons B
II. The Seasons A. 4 seasons B. Summer-rays are stronger, winter-rays are weaker in northern hemisphere. C. Northern and southern hemispheres are opposites
Pull up seasons Transparency
Time of greater and lesser heat is the seasons
Seasons can differ from place to place. some places it is changes in temperature and others it is wet or dry seasons like in the tropics.
Summer more energy longer days
Fall more equal night and days
Earths tilt allow for northern and southern hemispheres to have opposite seasons
Example us and Australia ( they are entering summer while we are entering winter)

12. Solstices
1. Dec. 21 and June 21
2. Earth is tilted closest to or furthest from sun
3. Dec. 21 has fewest daylight hours…marks 1st day of winter in Northern Hemisphere. The north pole is tilted the furthest from the sun
4. June 21 is opposite
longest day during the summer and the south pole is tilted furthest from the sun.
5. Rays shine from Tropic of Capricorn to Tropic of Cancer
6. 24 hours of daylight at north pole during June solstice…24 hours of daylight at south pole during Dec. solstice.
Bring up transparency again ( the seasons)
Solstices (December)
Poles point SH closest and NH furthest from the sun
What is the reason again why they can point the furthest or closest at the same time?
23.5 degree tropic of Capricorn south pole all day sunlight
23.5 arctic circle north pole no sunlight
Solstices ( June)
Poles NH great daylight hrs – strikes tropic of cancer
Poles SH lest daylight
The winter solstice in Ancient Ireland ( click on mound picture)
Knowledge of solstices has been around for thousands of years – since the Neolithic age.
New grange Ireland is one of these site that proves this knowledge
A tomb about 5,000 years old
Only once a year for fifteen minutes does the sun shine down a 62 foot passage way to the tombs at the end of the passage.

13. Equinoxes- poles not pointed towards or away from sun
1. March 21 and Sept. 22
2. Day and night are equal
3. Earth is at 90 degrees with sun
4. March 21-beginning of Spring- Northern Hemisphere
5. September 22-beginning of Fall- southern hemisphere
Equinox means = night
Both poles 90 angle from sun
Tropic receive most direct light
Both poles equal amount of sun light 12 hrs

14. Section 3 Discussion Questions
What are Earth’s four spheres?
How is Earth’s environment unique in the solar system?

15. Section 3-The Earth System
Earth’s Four Spheres
A. Atmosphere
1. envelope of gases surrounding the Earth
2. 78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen and 1% CO2, ozone and others
3. Filters sun’s harmful rays, provides oxygen and regulates proper heat.
The whole earth interacts as a layer of systems
Earth is made of many systems of interaction. We all interact together. Example a volcano will erupt and will effect the land, water and air around it. Think of Pompeii Greece which totally erased a city off the map. We also interact with earths systems by changing the environment to meet our needs for example convert large areas of earth into farmland.
The earth environment (or surroundings) falls into many different categories and some of these are called spheres.
Sphere – each is a shell around the planet
Atmosphere outer most gases surrounding the earth.
Lithosphere
Hydrosphere
Biosphere

16. All of this is in the atmosphere

17. B. Lithosphere-Earth’s crust ( forming the continents, islands, and ocean floors.

18. C. Hydrosphere-Earth’s water 1
C. Hydrosphere-Earth’s water 1. 70% is water (liquid, solid, gaseous forms) 2. Oceans, surface water, in sky and in glaciers 3. Essential for living

19. D. Biosphere-plants and animals and covers all three of the other spheres. It goes from the ocean floor all the way to the atmosphere.

20. Earth’s Environment
A. “surroundings” or environment
B. Includes biological, chemical and physical conditions that interact and affect life on earth.
C. Ours is the most complex. Venus and Mars only have atmospheres and lithospheres.
D. Focus on citizenship- many geographers work for the government evaluating policies that might effect the environment. One way they gather support for changes they want is through lobbying.