CHARACTERISTICS AND

PROPERTIES OF THE EARTH

INSTANT TASK

EARTH: FACT OR OPINION?

Write 5 opinions and 5 facts about the Earth. A fact is something that is true and is supported by
evidence. An opinion is something you believe or feel to be true and is open to debate.

SAN PEDRO RELOCATION CENTER NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL – SCIENCE DEPARTMENT © 2016
 DIRECT TALK
THE EARTH
The Earth is the only planet circling our sun on which life as we know it could (and does)
exist. A brief glance at the Earth and all other known planets finds many startling
contrasts. The Earth as a planet consists mostly of iron, oxygen, sulfur, silicon,
magnesium, and nickel (total, 98%), with the other two percent consisting of about a
hundred other elements. Like no other planet, ours is covered with green vegetation,
blue-pgreen seas, streams, rivers, mountains, and deserts which produce a spectacular
variety of color and texture—all other known planets are covered with lifeless soil which
varies only according to slight movements made by wind or mild air currents. Completely
barren, the surface of most planets is totally in contrast to the Earth's with its blue lakes,
green oceans, huge land masses and 500,000 islands.

Lesson discuss
The Sun
Of all the energy the sun gives off, only one billionth of its daily output is picked up by the Earth. The
sun does provide the Earth with more than 130 trillion horse power each day, about fifty thousand
horse power for each current resident.
The Miracle of Water
The Earth is the only planet with huge bodies of water—70% of its surface area consists of oceans,
lakes, and seas surrounding huge bodies of land. The few planets that have water contain only
moisture floating as vapor on their surface, not large bodies of liquid water as on Earth.
The Miracle of Air
Air, after it is warmed, rises—and the air close to the surface of the Earth is heated via light energy
from the sun. The air near the surface then rises upward. The result is that the air near the Earth's
surface maintains a temperature in which life can exist.

QUICK
CONNECT
The Earth’s Molten Iron Core Creates a FLASH GAUGE
Magnetic Field:
The Earth is like a great big magnet, with
poles at the top and bottom near to the
actual geographic poles. The magnetic
field it creates extends thousands of
kilometers out from the surface of the
Answer the following questions:
Earth – forming a region called the
“magnetosphere“. Scientists think that
this magnetic field is generated by the
1. What is required for a planet to be
molten outer core of the Earth, where
heat creates convection motions of able to support life?
conducting materials to generate
electric currents.
2. What makes Earth special compared
to other planets?

REFERENCES
Cite this article: Jerry Bergman, Ph.D. 1985. The Earth:
Unique in All the Universe. Acts & Facts. 14 (6).

http://www.icr.org/article/earth-unique-all-universe/

SAN PEDRO RELOCATION CENTER NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL – SCIENCE DEPARTMENT © 2016