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IXL | How do plants make food? | 5th grade science

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Improve your science knowledge with free questions in “How do plants make food?” and thousands of other science skills.

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IXL | How does matter move in food chains? | 5th grade science

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Improve your science knowledge with free questions in “How does matter move in food chains?” and thousands of other science skills.

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IXL | Interpret food webs II | 5th grade science

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Improve your science knowledge with free questions in “Interpret food webs II” and thousands of other science skills.

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​Green plants are producers meaning they can make their own _________.

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IXL | Identify roles in food chains | 5th grade science

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Improve your science knowledge with free questions in “Identify roles in food chains” and thousands of other science skills.

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IXL | How does matter move in food chains? | 5th grade science

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Improve your science knowledge with free questions in “How does matter move in food chains?” and thousands of other science skills.

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Food Chain Game - Science - Sheppard Software Educational Games for kids

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Food Chain Game - Food chains come to life: when a chain is correctly put together, it turns into an animated working chain!

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Animal Diet Game - Science - Sheppard Software Educational Games for kids

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Animal Diet Game - correctly label different animals as herbivores, carnivores and omnivores - and then watch them eat!

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Online games and education. kids educational games. Kids Corner. Herbivore, Carnivore, Omnivore. Online learning. Animal diet. Free online games for kids.

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Animal Diet 2 Game - Science - Sheppard Software Educational Games for kids

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Our second fun game about the foods that different animals eat! Correctly label different animals as herbivores, carnivores and omnivores - and then watch them eat!

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Build food chains and watch nature videos!

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Build food chains and watch nature videos!

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Make your own backyard or playground food Web!

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Use this infographic to see an example of a typical suburban backyard food web, and learn how energy is transferred through the different trophic levels within the food web.

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A food web consists of all the food chains in a single ecosystem. Each living thing in an ecosystem is part of multiple food chains. Each food chain is one possible path that energy and nutrients may take as they move through the ecosystem. Not all energy is transferred from one trophic level to another. Energy is used by organisms at each trophic level, meaning that only part of the energy available at one trophic level is passed on to the next level. All of the interconnected and overlapping food chains in an ecosystem make up a food web. Similarly, a single organism can serve more than one role in a food web. For example, a queen conch can be both a consumer and a detritivore, or decomposer.

Food webs consist of different organism groupings called trophic levels. In this example of a coral reef, there are producers, consumers, and decomposers.

Producers make up the first trophic level. A producer, or autotroph, is an organism that can produce its own energy and nutrients, usually through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis.

Consumers are organisms that depend on producers or other consumers to get their food, energy, and nutrition. There are many different types of consumers. First-order consumers, or primary consumers, are usually herbivores. They eat producers. Secondary consumers prey on primary consumers. They are usually carnivores, but can be omnivores as well. Tertiary consumers are carnivores that mostly eat other carnivores. They prey on secondary consumers. These predator-prey relationships make up the food web. Different predators eat different kinds of prey until a top predator is reached. Top predators are at the top of the food chain and have no predators of their own.

Detritivores and decomposers complete the cycling of energy through the food web. Detritivores are organisms that consume dead organic material. Decomposers are organisms that break down dead organic material and return nutrients to the sediment. These nutrients are used by the producers during photosynthesis to create energy, thus completing the cycle.

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Samantha Zuhlke, National Geographic Society

Producer

Julie Brown, National Geographic Society

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Last Updated

October 19, 2023

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Investigate the trophic levels of a coral reef food web.

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States of Matter and Changing States Simulator

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States of Matter and Changing States Simulator

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Learn about the properties of matter! Our science video for kids teaches you what matter is, as well as denistiy, solubility, conductivity and magnetism!

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All matter is made of tiny particles! Understanding this can help us understand nature. Let’s break it down through a fun science video for kids! Watch now!

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Food chains show how living things in an ecosystem interact! A food web is made of intersecting food chains. Our science video for kids helps you learn!

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Learn how food gives us energy and matter to grow in this science video for kids! Did you know that the energy in food can be traced back to the sun?

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Learn about the differences between chemical and physical changes: In a chemical change we form a new subsctance, in a physical change you don’t. Watch now!

