Earth's five systems and how they affect each other

Grade 9 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Measurements at one high-latitude site (example data)

   Item	Measurement
   Permafrost layer	ground frozen all year at -4 °C
   Groundwater below it	liquid water at 2 °C
   Willow shrubs	40 cm tall
   Air above	-12 °C

2. 1.

   Ari sorts the items into Earth's five systems. Which sorting is correct?

   • Permafrost: cryosphere; groundwater: hydrosphere; willows: biosphere
   • Permafrost: cryosphere; groundwater: cryosphere; willows: biosphere
   • Permafrost: hydrosphere; groundwater: cryosphere; willows: biosphere
   • Permafrost: cryosphere; groundwater: hydrosphere; willows: geosphere
3. 2.

   Ice caps, glaciers and snow, 24,064,000; Fresh groundwater, 10,530,000; Fresh lakes, 91,000; Water vapor in the air, 12,900; Rivers, 2,120. Bo sorts the stores into systems. Which system holds the most fresh water, and how many times the liquid stores?

   • The cryosphere, about 2.3 times all the liquid stores combined
   • The hydrosphere, since groundwater is the largest single store
   • The atmosphere, since water vapor reaches every other system
   • The cryosphere, about 0.4 times all the liquid stores combined
4. 3.

   Mineral grains, 45; Water, 25; Air, 25; Roots, microbes and humus, 5. Kira sorts the parts of a spoonful of soil. Which system is the largest share, and how many systems does soil span?

   • Geosphere, 45%; soil belongs to the geosphere alone
   • Hydrosphere, 25%; water and air are the largest share together
   • Geosphere, 45%; soil spans three systems, since living things are not systems
   • Geosphere, 45%; soil spans four systems: rock, water, air and life

5. Arrows on a systems diagram (example)

   Arrow	From	To	Label
   1	biosphere	geosphere	roots break rock
   2	geosphere	atmosphere	eruption releases gas
   3	atmosphere	cryosphere	gas cloud dims sunlight on a glacier

6. 4.

   Jun follows the arrows. Which two make a chain from the geosphere to the cryosphere?

   • Arrow 3, then arrow 2, passing through the atmosphere
   • Arrow 1, then arrow 2, passing through the geosphere
   • Arrow 2, then arrow 3, passing through the atmosphere
   • Arrow 1, then arrow 3, passing through the biosphere
7. 5.

   Over one ocean region, evaporation moves 1,200 mm of water up each year and rain returns 900 mm. What net transfer does Milo read?

   • Nothing moves, since water is neither created nor destroyed
   • Net 300 mm a year moves from the atmosphere to the hydrosphere
   • Net 300 mm a year moves from the hydrosphere to the atmosphere
   • Net 2,100 mm a year moves from the hydrosphere to the atmosphere

8. Tree roots in a granite crack (example)

   Observation	Reading
   Crack width after 10 years	4 mm wider
   Minerals in the root sap	potassium and phosphorus from the rock

9. 6.

   Pia says the roots and rock affect each other. Which pair of arrows fits both readings?

   • Hydrosphere to geosphere (crack widens); geosphere to hydrosphere (minerals dissolve)
   • Biosphere to geosphere alone: roots change rock, and rock does not change roots
   • Geosphere to biosphere (crack widens); biosphere to geosphere (minerals reach the roots)
   • Biosphere to geosphere (crack widens); geosphere to biosphere (minerals reach the roots)

10. Three observations (example data)

    Letter	Observation
    A	a river rises 30 mm after 30 mm of rain
    B	a river cuts 2 mm into its rock bed
    C	roots take up 5 L of water from the soil

11. 7.

    Ren sorts the observations. Which one shows the atmosphere changing the hydrosphere?

    • B, because the rock bed controls how deep the river gets
    • C, because plants take water out of the soil
    • A, because rain from the atmosphere raised the river
    • B, because the river is the system that acts
12. 8.

    A farmer plows 10 ha, and soil loss rises from 1 to 4 tonnes per hectare each year (example data). What does Tala conclude, and how much more soil is lost?

    • The geosphere changes; the farmer is outside the systems, with 30 tonnes more lost
    • The biosphere changes the geosphere, with 3 tonnes more lost each year
    • The biosphere changes the geosphere, with 40 tonnes more lost each year
    • The biosphere changes the geosphere, with 30 tonnes more lost each year
13. 9.

    Zee lists parts of the biosphere that are neither plants nor animals. Which list holds only parts of the biosphere?

    • Algae, glacier ice and trees
    • Kelp, fungi and seawater
    • Soil bacteria, lichens and granite
    • Soil bacteria, lichens and kelp
14. 10.

    People build a dam. A river carries 20 million tonnes of sediment a year and the dam traps 80% (example data). How much does Esme say is trapped, and which systems link?

    • 16 million tonnes; just the hydrosphere and geosphere take part, since people are not a system
    • 4 million tonnes; people (biosphere) change the river (hydrosphere), which changes the land (geosphere)
    • 16 million tonnes; the river (hydrosphere) builds the dam (biosphere) and the land changes
    • 16 million tonnes; people (biosphere) change the river (hydrosphere), which changes the land (geosphere)