Earth Science at a Glance

Chapter 1: Earth’s Changing SurfaceChapter 2: Earth’s StructureChapter 3: Managing Earth’s

Changes

Standards:S5E1—Students will identify surface features of

the Earth caused by constructive and destructive processes.

S5E1a—Identify surface features caused by constructive processes.

S5E1b—Identify and find examples of surface features caused by destructive processes.

S5E1c—Relate the role of technology in the control of constructive and destructive processes.

Chapter 1—Earth’s Changing Surface

� Lesson 1: Features of Earth’s surface range from deep ocean trenches to tall

mountains. What are these features like?

� S5E1—Students will identify surface features of the Earth cased by constructive and

destructive processes.

� Lesson 2: Wind, water, ice and gravity—how do these agents wear down

Earth’s surface?

� S5E1b—Identify and find examples of surface features cased by destructive

processes.

� Lesson 3: Shifting sand, bubbling lave, moving crust, and flowing ice—how do

they build up Earth’s surface?

� S5E1a—Identify surface features caused by constructive processes.

2

Chapter 1 Lesson 1: What makes up

Earth’s Surface?

3

• Earth is the only planet in the solar system with a large amount of water

on its surface.

• Most of the water on Earth is salt water in oceans and seas.

• Mountains, hills valleys, canyons, plateaus, and plains are types of

landforms found on Earth’s crust.

• A coastline may have beaches or marshlands or it may be rocky with steep

cliffs and mountains.

• Pockets beaches (small and curve landward, with sand filling space, or

“pockets” between rocky cliffs) form at rocky shores; mainland beaches

form along straight shores free of large rocks and can stretch for miles.

Chapter 1 Lesson 1: Earth’s Surface?

4

• Barrier island often have long sandy

beaches.

• The continental margin of the ocean floor

has three parts; the continental

shelf, the continental slope, and the

continental rise.

• The ocean floor has similar features to dry

land, including mountains, canyons,

plains, and seamounts.

• The ocean basin is a region of deep

canyons and mountain chains beyond the

continental margin.

• A continuous mid-ocean ridge extends

more than 56,000km through the world

ocean.

• Topographic maps show the shape and

elevation of land with contour lines.

Chapter 1 Lesson 2: Wearing Down

Earth’s Surface

� Earth’s crust is broken down by two types of weathering, mechanical and chemical.

� Mechanical weathering, the breaking of large rocks into smaller pieces of known as sediment, is done by wind, water, ice, and living things.

� Chemical weathering, which changes rocks into other materials, is done by water and weak acids.

� Erosion is the process by which sediments are moved from one place to another.

� Moving water in streams and rivers, as well as in the oceans, carries sediments.

� Glaciers slowly move large amounts of soil and rock over great distances.5

Chapter 1 Lesson 2: Wearing Down

Earth’s Surface

6

• The landscape constantly changes due to erosion. Most of the time, changes happen slowly but sometimes they happen quickly.

• The slow processes of weathering and erosion can nevertheless, cause fast changes such as sinkholes and landslides.

• Earthquakes and volcanoes can also cause landslides.

Chapter 1 Lesson 3: How Is Earth’s Surface Built

Up?

7

• Sediments carried from place to place by erosion are eventually deposited in a new place.

• Deposition builds up the land and creates surface features.

• When moving water slows down, sediments drop out of the water and gradually build up to form new land features.

• When pressure causes magma to push up from below the crust, new features form on Earth’s surfaces. Mountains form when sections of Earth’s crust push into each other.

• The remains of living things my build up to form features on Earth’s surface.

Chapter 1 Lesson 3: How Is Earth’s Surface Built

Up?

8

• Glaciers formed from the buildup of snow and ice over thousands of years.

• The rock material deposited by a glacier as it moves is called till.

• Glacial deposits form different kinds of surface features, such as moraines and eskers.

Chapter 2—Earth’s Structure

� Lesson 1: Cool and crusty on the outside, hot on the inside: What is Earth’s structure like?

� S5E1a—Identify surface features caused by constructive processes.

� S5E1b—Identify and find examples of surface features cased by destructive processes.

� Lesson 2: Shaking earthquakes and erupting volcanoes: What forces of nature cause these dramatic events to occur?

� S5E1b—Identify and find examples of surface features cased by destructive processes.

� Lesson 3: Some mountains are tall and jagged. Others are rounded and covered in trees. How do mountains form and change?

� S5E1a—Identify surface features caused by constructive processes.

Foote 9

CHAPTER 2 LESSON 1: EARTH’S STRUCTURE

10

• Geysers, columns of hot water and steam shooting

into the air, are evidence of Earth’s hot interior.

• By studying deep holes in Earth’s crust scientists

know that Earth’s temperature increases with depth.

• Earth’s layers are the crust, mantle, and core.

• The lithosphere is made up of the crust and the

solid upper mantle.

• Earth’s lower mantle is partially melted, the outer

core is liquid, and the inner core is solid.

• Scientists think the lithosphere is broken into giant

sections that “float” on the lower mantle.

