Earth Energy Budget

Earth's Energy Budget

Created by Danny Blas

1. What’s the definition of energy?
2. What are the 7 types of energy?
3. The 3 sources of Earth’s energy are?
4. What is the major source of Earth’s energy?
5. What’s the primary source of energy for humans?
6. What happens to the Sun’s energy coming to Earth?
7. What parts of Earth absorb the most & least energy?
8. What % do OCEANS and RAINFORESTS absorb?
9. What % do DESERTS and POLES absorb?

Composition of Coastal Ecosystems

Estuary: is a body of water that is partially open to the ocean's coast. It has a source of fresh water, from a stream or a river, which interacts with salty ocean water and the mix is called "brackish".

Estuarine environments are among the most productive on earth, creating more organic matter each year than comparably-sized areas of forest, grassland, or agricultural land. The tidal, sheltered waters of estuaries also support unique communities of plants and animals especially adapted for life at the margin of the sea. 

Many different habitat types are found in and around estuaries, including shallow open waters, freshwater and salt marshes, swamps, sandy beaches, mud and sand flats, rocky shores, oyster reefs, mangrove forests, river deltas, tidal pools, and seagrasses.

http://water.epa.gov/type/oceb/nep/about.cfm

 An example of an estuary is the Amazon River

Life on Earth Began... {BP2}

"When the earth formed some 4.6 billion years ago,
it was a lifeless, inhospitable place" http://www.eddieting.com/eng/originoflife/orgel.html

Many scientists believe that life on Earth began by accident in something called primordial soup, a "liquid rich in organic compounds and providing favorable conditions for the emergence and growth of life forms." In this theory, there had to be certain "life ingredients," which contained food, water, energy, methane, hydrogen, water, and a electrical spark to kick-start life on Earth.

Another theory was that life came from outer space in an asteroid or comet that struck Earth.

Life on Earth, scientists believe, must have began in the oceans. The reasons why the oceans were where life began was because the surface of the Earth was inhospitable, making the conditions difficult or impossible for harboring life. Because of asteroid strikes, volcanic eruptions, and deadly solar radiation, life beginning on earth's surface would make it difficult to sustain. The oceans, on the other hand, protected potential life from all of those deadly forces. Because of the oceans, life is possible. Without the oceans, it's improbable life as we know it would exist on Earth.

Galaxies Newspaper Article

This is a spiral galaxy, shaped
like a flat pinwheel

Galaxies are like thugs. Thugs run the show; they come into wherever they go, and say "I run this." But seriously, galaxies are a collection of stars, gas, dust, planets, rocks, life, pretty much everything we can touch and see. Galaxies come in three different shapes: irregular, elliptical, and spiral. Galaxies are gigantic, kinda like my bank account; they are measured in light years. Yes, I'm a baller/shot-caller. Most galaxies have billions of stars, while some of the largest galaxies have trillions of stars, kinda like my bank account; I'm a trillionaire.

Galaxies are interesting because they are home to stars, and that's interesting because if there were no galaxies there would be no carne asada burritos with salsa ala Mexicana. There are also three different types, and that's interesting because it's like having seven different girlfriends--you have a different experience each day. Galaxies are interesting because they come in different shapes and sizes, kinda like people because each person is unique in their own way (some are cute and some are really ugly). Galaxies are large. One of the largest galaxies is said to measure six million light years wide.

The Earth and our solar system are part of the Milky Way galaxy. Our solar system is located in one of the outer "arms." The Milky Way galaxy is estimated to be 100,000 light years wide.

This is an elliptical galaxy. It's
shaped like a sphere.

This is an irregular galaxy. The
shape is anything but spiral or
elliptical

Is Earth Unique?

The name of Earth's galaxy is called the Milky Way. There are billions and billions of stars in the Milky Way, including our Sun, which is also a star.

In a New York Time article, Eric Petigura is a graduate student at University of California at Berkley. He also is a astronomer who is involved with NASA's Kepler mission.

Kepler is a telescope based in space that was launched by NASA on March 2009. The areas Kepler is watching is home to 10,000 stars like our Sun.

Eric discovered a hella lot of earth-like planets circling around their stars. In the article, Eric claimed that planets, in order to have life, have to be at the perfect distance from its star in order to have liquid water, which enables life.

Eric's findings are credible because many other scientists have reviewed his work and many expert scientists found his work to be credible. One such scientist, Sara Seager, was quoted as saying Eric's research was rigorous and believable.

Eric designed a computer program that can detect fake planets. Eric setup an experiment that can see if a planet is real or fake, and the program was able to detect the fake planets.

An exoplanet is an earth-like planet outside of our solar system. Scientists are able to detect distant exoplanets using telescopes. Though scientists are unable to literally see these exoplanets, they cause a drop in brightness when passing their star.

Stars and Sun Word Search

Your task is to find the word in the image to the left, and complete the sentences below.

1. We are all made from __________________.
2. Our sun will eventually die and become a white __________.
3. Our sun is considered an __________-sized star.
4. Stars like our sun use ____________ for fuel.
5. Only __________-sized stars end their life in a supernovas.

Stars and our Sun

1. Are we really made from stardust? Explain.
2. List 5 facts about the Sun
3. What fuel does the Sun use?
4. What are the 5 stages in the life of our Sun?
5. How much more life does the Sun have?
6. What size stars end in a Supernova? Why?

Some people say we are all made from "stardust." It's true. All heavy elements, like carbon, which is the foundational element of all life on Earth, come from the end of life process of a massive-size star, or supernova. A supernova is an explosion of a massive star, and the heavy elements are spread throughout the universe, which formed the Earth and the life on it.

Our sun is: (a.) a star; (b.) is an average size star; (c.) uses hydrogen to fuel it's nuclear fusion; (d.) has about 5 billion years yet to live; (e.) will eventually die in what is called a white dwarf.

The sun uses hydrogen for fuel in a process called nuclear fusion

The five stages in the life cycle of a star are:

Predictions 2013 - 2014

My measurable predictions for 2013 - 2014

Your family or friends	1. I will have 900 friends on Facebook by June 2014
	2. My family will move to a new home by June 2014
	3. My bff and I will get tatted by December 2013
The United States	4. The U.S. will have a lower unemployment rate in June 2014 compared to 2013
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The World	7. Syria will no longer have a civil war by June 2014
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Television & Movies	10.
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Music	13. Drake will be a father by June 2014
	14.
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Sports	16. The Chargers will win the Super Bowl in 2014
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Kearny High School	19. I will earn an A in marine science
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