The Cycling of Matter and Energy: Engage and Explore

3.1.8: THE
CYCLING OF
MATTER &
ENERGY


Engage and Explore


Objectives


Understand the interactions
of matter and energy among

various Earth systems.


Vocabulary


Padlet

•carbon cycle - A natural cycle in which carbon compounds, mainly carbon
dioxide, are incorporated into living tissue through photosynthesis and
returned to the atmosphere by respiration, decay of dead organisms, and
the burning of fossil fuels.


•conduction - The transfer of heat energy within an object, or between
objects that are directly touching each other, due to collisions between the
particles in the objects.


•convection - The transfer of heat from one place to another caused by the
movement of molecules, hot material rises, and cold material sinks.


•radiation - A process by which energetic electromagnetic waves move
from one place to another.


•solar energy - Radiant energy that comes from the Sun.


•thermal energy - Energy in the form of heat.


​Password for padlet: science

TRACING THE CYCLING
OF MATTER AND
ENERGY

Cycles Keep

Matter Moving


Water cycles through the interacting spheres that
make up the environment.


Hydrosphere, atmosphere, geosphere, and biosphere
work together in a complex system that stores and
distributes water.


How are the Spheres Linked to Each Other


Water changes between solid, liquid, and vapor as it moves through the
geosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere.


Carbon converts into different molecular species in order to pass from the
atmosphere or geosphere to the biosphere.


Salts eroded from continental rocks in the geosphere to eventually wash
into the hydrosphere.


Thermal and

Solar Energy


• Matter is any substance that takes up space and has

mass. 


•Most matter exists as a solid, liquid, or gas.


• Energy is needed to transform matter from one state to

another.


• The temperature of an object is a measure of its thermal

energy.


•There's more thermal energy when an object is warm than when it

is cold.


• Solar energy is the radiant energy from the sun.


Thermal Energy

Movement


Conduction is the transfer of heat

from molecule to molecule or atom

to atom through direct contact.


Thermal Energy

Movement


Convection is the transfer of heat

through primarily vertical

movement in fluids. 


Thermal Energy

Movement


Radiation is energy that travels as
electromagnetic waves. These waves
carry thermal energy in the form of
transverse waves, similar to the way
that ocean waves carry energy
through water.


Uneven Distribution of

Heat


• Earth does not heat evenly

because the planet tilts at a

23.5° angle


Conclusions


•Earth also recycles many resources.


•Matter cycles between different reservoirs on the planet. Matter

also changes between solid, liquid, and gas states

when energy is gained or lost. Different forms of energy fuel

processes on Earth.


•Energy is transferred by radiation, conduction, and convection.


•The water cycle moves, ice, liquid water, and water vapor

through Earth's various spheres.


•Important elements, such as carbon, are cycled through Earth's

spheres.