CHAPTER 2 LESSON 1: EARTH’S STRUCTURE

July 22, 2012Footer text here 11

• According to plate tectonics, Earth’s giant continental and oceanic plates

move slowly.

• Plates interact in various ways at their boundaries.

• Scientist think Earth’s plates have been moving far at least two billion

years.

• Fossils are physical remains or traces of plants or animals.

• The discovery of fossils far from where they are believed to have formed

supports the idea of plate movement.

CHAPTER 2 LESSON 2: EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES

July 22, 2012Footer text here 12

• A fault is a crack in Earth’s crust along which movement takes place

• When sudden movement occurs at a fault, seismic waves are generated.

• Faults occur at diverging, converging and sliding boundaries.

• Earthquakes, the violent shaking of Earth’s crust, vary in magnitude.

• Seismic waves move outward from the focus of an earthquake decreasing

in intensity as they go.

• There are two general types of seismic waves: body waves travel through

Earth’s interior, and surface waves travel along Earth’s surface.

• Volcanoes are openings in Earth’s surface through which melted rock, hot

gases, rock fragments, and ash erupt.

CHAPTER 2 LESSON 2: EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES

July 22, 2012 13

• During a volcanic eruption, magma and gases are forced outward.

• There are three classes of volcanic cones: shield volcanoes, cinder cones,

and composite volcanoes.

• Many earthquakes and volcanoes occur in a zone that borders the Pacific

Ocean.

• This are, called the Ring of Fire, outlines subduction zones where several

continental plates.

• Ocean trenches may form on the ocean floor along

subduction zones.

CHAPTER 2 LESSON 3: MOUNTAINS FORMATION

July 22, 2012Footer text here 14

• Most mountains form at plate boundaries.

• Fold mountains form where two plates collide.

• In the formation of fault-block mountains, blocks of rock may move in

several ways along one or more faults.

• Volcanic activity occurs at converging and diverging boundaries, as well

as at hot spots in the crust.

• Dome mountains form when magma rises to the surface but does not

break through.

• Erosion shapes mountains. A few mountains have been formed entirely by

erosion.

• The mountains of Georgia formed from a combination of tectonic activity

and other constructive and destructive forces.

• Landforms such as mountains can have a great impact on the culture and

economy of a region.

Chapter 3—Managing Earth’s

Changes

� Lesson 1: No one wants water flowing over streets and into houses. How can floods be controlled

� S5E1c—Relate the role of technology and human intervention in the control of constructive and destructive process (flood control)

� Lesson 2: Georgia’s beaches are sandy and beautiful. Where does beach sand come from?

� S5E1c—Relate the role of technology and human intervention in the control of constructive and destructive process (Beach reclamation)

� Lesson 3: Crops depend on healthy soil. Yet rains may wash away soil, or winds may blow it away. What factors affect soil erosion?

� S5E1c—Relate the role of technology and human intervention in the control of constructive and destructive process

15

Chapter 3 Lesson 1: Floods

July 22, 2012Footer text here

16

• Flood waters can cause severe damage wherever they flow.

• Floods form from many causes, including heavy rainfall, rapid snowmelt

and overflowing rivers and lakes.

• Swamps, estuaries, and other wetlands absorb excess water and thus

provide a natural system of flood control. However, wetlands continue to

be lost to development.

• Technologies for controlling floods include storm drains, levees, dams and

reservoirs, and floodways.

• Technology for controlling floods has both advantages and disadvantages.

Levees and dams can fail with disastrous consequences.

Chapter 3 Lesson 1: Floods17

• The Everglades is a long, slow-moving river

in southern Florida. Attempts to control

flooding have harmed it in the past

• Floods are common throughout Georgia and

cause great damage every year.

• Georgia floods have been caused by

hurricanes, burst dams, and overflowing

rivers.

Chapter 3 Lesson 2: Beaches

July 22, 2012Footer text here

18

• Beaches form from river silt and other sediments that ocean waves

deposit.

• Beaches change from day to day and from year to year as beach sand

builds up and is eroded away.

• Human structures and activities such as dams, jetties, and dredging, can

interrupt the movement of sediments in rivers and oceans. When this

happens, beaches may erode.

• Beach nourishment and sea walls can slow beach erosion but cannot stop

it entirely.

• Rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may be causing Earth’s

average temperatures to slowly rise, and event called global warming.

• Global warming may lead to rising ocean levels worldwide.

Chapter 3 Lesson 3: Soil and Farms

July 22, 2012Footer text here

19

• Soil is an important natural resource that needs to be managed wisely.

• Soil forms in distinct layers. Topsoil is the surface layer and is richest in

humus, which is decayed plant and animal matter.

• Poor farming practices and a long drought led to the Dust Bowl of the

1930’s.

• Today, practices such as contour plowing, cover crops, and wind breaks

help farmers preserve topsoil.

• Farming is vital to Georgia’s present and future. The state is a leading

producer of peanuts, cotton, peaches, and other crops.

• In the past, poor farming practices caused much of Georgia’s topsoil to

erode. Today, soil conservation programs help to reduce erosion and

allow Georgia Farmers to succeed.