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Tectonic Plates: The large pieces of the Earth's lithosphere that move and interact. Boundaries: Divergent (moving...

Tectonic Plates: The large pieces of the Earth's lithosphere that move and interact. Boundaries: Divergent (moving apart), convergent (colliding), and transform (sliding past each other). Topics = OO 4. Types of Plate Movement SubTopics = OO Divergent: Plates move apart, creating new crust (e.g., mid-ocean ridges). Convergent: Plates collide, leading to subduction (one plate going beneath another) or mountain formation. Earth Science Transform: Plates slide past one another, causing earthquakes (e.g., 1. Layers of the Earth San Andreas Fault). Crust: The thin, outer layer. 5. Volcanoes Composed of continental (land) and oceanic (ocean) crust. Formation: Occur at divergent or Mantle: The thick layer beneath the convergent boundaries where magma crust. Composed of semi-solid rock; escapes to the surface. convection currents here drive plate Types: Shield (broad and gentle), tectonics. composite (steep and explosive), and Outer Core: Liquid layer composed cinder cone (small and steep). mainly of iron and nickel, responsible Eruptions: Can vary from gentle lava for Earth’s magnetic field. flows to explosive eruptions releasing Inner Core: Solid center of the Earth, ash and gases. extremely hot, also made of iron and nickel. 6. Earthquakes 2. Continental Drift Causes: Sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust, typically at plate Theory: Proposed by Alfred Wegener, boundaries. suggesting continents were once a Measuring: Seismographs measure single landmass (Pangaea) and have the magnitude and intensity (Richter since drifted apart. scale and Moment Magnitude scale). Evidence: Fossil similarities, Effects: Can cause ground shaking, geological formations, and the fit of tsunamis, and structural damage. continents (e.g., South America and Africa). 7. Technologies to Detect Plate Movement 3. Plate Tectonics GPS: Measures the precise Theory: Describes the large-scale movement of tectonic plates. movements of the Earth's lithosphere Seismographs: Detect and record (crust and upper mantle). seismic waves from earthquakes.  Satellites: Monitor changes in the Importance: Distributes water across Earth’s surface and help in tracking the Earth and supports all living plate movements. organisms. 13. Nitrogen Cycle Ecology Processes: Nitrogen fixation, 8. Biotic and Abiotic Factors nitrification, assimilation, ammonification, and denitrification. Biotic Factors: Living components of Importance: Essential for producing an ecosystem (plants, animals, amino acids and proteins, critical for microorganisms). life. Abiotic Factors: Non-living components (temperature, water, soil, 14. Carbon Cycle sunlight). Processes: Photosynthesis, 9. Ecosystems respiration, decomposition, and combustion. Definition: A community of living Importance: Regulates climate and organisms interacting with their supports life by cycling carbon environment. through ecosystems. Types: Terrestrial (forests, deserts) and aquatic (freshwater, marine). 15. Climate and Weather 10. Food Chains and Food Webs Climate: Long-term atmospheric conditions in a region. Food Chain: A linear sequence Weather: Short-term atmospheric showing how energy is transferred conditions (temperature, from one organism to another. precipitation). Food Web: A complex network of Influencing Factors: Latitude, interconnected food chains, altitude, ocean currents, and wind illustrating how different species patterns. interact. 16. Climate Change 11. The Earth’s Spheres Causes: Primarily driven by human Lithosphere: The solid Earth, activities (burning fossil fuels, including rocks and soil. deforestation). Hydrosphere: All water on Earth Impacts: Rising temperatures, (oceans, rivers, glaciers). extreme weather, sea-level rise, and Atmosphere: The layer of gases biodiversity loss. surrounding Earth. Biosphere: The zone of life on Earth, 17. Sustainability and Biodiversity encompassing all ecosystems. Sustainability: Meeting present 12. Water Cycle needs without compromising future generations. Processes: Evaporation, Biodiversity: The variety of life in a condensation, precipitation, particular habitat; crucial for infiltration, and runoff. ecosystem resilience. 18. Human Impacts on the Earth’s Atomic Mass: Average mass of an Spheres atom, considering isotopes; roughly equal to the number of protons and Ozone Depletion: Caused by CFCs neutrons. and other pollutants, leading to increased UV radiation exposure. 23. Isotopes and Atomic Structure Enhanced Greenhouse Effect: Increased greenhouse gases (CO2, Isotopes: Atoms of the same element CH4) from human activities trap more with different numbers of neutrons heat, contributing to global warming. (e.g., Carbon-12 and Carbon-14). Stability: Some isotopes are stable, while others are radioactive and Chemistry decay over time. 19. Atomic Structure 24. Metals and Non-Metals Components: Atoms consist of Metals: Good conductors of heat and protons (positive), neutrons (neutral), electricity, malleable, and ductile (e.g., and electrons (negative). iron, copper). Nucleus: Center of the atom Non-Metals: Poor conductors, brittle, containing protons and neutrons. and vary in state (solid, liquid, gas) (e.g., oxygen, sulfur). 20. Elements, Compounds, and Ions Element: A pure substance made of one type of atom (e.g., oxygen, carbon). Compound: A substance formed when two or more elements chemically bond (e.g., water, CO2). Ion: An atom or molecule with a net electric charge due to loss or gain of electrons. 21. History of the Atomic Model Dalton: Proposed the first atomic theory, viewing atoms as indivisible. Thomson: Discovered the electron; proposed the "plum pudding" model. Rutherford: Conducted the gold foil experiment, discovering the nucleus. Bohr: Introduced energy levels for electrons around the nucleus. 22. Atomic Number and Mass Atomic Number: Number of protons in an atom; determines the element.