What other things do
YOU like to use?
1. Why study Earth Science?
2. What is a system?
3. What are sources of energy that drive Earth’s
systems?
4. What is Earth Science?
5. What are the Earth’s four major spheres?
6. What was the significance of Apollo 8?
Why Earth Science?
• Because nearly everything we do each day is
connected in some way to the Earth: to its
land, oceans, atmosphere, plants, and animals
• Because just as Earth systems directly affect
us, we - as individuals, communities and
nations - affect our planet
• Because we LIVE on Earth!!
Source AGI 2014
Windows To the Universe
Apollo 8 - 1968
Looking at our planet from this vantage point makes it easy to
see that all its parts - the living things, the air, the water, the
ice, and the rocks - are connected. Everything on Earth is part
of ONE system.
This iconic picture taken from Apollo 8 in 1968 changed how
scientists, and the general public, view our Earth.
As a result, the ideas of Earth System Science was developed.
Windows To the Universe
What is a system?
A system can be any size group of interacting
parts that form a complex whole
What are the sources of energy
that drive Earth’s systems?
 Heat energy from inside the Earth
 Radiation from our closest star . . . The sun
Apollo 8
http://youtu.be/m5ODWzoxobg
What is Earth Science?
 It is the name for a group of sciences that
deals with Earth and its neighbors
 It includes: the study of Earth’s interior,
rocks, soil, the atmosphere, oceans and
outter space
What are Earth’s four major spheres?
Biosphere
Hydrosphere
Geosphere
Atmosphere
http://youtu.be/_tvWDPBNiD4
1. Why study Earth Science?
2. What is a system?
3. What are sources of energy that drive Earth’s systems?
4. What is Earth Science?
5. What are the Earth’s four major spheres?
6. What was the significance of Apollo 8?