Energy in the Earth System

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•  Weather changes from day to day and over the seasons
• The sun supplies heat and light to the earth and is necessary for life

•  Air temperature, moisture, wind speed and direction, and precipitation make up the weather in a particular place and time
• Various forms of precipitation are connected to the weather in a particular place and time
• Global patterns influence local weather, which can be measured
• Weather is different from climate

• Radiation, conduction, and convection transfer heat through the earth's system
• Energy provided by the sun, plobal patterns of asmospheric movement, and temperature differences among water, land, and atmosphere are related.
• Earth's tilt and its revolution around the sun result in uneven heating, causing the seasons

•  Earth's principal sources of internal and external energy
• Characteristics of electromagnetic radiation and its impact on life and Earth's systems
• The transfer of energy through radiation, conduction and convection contributes to global atmospheric processes
• Unequal heating of Earth and the Coriolis effect influence global circulation patterns and impact Massachusetts weather and climate
• The revolution of Earth around the Sun and the inclination of Earth on its axis cause Earth's seasonal variations
• Conditions associated with frontal boundaries and cyclonic storms and their impact on human affairs
• Oceanic currents relate to global circulation within the marine environment and climate
• Ground-based observation, satelite data, and computer madels are used to demonstrate interconnected Earth systems

Materials and Energy Resources

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•  Water, rocks, soil, and living organisms are found on the earth's surface
• Air is a mixture of gases all around us and wind is moving air

•  What a mineral is
• Physical properties of minerals and tests for those
• The properties of soil include color, texture, and the abilities to retain water and support the growth of plants

•  Renewable energy resources and nonrenewable energy resources
• Effects on the environment and on the carbon cycle of using renewable and nonrenewable resources

Earth Processes and Cycles

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•  The three categories of rocks and the processes that create them
• Soil is formed by the weathering of rock and decomposition of plant and animal remains
• Water on earth cycles in different forms and locations
• Cycling of water, both in and out of the atmosphere, has an effect on climate

•  Earth's surface is built up and torn down by natural processes

•  Physical and chemical weathering leads to erosion and formation of soils and sediments, and creates the varous types of landscapes
• The carbon cycle
• The nitrogen cycle
• Water flows into and through a watershed
• The hydrologic cycle includes evaporation, condensation, precipitation, surface runoff and groundwater percolation, infiltration, and transpiration
• The rock cycle, including the formation and physical properties of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks

Structure of the Earth

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•  Earth's surface changes due to slow processes such as erosion and weathering, and rapid processes such as landslids, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes

•  Earth's common physical features can be represented with models and maps
• Layers of the earth include the lithosphere, mantle, and core
• Movement of the earth's crustal plates causes both slow and rapid changes int he earth's surface
• Physical evidence supports theories that the earth has evolved over geologic time

•  Absolute and relative dating methods are used to measure geologic time
• The development of a lithospheric plate from its growth to its destruction, including the recording of magnetic polarity
• The motion of the lithospheric plates is related to convection currents in Earth's mantle
• Earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, mountain building, and tectonic uplift are related to plate movements
• Seismic data are used to reveal Earth's interior structure and earthquake epicenters
• The Richter scale and the relative damage incurred by earthquakes

Earth in the Solar System

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•  Events around us have repeating patterns, including the seasons of the year, day, and night

•  Earth is a part of the "solar system" that includes the sun, planets, and many moons.  Earth is the third planet from the sun
• Earth orbits the sun in a year's time and rotates on its axis in approximately 24 hours.  The rotation of the earth, day / night, and apparent movements of the sun, moon, and stars are connected.
• Changes occur in the observable shape of the moon over a month

•  Gravity is a force that pulls all things toward the center of the earth.  Gravity influences the formation and movement of the planets, stars, and solar system.
• Lunar and solar eclipses, moon phases, and tides are related to relative positions of the earth, moon and sun
• Properties and conditions of ob jects int he solar system and those on Earth

•  Influence of gravity and inertia on the rotation and revolution of orbiting bodies: Sun-Earth-moon relationships.

Origins and Evolution of Earth

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•  The universe contains many billions of galaxies and each galaxy contains many billions of stars.

• The Big Bang Theory and the evidence that supports it.
• The Sun, Earth, and solar system formed from a nebula of dust and gas in a spiral arm of the Milky Way Galaxy about 4.6 billion years ago.