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This class will be geared to prepare you for
your future science courses.
You will see some basic chemistry, biology,
math, etc.
The material we cover will definitely include
all things earth.
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Volcanoes
Rocks
Atmosphere
And so on
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Can you guess what city in North Carolina I’m
from?
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I attended Porter Ridge High School. Can you
guess the school’s mascot?
What year do you think I graduated from high
school?
◦ 2007
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What college did I attend? Hint: it’s very cold
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Do you think I joined a Fraternity?
◦ Eventually became President
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With all that being said, how old do you think
I am?
I’ll never say
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On a sheet of paper, tell me:
1.
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3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Your preferred name/age/grade
What are your hobbies?
What types of clubs/sports do you participate in?
Name one thing you could teach someone else?
What is one place you would like to visit in your lifetime?
What is your weakest/strongest subject?
Do you have access to the internet at home?
Is there any kind of condition or situation that I need to
be aware of? (home or school)
9. What are your goals after high school?
10. If you plan on attending college, what schools do you
have in mind?
11. Name anything you want to learn that pertains to Earth
Science.
12. Contact information for your parents
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For thousands of
years, early human
history, it was believed
that supernatural
forces caused all the
major events, such as
earthquakes,
volcanoes, and tidal
waves
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Earth Science is the study of the earth and of
the universe around it.
Four main branches of Earth Science
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Geology
Oceanography
Meteorology
Astronomy
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What kinds of things threaten our survival?
Ecology is the area of science looks at biology
and earth science. Answers questions like
how a particular group of animal or plant is
influenced by their environment.
Environmental pollution
Protecting the environment
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On your laptops, go to
www.sascurriculumpathways.com/login
Log in as student, username is: wwhs
On the right hand side of the screen you will
see a quick launch box. Enter the code 474
Click on Forecasting Earth’s Future and begin
reading the assignment.
Use the links provided to write your essay.
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Earth Science – the study of earth and the
universe around it.
4 main branches:
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Geology
Oceanography
Meteorology
Astronomy
You can also include Environmental Study
If you had to choose, what type of branch
would you consider pursuing or making a
career out of? Tell me why
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http://exploringorigins.org/timeline.html
About how old is earth?
Where on the timeline do you think humans
came about?
What about the dinosaurs?
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State a problem
◦ Often a result of observation.
◦ What causes tornadoes to form? Why is oil found
only in certain locations and not in others?
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Gather information/Research
◦ Investigate the problem, see what has been done
already.
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Form a Hypothesis
◦ A possible explanation or solution to the problem.
Based on facts, established through observation
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Test the Hypothesis/Experiment
◦ A hypothesis will not be accepted by the scientific
community unless there is evidence to support it.
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Gather Data/Make Observations
◦ You will take measurements or record observations
in order to analyze the results.
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State a Conclusion
◦ After analyzing the data, a conclusion can be
drawn. Here your hypothesis is either accepted or
rejected.
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The Nebular Hypothesis
◦ Suggests that the bodies of
our solar system evolved
from an enormous rotating
cloud called the solar
nebula.
 Made up of mostly hydrogen
and helium
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We are going to split into groups of 3 or 4.
Each group will be investigate all the areas of
Earth Science.
◦ Geology, Oceanography, Meteorology, Astronomy,
Environmental science
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In your group use your textbook and laptops
to find the definition of each branch and the
major topics covered by them
The information you gather should go under
your notes section
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The study of the origin, history, and structure
of the solid earth and the processes that
shape it
◦ Many fields:
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The study of earth’s oceans and other bodies
of water.
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The study of earth’s atmosphere
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Study of the universe beyond earth
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The branch of biology that deals with the
relationship of organisms and their
environments
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Earth System Science
◦ Earth is a dynamic planet with many separate but
interactive parts or spheres. Its aim is to
understand earth as a system made up of numerous
interacting parts, or subsystems.
◦ Tries to put together what we know from the main
branches discussed earlier.
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What do you think are the main spheres of
Earth? There are 4 of them.
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There are four major sphere we use to
describe the physical and interactive
environment:
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Hydrosphere
Atmosphere
Geosphere
Biosphere
What does the prefix
hydro- mean?
 All water makes up
the hydrosphere
 Only 3% of all water is
fresh
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◦ Streams
◦ Glaciers
◦ groundwater
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Life-sustaining, thin,
gaseous envelope that
surrounds the Earth
Provides the air we breath
Protects us from the sun’s
intense heat and UV
radiation
The constant exchange of
energy produces weather
and climate
Beneath both the
atmosphere and the
ocean
 Divided into 3
layers:
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◦ Core
◦ Mantle
◦ Crust
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Includes all life on Earth
Plants and animals
depend on the physical
environment for life
Without life the makeup
and nature of the solid
earth, hydrosphere, and
atmosphere would be
very different.
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Independent Variable
◦ During an experiment, these are what you are
changing
◦ Ex. The different types of fertilizer you give a plant
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Dependent Variable
◦ These are the things you are measuring
◦ Ex. The growth of the plants
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Control Group
◦ These groups aren’t changed and remain constant
◦ Used for comparisons
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Known as SI
This system was originally proposed in 1670,
but was not actually created until 1791. In
1875, 17 countries, including the US, agreed
to use the new system of measures as the
standard.
It has changed over the years
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The meter is the length of path traveled by
light in vacuum during a time interval of
1/299,792,458 of a second.
