Teachers, save “Earth's Oceans” to assign it to your class.

Mountain's & Oceans: The Earth's Oceans The Earth's oceans hold 97% of the planet's water and cover about 70% of the planet's surface. There is an incredible amount of life in the oceans. There are thousands and possibly millions of animal and plant species living in the Earth's oceans. The earth has five oceans. They are the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, and Southern Oceans. The Pacific Ocean is the largest, and the Arctic Ocean is the smallest. The five oceans are connected, and together they make up one large "world ocean." The world ocean is important to the earth. It distributes heat all over the earth, and the world ocean's currents regulate the Earth's climates. Without the world ocean, the hotter areas of the Earth would be even hotter, and the colder areas would be even colder. Changes in the Earth have affected the oceans. For example, some human activities release greenhouse gases into the air. These gases trap heat in the earth. As a result, the world ocean has been getting warmer. This can cause the earth's climates to change. Our actions on land also have affected life in the oceans. For example, when people litter or when oil drips from cars onto streets, the litter and oil often end up in the oceans. This has caused harm to many living things in the world ocean, and a lot of marine animals have died as a result. We need to do our best to take good care of the oceans. The world ocean supports our lives, and it supports the lives of many other living things. We should support the ocean too.