Learning Module

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL – CORE SUBJECT

EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE

K to 12 – Basic Education Curriculum
 What is this Module all About?
Core Subject Description: This module is designed to provide a general background for the
understanding of Earth Science and Biology. It presents the history of the Earth through geologic time. It
discusses the Earth’s structure, composition, and processes. Issues, concerns, and problems pertaining to
natural hazards are also included. It also deals with the basic principles and processes in the study of
biology. It covers life processes and interactions at the cellular, organism, population, and ecosystem
levels.

This module covers three chapters in the first quarter and seven in the second quarter. Each
Chapter has at least 3 modules specifically indicating the most essential learning competencies of 2020.

First quarter topics:

Chapter 1. Origin and Structure of The Earth
Chapter 2. Earth Materials and Processes
Chapter 3. Natural Hazards, Mitigation, and Adaptation

Second quarter topics:

Chapter 4. Introduction to Life
Science Chapter 5. Bioenergetics
Chapter 6. Perpetuation of Life
Chapter 7. Animal Survival
Chapter 8. Plant Survival
Chapter 9. The Evolution
Chapter 10. Interaction and Interdependence

Each module has the following essential parts:

 Introduction
 Learning Outcomes
 Pre-Test
 Glossary of Terms
 Reading Resources and Instructional Activities
 Posttest
 References and Links
 1

Suggested time allotment 3 hours

Chapter 1
MODULE

1 The Origin of the Universe

INTRODUCTION
Our universe is both ancient and vast, and
expanding out farther and faster every day. This
accelerating universe, the dark energy that seems to
be behind it, and other puzzles like the exact nature
of the Big Bang and the early evolution of the
universe are among the great puzzles of cosmology.

There was a time when scientists thought

Earth was at the center of the universe. As late as
the 1920s, we did not realize that our galaxy was
just one of many in a vast universe. Only later did
we recognize that the other galaxies were running
away from us — in every direction — at ever
greater speeds. Likewise, in recent decades, our
understanding of the universe has accelerated.

The universe is filled with stars, galaxies,

planets and more, plus a veritable buffet of invisible
stuff like dark matter astronomers have yet to see.
But scientists have pinned down some of the major
ingredients of our universe.

Our universe is 13.7 billion years old, but astronomers are peering deep into its history and are getting a
greater understanding of how the first stars formed, and how the earliest galaxies came together. See images,
illustrations and diagrams of the universe from now back to the Big Bang.

The dark ages of the universe — an era of darkness that existed before the first stars and galaxies — mostly
remain a mystery because there is so little of it to see, but scientists intensely desire to shed light on them in order
to learn secrets about how the universe came into being.

Not only are scientists unsure how the universe will end, they aren't even sure it will end at all.

In this module, you will give evidence for and explain the formation of the light elements in the Big Bang

theory. At the end of Module 1, you are expected to answer the key question below:

How did the universe start?

EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE

K to 12 – Basic Education Curriculum
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Describe the structure and composition of the universe;
Briefly discuss the cosmology of the Big Bang model; and
Provide an overview of the proof for the Big Bang model.

Let us determine how much you already know about the origin of the universe. Take the test
below.

