Maryhill College

Basic Education Department

Lucena City

SELF- PACED LEARNING MODULE

Learning Area Earth and Life Science/ Earth Science

Quarter First
Week Three
Lesson Title Earth Subsystem

Learning Resources

A. Textbook
B. ICT Integration: PPT presentation, Video, stored learning packets in OTG-
Flashdrive

Objectives
At the end of the lesson, you shall have:
1. defined the concept of a system;
2. recognized the Earth as a system composed of subsystems;
3. discussed the historical development of the concept of Earth System;
4. valued the importance of earth system as one system; and
5. illustrated how the biosphere is capable of regulating its environment.

Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELC)

 Explain that the Earth is consist of four subsystems across whose boundaries
matter and energy flow
Nina Kristal R. Malaluan 11-Fidelity

A. Getting Started
Can you share your ideas about the concept of ecosystem and interaction?
My idea about in ecosystem is a community of organisms and their physical environment. The
idea of an ecosystem has been adopted for social and economic systems. An ecosystem is
defined by the interactions between the living and non-living things in any given area.
Ecosystem is related to energy flow and material cycles within and outside the system.

These concepts about ecosystem were taught in your junior high school. Now, observe
the figure and answer the following questions.
 1. What do you know about El
Niño?
El Niño refers to the large-scale ocean-
atmosphere climate interaction linked
to a periodic warming in sea
surface temperatures across the central and
east-central Equatorial Pacific. The cycle
begins when warm water in the
western tropical Pacific Ocean
shifts eastward along the equator toward the coast
of South America. Normally, this warm
water pools near Indonesia and the
Philippines.

2. What is your experience regarding El Niño?

My experience regarding El Niño is the lack of water. El Niño are causing a wide range of
health problems, including disease outbreaks, malnutrition, heat stress and respiratory
diseases. Rising temperatures and more variable rainfall patterns can often reduce crop yields,
compromising food security. There is limited access to food, water, and sanitation.
Philippines has been experiencing severe drought triggered by El-Niño, causing the loss of
agriculture.

 El Niño phenomenon starts with the unusual warming of the central Pacific
Ocean accompanied by the weakening of the trade winds. The warming of the
central Pacific Ocean results to an eastward shift of the low pressure area (away
from the Indo Pacific).
 The origin of the term ‘El Niño’ as a decrease in fish catch off the coast of Peru
near Christmas time. Emphasize that this is a biologic response.
 El Niño is not limited to atmospheric conditions. It is the result of hydrosphere
(ocean)-atmosphere interaction.
 The subsystems of the Earth (atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and
lithosphere) interact with each other.

Proceed to the discussion about the Earth Subsystems.

 B. Exploring the Lesson

Read the lesson content below for you to have a general overview about Earth System.

Earth System
 A set of interconnected components that are interacting to form a unified whole.

 The arrows in the diagram indicate the interaction among the

components.

 Earth system is essentially a closed system.

It receives energy from the sun and
returns some of this energy to
space.

 A closed system is a system in

which there is only an exchange of
heat or energy and no exchange of
matter.

Figure 1: The
Earth system

Atmosphere:
• The atmosphere is the thin gaseous layer that envelopes the lithosphere.
• The present atmosphere is composed of 78% nitrogen (N), 21% oxygen (O2), 0.9% argon,
and trace amount of other gases.
• One of the most important processes by which the heat on the Earth's surface is redistributed
is through atmospheric circulation.
• There is also a constant exchange of heat and moisture between the atmosphere and the
hydrosphere through the hydrologic cycle.

Lithosphere/ Geosphere:
• The lithosphere includes the rocks of the crust and mantle, the metallic liquid outer core, and
the solid metallic inner core.
• Briefly discuss the Plate Tectonics as an important process shaping the surface of the Earth.
The primary driving mechanism is the Earth's internal heat, such as that in mantle convection.

Biosphere:
• The biosphere is the set of all life forms on Earth.
• It covers all ecosystems—from the soil to the rainforest, from mangroves to coral reefs, and
from the plankton-rich ocean surface to the deep sea.
• For the majority of life on Earth, the base of the food chain comprises photosynthetic
organisms. During photosynthesis, CO2 is sequestered from the atmosphere, while oxygen is
released as a byproduct. The biosphere is a CO2 sink, and therefore, an important part of the
carbon cycle.Sunlight is not necessary for life.

