Chapter 1 Made of 4 fields: What is Earth Science? = study of Earth, its interior & surfaces, and Earth’s neighbors in space Made of 4 fields: Geology = study of Earth Oceanography = study of oceans Meteorology = study of atmosphere, weather, & climate Astronomy = study of universe

How did Earth get here? Nebular Hypothesis = all parts of the solar system formed at the same time from a rotating cloud of gases ~ 4.6 billion years ago Earth formed

Why is the Earth always changing? Earth is made of different zones or “spheres”: Hydrosphere = water Atmosphere = air Geosphere = rock Biosphere = life All of these interact daily to change our planet

Outside forces also change our planet EX: sun provides energy to change weather EX: heat from inside Earth produces volcanoes  If you change one part of a sphere, you can change any or all of the other spheres

Do humans really affect Earth that much? YES EX: humans using cornfields for subdivision affects: - Hydrosphere (more erosion) - Atmosphere (more pollution) - Geosphere (artificial rock ) - Biosphere (fewer plants &animals, more humans)

Why should you care about Earth Science? We have close to 7 billion people on Earth who all depend on Earth’s resources (fresh water, clean soil for crops, petroleum/oil for cars, wood for homes, coal for heat, etc…) What happens if these run out? Did you know we live in a very earthquake part of the US? Could an earthquake destroy your house?

 A basic understanding of Earth is necessary for human survival. Why is the mid-west so flat & boring? Glaciers have repeatedly come down from Canada to flatten the landscape. Could this happen again? Movies talk about an asteroid hitting the Earth and destroying life. Could this really happen? Could humans even stop it?  A basic understanding of Earth is necessary for human survival.