Pre-Test

Multiple Choice
Select the correct letter.
1. Which of the following theories suggests that the universe originated from a singularity that expanded
continuously?
A. Oscillating Universe Theory
B. Pulsating Theory
C. Big Bang Theory
D. Steady State Theory
2. Which of the following describes the Big Crunch according to the Oscillating Universe Theory?
A. reversal of the universe’s expansion
B. continuous expansion of the universe
C. formation of matter
D. formation of antimatter
3. Which of the following theories suggests that the universe will stay the same throughout time?
A. Creationism Theory
B. Steady State Theory
C. Pulsating Theory
D. Big Bang Theory
4. Which of the following is true about the Oscillating Universe Theory?
A. The universe resulted from a series of Big Bang and Big Crunch.
B. The universe is always present and will not change.
C. The universe will not change its density.
D. The universe will not stop expanding.
5. What happens during nucleosynthesis?
A. Matter and antimatter collide with each other.
B. Atomic particles combine with other atomic particles.
C. Dark energy is produced.
D. Matter and antimatter combine with each other.
 6. Which of the following is true about cosmic background radiation?
A. the aftermath of an explosion caused by Big Bang
B. the radiation produced by stars
C. the radiation that caused the destruction of planes
D. the result of colliding of hydrogen particles with helium
7. Which of the following is not true about the theories of the origin of the universe?
A. Oscillating Universe Theory combined the Big Bang and the Big Crunch.
B. Steady State Theory suggests that the universe’s expansion will not end.
C. Big Bang Theory stated that the universe would not end.
D. Big Bang theory is the most accepted theory about the origin of the universe.
8. Which of the following statements are true about the Steady State Theory?
I. The universe will not change its density.
II. The universe came from a singularity.
III. The universe resulted from a series of Big Bang and Big Crunch.
IV. The universe is always present and will not change.
A. I only
B. I and II
C. II and III
D. I ad IV
9. Arrange the following events to show the evolution of the universe as proposed by the Big Bang Theory.
a. nucleosynthesis
b. Singularity
c. formation of planets, comets, and asteroids
d. formation of atomic particles
e. formation of stars and galaxies
f. explosion of the singularity
A. a,b,d,f,e,c
B. b,c,d,a,e,f
C. f,d,c,a,b,e
D. b,f,d,a,e,c
10. Why is the Big Bang Theory the most accepted theory about the origin of the universe?
A. Evidence found is aligned with the explanations of the Big Bang Theory.
B. Its counterparts failed to explain origin of the universe.
C. Other theories suggested that the universe has no start and no end.
D. Big Bang Theory is aligned with the teachings of some religion.

Glossary of Terms
Let’s learn about it!

List of important terms that you should familiarize and remember:

 Baryonic matter - "ordinary" matter consisting of protons, electrons, and neutrons that comprises atoms,
planets, stars, galaxies, and other bodies
 Dark matter - matter that has gravity but does not emit light.
 Dark Energy - a source of anti-gravity; a force that counteracts gravity and causes the universe to expand.
 Light years - the distance light can travel in a year; a unit of length used to measure astronomical distance
 Cosmology - the science of the origin and development of the universe. Modern astronomy is dominated by
the Big Bang theory, which brings together observational astronomy and particle physics.
 Big Bang theory - is the leading explanation about how the universe began. At its simplest, it says the
universe as we know it started with a small singularity, then inflated over the next 13.8 billion years to the
cosmos that we know today.
 Big-bang model - widely held theory of the evolution of the universe. Its essential feature is the emergence of
the universe from a state of extremely high temperature and density—the so-called big bang that occurred
13.8 billion years ago.
 Singularity - a point at which a function takes an infinite value, especially in space-time when matter is
infinitely dense, as at the center of a black hole.
 Inflation - is a theory of exponential expansion of space in the early universe.
 Annihilation - in physics, reaction in which a particle and its antiparticle collide and disappear, releasing
energy. The most common annihilation on Earth occurs between an electron and its antiparticle, a positron.
 Relative abundance - the relative proportion of each element found in the Universe The solar abundance in
terms of numbers of atoms gives 90.8% hydrogen, 9.1% helium, and 0.1% other elements.
 Cosmic microwave background (CMB, CMBR) - in Big Bang cosmology, is electromagnetic radiation as a
remnant from an early stage of the universe, also known as "relic radiation". As the universe expanded, both
the
plasma and the radiation filling it grew cooler.

Reading Resources and Instructional Activities

Can I answer this?

Q1. How old is our universe?

Q2. If you have 1 billion pesos in your hand, how long will it take you to spend that if you spend 1 peso per
second?

Let’s learn about it!

