Mike+McGinnis

Assignment:1 biosphere and lithosphere photosynthesis

Organisms need energy to survive. Some organisms are capable of absorbing energy from sunlight and using it to produce sugar and other organic compounds such as lipids and proteins. The sugars are then used energy for the organism. This process, called photosynthesis, is used by plants and some protists, bacteria, and blue-green algae. In photosynthesis, solar energy is converted to chemical energy. The chemical energy is stored in the form of glucose (sugar). Carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight are used to produce glucose, oxygen, and water.

Assignment 2:rock forming minerals

Granite is formed from the slow cooling of high silicate magma intrusions that have risen through the crust and formed large chambers of molten material called plutons. Plutons can take millions of years to cool and crystallize into granitic rock. Granite is an intrusive igneous rock, meaning it solidifies from //**magma**// under the surface.Granite is a natural stone product. When Earth was forming it was a hot liquid ball of rock. While the Earth cooled three types of rock were formed. These three types of rock are metamorphic, sedentary and igneous. Granite is in the category of igneous rock. Igneous rock was created deep below the surface of the earth when the magma cooled.

5 billion years old. Your job is to use your notes and the Internet to EXPLAIN how our solar system and the planets formed and to describe the remnants that were left over from those formations. **Include a definition or link to these 16 terms**: __nebula__, __terrestrial planet, gas giant__, planetesimal, planet, satellite (moon), __[|asteroid] __, __asteroid belt__, __meteor__, meteoroid, __meteorite__, __comet__, nucleus, coma__, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud__. The EXPLANATION should be sequential (follows the correct series of steps in the actual formation of the solar system). You may work in groups of no more than 2 people to complete this assignment and you will be given at least 2 class periods. When done, make sure to copy the complete summary to the second partner's wiki page so I may grant credit.**NOTE: This can be written in paragraph format or as a series of sequential steps, but either way your notes are a good guide to follow since they are in correct chronological order already.** Also, I would recommend using a table(s) for good organization of terms, images, etc. (SEE TABLE BELOW)


 * Your grade for this will be comprised of:**
 * define or describe 16 terms = 16 points**
 * content is well organized (table(s) are a good idea) = 4 points**
 * quality / completeness of overall explanation = 10 points**
 * 5 good supporting images = 10**
 * Total = 40 points (Approximately half of a test)**


 * **Nebula**- Interstellar cloud of gas and dust || || [[image:http://ncse.com/files/images/607px-Eagle_nebula_pillars.jpg height="247" caption="external image 607px-Eagle_nebula_pillars.jpg"]] ||
 * external image 607px-Eagle_nebula_pillars.jpg || || The formation of a star, planets, etc. (a solar system) is thought to begin when gravity begins to pull together material from a nebula. ||
 * **Planetesimal**- Solid body reaching hundreds of kilometers in diameter


 * Planet**- A celestial body orbiting a star. ||  || Planetisimals formed as smaller particles collided and stuck together. Further growth continued through collisions and mergers of planetismals resulting in a smaller number of larger bodies: the planets.

Different elements and coumpounds were able to condense depending on their distance from the sun which impacted the compositions of the forming planets. ||
 * **Terrestrial planet**- The inner four planets of our solar system. || [[image:http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRCKSKR_br_d1wCEd2DlvizhTKDboXBW6c3NjSJO1j9CT1qQHtDAA height="148" caption="external image images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRCKSKR_br_d1wCEd2DlvizhTKDboXBW6c3NjSJO1j9CT1qQHtDAA"]] || The four inner planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. ||
 * **Gas giant**- A large planet that is not primarily composed of rock or other solid matter. ||  || As each gas giant acquired material from its surroundings, a disk formed in its equatorial plane, much like the disk of the early solar system. ||
 * **Satellite**- An object which has been placed into orbit such as the moon. ||  || Satellites formed from when matter coalesced in the disk. ||
 * **Asteroid**- A class of solar system bodies in orbit around the sun. ||  || Asteroids comprise the thousands of bodies that orbit the sun within the planetary orbits that are leftovers from the formation of the solar system. ||
 * **Asteroid belt**- A region in the solar system between the orbits of mars and Jupiter occupied by asteroids. || [[image:http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTIEflAYa_mx20k-z5c9vrlh01ZWc7l1EIlfqUNBumieKb-nrNXZQ height="168" caption="external image images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTIEflAYa_mx20k-z5c9vrlh01ZWc7l1EIlfqUNBumieKb-nrNXZQ"]] || As asteroids orbit they occasionally collide and break into fragments. ||
 * **Meteor**- A bright streak of light that appears briefly in the sky.


 * Meteoriod**- Boulder sized particle of debri. ||  || Meteors are produced when a meteoride burns up in Earth's atmosphere.

Meteorids are asteroid fragments or any other interplanetary material that falls toward Earth and enters Earth's atmosphere. ||
 * **Meteorite**- A natural object that impacts earth's surface. ||  || A meteorite is part of a meteoroid that does not completely burn up. ||
 * **Comet**- small icy bodies that have highly eccentric orbits around the sun and are remnants from solar system formation. || [[image:http://www.thunderbolts.info/tpod/2006/image06/060227comet.jpg height="157" caption="external image 060227comet.jpg"]] || Comets are made of ice and rock, and they range from 1-10 km in diameter. ||
 * **Nucleus**- Small solid core of a comet that releases gas and dust particles ||  || When heated, the nucleus forms the coma and tails. ||
 * **Coma**- An extended volume of glowing gas flowing from a comet's head. ||  || The coma is approximately 1 million km in length. ||
 * **Kuiper Belt-** A cluster of remnants from the solar system's formation. ||  || The kuiper belt extends from the orbit of Neptune to approx. 55 AU from the sun. ||
 * **Oort Cloud**- A spherical cloud of comets that is approximately 1 lightyear away from the sun. || [[image:http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQhlbp5NSFSsq1Vs5PVTGR4zRJsdDz3NO_K5UA-PVshhHC7vx4W2g height="227" caption="external image images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQhlbp5NSFSsq1Vs5PVTGR4zRJsdDz3NO_K5UA-PVshhHC7vx4W2g"]] || Astronomers believe that the matter comprising the Oort cloud formed closer to the Sun and was scattered far out into space by the gravitational effects of the giant planets early in the Solar System's Evolution. ||