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Earth and Space Science

ESS1 6 Earth's Formation and History

Project Zero THINKING ROUTINE--see Phenomenon section

Earth and Space Sciences Safety Guidelines

Phenomenon--

Earth's formation MsGeologyRocks

What do you know before you see this source?  How does it add to your knowledge?
What do you still need to know?

 

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Inquiry science
       Printable activity
      On-line activity:
Radiometric Dating Practice activity cK-12
Red Rocks (Scroll down to it) ASU/NASA
Dino Doom ASU/NASA
    
LAB activities follow all safety guidelines linked above
and in the activity
Lab #1: Early atmosphere and oceans See Activities cK-12
Lab #2: Geologic time and fossil record activities cK-12
Lab #3:
Lab #4:

      
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EXTENSION material for the curious
The age of the Earth from lead isotopes PAUSE the first graph

How life on our planet made it through snowball earth NYT

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ESS1-6

Apply scientific reasoning and evidence from ancient Earth materials, meteorites, and other planetary surfaces to construct an account of Earth’s formation and early history.


Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on using available evidence within the solar system to reconstruct the early history of Earth, which formed along with the rest of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago. Examples of evidence include the absolute ages of ancient materials (obtained by radiometric dating of meteorites, moon rocks, and Earth’s oldest minerals), the sizes and compositions of solar system objects, and the impact cratering record of planetary surfaces.

Assessment Boundary: none

Our solar system began forming about 4.6 billion years ago within a concentration of interstellar dust and hydrogen gas called a molecular cloud. The cloud contracted under its own gravity and our proto-Sun formed in the hot dense center. The remainder of the cloud formed a swirling disk called the solar nebula.

Within the solar nebula, scientists believe that dust and ice particles embedded in the gas moved, occasionally colliding and clumping together. Through this process, called "accretion," these microscopic particles formed larger bodies that eventually became planetesimals with sizes up to a few kilometers across. In the inner, hotter part of the solar nebula, planetesimals were composed mostly of silicates and metals. In the outer, cooler portion of the nebula, water ice was the dominant component.

ASC NASA PD

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Prior Knowledge/Preview
History and Geography of the Earth activities SI Learning Lab
 
Aerospace CONNECTIONS:
Applications and examples
Richard Hammond Builds a Planet BBC
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Internal Earth

Wikimedia Srimadhav PD

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Artist's impression - forming a planetary system NASA PD

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A large object (about half as wide as Earth) collided with our world. The off-center cosmic smash-up increased Earth's spin, and its energy disintegrated the impacting object, melted Earth's outer layers, and flung debris into orbit around Earth. This material formed a ring of gas, dust and molten rock around Earth. In less than a hundred years -- an incredibly short time for the formation of an entire world -- this debris clumped (accreted), growing larger and larger to form our Moon! ARC NASA PD

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