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Unit 2: Earth processes – energy transfers and transformations Earth and Environmental Science

Earth system processes require energy. In this unit, students explore how the transfer and transformation of energy from the sun and Earth’s interior enable and control processes within and between the geosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. …

Unit 2 | Earth and Environmental Science | Science | Senior secondary curriculum

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Energy is neither created nor destroyed, but can be transformed from one form to another (for example, kinetic, gravitational, thermal, light) and transferred between objects

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Processes within and between Earth systems require energy that originates either from the sun or the interior of Earth

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Thermal and light energy from the Sun drives important Earth processes including evaporation and photosynthesis

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Transfers and transformations of heat and gravitational energy in Earth's interior drives the movement of tectonic plates through processes including mantle convection, plume formation and slab sinking

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The net transfer of solar energy to Earth’s surface is influenced by its passage through the atmosphere, including impeded transfer of ultraviolet radiation to Earth’s surface due to its interaction with atmospheric ozone, and by the physical characteristics …

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The movement of atmospheric air masses due to heating and cooling, and Earth’s rotation and revolution, cause systematic atmospheric circulation; this is the dominant mechanism for the transfer of thermal energy around Earth’s surface

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Photosynthesis is the principal mechanism for the transformation of energy from the sun into energy forms that are useful for living things; net primary production is a description of the rate at which new biomass is generated, mainly through photosy …

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The availability of energy and matter are one of the main determinants of ecosystem carrying capacity; that is, the number of organisms that can be supported in an ecosystem

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Biogeochemical cycling of matter, including nitrogen and phosphorus, involves the transfer and transformation of energy between the biosphere, geosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere

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Energy is stored, transferred and transformed in the carbon cycle; biological elements, including living and dead organisms, store energy over relatively short timescales, and geological elements (for example, hydrocarbons, coal and kerogens) store energy …

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