Biosphere- includes all the living things on a planet.

Earth is the only biosphere

that we know of however, if we were to colonize mars or the moon they would become
a biosphere
Ecology- the study of nature. Economy of nature
Species->population->community->ecosystem->biome-> biosphere
Species- a group of similar organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring
Population- a group of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the
same area
Community- A group of different populations that live toghether in a defined area
Ecosystem- All the organisms that live in a place together with their physical
environment
Biosphere- multiple ecosystems that make up all the living things on earth

Biotic factors- any living part of the environment with which an organism might
interact
Abotic factors- any nonliving part of the environment such as sunlight, humidity,
precipitation and soil type. They usualy influence biotic factors by making them
migrate or get shelter. Ex: Humans going insde during a lighning storm or sunlight
causing crops to burn in hot environments such as deserts
Compost seems like an abotic factor however it isnt because the organisms such a
earthworms, fungi and bacteria are turning soil into compost making it a biotic
factor

Atmosphere- includes all the gases that surround earth

Hydrosphere- consists of all earth's fresh water and salt water, including water
vapor and rain in the atmoshere and underground resovoirs
Geosphere- includes all the natural solid stuff like rocks and continents and the
ocean floor
Biosphere- where all the living things are located

Climate- Defined by patterns and avergaes of temperature, precipitaion, clouds and

wind over MANY YEARS
Weather- consists of short term graphs or reading of clouds, temperature,
precipitaion and wind over a day, week or even hour

Climate is usually more predicatble as it takes a long time to change what the
weather is normally
Weather can change rapidly as it can be clear skies in the morning but a
thunderstorm in the eveneing

Global climate system- powered and shaped by the total amount of solar energy
retained in the biosphere as heat, and by the unequal distribution of that heat
between the equator and the poles
Earths average temperature is determined by the balance bewteen the amount of heat
that stays in the atmosphere and the amount that is lost in space

Greenhouse effect- greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and water vapor
allow visible light to enter but trap heat from it
Without this effect we would have the heat from space and it would be around 30
degrees celcius lower than it is today

Because the earth is curved and tilted on its axis, solar radiation strikes the
surface at angles that vary from place to place and at different times of the year
Climate zones: the poles are polar and less direct while the equator is tropical
and the most direct

The three tropical zones are polar, temperate and tropical

Unequal distribution of heat creates winds and ocean currents

Over land it is called easterlies, westerlies and trade winds (northeast and
southeast respectively)

5 vocabulary words:
Opulent: rich/luxurious The mayor's home was very opulent with gold vases and
marble floors
Deviate- to turn aside or stray away He deviated from the instructors course,
so therefore he failed his driving test
Amorphous- shapless/vague Air is amorphous as it can be a certain type of gas
and is not tangible
debacle- complete failure The loss of the map was a debacle as they were
stranded in unkown territory
adventitious- accidential/ nonessential he was adventitious to get that question
right
antithesis- exact opposite
ephemeral- lasting for only a breif amount of time
labyrinth- a network of winding passages
chagrin- embarrasment; complete loss of courage
bestial- savage;brutal