By the way, this definition depends on the
fact that the speed of light is defined (not
measured) as exactly 299,792,458 meters
per second.
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The SI units are not only based on scientific
fact, but also allow you to deal with large or
small quantities more easily
We use prefixes which are all powers of 10 of
the base unit to convert between units
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In order to convert between units we must
use a process called factor labeling.
Given value
What you are looking for
Unit of what you are given
Convert 64.8 cm to m
64.8 cm
10-2 m
100 cm
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Convert 0.2410 Kg → g
0.2410 Kg
103 g
100 Kg
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0.75 Kg to milligrams
Given value
What you are looking for
Unit of what you are given
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The earth scientist most likely to study
storms is __________
The study of solid earth or rocks is called
__________
A possible explanation for a scientific
problem is called what?
A meteorite land in your back yard. Which
earth scientist would you call to study the
meteorite? Why?
List the 6 scientific steps
Theory
An explanation of why
Theories can never be
proven as fact
Theories usual have
models associated with
them
They are continually
modified and retested
Theory of Evolution
Law
An explanation of how
These are scientific fact
Laws usually have
equations associated
with them.
Law of Thermodynamics
Warm-up
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#4
Jan. 11
Plate Tectonics
◦ According to this theory, Earth’s Lithosphere is
broken into several individual sections called plates.
◦ These plates move slowly and continuously across
the surface
◦ This is what generates earthquakes, volcanic
activity and deformation of large masses of rock
into mountains
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In your journal, record what you think it
means to be both accurate and precise.
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Measurements in science have 2 parts. A
number and a unit. Without the unit the
number is irrelevant
Measurements also need to have 2 qualities
◦ Accuracy
◦ Precision
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Accuracy is defined
as the correctness
of measurement.
Precision is the
exactness of a
measurement or
how close a group
is to one another.
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Accuracy is defined as being within 5% of the
accepted value for that measurement
Precision is determined by the measuring
instrument. The smaller the divisions are on
a the measuring device the more precise the
measurement will be.
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Since measuring devices determine precision,
you must use the device correctly to be as
precise as possible
All measurements must have a digit of
uncertainty at the end
A digit of uncertainty (DOU) is one place that
past what can be measured EXACTLY.
The DOU is an estimate
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Once your data has been collected it needs to
be ORGANIZED
What is the best way to organize data??
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The best and most common way of
organizing data are through charts and
graphs.
Give me some types of graphs:
◦ Bar graphs
◦ Line graphs
◦ Pie graph
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Graphs are a good way of visually organizing
lot of information for quick access and
understanding
They show trends that may not be seen
through data alone
One thing that all graphs have in common is
a title that explains the graph
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Shows change, most commonly change over
time
A line graph is drawn with the independent
variable on the x-axis and the dependent on
the y-axis
Dependent Variable
Population
in Wilkes
Year County
Independent Variable
1980
58657
1985
59848
1990
59502
1995
61825
2000
65777
2005
66444
2010
67310
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Bar graphs are good for comparing data
Dependent
Variable
Independent
Variable
County
Population
Alleghany
10964
Ashe
25812
Surry
72496
Watauga
45479
Wilkes
67310
Yadkin
37713
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Useful for showing percentages or part of a
whole
Kind of land
used
Grassland and
rangeland
Wilderness
and parks
Urban
Wetland and
deserts
Forest
Cropland
Percentage
of total
land
29
9
2
3
30
17
Value you want to find × 100 = Percent
Total Number
Ex:
12 chocolate cookies × 100 = ~33 %
36 total cookies
Month
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
People
Percentage
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List the four main spheres on earth and tell me
something about each.
Why is having the SI system or standard units
important in the scientific community?
The variable that is changed is called what?
The variable that is measured is called what?
57.32 mL to L
Milligrams = _______ if 7.3 x 104 micrograms
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Draw and label earth’s layers
List out the main areas or branches of Earth
Science and give me one thing that each
does.
What hypothesis describes
the formation of Earth?

The Nebular Hypothesis
◦ Suggests that the bodies of
our solar system evolved
from an enormous rotating
cloud called the solar
nebula.
 Made up of mostly hydrogen
and helium
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Which branch studies the composition and
movements of seawater?
Oceanography
What type of things would an oceanographer
do or research?
◦ Marine biology
◦ Seafloor mapping
◦ Coastal processes
What branch studies the atmosphere and the
processes that produce weather and climate?
 Meteorology
 Studies weather
What branch studies the universe?
 Astronomy
 Studies origins and physical laws
What area studies the solid rock and historical
aspects of Earth?
 Geology
What area studies the relationships between
Earth and living things?
 Environmental Science
 Ecosystems
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What are they?
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Hydrosphere
Atmosphere
Geosphere
Biosphere
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Large sectional plates that are continuously
moving
Generates earthquakes, volcanic activity and
leads to the formation of mountains.
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0.00456
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7.23 x 10-3
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9.1 x 104
Short Answer
21. List and briefly describe Earth’s four major Spheres.
22. What is the difference between a scientific hypothesis and a
scientific theory?
23. List the 6 steps of the scientific method.
Problem
24. Convert 4.5 km to m
25. 0.0024 mm to cm
26. Convert 0.00031 g to µg (micro)
 Using
at least 5 complete
sentences explain why scientist
use the international system of
measurments.