Eduring Understandings

• Solid, liquid, and gaseous earth materials all circulate in large scale systems at a variety of time scales, giving rise to landscapes, the rock cycle, ocean currents, and weather and climate.
• Because Earth turns daily on an axis that is tilted relative to the plane of Earth's orbit, sunlight falls more intensely on different parts of the earth during different parts of the year, producing the seasons and seasonal patterns in weather.
• The moon's revolution around the earth once in about 28 days changes what part of the moon is lighted by the sun and how much of that part we can see from the earth, giving rise to the phases of the moon.
• The cycling of water in and out of the atmosphere plays an important role in determining climatic patterns.
• The atmosphere circulates in large scale patterns which steer weather systems due to heat from the sun.
• Large scale wind patterns drive surface currents in the oceans and affects weather.
• The circulation of the ocean and atmosphere carries heat energy and has a strong influence on climate around the world.
• Interaction of circulating air masses gives rise to a wide variety of weather phenomena including fronts, mid-latitude cyclones (and anti-cyclones), and severe weather (tropical storms, tornados, severe thunderstorms, etc.)
• The Earth is a dynamic and changing planet.
• The student will learn how the Earth's surface and structures have changed through history and how they will continue to change over time.
• The earth is mostly rock, with a metallic core, a thin layer of water covering about ¾ of the surface and surrounded by a thin blanket of air.
• Everything on or near the earth is pulled toward Earth's center by a gravitational force.
• Heat flow from the earth and motion within the earth lead the outer shell of the earth to move around in large rigid pieces (plates) and leads to the creation and destruction of ocean basins, motion of continents relative to one another, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and development of mountain belts.
• Some changes in Earth's surface are abrupt, such as earthquakes, volcanoes, meteor impacts, and landslides.
• Others are gradual, such as the lifting up of mountains or their wearing away by erosion.
• Thousands of layers of sedimentary rock confirm the long history of the changing surface of the earth and the changing life forms whose remains are found in successive layers.
• Earth materials (rocks and soils) can be classified by their composition and texture and those features can be interpreted to infer the history of the material.
• Human activities change land cover and land use patterns, add or remove nutrients from ecosystems and modify some of the fundamental cycles of the earth system, including the carbon cycle.
• These changes can have unexpected and far-reaching effects due to the complex interconnections among earth systems.
• Human activity can impact the Earth.
• The student will learn how behaviors and actions of the human species can alter the Earth's capability to support human life.
• All living things rely on the Earth's natural resources to survive.
• The student will learn how the Earth's natural resources support human existence as well as all other living things on the planet.