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IXL | Understand conservation of matter using graphs | 5th grade science

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Improve your science knowledge with free questions in "Understand conservation of matter using graphs" and thousands of other science skills.

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Vacation or Conservation (Of Mass): Crash Course Kids #23.1

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Conservation of Matter Song (Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer Parody)

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Wordwall - Create better lessons quicker

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Physical: how it looks, mass, temperature it boils, temperature it melts, is it brittle, is it stretchy , it is magenetic, can be measured, heat conduction, can be dissolved, density, Chemical: explosion happen (combustion), power is generated , new material created , observed when matter changes, ability to chemically combine with other substances, flammability, can it rust? , react with oxygen,

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Physical: how it looks, mass, temperature it boils, temperature it melts, is it brittle, is it stretchy , it is magenetic, can be measured, heat conduction, Chemical:

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Physical and Chemical Changes Whack a Mole Game

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Physical and Chemical Changes Whack a Mole Game

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Wordwall - Create better lessons quicker

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Whack-a-mole - Moles appear one at a time, hit only the correct ones to win.

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Physical and Chemical Changes Maze Chase

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Physical and Chemical Changes Maze Chase

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Wordwall - Create better lessons quicker

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Maze chase - Run to the correct answer zone, whilst avoiding the enemies.

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Wordwall - Create better lessons quicker

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Chemical Weathering: Lichen dissolving holes in rock, Oxyen reaction with metal in a rock to form iron oxide., Acidic water making holes in limestone rock., Minerals combining with water to form clay., Physical Weathering: Water freezing in the cracks in rocks and splitting them open., A river polishing rocks smooth without moving them, Desert winds wearing away a column of rock., Ocean waves breaking against a cliff and wearing it down., Tree roots growing around rocks and breaking them., Erosion: Rain washing soil from the P.E. field., A mudslide flowing down a hill. , A hurricane washing sand off of a beach., Florida owls removing dirt to make a nest., Strong winds blowing sand across a beach., Glacier moving rocks down mountainside, Deposition: Layers of sediment at the bottom of a lake., Glaciers melting and leaving behind rocks., Muddy deltas forming at the mouths of rivers., A sand dune accumulating sand over time., A river slowing down and leaving behind sediment.,

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Chemical Weathering, Physical Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition

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Chemical Weathering: Lichen dissolving holes in rock, Oxyen reaction with metal in a rock to form iron oxide., Acidic water making holes in limestone rock., Minerals combining with water to form clay., Physical Weathering: Water freezing in the cracks in rocks and splitting them open., A river polishing rocks smooth without moving them, Desert winds wearing away a column of rock., Ocean waves breaking against a cliff and wearing it down., Tree roots growing around rocks and breaking them., Erosion: Rain washing soil from the P.E.

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Wordwall - Create better lessons quicker

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Gameshow quiz - A multiple choice quiz with time pressure, lifelines and a bonus round.

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Wordwall - Create better lessons quicker

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Quiz - A series of multiple choice questions. Tap the correct answer to proceed.

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Wordwall - Create better lessons quicker

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Biosphere: Plants, Birds, Mushrooms, Humans, Grass, Geosphere: Volcanoes, Landforms, Rocks, Mountains, Hills, Hydrosphere: Snow, Lake, Ocean, Glaciers, Rain, Atmosphere: Carbon Dioxide, Trophosphere, Oxygen, Air , Stratosphere ,

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Biosphere: Plants, Birds, Mushrooms, Humans, Grass, Geosphere: Volcanoes, Landforms, Rocks, Mountains, Hills, Hydrosphere: Snow, Lake, Ocean, Glaciers, Rain, Atmosphere:

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Wordwall - Create better lessons quicker

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Labelled diagram - Drag and drop the pins to their correct place on the image.

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The solar system has one star, eight planets, five dwarf planets, at least 290 moons, more than 1.3 million asteroids, and about 3,900 comets. It is located in an outer spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy called the Orion Arm, or Orion Spur. Our solar system orbits the center of the galaxy at about 515,000 mph (828,000 kph). It takes about 230 million years to complete one orbit around the galactic center.

