What Do Earth Scientists Do?

What Do Earth Scientists Do?

What Do Earth Scientists Do?
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	high interest, readability grades 5 to 6
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	5.64

Vocabulary

challenging words:

geologists, light-year, light-years, oceanographers, trillion, atmosphere, volume, meteorology, measurement, billion, origin, astronomy, deals, metric, unit, based

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What Do Earth Scientists Do?
By Patti Hutchison

¹     A scientist's job is to find out about the universe we live in. There are many branches of science. Earth science is one of them. But what do earth scientists do?

²     An earth scientist studies the earth, of course. He studies the history of the earth. He also reports on the changes that are constantly taking place. He studies the universe and the role the earth plays in it.

³     Earth science has some special branches. Astronomy is the study of the stars, planets, and other objects in space. Astronomers measure the size of these objects. They find out what these objects are made of. They also examine the behaviors of these objects.

⁴     Another branch of earth science is oceanography. Oceanographers study the oceans of the earth. They find out about the physical features of the ocean. They report on its life forms. Oceanographers keep track of the natural resources found in the oceans.

⁵     Meteorology is a branch of earth science that deals with weather and climate. Meteorologists take measurements of the atmosphere. They can make predictions about weather and climate in the future.

⁶     The last branch of earth science is geology. Geology is the study of the origin of the earth. Geologists examine rocks and minerals to determine the history of the earth. They also study the structure of the earth.

⁷     In order to do this work, scientists perform experiments. During experiments they must take accurate measurements. This data is communicated to other scientists. There must be a system of measurement that everyone understands. Scientists around the world use the metric system.

⁸     The metric system is easy because it is based on the number ten. It is a decimal system that uses multiples of ten. Each unit in the metric system is ten times bigger or ten times smaller than the next. There is no need for messy fractions!

⁹     The meter is the basic unit of length in the metric system. In the U.S. we use the English system of measurement. A meter can be compared to a yard in the English system. You might measure a room in meters.

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