Activity 1: Earth Crossword Challenge

Name ______Class ______Date ______


Activity 2: Earth’s Interior & Atmosphere

Name ______Class ______Date ______

Directions: Fill in the chart below using pages 51-55 in your textbook. Then follow the directions to create two cross-section drawings of the Earth and its atmosphere. Answer the questions as a group. Be prepared to share your answers and your drawings.

Materials:

·  Ruler

·  Colored Pencils

  1. Fill in the chart with the information available in your textbook.

Depth / Altitude
Crust / Troposphere
Mantle / Stratosphere
Core / Mesosphere
Thermosphere
Exosphere
  1. Draw a cross-section of the Earth and label the crust, mantle and core. Make your drawing to scale. Feel free to use colored pencils to differentiate between the layers. (Use a separate sheet of paper, if needed.)
  1. Explain in your own words how chemical differentiation applies to the Earth’s layers.

  1. Draw a cross-section of the Earth’s atmosphere. Make your drawing to scale and feel free to use colored pencils to differentiate between the layers. Mark the following on your drawing: troposphere, stratosphere, ozone layer, mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere, where commercial aircraft fly and where the space shuttle flies. (Use a separate sheet of paper, if needed.)
  1. How did you know how large to make the stratosphere and thermosphere?

6.  Explain why you think the mesosphere is the coldest layer of the atmosphere and the thermosphere is the hottest.

  1. Your textbook says that “Earth’s atmosphere is an essential part of what makes the planet a comfortable home for so many forms of life.” Now that you’ve learned about the atmosphere, explain in your own words why Earth’s atmosphere is so essential.


Activity 3: The South Atlantic Anomaly

Name ______Class ______Date ______

Directions: Individually, review the section in your textbook on “The South Atlantic Anomaly” (pages 59-60). Then gather in your assigned groups to analyze and discuss the questions below. Be prepared to share about your group’s discussion.

1.  What are the effects of the SAA?

2.  Why are these effects so serious?

3.  Imagine if we did not know about the SAA; what kind of consequences would there be?

4.  The South Atlantic Anomaly is called such because it is just that—an anomaly or abnormality in the Earth’s magnetic field. What regularities about Earth’s magnetic field have you learned in this lesson?


Technology Enrichment: Conducting Research on James Van Allen

Name ______Class ______Date ______

Directions: Using a search engine and/or your school library’s materials, research as much information as you can find on James Van Allen, discoverer of the Van Allen Belts. Then answer the research questions below. Record any sites your answers came from.

1.  When and where was James Van Allen born?

2.  Where did he earn his doctorate?

3.  What did he help develop during World War II?

4.  Who did he work with on V2 rockets after the war?

5.  What satellite confirmed the existence of the Van Allen Belts?

6.  What can scientists today learn from Dr. Van Allen?

7.  List and describe 3 other accomplishments of Dr. Van Allen.

8.  What do you find most interesting about Dr. Van Allen’s work and life?

9.  Why is persistence important in science?