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Concepts for Earth's Weather, Water Cycle, and Atmosphere
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Primary |
Intermediate |
Middle |
| Weather changes from day to day and over the seasons. | Weather can be described by measurable quantities, such as temperature, wind direction and speed, and precipitation. | Weather
is driven by solar energy. Oceans have a major effect on climate, because water in the oceans holds a large amount of heat. Global patterns of atmospheric movement influence local weather. |
| Clouds are necessary for rain. | Clouds form from water vapor. | Water cycle includes the evaporation of water from the earth’s surface, rises and cools as it moves to higher elevations, condenses as rain or snow, and falls to the surface where it collects in lakes, oceans, soil, and in rocks underground. |
| Most of the Earth's surface is covered with water. | Water, which covers the majority of the earth’s surface, circulates through the crust, oceans, and atmosphere in what is known as the "water cycle" | Water is a solvent. As it passes through the water cycle it dissolves minerals and gases and carries them to the oceans. |
| There are gases surrounding the Earth | The Earth's atmosphere is made of gases one of which is oxygen that animals breathe. | The
atmosphere is a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and trace gases that include
water vapor. The atmosphere has different properties at different elevations. |
| Living organisms interact with the Earth. | Living organisms change the Earth. | Living organisms have played many roles in the earth system, including affecting the composition of the atmosphere, producing some types of rocks, and contributing to the weathering of rocks. |
Created by Robert D. Sweetland Ed. D.