We call it the solar system because it is made up of our star, the Sun, and everything bound to it by gravity - the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune; dwarf planets Pluto, Ceres, Makemake, Haumea, and Eris - along with hundreds of moons; and millions of asteroids, comets, and meteoroids.

Our Daily Skywatching Guide

A detailed guide to the night sky written by a NASA expert featuring full Moon lore, asteroid flybys, stars, galaxies, constellations, and more.
Learn More

10 THINGS about our solar system

Saying Farewell: Which Spacecraft are Leaving Our Solar System?

Only two spacecraft have reached interstellar space, the space between stars. Three other spacecraft have achieved enough velocity to eventually travel beyond the boundaries of our solar system.

Voyager 1 went interstellar in 2012 and Voyager 2 joined it in 2018. Both spacecraft, launched in 1977, are still in communication with Earth.

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is currently exploring an icy region beyond Neptune called the Kuiper Belt. It eventually will leave our solar system.

Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 also will ultimately travel silently among the stars toward the galactic core. The spacecraft used up their power supplies decades ago.

Discover More Topics From NASA

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The solar system has one star, eight planets, five dwarf planets, at least 290 moons, more than 1.3 million asteroids, and about 3,900 comets.

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Build your own system of heavenly bodies and watch the gravitational ballet. With this orbit simulator, you can set initial positions, velocities, and masses of 2, 3, or 4 bodies, and then see them orbit each other.

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Google Arts and Culture: NASA's Visual Universe

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Google Arts and Culture: NASA's Visual Universe

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To celebrate 60 years of NASA and 50 years of Project Apollo, the Google Arts & Culture Lab has created NASA's Visual Universe - an experiment drawing on NASA's vast image archive.

Using NASA's public API, we explored 127,000 historic images stretching back to 1915, and analyzed them using machine learning - bringing surprising and interactive results.

We especially used Google Cloud Natural Language to extract keywords and information from the archive.

Explore NASA's rich history of discoveries, missions, and science, search a term, and discover more about the world's favorite space agency.

For more information on NASA and its missions, visit www.nasa.gov.

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To celebrate 60 years of NASA and 50 years of Project Apollo, the Google Arts & Culture Lab has created NASA's Visual Universe - an experiment drawing on NASA's vast image archive. Using NASA's public API, we explored 127,000 historic images stretching back to 1915, and analyzed them using machine learning - bringing surprising and interactive results.

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Children and adults around the world love gazing at the stars, connecting the dots to form shapes they have been told about or creating their own. But these collections likely originated as important instruments to help people mark the time of year. Today, star constellations continue to stand as tools for astronomers and stargazers.

History of constellations

Stars move across the sky on a regular schedule, much like the sun. At various times of year, different constellations appear at sunset. The rising constellations rotate based on the Earth's path through space, and so can be used to mark the seasons in regions when moderate weather may not convey the change between winter and spring.

Most of the constellations in the northern skies bear Greek and Roman names, but people were mapping the sky long before these empires took hold. The Greeks adopted their system from the Babylonians, whose origins may have stemmed from Sumerian traditions 3,000 years before. Even further back, scientists suspect that markings on the cave walls at Lascaux in southern France - created over 17,000 years ago - may chart the Pleiades and Hyades star clusters, making it the first known star map.

In 1929, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) officially defined 88 constellations across the sky. But these constellations aren't drawn to connect certain stars, they're actually more-or-less rectangular slices of the heavens holding the stars within them. Formally cementing these boundaries allows astronomers to communicate about the regions of the sky they study. Within these 88 regions are the individual groupings that people think of as constellations. For instance, the constellation of Ursa Major contains all of the stars around the shape known by the same name.

However, many of the groupings most people consider to be constellations aren't officially constellations. The Big Dipper, for example, which lays inside of Ursa Major, is not recognized as a constellation. Instead, it is an asterism, or a group of stars not officially designated but known by most nonastronomers.

