Earth's Waters
Science - Fourth Grade
How Does the Earth's Surface Change?
Multimedia Lesson
What is Weather?
Presentation
What is Weather?
Presentation
Weather Station
Virtual Lab
Earth Inside and Out Interactive Activity
Interactive
Landforms Interactive Matching Activity
Interactive
Earth's Waters
Study Guide
Earth's Waters
Quiz
Earth's Waters
Flash Cards
Earth's Waters
Worksheet
Earth's Waters
Game
Earth's Waters
Vocabulary List
The Water Cycle
Flip Chart
Study Guide Earth's Waters
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EARTH’S WATERS Water, water, EVERYWHERE Did you know that three quarters (3/4) of Earth is covered by water? That is a lot of water!! Freshwater Most of the water on Earth is saltwater; very little of it is freshwater. What is freshwater? Freshwater is water containing only a very little amount of salt. The Earth has only 1% of usable freshwater, which is found in groundwater, lakes, rivers, and streams. Groundwater is freshwater beneath the Earth's surface, in the ground. Two percent (2%) of Earth’s freshwater is frozen in polar ice caps and glaciers. However, it is not usable since it is frozen. Ice caps are a thick permanent covering of ice and snow on land. Freshwater is essential to humans because we use it for drinking and watering crops. Lesson Checkpoint: Why is freshwater essential to us? © Copyright NewPath Learning. All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted for the purchaser to print copies for non-commercial educational purposes only. Visit us at www.NewPathLearning.com.
So Much Saltwater…. Oceans are made of salt water. Ninety-seven percent (97%) of the Earth’s water is saltwater. There are five named oceans of the world, which include the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern, and Arctic Oceans. Salt water is not usable water because we can’t drink it or use it for crops. More about the Ocean…. • Ocean currents keep our oceans in constant motion and move large amounts of water far distances. • Ocean tides are periodic rising and falling of the surface of the ocean caused by the gravitational pulls of the moon as well as the rotation of the Earth. Lesson Checkpoint: What causes the ocean tides? Did you know that the Earth recycles…WATER? The water cycle is the constant movement of the Earth’s water from the Earth’s surface to the atmosphere and the back again. Throughout the water cycle, water can be solid, liquid, and a gas. The sun powers the water cycle, because heat is what keeps the cycle going. © Copyright NewPath Learning. All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted for the purchaser to print copies for non-commercial educational purposes only. Visit us at www.NewPathLearning.com.
Stages of the Water Cycle: Evaporation: the changing of a liquid into a gas Evaporation occurs when the sun warms the water in a body of water and some of the water changes into water vapor which rises off the water and goes into the air. Transpiration: the process by which plants give off water vapor into the air through their leaves. Condensation: the changing of a gas, when cooled, back into a liquid Precipitation: how the water gets back to the earth, through hail, mist, rain, sleet, or snow. © Copyright NewPath Learning. All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted for the purchaser to print copies for non-commercial educational purposes only. Visit us at www.NewPathLearning.com.
Water run off is the water that falls back to earth as precipitation, and runs off of hills and mountains into lakes, rivers, and oceans. Some water ends up on land and soaks into the ground, which is called groundwater. Lesson Checkpoint: What is the water cycle? Unfortunately, sometimes water can be polluted… Water pollution causes water to be contaminated with harmful substances. Industrial waste, water run off from farms filled with pesticides and fertilizer, untreated sewage drains, and air pollution are all causes of water pollution. Lesson Checkpoint: What is one cause of water pollution? © Copyright NewPath Learning. All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted for the purchaser to print copies for non-commercial educational purposes only. Visit us at www.NewPathLearning.com.
Table Of Contents: Earth's Surface
1. Lesson Objectives
2.1. How Does The Earth's Surface Change?
2. Engage
3.1. The Earth's Surface
3. Explore
4.1. A Close-Up of The Earth's Surface
4.2. Changes Over Time
4. Explain
5.1. The Earth
The Earth is made up of three main layers - crust, mantle and core. We live on the outer layer of the Earth called the crust. The Earth's crust is made up of many different rocks. The layer beneath the Earth's crust is called the mantle. The Earth's mantle is made of igneous and metamorphic rocks.
5.2. Earth's Core
The innermost layer of the Earth is called the core. The Earth's core is made of metal. The Earth's core is hot enough to melt but the center of the core is packed together so tightly that it remains a solid. The outer section of the Earth's core however is hot, thick liquid.
5.3. Earth Inside and Out Interactive Activity
5.4. Landforms
Earth's surface has many shapes and features, known as landforms. They include mountains, canyons, deltas, hills, valleys, and more. A topographic map shows the elevation of these landforms.
5.5. Examples of Landforms
Examples of landforms include glaciers, rivers, lakes, valleys, hills, mountains, coasts and oceans.
5.6. Erosion and Deposition
Changes on the Earth's surface are caused in part by weathering and erosion. Erosion is the wearing away of the Earth's surface by rain, wind, snow, and ice. Deposition is the laying down of pieces of Earth's surface, such as rocks and sand. Over time, whole landscapes can be changed by erosion and deposition.
5.7. Landforms Interactive Matching Activity
5.8. Weathering
The Earth's surface changes constantly because of wind, water, temperature changes, and living things. Landforms can change due to weathering which is the process of breaking rocks into smaller pieces. There are two types of weathering - physical and chemical.
5.9. Physical Weathering
One way physical weathering takes place when water and ice break rocks down into smaller pieces. This happens by freezing and thawing. Physical weathering only changes the size of the rock.
5.10. Chemical Weathering
Chemical weathering not only changes the size of rocks but also causes them to change into different materials. During chemical weathering the rocks are broken down by the actions of chemicals in the air or water.
5.11. Soil
Soil covers most of Earth's land. It is a mixture of sediments of weathered rocks, nonliving materials, and decayed plants and animals. Over time, three layers of soil develop. Topsoil is made mostly of decaying plant and animal remains (humus). Subsoil contains minerals and small rocks. Bedrock is mostly solid rock.
5.12. Physical and Chemical Weathering Interactive Activity
5.13. Earth's Plates
The outermost layer of the Earth's crust is called the lithosphere. This layer is broken down into small and large sections called plates. These plates move slowly and might run into each other, pull apart, or grind past each other. As these plates move, they can cause changes to the Earth's surface. These changes include earthquakes, volcanoes, and the formation of mountains and valleys.
5.14. Earthquakes
Earthquakes cause rapid changes to the Earth's surface. An earthquake is a sudden shift in the Earth's crust that causes the ground to shake and vibrate violently. They most often occur where plates meet on land or under the ocean.
5.15. Volcanoes
Magma is hot, melted rock found beneath the Earth's surface. When pressure builds up, magma erupts though the Earth's crust. Volcanoes are openings in the Earth's crust where the magma comes out. Melted rock that comes above the Earth's surface is called lava. Volcanoes can also cause rapid changes to the Earth's surface.
5.16. Volcanic Islands
Volcanoes can form on continents or they can build from the ocean floor forming volcanic islands. The Hawaiian Islands were formed this way.
5.17. Types of Natural Processes Matching Interactive
5.18. How Does The Earth's Surface Change?
5. Virtual Investigation
6.1. Weathering and Erosion
6.2. Earthquakes
6.3. Volcanoes
6. Evaluate
7.1. How Does The Earth's Surface Change?
7. Lesson Summary
8.1. How Does The Earth's Surface Change?
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