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Earth Science Tutoring Now Available Online
How hard is it to set up an Earth Science Tutoring with Tutorzilla.com? If you have an internet connection and a browser, it's as easy as 1, 2, 3. The first Earth Science session is FREE! No, that's not a typo. We are so certain you will find our service beneficial, the first session is free of charge and we don't require any payment information (No Credit Card Required). To get started with Earth Science tutoring, simply follow these steps:
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Start an account: In about 30 seconds time, you have total access to ALL of our tutoring services. To become a registered user, click HERE.
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Book your Earth Science Session: The next step is booking your tutoring session. Under the scheduler tab, choose "Science" as your subject, and "Earth Science" as your course. Then select the date and time you would like to meet your online Earth Science tutor. Our tutors are available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.
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Connect to your Earth Science Tutor: After your session is booked, you will get an email confirmation and a short call from Tutorzilla's Customer Service to make sure you can log onto your first session perfectly.
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Overview of General Earth Science
Earth science is a generic description for the sciences related to the planet Earth. Why do we study Earth Science? Because it helps us better understand the planet we live on, and Earth Science uses physics, geology, geography, meteorology, mathematics, chemistry and biology to build a solid understanding of the principal areas or spheres of the Earth system.
It sounds like a very big study, doesn't it? It is! But let's break down what basic Earth Science encompasses. Earth Science generally describes four distinct spheres: the lithosphere (rocks), the hydrosphere (water), the atmosphere (air), and the biosphere (life). This system can be broken down further to include the cryosphere (ice) as a separate section of the hydrosphere, and the pedosphere (soil) as an active sphere which interfaces with the other spheres, but in this section, we will only discuss the major four spheres.
The Lithosphere
The lithosphere, derived from Greek for "rocky" sphere, is the solid outermost shell of a rocky planet. This means that when you go out walking in the desert for instance, you are walking on the lithosphere. On our planet, the lithosphere describes the crust and the uppermost mantle which is joined to the crust. Underlying the lithosphere is the asthenosphere, the weaker, hotter, and deeper part of the upper mantle. The lithosphere thickens over time as the cooling surface layer of the Earth's convection system. Over time, the lithosphere has fragmented into tectonic plates, which move independently. This movement is described as plate tectonics.
We can break this down further by noting that there are two types of lithosphere: Oceanic lithosphere, which refers to oceanic crust; and continental lithosphere, which refers to continental crust.
The continental lithosphere or continental crust is the layer of granitic, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks which form the continents and the areas of shallow seabed close to their shores, known as continental shelves. What is the difference between the crust and the upper mantle? Well, the crust is distinguished from the upper mantle by the change in chemical composition, and this change is referred to as the Moho discontinuity. Because continental crust is less dense than oceanic crust, when the active margins of these two crusts meet in subduction zones, the oceanic crust is usually subducted back into the mantle. Continental crust is rarely subducted or recycled back into the mantle because of its low density.
Ok, blah, blah, blah, what does this have to do with anything? Well, the height of mountain ranges is usually related to the thickness of crust. The crust is thickened by the compressive forces related to subduction or continental collision. The buoyancy of the crust forces it upwards, the forces of the collisional stress balanced by gravity and erosion. This forms a keel or mountain root beneath the mountain range, which is where the thickest crust is found. So whenever you see a mountain, now you know how it got there!
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The Hydrosphere
A hydrosphere, where "hydro" means water in Greek, describes the collective mass of water found anywhere on, under, or above the surface of a planet. The Earth has a hydrosphere, of course, and it is made up of water in all forms: the ocean, inland seas, lakes, rivers, rain, underground water, ice, and water vapor (clouds). Because we have an abundance of water on our planet, we are the distinct "Blue Planet" of the solar system. Think of it this way: about 70.8% of the Earth is covered by water, and only 29.2% is landmass.
When we're talking about our hydrosphere, we have to touch on the water cycle. The water cycle describes the methods of transport for: water beneath the Earth's surface and in rocks (lithosphere), the water in plants and animals (biosphere), the water covering the surface of the planet in liquid and solid forms, and the water in the atmosphere in the form of water vapor, clouds, and precipitation. That's a lot of water, isn't it? But it all works together to keep life going here on Earth. The movement of water within the hydrosphere is described by the hydrologic cycle. If we bother to look, we can easily see the movement of water in rivers and streams. The movement of water in oceans is a little different however, because of different locations and temperature, and the amount of salt in the water. Surface waters are also moved by winds, giving rise to surface ocean currents. Warm water is lighter or less dense than cold water which is more dense or heavier and salty water is also more dense than fresh water. So what does this all mean? It means that the water's temperature and saltiness determines whether it rises to the surface, sinks to the bottom, or stays at some intermediate depth.
So you may be sitting there wondering, why is the hydrosphere important? Because no life, including you, could live without our active hydrosphere! If this isn't "pooling together" for you, don't worry. Our expert Earth Science tutoring will send you to the head of the class!
The Atmosphere
We've all heard this word before, but what is the atmosphere exactly? The Earth's atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the planet and these gases are retained by our planet's gravity. What gases are up there? Well, the atmosphere contains roughly 78% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.038% carbon dioxide, trace amounts of other gases, and a variable amount of about 1% water vapor. Of course, we don't all say, "Hey, I can't breathe in any of the atmospheric gases right now!" We keep it simple and refer to the mixture of gases as "air". Why do we have an atmosphere? Because it protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation and reducing temperature extremes between day and night.
From lowest to highest, these are the six atmospheric levels: the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, the thermosphere, the ionosphere, and the exosphere. The temperature of each of these is unique to the level, and each level is a certain number of feet above the surface of the earth.
The atmosphere also has its own pressure system, which is very complex. The main idea however, is that atmospheric pressure is a direct result of the total weight of the air above the point at which the pressure is measured. What does that mean in non-scientific talk? It means that air pressure changes with location and time, because the amount and weight of air above the earth varies with location and time. Need more explanation for the atmopheric levels or what goes on in them? Sign up with us today for your science homework help.
The Biosphere
Perhaps the sphere we can most relate to is the biosphere, which contains all forms of life, from single-celled organisms to daffodils to people. The interactions of the the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere create the conditions that support life on this planet, the life defined by the biosphere.
There is some debate in the scientific community about how narrow or broad the definition of the biosphere is. In a more limited sense, geochemists may define the biosphere as being the total sum of living organisms on earth. If we use this more narrow definition, the biosphere is but one of four separate components of the geochemical model, the other three being lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. The word ecosphere is also preferred by some scientists over the term biosphere. The ecosphere is more broadly interpreted however, because it encompasses both biological and physical components of the planet. In an even more broad sense, the biosphere can also include the science and technology of analogs and models of Earth's biosphere, such as artificial Earth-like biospheres. Others may include the creation of artificial non-Earth biospheres, such as human-centered biospheres or a native Martian biosphere.
You can find some form of life on nearly every part of the planet, from the North Pole to the South Pole and everything in between. The biosphere seems like a very big sphere, doesn't it? Well, to make things easier it is broken down into smaller, more manageable chunks which are called biomes. These biomes are inhabited by broadly similar bacterial, plant, and animal life. On land, biomes are separated primarily by latitude. Biomes that are are on land, also called terrestrial biomes, that lie within the Arctic and Antarctic Circles are relatively without plant and animal life, while those biomes near the equator have the most diverse and populated life forms.
Want to know about what is going on in the many spheres on our planet? We offer Biology tutoring, Chemistry tutoring, and Physics tutoring so that you can explore our planet in much more depth.