Constellation names and zodiac signs

As the Earth rotates, the sun, the moon and planets travel on a set path through the sky known as the ecliptic. The list of 13 constellations they pass through are known as the stars of the zodiac. The zodiac constellations' names are:

Astrologers use 12 of these constellations as signs of the zodiac, omitting Ophiuchus, to make predictions. (Unlike astronomy, astrology is not a science.) Signs differ from constellations, bearing only a loose reference to one another. The sign of Pisces, for instance, corresponds to the rise of the constellation of Aquarius. Ironically, if you are born under a particular sign, the constellation it is named for is not visible at night. Instead, the sun is passing through it around that time of year, making it a daytime constellation that can't be seen. [ How the Constellations Got Their Names]

The constellations appear to form shapes across the sky, but the stars themselves don't make up patterns in space. The distance from our world to the individual stars in a constellation varies, often by tens of light-years, scattering the stars randomly across the galaxy.

How far away are constellations?

The pictures we see at night are formed because we only see two dimensions on the night sky, missing the depth that is also present.

Still, with a bit of imagination, the constellations can provide a great source entertainment. They can also help the lost find their way, and aid skywatchers in the search for planets, comets, or other events, by a process called star hopping. And, as they surely did in ancient times, constellations can provoke a sense of timeless wonder.
Related: This article was updated Oct. 9, 2018, by Space.com Senior Writer, Meghan Bartels. Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

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Constellations: The Zodiac Constellation Names

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Children and adults around the world love gazing at the stars, connecting the dots to form shapes they have been told about or creating their own. But these collections likely originated as important instruments to help people mark the time of year. Today, star constellations continue to stand as tools for astronomers and stargazers.

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Hubble's 30th Anniversary of Servicing Mission 1

Celebrate the 30 th anniversary of the mission that brought Hubble's view into focus. Experience the urgency, tension, and resolve through the eyes of seven key figures who helped make the mission a success.

Follow along here and follow @NASAHubble on X, Instagram, and Facebook beginning December 1 st.

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Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.

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Crash Course: Earth's Rotation and Revolution

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Crash Course: Earth's Rotation and Revolution

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Earth's Rotation & Revolution: Crash Course Kids 8.1

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Articles, games and activities about our closest star

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The Sun is the star at the center of the solar system. It is a hot ball of gases that gives off great amounts of energy. Life on Earth depends on light and heat from the Sun....

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How the Sun affects the Earth | Science videos for kids | Kids Academy

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Crash Course Playlist: The Sun and Its Influence on Earth

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Crash Course Playlist: The Sun and Its Influence on Earth

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Space Science: The Sun and Its Influence on Earth

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Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

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Kids learn about the star of the Solar System the Sun. What is the Sun made of? How does the Sun make sunlight? Is the sun a star?

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The Four Seasons for Kids | Learn about the four seasons throughout the year

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Kids learn about the science of the seasons - winter, spring, summer, and autumn. Why we have them due to the Earth’s tilt.

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It's all about Earth's tilt!

Many people believe that Earth is closer to the Sun in the summer and that is why it is hotter. And, likewise, they think Earth is farthest from the Sun in the winter.

Although this idea makes sense, it is incorrect.

It is true that Earth's orbit is not a perfect circle. It is a bit lop-sided. During part of the year, Earth is closer to the Sun than at other times. However, in the Northern Hemisphere, we are having winter when Earth is closest to the Sun and summer when it is farthest away! Compared with how far away the Sun is, this change in Earth's distance throughout the year does not make much difference to our weather.

There is a different reason for Earth's seasons.

Earth's axis is an imaginary pole going right through the center of Earth from "top" to "bottom." Earth spins around this pole, making one complete turn each day. That is why we have day and night, and why every part of Earth's surface gets some of each.

Earth has seasons because its axis doesn't stand up straight.

But what caused Earth to tilt?

Long, long ago, when Earth was young, it is thought that something big hit Earth and knocked it off-kilter. So instead of rotating with its axis straight up and down, it leans over a bit.

By the way, that big thing that hit Earth is called Theia. It also blasted a big hole in the surface. That big hit sent a huge amount of dust and rubble into orbit. Most scientists think that that rubble, in time, became our Moon.

As Earth orbits the Sun, its tilted axis always points in the same direction. So, throughout the year, different parts of Earth get the Sun's direct rays.

Sometimes it is the North Pole tilting toward the Sun (around June) and sometimes it is the South Pole tilting toward the Sun (around December).