Key Stages of the Big Bang Model

o The universe may have begun as an infinitely hot and dense initial singularity, a point with all of space,
time, matter and energy. This means that there was nowhere, when or what. There is no space around the
singularity
– just nothingness.
o All of it then began to rapidly expand in a process known as inflation. Space itself expanded faster than
the speed of light. In this still hot and dense mass of the universe, pairs of matter and antimatter ( quarks
and antiquarks) were formed from energy, but these pairs cancelled each other back into energy
(annihilation).
 o The universe cooled down as it expanded. An excess of
matter (electrons, protons, neutrons and other particles)
somehow came to be in a highly energetic “plasma soup.”
Photons (light particles) were being scattered everywhere in
this “soup”. Protons and neutrons came together to form
different types of nuclei by nucleosynthesis or nuclear
fusion.
o Much later on, electrons started to bind to ionized protons
and nuclei forming neutral atoms in a process called
recombination. The bound particles no longer scattered
photons so light and energy moved freely across space. The
period was hence known as the “dark ages”. e. Gravity
caused these atoms to collapse onto one another to form stars
and galaxies and eventually, other matter. This still happens
until today. Space also continues to expand at an accelerating
rate, thus increasing the distance between the matters inside
it.

Tips:
There are several limitations and misconceptions associated with discussing the Big Bang Theory. Keep in
mind the following:
• The Big Bang refers to the very start of the whole process called the Big Bang model.
• The Big Bang was NOT an explosion that carried matter outward from a point. It refers to the rapid inflation
of space itself.
• The theory does not explain what caused it or where the singularity came from, BUT the Big Bang model
does not need a cause to be a valid theory. It simply needs to show that observations and evidence validate
its assumptions. The model is a work in progress that we are still finding evidence for until now.

Activity 1. Cosmic inflation simulation

Objective: Conduct an activity that attempts to model cosmic inflation.

Materials:
• Balloons
• Balloon pump (optional)
• Small stickers (any design)

Procedure:
a. Stick small stickers randomly on the surface of the uninflated balloon.
b. Quickly inflate the balloon with a pump or your breath. Observe the stickers.

Q3. Why do the stickers appear to be moving away from each

other? Q4. Are the stickers moving across the balloon?
Q5. Do the stickers themselves grow in size?
Key features and limitations of the demonstration:
• Similar to the Big Bang, a balloon expands very rapidly at the start, then more slowly when it has
already inflated. But some evidence shows that the expansion is now accelerating again.
• The balloon is the universe and space itself. There is no classroom for it to expand into.

Activity 2. Google Search

For Q6 to Q10, search google for the answers.

Q6. What are the instruments used to observe the universe?
Q7. Why do we need to use telescopes that are sensitive to other types of radiation besides visible
light? Q8. Why do astronomers use frequencies other than visible ones when investigating the
universe?
Q9. How do we have pictures of other galaxies?
Q10. What is the most important instrument used by astronomers?

Let’s learn about it!

Structure, Composition, and Age of the Universe

(Watch video on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdPzOWlLrbE&t=7s about the origin of the universe)
• The universe as we currently know it comprises all space and time, and all matter and energy in it.
• It is made of 4.6% baryonic matter (“ordinary” matter consisting of protons, electrons, and neutrons:
atoms, planets, stars, galaxies, nebulae, and other bodies), 24% cold dark matter (matter that has
gravity but does not emit light), and 71.4% dark energy (a source of anti-gravity)
• Dark matter can explain what may be holding galaxies together for the reason that the low total mass
is insufficient for gravity alone to do so while dark energy can explain the observed accelerating
expansion of the universe.
• Hydrogen, helium, and lithium are the three most abundant elements.
• Stars - the building block of galaxies-are born out of clouds of gas and dust in galaxies. Instabilities
within the clouds eventually results into gravitational collapse, rotation, heating up, and transformation
into a protostar-the hot core of a future star as thermonuclear reactions set in.
• Stellar interiors are like furnaces where elements are synthesized or combined/fused together. Most
stars such as the Sun belong to the so-called “main sequence stars.” In the cores of such stars,
hydrogen atoms are fused through thermonuclear reactions to make helium atoms. Massive main
sequence stars burn up their hydrogen faster than smaller stars. Stars like our Sun burnup hydrogen in
about 10 billion years.

Tips:
Hydrogen and Helium as the most abundant elements in the universe. Having the lowest mass, these are the
first elements to be formed in the Big Bang Model of the Origin of the Universe.
• A star's energy comes from combining light
elements into heavier elements by fusion, or
"nuclear burning" (nucleosynthesis). In small
stars like the sun, H burning is the fusion of 4 H
nuclei (protons) into a He nucleus (2 protons + 2
neutrons).
• Forming He from H gives off lots of energy (i.e. a
natural hydrogen bomb).
• Nucleosynthesis requires very high T. The
minimum T for H fusion is 5x106 oC.

