Our Big Blue Marble
Our planet EarthCopyright Earth Observatory, NASA, http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/
Students are introduced to the fabulous planet on which they live. Even though we spend our entire lives on Earth, we still do not always understand how it fits into the rest of the solar system. Students learn about the Earth's position in the solar system and what makes it unique. They learn how engineers study human interactions with the Earth and design technologies and systems to monitor, use and care for our planet's resources wisely to preserve life on Earth.
Engineers must know as much as they can about our planet so that they can create systems, structures, energy technologies, products and inventions to best meet the needs for a sustainable future on the only planet humans can call home. Engineers measure and track changes to our planet's environmental conditions over time, analyzing the effects of humans. When problems or harmful trends arise (such as changes to our environment caused by human-generated pollutants), engineers come up with creative tools and solutions to help the Earth and protect the people and animals that depend upon its resources and habitable environment.
After this lesson, students should be able to:
- Describe several characteristics of the Earth, such as third planet from the Sun, supports life, variety of natural resources (air, water, soil, minerals, oil, food, plants, animals, etc.).
- Give examples of how the Earth changes over time.
- Explain that engineers develop technologies to help protect the Earth and its inhabitants.