It is summer in June in the Northern Hemisphere because the Sun's rays hit that part of Earth more directly than at any other time of the year. It is winter in December in the Northern Hemisphere, because that is when it is the South Pole's turn to be tilted toward the Sun.

Earth's lopsided orbit

Earth's perihelion (point closest to Sun) = 91,400,000 miles from Sun

Earth's aphelion (point farthest from Sun) = 94,500,000 miles from Sun

While that is a difference of over 3 million miles, relative to the entire distance, it isn't much.

And, believe it or not, aphelion (when Earth is farthest from the Sun) occurs in July, and perihelion (when we are closest) occurs in January. For those of us who live in the Northern Hemisphere where it's summer in July and winter in January, that seems backwards, doesn't it? That just goes to prove that Earth's distance from the Sun is not the cause of the seasons.

Related Resources for Educators

Seasons (Educator Guide to go with Seasons Spotlite video)
Seasons (Nearpod Lesson to go with Seasons Spotlite video)
Our World: Sun's Position
Sun's Position (Educator Guide to go with Sun's Position Spotlite video)
Sun's Position (Nearpod Lesson to go with Sun's Position Spotlite video)

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Constellations for Kids | Learn about the types of constellations, their names, and how to find them

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A constellation is a group of stars. The groups are identified according to patterns that people have seen in the stars. For example, the stars of the constellation Leo seem to trace the outline of a lion. The name Leo means "lion" in the Latin language. The constellation Draco, whose name is Latin for "dragon," is said to look like a dragon. However, these are not scientific groupings. They are simply ways that people have imagined the stars.

Since ancient times people have tried to explain the night sky. Over thousands of years different cultures have seen different patterns in the stars. They have named many different constellations after familiar animals, everyday objects, and characters and beasts from stories.

Today constellations provide a connection between modern humans and ancient stories. They are also interesting to spot in the night sky. Astronomers, or scientists who study stars, have named 88 constellations. They use the constellations to help describe the location of specific stars. Among them are the 12 well-known constellations that lie in a band of space called the zodiac. These are Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius, and Pisces.

A person looking at the sky from the same point every night will see different constellations at different times of year. This happens because Earth moves around the Sun, while the stars do not. Earth completes one trip around the Sun each year, so different stars are visible from Earth in the course of a year.

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A constellation is a group of stars. The groups are identified according to patterns that people have seen in the stars. For example, the stars of the constellation Leo seem to trace the outline of a lion. The name Leo means "lion" in the Latin language.

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NASA science games, articles and activities for kids

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Orion

Orion is one of the most visible constellations. Because of its location, it can be seen throughout the world. Orion is named after a hunter from Greek mythology. Its brightest stars are Betelgeuse and Rigel.

Constellation Orion

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Kids learn about the constellations in the science of astronomy. These stars that form patterns when viewed from the Earth have been studied since ancient times.

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Super Stars (Constellations): Crash Course Kids #31.1

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Kid's learn about the science of stars like our Sun. Giant hot balls of gas and energy made mostly of hydrogen and helium.

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NASA science games, articles and activities for kids

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Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

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Stellarium Web is a planetarium running in your web browser. It shows a realistic star map, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope.

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Explore the 3D world of the Solar System. Learn about past and future missions.

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This totally fun simulation allows students to create up to five different habitats with a selection of customizable, cartoonish animals and plants that belong in the habitats. In additions, students can enter the "lost dimension" where they can craft their own animals from the parts of different animals! Classified under: Science game, science games, animal game, animal games, habitat game, habitat games

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Build your own Arctic, Desert, Forest, or Rainforest habitat and add realistic or cartoonish animals and plants. You can even create your own animals.

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Four Spheres Part 1 (Geo and Bio): Crash Course Kids #6.1

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This fun game allows students to create and print their own solar systems. They can specify planets, planet names, planet sizes, planet order, and whether or not planets have rings or moons.

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This fun game allows students to create and print their own solar systems. They can specify planets, planet names, planet sizes, planet order, and whether

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Crash Course: Hydrosphere and Atmosphere

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Crash Course: Hydrosphere and Atmosphere

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Four Spheres Part 2 (Hydro and Atmo): Crash Course Kids #6.2

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Earth's Four Spheres - Geosphere, Hydrosphere, Atmosphere and Biosphere

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The third planet from the Sun is Earth, the home of all known life. While it shares many characteristics with other planets, its physical properties and history allow it to…

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The Four Spheres of the Earth by Paul Larson

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The Four Spheres of the Earth by Paul Larson

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Epic reaches 75 million kids in class and after school.