Hydrosphere:
• About 70% of the Earth is covered with liquid water (hydrosphere) and much of it is in the
form of ocean water.
• Only 3% of Earth's water is fresh: two-thirds are in the form of ice, and the remaining
one-third is present in streams, lakes, and groundwater.

 The oceans are

important sinks for CO2 through
direct exchange with the atmosphere
and indirectly through the weathering
of rocks.

 Heat is absorbed and

redistributed on the surface of the
Earth through ocean circulation

The origin of the systems approach

to the study of the Earth
• One of the first scientist to push for a more
integrated or holistic approach in the understanding of the universe (and by extension
the Earth) was Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt. He considered the
universe as one interacting entity.
• The term "biosphere" was popularized by Vladimir Vernadsky (1863-1945), a Russian
Ukranian scientist who hypothesized that life is a geological force that shapes the Earth.
• In the 1970s, the Gaia Hypothesis was jointly developed by James Lovelock, an English
scientist/naturalist, and Lynn Margulis, an American microbiologist. According to the Gaia
Hypothesis. the biosphere is a self-regulating system that is capable of controlling its physical
and chemical environment.
• In 1983, NASA advisory council established the Earth Systems Science Committee. The
committee, chaired by Moustafa Chahine, published a ground breaking report Earth System
Science: A Program For Global Change in 1988. For the first time, scientist were able to
demonstrate how the many systems interact.

To check how well you have understood the lesson, do the following activities.

C. Assessing Learning
For activity 1, perform the following;
Activity 1.1: Illustration. Using a pencil and a piece of paper, draw or illustrate the field
area. Take note of the presence of vegetation, soil cover, wildlife, rockout-crops, and bodies of
water. You are asked to think how energy and mass are transferred in the different components
of the area.

Activity 1.2: Labelling. You

need to drawing
Write you answer on the

Condensation
 picture.

Precipitation
Evaporation Use the following terms to complete the cycle:
- condensation
Transpiration - precipitation
- evaporation
- transpiration
- infiltration
- surface run-off
Infiltration
Surface run-off

Activity No. 2 “Fill me Up”. Give an example or scenario how a system

interact with another system b by answering the following:

Atmosphere Lithosphere
An example of atmosphere is the ozone and Lithosphere is defined as the rock and
Hydrosphere
other layers which make up the Earth's sky crust surface Biosphere
that covers the Earth. An
as we see it. An example of atmosphere is example of lithosphere is the Rocky
Hydrosphere, discontinuous layer of water The biosphere is the area of the planet
the air
Congratulations’!and gases
Were contained
done Itwith inside a
your activities! Mountain range in western North
at or near Earth’s surface. includes all where organisms live, including the
greenhouse. America. The rocky lithosphere includes
liquid and frozen surface waters, ground and the air. The biosphere is the
The concept part of the upper mantle and crust. All
groundwater heldwhich I learn
in soil and from
rock, the
anddiscussion
space ison or near the Earth’s surface
About thewater
earth system, it can be placed terrestrial
fourplanets have lithospheres.
atmospheric vapor. Hydrosphere is into where
one of land, major subsystems:
air, and land, with
water interact water,
living things, or air. These four subsystems
made up of all the water and watery layers are called spheres. They are the "lithosphere"
each other to support life. An example of
(land),
of the"hydrosphere" (water),
Earth. All of the oceans, "biosphere"
lakes, seas (living things), and "atmosphere" (air). The
the biosphere is where live occurs on,
primary importance of studying the interaction between the four subsystems is to understand
and clouds are an example of the above and below the surface of Earth.
how different aspects of nature correlate to each other. The atmosphere is an important part of
hydrosphere.
what makes Earth livable. It blocks some of the Sun's dangerous rays from reaching Earth. It
traps heat, making Earth a comfortable temperature. And the oxygen within our atmosphere is
essential for life. The lithosphere is largely important because it is the area that the biosphere
(the living things on earth inhabit and live upon. If it weren't for the tectonic plates of the
lithosphere there would be no change on Earth. Most of the chemical reactions that occur in
life, involve substances that are dissolved in water. Without water, cells would not be able to
carry out their normal functions and life could not exist. Water provides a habitat The
hydrosphere provides an important place for many animals and plants to live. Life on the earth
entirely upon water. Hence is known as water planet. It plays a vital role in maintaining the
ecosystems that is the life of organisms and their mutual interactions. And biosphere is very
important to regulate the climate. The biosphere can also be referred to as the zone of life on
Earth. Without why earth why the biosphere, life on Earth as we know it would not exist. The
Earth system includes other components and processes, biophysical and human that are
important for its functioning. These subsystems are interconnected by processes and cycles,
which, over time, intermittently store, transform and/or transfer matter and energy throughout
the whole Earth system in ways that are governed by the laws of conservation of matter and
energy.

