II. Earth systems - A ___________ is an organized group of objects or components
interacting as a whole.
A. The _________ is made up of many systems with matter and energy interacting.
 __________ – anything that has mass and takes up space
 _________ – light, heat, vibrations, or electromagnetic waves
1. ______________ – matter and energy are exchanged with the surroundings.
Examples are an open jar, a lake, most systems on Earth
2. ______________ – energy can be exchanged with surroundings, but matter
cannot. Examples are a closed jar and MOSTLY the Earth System
B. Earth’s four spheres
1. ___________ – blanket of gases surrounding Earth’s surface. 78% Nitrogen,
21% Oxygen, 1% other
2. _______________– Water on Earth. 97% salt (global ocean) 3% fresh
3. _____________ – rocky part of Earth
4. _________________ – life
5. _____________ – Ice sheets of Earth
C. Energy on Earth
1. Energy cannot be ____________________, but can be transferred from
system to system. Matter and energy are transferred between the five
spheres (open systems).
2. Earth’s energy sources are either internal or external
1. Internal – _______________ energy
Convection currents move warm fluids in the mantle to the surface and
cooler fluids sink.
2. External
a. The _____ – causes movement of air masses, winds, ocean currents,
and fuels photosynthesis.
b. __________ energy from the moon and sun – causes tides, mixing of
ocean waters
D. Cycles in the Earth system
1. _________ cycle
a) Organisms need nitrogen, but can’t use the nitrogen from the atmosphere
as it is. It must be “_______”. Bacteria in the soil use the nitrogen and fix
it so plants can use it. We eat the plants
2. ________ cycle - Carbon is moved through photosynthesis, respiration, and
combustion
3. ______________ cycle - Moves through all spheres except for the
atmosphere (is not a gas)
4. ___________ cycle - Water moves through the spheres via evaporation,
condensation, and precipitation
ECOSYSTEM NOTES
I.
________________– The study of the relationships between biotic (living)
and abiotic (not living) things.
A. _________________ – A community of living things and their environment
1. ___________________ – The transfer of energy through an
ecosystem begins with plants capturing solar energy through
photosynthesis.
2. ________________________ get energy by eating other organisms
3. __________________– a type of consumer that breaks down dead
organisms for energy.
B. Balancing forces in ecosystems.
1. ___________________ – the largest population that an environment
can support.
2. Ecosystems react to restore balance when a change happens. It is
easier for an ecosystem to react to a slow change than to a sudden
change.
3. _________________________ – diagram showing the feeding
relationship among organisms in an ecosystem.
C. Human and the ecosystem:
Create a food web using the organisms in our ecosystem activity.