Mantle makes up 84% of the Earth's volume and has an average thickness of approximately 1,800 miles (2,900 km). It is dense, hot, and primarily solid although in places it behaves more like a viscous fluid as the plates of the upper mantle and crust gradually "float" along its circumference.

Below domain, life is classified into six kingdoms: plants, animals, archaebacteria, eubacteria, and fungi. The last kingdom, protists, include all microscopic organisms that are not bacteria, animals, plants or fungi.  (Archaebacteria and eubacteria are sometimes combined into a single kingdom, monera.)

Decomposers (saprotrophs) are organisms such as bacteria and fungi that break down the organic matter in the dead bodies of plants and animals into simple nutrients.

Chemical waste like excess water, minerals, and salt are filtered from the blood by the kidneys and secreted into the urine. Urine is transported from the kidneys to the bladder through ureters.

An air mass is a large body of air that has similar moisture (density) and temperature characteristics. A front is a transition zone between two air masses.