Built on a collection of 40,000+ popular, high-quality books from 250+ of the world's best publishers, Epic safely fuels curiosity and reading confidence for kids 12 and under.

Get Started

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online access fun thousands children great kids ebooks books

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The Four Spheres of Earth kids' book from the leading digital reading platform with a collection of 40,000+ books from 250+ of the world's best publishers. Read now on Epic.

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Spheres of the Earth - Earth Science for Kids!

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Science Friday! New information every week!

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Science Friday! New information every week!

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Most Recent Episode

In an interview from 2002, Jane Goodall gave Ira a lesson in how to speak with chimps. Plus, highlights from the 33rd First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, which celebrate the silly side of science. And, stories that share the research of a few Ig Nobel winners.

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Science Friday is your trusted source for news and entertaining stories about science. It's brain fun for curious people

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15 stunning 3D visualisations of Earth. Geographic, demographic and economic views include tectonic boundaries, climate zones, average temperature and precipitation, political maps, GDP per capita, population density, energy consumption, GINI index, fertility rate and population growth.

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What is Earth's atmosphere?

A jacket for the planet

Earth is a great planet to live on because it has a wonderful atmosphere around it. This jacket of gases does a lot for us. It keeps us warm, it gives us oxygen to breathe, and it's where our weather happens.

The atmosphere surrounds our planet like the peel of an orange. But it's not the same everywhere. It has different layers with different qualities.

One atmosphere, many layers

Earth's atmosphere has six different layers. They go from the ground all the way to outer space. To learn more about each layer of the atmosphere, click the images below.

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Earth’s atmosphere is a jacket of gases that surrounds our planet. It keeps us warm, gives us oxygen to breathe, and it is where our weather happens.

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The Earth's atmosphere is divided up into 5 major layers:

Exosphere - The last layer and the thinnest. It goes all the way to 10,000 km above the Earth's surface.

Thermosphere - The thermosphere is next and the air is very thin here. Temperatures can get extremely hot in the thermosphere.

Mesosphere - The mesosphere covers the next 50 miles beyond the stratosphere. This is where most meteors burn up upon entry. The coldest place on Earth is at the top of the mesosphere.

Stratosphere - The stratosphere extends for the next 32 miles after the troposphere. Unlike the troposphere the stratosphere gets its heat by the Ozone Layer absorbing radiation from the sun. As a result, it gets warmer the further away you get from the Earth. Weather balloons go as high as the stratosphere.

Troposphere - The troposphere is the layer next to the ground or surface of the Earth. It covers around 30,000-50,000 feet high. This is where we live and even where planes fly. Around 80% of the mass of the atmosphere is in the troposphere. The troposphere is heated by the surface of the Earth.

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Kids learn about the science of the Earth's Atmosphere. Carbon dioxide, Oxygen, Nitrogen and more make up clouds and weather.

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Lots of good resources on this webpage!

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The Geosphere is associated with solid portions of the Earth. It includes the continental and oceanic crust and all other layers of the Earth's interior. This includes all rocks, sediments and soils, surface landforms and the processes that shape the Earth's surface. 94% of the solid Earth is made up of the following elements: oxygen, iron, silicon, and magnesium. Despite its solid nature, the geosphere is a dynamic sphere where the surface is in constant motion. This movement creates continents, oceans, and their landforms through a process called Plate Tectonics.

Features associated with this system can be broken down into a variety of different processes which will be featured in My NASA Data and include:

Fluvial and Alluvial Processes: Deltas, river channels/canyons, alluvial fans

Aeolian Processes: Sand dunes and other wind-related landforms

Tectonic Processes: Folds, faults, mountains

Volcanic Processes: Volcanoes, lava flows, calderas, volcanic deposits

Other Processes: Pedosphere (Soil-related), landslides, erosion

The Earth System interacts with the Geosphere in the following ways:

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The Geosphere is associated with solid portions of the Earth. It includes the continental and oceanic crust and all other layers of the Earth's interior. This includes all rocks, sediments and soils, surface landforms and the processes that shape the Earth's surface.