Birth, evolution, death, and rebirth of stars

• The remaining dust and gas may end up as they
are or as planets, asteroids, or other bodies in
the accompanying planetary system.
• A galaxy is a cluster of billions of stars and
clusters of galaxies form superclusters. In
between the clusters is practically an empty
space. This organization of matter in the
universe suggests that it is indeed clumpy at a
certain scale. But at a large scale, it appears
homogeneous and isotropic.
• Based on recent data, the universe is 13.8 billion
years old. The diameter of the universe is possibly infinite but should be at least 91 billion light-years
(1 light-year = 9.4607 × 1012 km). Its density is 4.5 x 10-31 g/cm3.

The Milky Way Galaxy

Our Sun (a star) and all the planets around
it are part of a galaxy known as the Milky
Way Galaxy. A galaxy is a large group of
stars, gas, and dust bound together by gravity.
They come in a variety of shapes and sizes.
The Milky Way is a large barred spiral
galaxy. All the stars we see in the night sky
are in our own Milky Way Galaxy. Our
galaxy is called the Milky Way because it
appears as a milky band of light in the sky
when you see it in a really dark area.
It is very difficult to count the number of
stars in the Milky Way from our position
inside the galaxy. Our best estimates tell us
that the Milky Way is made up of
approximately 100 billion stars. These stars
form a large disk whose diameter is about
100,000 light years. Our Solar System is
about 25,000 light years away from the center
of our galaxy – we live in the suburbs of our
galaxy. Just as the Earth goes around the
Sun, the Sun goes around the center of the Milky Way. It takes 250 million years for our Sun and the
solar system to go all the way around the center of the Milky Way.
 Let’s learn about it!

Theories about the Origin of the

Universe Non-scientific Thought
Ancient Egyptians believed in many gods and myths which narrate that the world arose from an infinite
sea at the first rising of the sun. • The Kuba people of Central Africa tell the story of a creator god Mbombo
(or Bumba) who, alone in a dark and water-covered Earth, felt an intense stomach pain and then vomited the
stars, sun, and moon. • In India, there is the narrative that gods sacrificed Purusha, the primal man whose
head, feet, eyes, and mind became the sky, earth, sun, and moon respectively. • The monotheistic religions of
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam claim that a supreme being created the universe, including man and other
living organisms.
Big Bang Theory
The most accepted theory about the origin of the universe is the
Big Bang Theory. Georges Lemaître, a Belgian priest, is considered
as the first proponent of the Big Bang Theory. The theory was
supported by other scientists such as Edwin Hubble, Arno Penzias,
and Robert Wilson who presented pieces of evidence to support it.

The Big Bang Theory states that the universe started as a

“singularity”—an area predicted to be in the core of a black hole
with a very high temperature and density, which compressed matter
with its intense gravitational pressure.

Singularity
The presence of the singularity is still a mystery to many
scientists, but they stated that this singularity constantly expands
and cools. The rate of expansion is almost equal to the rate of
cooling; at this moment,
there is a buildup of intense heat which leads to the increase in the expansion of the singularity.

The intense heat also leads to the creation of matter and antimatter that are being destroyed every time
they collide with each other. During this moment, the number of matter dominates over the number of
antimatter. This started the dominance of matter, or atomic particles, in the early universe. These particles
undergo nucleosynthesis wherein they combine to form another atomic particle.

Nucleosynthesis
Nucleosynthesis leads to the formation of chemicals such as hydrogen and helium. These chemicals then
lead to the formation of the stars and the galaxies. The presence of the stars leads to the formation of larger
matter such as planets, comets, and other celestial bodies. Ever since the Big Bang happened, the universe
continuously expands, and the occurrence of the cosmic background radiation was suggested to be an
aftermath of the explosion that happened 20 billion years ago.
Steady State Theory
The Steady State Theory proposed by Hermann Bondi,
Thomas Gold, and Fred Hoyle, suggests that the universe
has always been there and will always be present. It also
conveys that the universe always looks the same in any time
or space but continuously expands while simultaneously
creating matter,
maintaining the density of the universe; hence, the name Steady State.

