1. 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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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)

6. 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?

7.  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.