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Lots of good articles on this webpage!

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One of the main components of Earth's interdependent physical systems is the hydrosphere. The hydrosphere is the sum of Earth's water, in the ocean, the ground, on the surface, and in the air. Approximately 71 percent of Earth's surface is covered in water. Of all of that water, only about three percent is freshwater. An even smaller amount can be used as drinking water. Water cycles throughout the system continuously as the sun's radiation causes it to evaporate, rise into the atmosphere, condense, then fall as precipitation to be used or recycled.

Teach your students about the Earth's hydrosphere with the resources in this collection.

Subjects

Geology, Geography, Physical Geography

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One of the main components of Earth's interdependent physical systems is the hydrosphere. The hydrosphere is the sum of Earth's water, in the ocean, the ground, on the surface, and in the air. Approximately 71 percent of Earth's surface is covered in water. Of all of that water, only about three percent is freshwater.

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What is the hydrosphere and why is it important?

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The biosphere is made up of the parts of Earth where life exists. The biosphere extends from the deepest root systems of trees to the dark environment of ocean trenches, to lush rain forests and high mountaintops.

Subjects

Earth Science, Geography, Physical Geography

The biosphere is made up of the parts of Earth where life exists. The biosphere extends from the deepest root systems of trees, to the dark environment of ocean trenches, to lush rainforests and high mountaintops.

Scientists describe Earth in terms of spheres. The solid surface layer of Earth is the lithosphere. The atmosphere is the layer of air that stretches above the lithosphere. The Earth's water-on the surface, in the ground, and in the air-makes up the hydrosphere.

Since life exists on the ground, in the air, and in the water, the biosphere overlaps all these spheres. Although the biosphere measures about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from top to bottom, almost all life exists between about 500 meters (1,640 feet) below the ocean's surface to about six kilometers (3.75 miles) above sea level.

Origin of the Biosphere

The biosphere has existed for about 3.5 billion years. The biosphere's earliest life-forms, called prokaryotes, survived without oxygen. Ancient prokaryotes included single-celled organisms such as bacteria and archaea.

Some prokaryotes developed a unique chemical process. They were able to use sunlight to make simple sugars and oxygen out of water and carbon dioxide, a process called photosynthesis. These photosynthetic organisms were so plentiful that they changed the biosphere. Over a long period of time, the atmosphere developed a mix of oxygen and other gases that could sustain new forms of life.

The addition of oxygen to the biosphere allowed more complex life-forms to evolve. Millions of different plants and other photosynthetic species developed. Animals, which consume plants (and other animals) evolved. Bacteria and other organisms evolved to decompose, or break down, dead animals and plants.

The biosphere benefits from this food web. The remains of dead plants and animals release nutrients into the soil and ocean. These nutrients are reabsorbed by growing plants. This exchange of food and energy makes the biosphere a self-supporting and self-regulating system.

The biosphere is sometimes thought of as one large ecosystem-a complex community of living and nonliving things functioning as a single unit. More often, however, the biosphere is described as having many ecosystems.

Biosphere Reserves

People play an important part in maintaining the flow of energy in the biosphere. Sometimes, however, people disrupt the flow. For example, in the atmosphere, oxygen levels decrease and carbon dioxide levels increase when people clear forests or burn fossil fuels such as coal and oil. Oil spills and industrial wastes threaten life in the hydrosphere. The future of the biosphere will depend on how people interact with other living things within the zone of life.

In the early 1970s, the United Nations established a project called Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB), which promotes sustainable development. A network of biosphere reserves exists to establish a working, balanced relationship between people and the natural world.

Currently, there are 563 biosphere reserves all over the world. The first biosphere reserve was established in Yangambi, Democratic Republic of Congo. Yangambi, in the fertile Congo River Basin, has 32,000 species of trees and such endemic species as forest elephants ( Loxodonta cyclotis) and red river hogs ( Potamochoerus porcus). The biosphere reserve at Yangambi supports activities such as sustainable agriculture, hunting, and mining.