The Steady State Theory is so simple that it was widely accepted even before the proposal of the Big
Bang Theory. The discovery of the cosmic background radiation significantly supported the explanations
given by the Big Bang Theory, which led many scientists to reject the Steady State Theory. This theory first
explained that the cosmic background radiation is a result of a supernova. But after a thorough research, it
was proven that it is equal in any direction of the universe and could not only be a result of many
supernovae.

Oscillating Universe Theory

The Oscillating Universe Theory, also referred
to as the Pulsating Theory, discusses that the
universe is expanding and will contract once all
the energy after the Big Bang is used up. This
theory, proposed by Richard Tolman, can be
described as the combination of the Big Bang and
the Big Crunch.

The Big Crunch occurs when the universe

expands and eventually reverses, then collapses
causing a singularity or the formation of another
Big Bang. The Oscillating Universe Theory
suggests that
once the universe reverses and attains the point of singularity, another universe will be born. This is referred
to as the Big Bounce. Tolman theorized that the universe may be first in the cycle and could be a result of a
previous Big Bounce event.

Just like in the Steady State Theory, scientists discovered many loopholes in the Oscillating Universe
Theory because it was said that for the universe to collapse, energy must be present. This theory suggests
that the universe will collapse on its own after it reaches its full expansion, which violates some laws of

Let’s learn about it!

physics.
Evidence for the Big Bang Model
There are several key areas of observational support for the big bang model. These are:

Observed recession of galaxies: The consensus among astronomers is that Hubble's relationship
between the distance to galaxies and their recession velocity is due to the expansion of space. More distant
galaxies or clusters of galaxies exhibit higher redshift of their spectral lines than closer galaxies. This is
then interpreted as more distant galaxies receding from us faster than closer ones. Note it is important to
realize that it is the space between galaxies that is expanding. Galaxies themselves do not appear to expand
as the local effects of gravity dominate over any space expansion.
 Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation: In 1965 two scientists working for Bell Telephone
Laboratories, Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson were adapting a horn-shaped antenna near New York for use
in radio astronomy. They encountered noise in the system and despite repeated and thorough attempts were
unable to remove it or find its cause. They eventually realized that this "noise" was in fact remnant radiation
from the big bang. Such radiation had been predicted by Gamow in the late 1940s. As the Universe
expanded it cooled so that today the background radiation corresponds to a temperature of 2.725 K and has
a black body spectrum.

This plot shows the black-body nature of

the cosmic microwave background radiation.
The spectrum corresponds to background
radiation with a temperature of 2.725 K. These
measurements were made by the FIRAS
instrument on the COBE satellite. The error
bars for each measurement are smaller than
the width of the red line.
Over the last 15 years observations of this
cosmic microwave background radiation
(CMBR) from space-based missions such as
COBE and WMAP and balloon-based
missions such as BOOMERanG that operated
in the Antarctic have provided a wealth of
details. We can now view the slight
fluctuations or anisotropies in the CMBR with
unprecedented detail and compare
observations with theory more thoroughly.
The image below shows how
the resolution of the CMBR has improved since its discovery in the 1960s. These slight fluctuations in the
CMBR intensity are thought to provide information about slight variations in density in the early
Universe.

Comparion of CMBR from 1960s, COBE

and WMAP missions.

Comparison of the level of detail of

fluctuations in the CMBR from the 1960s
through to the current WMAP mission.
Ratios of primordial elements.
Astronomers are able to measure the relative
amounts of the light nuclei hydrogen,
deuterium (an isotope of hydrogen with one
proton and one neutron), helium-3, helium-4
and lithium-7 in distant, unmixed clouds of
primordial gas. The relative abundances of
these nuclei correspond with the calculated
predicted ratios from the Big Bang model.
Observed evolution of extragalactic objects over cosmic time. Evidence for this initially came from
radio surveys which showed that the more distant (hence older) parts of the Universe appeared to contain
stronger radio sources than the local region. Quasars, for instance, are not found in our local region but
are far more common at redshifts of 2 or 3.
 Recent observations by the Hubble Space
Telescope and other telescopes have provided
our deepest ever views of the Universe and
clearly show evidence of galactic evolution
and earlier stages in their formation.
Evolution of spiral galaxies

Recent observations by the HST show the

evolution of spiral galaxies over time.

