The Biosphere
The biosphere is the part of the Earth’s crust that supports life.
The word biosphere is made of two words “bio” meaning life and “sphere” meaning an area.
The biosphere is regarded as the global or bigger ecosystem.
All ecosystems exist within the biosphere like rivers, to oceans, to grasslands, biomes etc.
The components of the biosphere include the atmosphere, the lithosphere and the hydrosphere.
The dead organic matter and all organisms are part of the biosphere.
COMPONENTS OF THE BIOSPHERE
The biosphere has three components namely:
o The atmosphere which is the air part
o The hydrosphere which the water part and
o The lithosphere which is the land part
All rights reserved ULTIMATE NATURAL SCIENCES 1
, THE ATMOSPHERE
a) The atmosphere is a body of air which surrounds the Earth.
b) Air is made of different gases which include nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and small rates of
gases like argon etc.
c) The atmosphere protects life on the planet Earth from harmful solar radiation.
d) The atmosphere also moderates temperatures (keeps them not too hot or cold).
e) The atmosphere extends from ground level and gets thinner as it goes higher.
f) This also means you get less oxygen as you go higher or as altitude increases.
g) The first five layers of the atmosphere as you go up are troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere,
thermosphere and the exosphere.
THE HYDROSPHERE
a) Hydrosphere is the water part of the biosphere.
b) The hydrosphere is habitat to organisms living
in the water, e.g. fish, crabs etc.
c) The oceans constitute more than 90% of our
water.
d) The hydrosphere includes lakes, dams, rivers,
oceans, ground water etc.
All rights reserved ULTIMATE NATURAL SCIENCES 2
, THE LITHOSPHERE
a) The lithosphere is the rocky rigid part of the Earth.
b) The soil and the rocks are part of the lithosphere.
c) The lithosphere includes mountains, valleys, cliffs, land etc.
d) The Lithosphere consists of the Core, Mantle and Crust.
e) The Inner core is solid while the outer core is liquid.
f) The Mantle is the bigger part of the lithosphere, about 2900 km deep.
g) The Mantle is mainly magma with temperatures of up to 4500 °C.
h) The Crust is the outer layer of the Earth and is like the skin of the Earth.
ACTIVITY 1A
Answer the following questions:
1. What is a biosphere? ___________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
All rights reserved ULTIMATE NATURAL SCIENCES 3
, 2. What are the three components of the biosphere? ____________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
3. Which part of the biosphere do we find the following organisms?
A. Shark _______________
B. Spider ______________
C. Flying eagle __________
4. An ecosystem is organisms in a given area interacting with each other and with their
____________________ (environment / land).
5. All ecosystems exist within the _________________ (biosphere / biomes).
6. Give three examples of ecosystems. ____________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
7. The ___________________ and all organisms are part of the biosphere.
ACTIVITY 1 B
Answer the following questions:
1. The biosphere is regarded as the global or bigger ______________________________________.
2. What is the hydrosphere? _________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
3. Give two organisms that live in the hydrosphere. _________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
4. Oceans constitute more than _________ of our water.
5. The hydrosphere includes the_____________________________________________________
6. What is the lithosphere? ___________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
7. What two things does the lithosphere consists of? _____________________________________
All rights reserved ULTIMATE NATURAL SCIENCES 4
The biosphere is the part of the Earth’s crust that supports life.
The word biosphere is made of two words “bio” meaning life and “sphere” meaning an area.
The biosphere is regarded as the global or bigger ecosystem.
All ecosystems exist within the biosphere like rivers, to oceans, to grasslands, biomes etc.
The components of the biosphere include the atmosphere, the lithosphere and the hydrosphere.
The dead organic matter and all organisms are part of the biosphere.
COMPONENTS OF THE BIOSPHERE
The biosphere has three components namely:
o The atmosphere which is the air part
o The hydrosphere which the water part and
o The lithosphere which is the land part
All rights reserved ULTIMATE NATURAL SCIENCES 1
, THE ATMOSPHERE
a) The atmosphere is a body of air which surrounds the Earth.
b) Air is made of different gases which include nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and small rates of
gases like argon etc.
c) The atmosphere protects life on the planet Earth from harmful solar radiation.
d) The atmosphere also moderates temperatures (keeps them not too hot or cold).
e) The atmosphere extends from ground level and gets thinner as it goes higher.
f) This also means you get less oxygen as you go higher or as altitude increases.
g) The first five layers of the atmosphere as you go up are troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere,
thermosphere and the exosphere.
THE HYDROSPHERE
a) Hydrosphere is the water part of the biosphere.
b) The hydrosphere is habitat to organisms living
in the water, e.g. fish, crabs etc.
c) The oceans constitute more than 90% of our
water.
d) The hydrosphere includes lakes, dams, rivers,
oceans, ground water etc.
All rights reserved ULTIMATE NATURAL SCIENCES 2
, THE LITHOSPHERE
a) The lithosphere is the rocky rigid part of the Earth.
b) The soil and the rocks are part of the lithosphere.
c) The lithosphere includes mountains, valleys, cliffs, land etc.
d) The Lithosphere consists of the Core, Mantle and Crust.
e) The Inner core is solid while the outer core is liquid.
f) The Mantle is the bigger part of the lithosphere, about 2900 km deep.
g) The Mantle is mainly magma with temperatures of up to 4500 °C.
h) The Crust is the outer layer of the Earth and is like the skin of the Earth.
ACTIVITY 1A
Answer the following questions:
1. What is a biosphere? ___________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
All rights reserved ULTIMATE NATURAL SCIENCES 3
, 2. What are the three components of the biosphere? ____________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
3. Which part of the biosphere do we find the following organisms?
A. Shark _______________
B. Spider ______________
C. Flying eagle __________
4. An ecosystem is organisms in a given area interacting with each other and with their
____________________ (environment / land).
5. All ecosystems exist within the _________________ (biosphere / biomes).
6. Give three examples of ecosystems. ____________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
7. The ___________________ and all organisms are part of the biosphere.
ACTIVITY 1 B
Answer the following questions:
1. The biosphere is regarded as the global or bigger ______________________________________.
2. What is the hydrosphere? _________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
3. Give two organisms that live in the hydrosphere. _________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
4. Oceans constitute more than _________ of our water.
5. The hydrosphere includes the_____________________________________________________
6. What is the lithosphere? ___________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
7. What two things does the lithosphere consists of? _____________________________________
All rights reserved ULTIMATE NATURAL SCIENCES 4