One of the newest biosphere reserves is in Yayu, Ethiopia. The area is developed for agriculture. Crops such as honey, timber, and fruit are regularly cultivated. However, Yayu's most profitable and valuable resource is an indigenous species of plant, Coffea arabica. This shrub is the source of coffee. Yayu has the largest source of wild Coffea arabica in the world.

Fast Fact

Biosphere 2
In 1991, a team of eight scientists moved into a huge, self-contained research facility called Biosphere 2 in Oracle, Arizona. Inside an enormous, greenhouse-like structure, Biosphere 2 created five distinct biomes and a working agricultural facility. Scientists planned to live in Biosphere 2 with little contact with the outside world. The experiments carried out in Biosphere 2 were designed to study the relationship between living things and their environmentand to see whether humans might be able to live in space one day.

The mission was supposed to last 100 years, with two teams of scientists spending 50 years each in the facility. Instead, two teams made it just four years, and the scientists moved out in 1994. Though the live-in phase is over, research is still taking place in Biosphere 2, with a main focus on global warming.

Media Credits

The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited.

Illustrators

Mary Crooks, National Geographic Society

Editors

Jeannie Evers, Emdash Editing, Emdash Editing

Producer

National Geographic Society

other

Last Updated

October 19, 2023

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The biosphere is made up of the parts of Earth where life exists. The biosphere extends from the deepest root systems of trees to the dark environment of ocean trenches, to lush rain forests and high mountaintops.

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Crash Course: What on Earth? (How the Spheres Interact)

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Crash Course: What on Earth? (How the Spheres Interact)

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Helping students build their understanding of Earth's spheres and how they are connected is difficult. Review the graphics below to help identify the parts of the Earth System and the processes that connect them at the local, regional, and global scales.

The Earth System interacts with the Atmosphere in the following ways:

The Earth System interacts with the Biosphere in the following ways:

The Earth System interacts with Cryosphere in the following ways:

The Earth System interacts with the Geosphere in the following ways:

The Earth System interacts with the Hydrosphere in the following ways:

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Our resources are organized around the Earth System Science phenomena that you teach. Visit our site to explore NASA resources that support these phenomena. No matter if you are a seasoned MND teacher, or a new one, we hope you find MND relevant and resourceful in your Earth science instruction.

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The term food chain describes the order in which organisms, or living things, depend on each other for food. Every ecosystem, or community of living things, has one or more…

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Kids learn about the food chain and food web. How energy cycles and transfers through living organisms.

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Kids learn about the food chain and food web. How energy cycles and transfers through living organisms.

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Up the Food Chain | Wild Kratts | PBS LearningMedia

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Learn about food chains in the wild with the Wild Kratts. The gang discusses the food chain, starting at the bottom with producers and going up to consumers.

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In this ecosystem consisting of hawks, snakes, rabbits and grass, the population of each species can be studied as part of a food chain. Disease can be introduced for any species, and the number of animals can be increased or decreased at any time, just like in the real world.

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Food Chain Simulation | ExploreLearning Gizmos

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Explore ecosystems and food chains with ExploreLearning Gizmos! Students get engaged with this interactive food chain activity. Lesson plans included!

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Food Chains Compilation: Crash Course Kids

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Fabulous Food Chains: Crash Course Kids #7.1

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Amoeba Sisters: Food Webs and Energy Pyramids

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Amoeba Sisters: Food Webs and Energy Pyramids

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Food Webs and Energy Pyramids: Bedrocks of Biodiversity

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Science Trek
The flow of the sun's energy touches all living things on Earth. But how are plants and people connected? Why, it is through the food web. On this month's Science Trek, host Joan Cartan-Hansen and her guests, Holly Holman, veterinarian at Zoo Boise and Adare Evans, wildlife educator for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game will answer students' questions.

Aired: 03/16/15

Rating: TV-G

Problems Playing Video? Report a Problem |

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Science Trek The flow of the sun's energy touches all living things on Earth. But how are plants and people connected? Why, it is through the food web. On this month's Science Trek, host Joan Cartan-Hansen and her guests, Holly Holman, veterinarian at Zoo Boise and Adare Evans, wildlife educator for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game will answer students' questions.