The universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists. It is all the matter, energy and space thats exists. To read more, click here.
Activity 1: click here.
Activity 2: vocabulary
Activity 3: here
Solar System
Some links:
http://www.mhschool.com/mmh_games/content/mac_sci/g5/u4/c8/l1/txtid_game/index.html
http://www.mhschool.com/science/2011/student/na/grade5/g5_ch8_ls1_ereview.html
http://www.mhschool.com/mmh_games/content/mac_sci/g5/u4/c8/l3/tf_game/index.html
http://www.mhschool.com/science/2011/student/na/grade5/g5_ch8_ls3_ereview.html
The Earth
Earth, our home planet, is the only planet in our solar system known to harbor life. All of the things we need to survive are provided under a thin layer of atmosphere that separates us from the uninhabitable void of space. Earth is made up of complex, interactive systems that are often unpredictable. Air, water, land, and life—including humans—combine forces to create a constantly changing world that we are striving to understand.
Viewing Earth from the unique perspective of space provides the opportunity to see Earth as a whole. Scientists around the world have discovered many things about our planet by working together and sharing their findings.
Some facts are well known. For instance, Earth is the third planet from the sun and the fifth largest in the solar system. Earth’s diameter is just a few hundred kilometers larger than that of Venus. The four seasons are a result of Earth’s axis of rotation being tilted more than 23 degrees.
Oceans at least 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) deep cover nearly 70 percent of Earth’s surface. Fresh water exists in the liquid phase only within a narrow temperature span (32 to 212 degrees Fahrenheit/ 0 to 100 degrees Celsius). This temperature span is especially narrow when contrasted with the full range of temperatures found within the solar system. The presence and distribution of water vapor in the atmosphere is responsible for much of Earth’s weather.
Protective Atmosphere
Near the surface, an ocean of air that consists of 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen, and 1 percent other ingredients envelops us. This atmosphere affects Earth’s long-term climate and short-term local weather; shields us from nearly all harmful radiation coming from the sun; and protects us from meteors as well. Satellites have revealed that the upper atmosphere actually swells by day and contracts by night due to solar activity.
Our planet’s rapid spin and molten nickel-iron core give rise to a magnetic field, which the solar wind distorts into a teardrop shape. The solar wind is a stream of charged particles continuously ejected from the sun. The magnetic field does not fade off into space, but has definite boundaries. When charged particles from the solar wind become trapped in Earth’s magnetic field, they collide with air molecules above our planet’s magnetic poles. These air molecules then begin to glow and are known as the aurorae, or the Northern and Southern Lights.
—Text courtesy NASA/JPL
The Water Planet
Solar eclipse
As seen from the Earth, a solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, and the Moon fully or partially covers the Sun as viewed from a location on Earth.
Lunar eclipse
A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes behind the earth such that the earth blocks the sun’s rays from striking the moon. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth and Moon are aligned exactly, or very closely so, with the Earth in the middle.
On July 20, 1969, the U.S. Apollo 11 lunar module landed on the moon in the first of six Apollo landings. Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong became the first human being to set foot on the moon.
The first people on the moon were U.S. astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, who took this picture, and Buzz Aldrin, who is pictured next to a seismograph. A television camera and a United States flag are in the background. Their lunar module, Eagle, stands at the right. Image credit: NASA
Cells
Prokatyotic cell
Eukaryotic cells
Plant cell
Animal cell
Vertebrates
Watch thousands of video clips about hundreds of animals
Find your favourite animals, where and how they live, the latest news about them and who’s filming them right now. Marvel at the stealth of a snow leopard, the tenderness of a mother tiger and the awesome spectacle of a golden eagle in flight. Listen to the thrilling sound of lions roaring across the savannah and to birds that mimic machinery. Click here.
Invertebrates
There are two basic groups of higher animals. They are vertebrates and invertebrates. While both have advanced through the processes of evolution, there is one fundamental difference. Invertebrates do not have backbones. Both groups are in the Kingdom Animalia, but their bodies are organized differently. What makes invertebrates different? All invertebrates share common traits. At the bottom of the invertebrate world are the sponges. Sometimes they don’t fit in but they are still part of the group. To read more.
Plants
Photosynthesis
Atmosphere
Layers of the Atmosphere
Composition of atmosphere
Greenhouse effect, click here.
Acid rain
Ozone layer
Climate change animation.