It’s time to apply the knowledge you gained after completing the different tasks.
Below is an activity to further deepen your understanding.

D. Enhancing Skills
James Lovelock use the “Daisy World Model” to illustrate how the biosphere is capable of
regulating its environment. Use the space provided for you report.
Your task is to write a two page report (50-100 words, with illustrations) on the “Daisy World
Model” of James Lovelock.

“Daisy World Model”

This is Daisy World, a place where only two things live black daisies and white
daisies. In the early days, the atmosphere of Daisy World is cooler and black daisies
thrive in these cooler temperatures. The black daisy population does so well in fact
that it absorbs more energy and begins the warm the little planet. But now it's too
warm for black daisies, but it's just right for the white daisies to blossom and expand.
And while the planet is covered with more and more white daisies, they begin to
reflect more energy back into space. We call this amount of reflectance albedo. The
more reflective surface of the planet, the higher its albedo. We can think of it as a
percentage of how much energy is coming in and then bouncing back out into space.
For instance, the albedo of a perfect mirror would be one hundred percent. If we had
a completely black surface the albedo would be zero percent. Or a water world, that
could be twenty percent. Now the white daisies cool the planet again, and that makes
it more favorable for black daisies to thrive once again. It does illustrate how a
change in one environmental condition can cause a change in a second condition,
which in turn, can change the first condition again. We call this a feedback loop. The
Daisy World model is an example of a negative feedback loop because the initial
changes to the climate are muted by the combination of black and white daisies on
earth. And that maintaining a population on Earth requires a delicate balance with the
right organisms and the right range of environmental conditions.
E. Reflection
 Watch a short video entitled “A letter written in 2070” and reflect on the
message of the video. You can open the video in folder 1 video 3 (a letter
written in 2070). Using the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VBeiJ_YNn8 .
Write your brief reflection below.

It is a story made for people to realize how important conservation of water is. It
narrates events in 2070 that would most likely be experienced by people such as
extreme thirst which excruciatingly leads to serious outcomes like transmitted diseases
or worst, death. We can’t live without water therefore, we should preserve the reason of
life. If we waste a lot of water maybe we will have many problems of health. We need
to preserve the hugest amount of water. Don’t waste it in unnecessary things, it is for us
and for our planet. Water is the most important thing we have. We use water every day
of our lives. It is required in almost everything we do. We need water for drinking,
bathing, cooking, washing, and other countless activities. Every species on this planet
needs water to live and survive. Without water, the aquatic life will stand no chance of
survival. It is highly important that we save water that is essential to our sustainability.
Every person on earth needs water to survive. We must start by not wasting water and
we should save it, so that in the future it won’t happen what happened in the video. The
video is emphasizing the kind of life the present would probably give the future
mankind. If everyone knows how to conserve water and other resources, I believe the
future generation will not suffer. We must help save the earth now. I hope for the future
generation to have a healthy life. Water might be one of the most undervalued things
there is in the world. They do not realize how water can help in the survival of the earth.
We have grown up taking water for granted because all the basic needs we take care for
in our life. Water is a basic necessity for sustenance of life and for us to live. This helps
get a point across that water equals life and for sustainability of life we need to save
water for us and for our future generations.