Canadian Geography 1202

We live in a world that is interconnected. All things interact with each other.

Unit One: Natural and Human Systems

Curriculum Outcome 1.0 – Students are expected to explain how natural systems and human systems interact. 1.1 identify and describe natural systems 1.2 identify and describe human systems 1.3 explain how systems thinking may be used to understand interactions between natural systems and human systems

The World of Systems

• Natural Systems: These are systems that occur in nature, and

together they form the ecosystems that make up our natural environment.

- Circulation of Water in our ocean

- Weather and Climate Systems

- Energy Cycles

- Food Chain

Food Chain

Atmosphere Lithosphere

Hydrosphere Biosphere

Bear Fish Tree Spider

Lake, Ocean, Pond, River

MountainLava Rock Soil

Clouds Smog Aurora borealis

Earth’s Natural Systems

Synergy: the whole system is greater than the sum of its part

Check out figure 2.3 , 2.4 and 2.5 on pages 50 and 51 of your book.

Create a four column chart.

Atmosphere Lithosphere Hydrosphere Biosphere

Read through pages 51-53 in your book. Record notes in each column as you read through. Don’t forget the sidebar notes!

Create a web diagram that illustrates the connection between elements within a natural system. You are the center of this system . Add three relevant elements for each category that impact your everyday life. Be prepared to explain your choices.

Sun

Water

Soil

Air

You

Earth’s Giant Systems

Atmosphere:

A thin layer of gases that surround the earth. It consists mainly of Nitrogen & Oxygen but also includes small amounts of other gases such as water vapour, carbon dioxide & ozone. The atmosphere protects us from the sun’s intense energy and distributes heat around the planet. Without the Atmosphere we would not survive the extreme temperatures on earth.

Lithosphere

• Lithosphere: The earths crust & uppermost part of the underlying mantle and consists of rocks, minerals & soil. It varies in thickness from 2 km thick to more than 250 km thick in the thickest part of the continents.

• Hydrosphere: is all the water on the earths crust; salty, fresh, and frozen. It includes oceans, lakes, rivers, glaciers, swamps, and water vapour. It also, includes the water stored in the organs of all plants & animals. Figure 2.7, pg 52 Text.

• Biosphere: is the layer of Earth in which life evolved. It supports all living things on Earth; plants and animals.

Cause and Effect

Nature’s systems support life on Earth. Natural Systems work in Cycles – they do not have a beginning or end but keep moving around and around. The water cycle, for example, involves the circulation of water to support life on Earth. It is continuously flowing and changing from one state to another (gas or water vapour, liquid and solid or ice) The Earth contains a finite supply of water which means that it never loses or gains any. The water you drank this morning has existed for hundreds of millions of years. Your great-great-great grandmother may have used the same water to make soup for her family’s supper.

Canada contains an estimated 9% of the Earth’s fresh water.

SMHEO

Much of this water is located in uninhabited areas or is stored underground in rocks and aquifers – layers of porous rock that can contain large quantities of water.

Almost 25% of Canadians have to dig or drill wells to find groundwater for household, farming or industrial use.

The Decay Cycle

There is no waste in natural systems. Creatures such as fungi, insects and bacteria act as decomposers to eat and recycle nature’s waste materials.

The World of Systems

• Human Systems: These are systems that are created by

people. This includes: human settlements, transportation systems, communication systems. More on this later.

Ecosystem: a community of plants and animals that interact with one another and with their physical environment.

Human System: a system created by people

Natural System: a system found in nature

Atmosphere: a thin layer of gases that surrounds the Earth

Biosphere: the layer of the Earth in which plant and animal life evolve

Lithosphere: the Earth’s crust and the uppermost part of the underlying mantle consisting of rocks, minerals and soil

Hydrosphere: all the water and moisture on the Earth in all its forms

Both are Dynamic: (continually changing)

In the ACTIVATE YOUR LEARNING section at the bottom of page 53, answer questions 1, 2, 4 and 5.

Working as a group at your table: - go to the ACTIVATE YOUR LEARNING section at the bottom of page 57. - Discuss questions 1, 2 and 3. - Consider how a change in one natural system influences both that system and another natural system. Prepare an example to share with the class.