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Minds on

MINDS ON

Have you ever really considered how all human and physical elements of the Earth impact one another?  While connections may not always be obvious, they do exist and on a daily basis these interconnections can cause drastic changes.

Check out this incredible video.

 

You have to admit, the video really demonstrates how important relationships are between living and nonliving things.

This is the discussion icon. Interconnections from Video

Now, you are going to watch the video a second time, but this time you are going to create an illustrated note of the interconnections that you see happening in the video. You have full creative license when deciding how to communicate these interconnections. You can sketch it, make a mind map, use a collection of images to illustrate what you see in the video, or maybe you prefer to write it all down in a paragraph. It's up to you what format you use to communicate the connections you see.  

Join The Discussion

 
Action.

ACTION

The Earth’s Four Spheres

The earth is made up of four spheres: lithosphere (sometimes called the geosphere), hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere.

This is an illustration showing an ocean, a mountain, some land and clouds. It is explaining that Earth consists of Lithosphere (Land), Hydrosphere (Water), Atmosphere (Air) and biosphere (all life on Earth).

Each of the spheres contains important features of the earth and contributes to its many processes. Let’s read the following article to gain a better understanding of the four spheres.

Read this article, The 4 Spheres of the Earth from ThoughtCo. (Original article)

If you want to view any links in this pdf, right click and select "Open Link in New Tab" to avoid leaving this page. (View the original article.)

 

This is the Portfolio icon. Earth Spheres

What do we know about the Earth’s Spheres? Use the article you just read to complete this graphic organizer. Save your work to your Portfolio for future reference.

Go To Portfolio
 

How do the spheres interact?

Let's consider how an action in one sphere could potentially affect another sphere. Complete the following quiz to make you really think about the spheres and their connections to one another. If you get stuck, be sure to use the notes you just took on the spheres that you have stored in your Portfolio.

This is the question/answer icon. Questions

Read each of the following descriptions carefully to discover the two spheres most involved in each event described. Then decide which of the arrows going from one sphere to the other in the diagram below most closely fits the description. Match the description with the number in the arrow on the diagram.

This graphic shows the four earth's spheres and the potential movement between them.
  1. Photosynthes is occurring in growing forests, grasses and marine plankton, gives off oxygen. Which arrow is it?
    1. 1
    2. 7
    3. 6
    4. 9
    Answer

    6 - Lithosphere to Atmosphere

  1. Changes in ocean currents created a reoccurrence of an ice age.  Which arrow is it?
    1. 1
    2. 3
    3. 4
    4. 5
    Answer

    5 - Hydrosphere to Lithosphere

  1. Periods of rapid plate movement release CO2 and warm the climate considerably. Which arrow is it?
    1. 2
    2. 5
    3. 6
    4. 7
    Answer

    7 - Lithosphere to Biosphere

  1. Algae and green plants use CO2 to produce sugars (foods) through the process of photosynthesis. Which arrow is it?
    1. 1
    2. 7
    3. 8
    4. 9
    Answer

    8 - Atmosphere to Biosphere

  1. Deposition of land sediments and shells of dead marine creatures on the ocean floor forms sedimentary rocks. Which arrow is it?
    1. 2
    2. 5
    3. 6
    4. 7
    Answer

    7 - Lithosphere to Biosphere

  1. Seafloor volcanic eruptions and hot water vents spew minerals into seawater affecting the composition of ocean waters. Which arrow is it?
    1. 2
    2. 3
    3. 5
    4. 7
    Answer

    2 - Lithosphere to Hydrosphere

  1. Reduction of CO2 in the air as microscopic marine animals make their shells. Which arrow is it?
    1. 1
    2. 7
    3. 8
    4. 9
    Answer

    9 - Biosphere to Atmosphere

  1. Cooling of the Earth during the ice ages also lowers sea levels significantly. Which arrow is it?
    1. 2
    2. 3
    3. 4
    4. 8
    Answer

    2 - Lithosphere to Hydrosphere

  1. Massive volcanic eruptions are thought to be one possible cause of mass extinctions of plants and animals. Which arrow is it?
    1. 2
    2. 5
    3. 6
    4. 7
    Answer

    7 - Lithosphere to Biosphere

 

The Earth itself is a closed system (definition:A system in which energy, but not matter, is exchanged with the surroundings.) which means while it does have an exchange of energy within it, it doesn’t have an exchange of matter. The Earth’s spheres are open systems (definition:A system in which both matter and energy are exchanged.) so within the spheres we can see the exchange of matter and energy.

So why does it matter that the earth's spheres are open systems? Asked another way, is it important that matter and energy can move between the spheres? The answer is yes! Various natural cycles rely upon the movement of energy and matter between spheres. These cycles (click on each cycle if you'd like a more in-depth exploration) include:

Can one event impact all spheres?

Is it possible for one event that occurs on Earth to impact all four spheres? Let’s use a venn diagram to see how many interconnections and impacts we can identify from one chosen event.

Event impact

Long Description

 
Consolidation

CONSOLIDATION

This is the dropbox icon. Photo Challenge

It is clear to see how much the four spheres interconnect and impact one another.  Now it’s time to take a closer look at one chosen physical environment and demonstrate your ability to identify the spheres within it, explain their interactions and communicate your findings in an effective way.

Step 1: Find an image that you feel shows all four spheres. This can be an image sourced from the Internet, or taken yourself.

Step 2: Use Thinglink to annotate your photo. Never used Thinglink?  Don’t worry; they have an easy to follow tutorial on their website and you will be a pro in no time! Here is what you should consider when annotating your photo:

Your goal is to...

  • Identify all four spheres and clearly explain their characteristics. The more detail and the more specific, the better.

  • Identify and explain the connections you see that exist between the spheres in your chosen environment.

  • Communicate your message in a way that is both engaging and informative. Thinglink lets you add text, photos, videos and maps so feel free to make use of these various methods.

test text.