You have probably heard the word “capacity” before. It refers to how much of something can be stored. For example, if we talk about the capacity of a battery we are referring to how much power the batter can hold. If we talk about the storage capacity of a computer, we are referring to how […]
Have you ever flown in an airplane? If you have, then what did you do during your flight? Did you read a book? Watch a movie? Sleep? Whatever you did, you probably trusted that the pilot knew what they were doing, and that they would get you to the correct destination. Did you consider though […]
One of the most powerful, albeit slow moving forces of nature are glaciers. A single glacier can carve out vast canyons in the side of a mountain and move millions of tons of rock and debris. Glacier ice is anywhere from the size of a bus to hundreds of kilometers long and several kilometers wide. […]
For hundreds of millions of years, the chemicals and elements found on Earth have remained relatively constant, or in other words, they have changed very little. The amount of one element or chemical in the Earth’s surface is practically the same as it was many millions of years ago. This consistency is one of the […]
The biosphere is defined as the sphere or area around the planet Earth where life exists. This zone of life is vast. Most lifeforms live on or near the surface of Earth. However, some live deep within the hydrosphere (oceans, lakes and streams), while others thrive in the depths of the lithosphere (solid portion of […]
The waters of the Earth’s oceans are for the most part in liquid form. What happens when you take a half full bottle of water and shake it up? Do you see the bubbles swirling rapidly around inside the water bottle? While liquid water molecules do generally attract one another forming a body of […]
The ocean can extend in some places down to depths of several miles, or kilometers. However, most of the action takes place in the first couple hundred feet, or meters. Below this depth it is too dark, cold and murky for much to happen. Across the entire planet, the Earth’s oceans are believed to be […]
Because most of the Earth’s water is found in the oceans, in order to understand the hydrosphere, we must understand these massive bodies of water. Fortunately, this is easier today than it has ever been. Modern technologies allow scientists to study the oceans in much greater detail than was possible to previous generations. You are […]
Some of the Earth’s water supply is temporarily locked up within the many lifeforms found across the Earth’s biosphere. This water makes up a majority of most organisms, and is a critical component, making the processes of life possible. Some organisms are made up of 95% water, while almost all the rest are more than […]
Have you ever heard someone refer to water as H2O? Why do you suppose someone might call water by this name? What is water? Water is a basic molecule made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. When these three atoms come together, they form a strong bond that is difficult to break. […]
