Sphere’s of the Earth By: Jaedyn Finkbeiner

The Lithosphere The crust and the rigid part of the mantle make up what is called the Lithosphere Pangaea is a theory that made the continents into one supercontinent Continental drift is when Pangaea drifted apart into the continents that we have today Plate tectonics explain how continents and the ocean floor could move Volcanism is when it brings materials from the inside of the Earth to the outside. Lithosphere is always moving, but very slowly.

The Hydrosphere Part of the Earth that contains water This includes lakes, rivers, hail, rain, sleet, snow, oceans, fog, ice, and clouds Covers about 75% of the Earth’s surface Home to many plants and animals Water cycle includes evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and runoff Precipitation is water that falls from clouds to the ground in the form of rain, sleet, hail, or snow. Aquifers are an underground body of water

The Atmosphere Layers of gases that surround the Earth Earth’s atmosphere is made up of 79% nitrogen, 20% oxygen, and 1% other gases. The relationship between air pressure and height is that the higher you go the less air pressure or the lower your height is the more air pressure there is. If you are on a mountain, it is harder to breathe, than if you were at sea level. The height, or altitude, determines how much air pressure there is.

The Atmosphere The layers of the atmosphere include the thermosphere, mesosphere, stratosphere, and the troposphere The troposphere, the lowest layer, is where all the weather takes place. Ozone layer is part of the stratosphere that prevents nearly 99% of the sun’s ultraviolet rays from reaching the Earth.

The Biosphere Layer of the planet Earth where life exists There has been no existence of life elsewhere in the universe besides the biosphere Its components include between 3 to 30 million species of plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria

The Biosphere Ecosystems are living and nonliving things that work together some types include: forest, desert, and tundra Food chain is a model of the path that the energy in food takes as it moves from one organism to the next in an ecosystem The biosphere is the one place where all of the other spheres interact.

The Sphere’s Interaction The atmosphere provides oxygen for the living things in the biosphere. The hydrosphere provides water for the soil (lithosphere) which allows plants to grow. The hydrosphere provides water for animals, humans, and plants to drink in order to survive. The remains of animals, humans, and plants (biosphere) put nutrients back into the soil (lithosphere). The components of the biosphere affect all the other spheres by what we do. (pollution, construction, poor use of resources, etc.) The atmosphere protects the biosphere from the sun’s radiation.

The Sphere ’s Interactions