UNIT 4: EARTH’S SYSTEMS AND

PROCESSESAP ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

WARMUP•PLEASE SET UP YOUR LAB NOTEBOOKS

FOR TODAY’S LAB. BE SURE TO CREATE

YOUR DATA TABLES.

ABOUT SOIL• SOIL IS FORMED WHEN PARENT MATERIALS IS

WEATHERED, TRANSPORTED, AND DEPOSITED

• THEY ARE NORMALLY CATEGORIZED BY HORIZONS

AS THEY FORM, BASED ON COMPOSITION AND

ORGANIC MATERIAL

• WIND AND WATER CAN ERODE SOIL AWAY-

PROTECTING SOIL IS IMPORTANT. IT IS VITAL FOR

LIFE AND FILTERS WATER-PLANTING TREES CAN HELP!

SOIL COMPOSITION• SOIL CAN HOLD DIFFERENT AMOUNTS OF

WATER BASED ON ITS TYPE; THIS CONTRIBUTES

TO THE FERTILITY OF SOIL

• SOIL TESTING IS IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY FOR

AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION

• THE SOIL TEXTURE TRIANGLE HELPS IDENTIFY

SOIL BASED ON ITS COMPOSITION

HOMEWORK

LAUNCH

WARMUP•PLEASE GET BACK WITH YOUR GROUPS

FROM YESTERDAY AND CONTINUE YOUR

LAB. IF YOU WERE ABSENT, TAKE SOME

TIME TO SET UP YOUR LAB NOTEBOOK

BEFORE JOINING A GROUP.

HOMEWORK

LAUNCH

WARMUP•PLEASE SET UP YOUR LAB NOTEBOOKS FOR

TODAY’S LAB.

PLATE TECTONICSTYPES OF BOUNDARIES

CONVERGENT DIVERGENT TRANSFORM

When two plates move

together

When two plates move

apart

When two plates scrape

past each other

horizontally

Can result in mountains,

island arcs, earthquakes,

and volcanoes

Can result in seafloor

spreading, rift valleys,

volcanoes, and

earthquakes

Can result in earthquakes

EARTHQUAKES• EARTHQUAKES OCCUR WHEN

STRESS OVERCOMES A

LOCKED FAULT ON A

BOUNDARY, RELEASING

STORED ENERGY IN THE FORM

OF A VIBRATION

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION OF PLATE BOUNDARIES

CAN BE USED TO

DETERMINE THE

LOCATION OF

VOLCANOES, ISLAND

ARCS, EARTHQUAKES,

HOTSPOTS, AND

FAULTS

HOMEWORK

LAUNCH

WARMUP• WITH YOUR TABLE, COME UP WITH 1 CHARACTERISTIC OF EACH

ATMOSPHERIC LAYER.

ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION

• NITROGEN – 78%

• OXYGEN – 21%

• ARGON – 1%

• ALL OTHERS - <1% (TRACE

AMOUNTS)

LAYERS OF THE ATMOSPHERE

• TROPOSPHERE: WHERE WEATHER

OCCURS

• STRATOSPHERE: OZONE LAYER

LOCATED HERE

• MESOSPHERE: METEOR PROTECTION

• THERMOSPHERE: AURORA LIGHTS

• EXOSPHERE: FADES TO SPACE

GLOBAL WINDS• THE MOST INTENSE SOLAR RADIATION ARRIVES AT

THE EQUATOR, CREATES A DENSITY DIFFERENCE THAT

CREATES WIND PATTERS AS HOT AIR RISES, COOLS,

AND SINKS

• THE CORIOLIS EFFECT: IN SIMPLE TERMS, THE

CORIOLIS EFFECT IS A POWERFUL FORCE THAT

MAKES THINGS (LIKE CURRENTS OF AIR) TRAVELING

LONG DISTANCES AROUND EARTH APPEAR TO

MOVE AT A CURVE AS OPPOSED TO A STRAIGHT

LINE

GLOBAL WIND PATTERNS

HOMEWORK

LAUNCH

WARMUP• WITH YOUR TABLE, DETERMINE 3 NATURAL CAUSES OF CLIMATE

CHANGE.

WEATHER VS. CLIMATE• WEATHER DESCRIBES THE DAY TO DAY DAILY RECORDINGS, SUCH

AS TEMPERATURE, HUMIDITY, AND CLOUD COVER. CLIMATE

DESCRIBES THE GENERAL CHARACTERISTIC OF A REGION OVER

TIME, BASED ON AVERAGE TEMPERATURE AND RAINFALL

• BOTH ARE INFLUENCED BY BOTH SOLAR RADIATION AND FACTORS

SUCH AS MOUNTAINS AND OCEAN TEMPERATURES

• RAIN SHADOW: REGION THAT HAS BECOME DRIER BECAUSE HIGH

ELEVATION AREAS HAVE BLOCKED PRECIPITATION FROM REACHING

THE LAND

EL NIÑO AND LA NIÑA• EL NIÑO: PHENOMENA ASSOCIATED WITH

CHANGING OCEAN TEMPERATURE IN THE

PACIFIC OCEAN DUE TO WEAK WINDS.

WARM WATER IS NOT FORCED WESTWARD

AS NORMAL. LA NIÑA IS THE OPPOSITE

EFFECT.

• CAN CAUSE GLOBAL CHANGES TO

RAINFALL, WIND, AND OCEAN CIRCULATION

PATTERNS

• MAY AFFECT DIFFERENT LOCATIONS IN

DIFFERENT WAYS

EL NIÑO WEBQUEST

HOMEWORK

LAUNCH

WARMUP• WITH YOUR TABLE, DIAGRAM THE CAUSE OF THE SEASONS.

SOLAR RADIATION• AS YOU MAY REMEMBER, SOLAR ENERGY IS THE MAIN ENERGY SOURCE

ON EARTH. THE INTENSITY DEPENDS ON SEASON AND LATITUDE.

• DUE TO THE SHAPE OF EARTH, LATITUDE DIRECTLY HORIZONTAL TO

SOLAR RADIATION RECEIVES THE MOST INTENSITY. THE EQUATOR IS

ALWAYS IN DIRECT SOLAR LIGHT, AND THE INTENSITY DECREASES AS

YOU GO TOWARD THE POLES

• THE MOST SOLAR RADIATION IS RECEIVED ON THE LOCATIONS LONGEST

SUMMER DAY, AND LEAST ON THE LOCATIONS SHORTEST WINTER DAY

SEASONS• INFLUENCES BY THE TILT OF EARTH’S

AXIS

• WHEN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE IS

TILTED TOWARD THE SUN, WE

EXPERIENCE SUMMER. AS THE EARTH

REVOLVES, WE TILT AWAY FROM THE

SUN AND HAVE WINTER. THE

SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE EXPERIENCES

THE OPPOSITE SEASON.

SOLAR RADIATION LAB

HOMEWORK

LAUNCH

WARMUP•WITH YOUR TABLE, IDENTIFY 2 WAYS A WATERSHED

COULD BE CONTAMINATED.

CRUMPLE A WATERSHED

HOMEWORK•PROGRESS CHECK UNIT 4, ON COLLEGEBOARD

•STUDY GUIDE POSTED TO CANVAS

•READING GUIDE AND EDPUZZLES DUE

TOMORROW

LAUNCH

WARMUP•PLEASE HAVE READING GUIDE OUT FOR COLLECTION.

USE TIME BEFORE LUNCH TO STUDY.

LAUNCH