Formation of Matter
All matter, including the atoms in our
bodies, the air we breathe and the gas in the
Sun is composed is combinations of
fundamental particles that were created during
the Big Bang
and subsequent evolution of the Universe. Before giving an outline of the key stages in the formation of
matter we need to review the fundamental particles and forces in the Universe.

I need to explore!

Q11. Aside from the theories discussed in this lesson, what other theories can you suggest to explain the
origin of the universe? You may use the internet to search for other theories.

I should try it!

Q12. Choose one of the theories about the origin of the universe. Create a concept map illustrating the
events that happen in the universe as explained by that theory.

What do I think?

Q13. Do you think the universe has a beginning or has it always existed? Explain your answer.
Q14. What is the fate of the universe? Will the universe continue to expand or will it eventually contract
because of gravity?

 Big Bang Theory states that the universe started as a singularity that exploded. This explosion
resulted to the formation of all the matter in universe.
  Steady State Theory discusses that the universe has always been there and will always be present.
 Oscillating Universe Theory discusses that the universe is expanding and will contract once all the
energy after the Big Bang is used up. The collapsing of the universe will then lead to the formation of
a new universe.

How much I have learned?

The following questions will determine how much you have learned from the module.

Posttest

Essay
1. Describes the structure and composition of the Universe.
2. Explain the source of a star's energy.
3. Explains the concept of the Red Shift and how it used as an evidence for an expanding universe.
4. Describes the cosmic microwave background radiation and its significance.
5. State the different hypotheses that preceded the Big Bang Theory of the origin of the universe
6. Explain the origin and evolution of the Universe according to the Big Bang Theory.

References and Links

(1) http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/educators/lesson_plans.html
(2) http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/educators/materials.html
(3) http://www.astro.princeton.edu/~dns/teachersguide/website.pdf
(4) http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/universe/WMAP_Universe.pdf (accessed 3 October 2015)
(5) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universe (accessed 4 October 2015)
(6)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPVvgJoddO4&list=PLrhG2NtyHAZuPW5HP3cyenGGTUqUhumeQ
(accessed 25 October 2015)
(7)Steinhardt P and N Turok. Endless Universe,
http://www.physics.princeton.edu/~steinh/endlessuniverse/askauthors.html (accessed 13 October 2015)
(8)https://www.space.com/13352-universe-history-future-cosmos-special- report.html#:~:text=The
%20widely%20accepted%20theory%20for,now%20in%2010%20easy%20steps.
(9) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdPzOWlLrbE&t=7s
(10) https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/objects/milkyway1.html
(11) https://www.atnf.csiro.au/outreach/education/senior/cosmicengine/bigbang.html#genrelativity
(12) http://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/how-do-stars-form-and-evolve/ (accessed: 12 october 2015)
(13) http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/solarsys/solarsys.html (accessed 12 October 2015)
(14)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Solar_System_formation_and_evolution_hypotheses#Classification_o
f_the_theories (accessed 13 October 2015)
(15) "The Origin of the Universe, Earth, and Life." National Academy of Sciences. Science and Creationism: A
View from the National Academy of Sciences, Second Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies
Press, 1999. http://www.nap.edu/read/6024/chapter/3#8 (accessed 2 October 2015)
(16) http://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/what-powered-the-big-bang/ (accessed 5 October 2015)
 13

(17) Activities for teaching of the Universe: http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/science-society/activities-universe

and http://molebash.com/doppler/horn/horn1.htm
(18) Short article: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/?origin-universe
(19) The Origin of the Universe:
https://link.quipper.com/en/organizations/547ffb0fd2b76d0002002393/curriculum#curriculum
(20) Earth and Life Science TG pp. 19-30

EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE

K to 12 – Senior High School Core Subject