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Midterms Module 1 Earth Science Universe
Midterms Module 1 Earth Science Universe
Outline:
1. The Universe
a. Structure, Composition, and Age of the Universe
b. Origin of the Universe
2. The Solar System
a. Origin of the Solar System
b. Planets in the Solar System
3. Earth as the only Habitable Planet
4. Earth Systems and Subsystems
a. Geosphere
b. Hydrosphere
c. Atmosphere
d. Biosphere
Learning Objectives:
After completing the module, the students should be able to:
describe the structure and composition of the Universe;
state the different hypothesis that preceded the Big Bang Theory of the Origin of the Universe;
discuss the different hypotheses explaining the origin of the solar system.
define the concept of a system; and
recognize the Earth as a system composed of subsystems.
The universe as we currently know 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. It comprises hydrogen, helium, and lithium as the three most abundant elements.
Stars are the building block of galaxies which 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 which is 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 burn up hydrogen in about 10 billion years. 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 super clusters. In between the clusters
is practically an empty space.
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) with a density
of 4.5 x 10-31 g/cm3.
Earth Science
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Expanding Universe
In 1929, Edwin Hubble announced his significant discovery of the “redshift” and its interpretation
that galaxies are moving away from each other, hence as evidence for an expanding universe, just as
predicted by Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity. He observed that spectral lines of starlight made
to pass through a prism are shifted toward the red part of the electromagnetic spectrum, example
toward the band of lower frequency; thus, the inference that the star or galaxy must be moving away
from us. Red shift as evidence for an expanding universe show positions of the absorptions lines for
helium for light coming from the Sun are shifted towards the red end as compared with those for a
distant star.
A. B.
Figure 2. Red shift as evidence for an expanding universe.
A. The positions of the absorptions lines for helium for light coming from the Sun
B. are shifted towards the red end as compared with those for a distant star.
(Source: http://www.cyberphysics.co.uk/Q&A/KS4/space/diagrams/
spectra.png)
A. Non-scientific Thoughts
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. The monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam claim that a supreme being
created the universe, including man and other living organisms.
B. Scientific Thoughts
Earth Science
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From time zero (13.8 billion years ago) until 10−43 second later, all matter and energy in the
universe existed as a hot, dense, tiny state. It then underwent extremely rapid, exponential inflation
until 10−32 second later after which and until 10 seconds from time zero, conditions allowed the
existence of only quarks, hadrons, and leptons. Then, Big Bang nucleosynthesis took place and
produced protons, neutrons, atomic nuclei, and then hydrogen, helium, and lithium until 20 minutes
after time zero when sufficient cooling did not allow further nucleosynthesis. From then on until 380,000
years, the cooling universe entered a matter-dominated period when photons decoupled from matter
and light could travel freely as still observed today in the form of cosmic microwave background
radiation.
As the universe continued to cool down, matter collected into clouds giving rise to only stars
after 380,000 years and eventually galaxies would form after 100 million years from time zero during
which, through nucleosynthesis in stars, carbon and elements heavier than carbon were produced.
From 9.8 billion years until the present, the universe became dark-energy dominated and underwent
accelerating expansion. At about 9.8 billion years after the big bang, the solar system was formed.
The solar system comprises the Sun, eight planets, dwarf planets such as Pluto, satellites,
asteroids, comets, other minor bodies such as those in the Kuiper belt and interplanetary dust. The
Kuiper belt lies beyond Neptune while the Oort cloud marks the outer boundary of the solar system
and is composed mostly of icy objects. The solar system is located in the Milky Way galaxy - a huge
disc- and spiral-shaped aggregation of about at least 100 billion stars and other bodies. This galaxy is
about 100 million light years across.The solar system revolves around the galactic center once in about
240 million years; The Milky Way is part of the so-called Local Group of galaxies, which in turn is part of
the Virgo supercluster of galaxies; Any hypothesis regarding the origin of the solar system should
conform to or explain both large scale and small scale properties of the solar system.
Earth Science
Governor Pack Road, Baguio City, Philippines 2600
Tel. Nos.: (+6374) 442-3316, 442-8220; 444-2786; Science, Technology, Engineering and
442-2564; 442-8219; 442-8256; Fax No.: 442-6268
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Any acceptable scientific thought on the origin of the solar system has to be consistent with and
supported by information about it (e.g. large and small scale features, composition). There will be a
need to revise currently accepted ideas if the data no longer support them.
Many theories have been proposed since about four centuries ago. Each has weaknesses in
explaining all characteristics of the solar system. A few are discussed below:
1. Nebular Hypothesis
In the 1700s Emanuel Swedenborg, Immanuel Kant, and Pierre-Simon Laplace independently
thought of a rotating gaseous cloud that cools and contracts in the middle to form the sun and the
rest into a disc that become the planets. This nebular theory failed to account for the distribution of
angular momentum in the solar system.
Earth Science
Governor Pack Road, Baguio City, Philippines 2600
Tel. Nos.: (+6374) 442-3316, 442-8220; 444-2786; Science, Technology, Engineering and
442-2564; 442-8219; 442-8256; Fax No.: 442-6268
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2. Encounter Hypotheses
Buffon’s (1749) Sun-comet encounter that sent matter to form planet; James Jeans’ (1917) sun-
star encounter that would have drawn from the sun matter that would condense to planets, T.C.
Chamberlain and F. R. Moulton’s (1904) planetesimal hypothesis involving a star much bigger than the
Sun passing by the Sun and draws gaseous filaments from both out which planetisimals were formed.
rotation. Collision of the Earth with large object produces the moon. This is supported by the
composition of the moon very similar to the Earth's Mantle.
When the proto-Sun is established as a star, its solar wind blasts hydrogen, helium, and volatiles
from the inner planets to beyond Mars to form the gas giants leaving behind a system we know today.
A planet is a celestial body that is in orbit around the Sun, has sufficient mass for its self- gravity
to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a nearly round shape; and has cleared the
neighborhood around its orbit.
Dwarf planets are celestial body that has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit and
is not a satellite while small solar system bodies are all other objects except satellites orbiting around
the sun such as asteroids, comets, and other small celestial bodies.
o The Earth makes a complete rotation on its axis once every 23.9 hours.
o It takes Earth 265,25 days to complete one trip around the Sun – year. In order
for calendars to maintain their consistency with this orbit, every 4 years one
day is added – this is called a leap day – as well as a leap year.
4. Mars o The 4th planet from the Sun
o 2nd smallest planet in the solar system
o Often described as the “Red Planet” due to its reddish appearance
o Mars is about 227.9 million km / 141.6 million mi away from the Sun.
o One rotation/day on Mars is completed within 24.6 hours while a whole trip
around the Sun or year, is completed within 669.6 days.
OUTER PLANETS/JOVIAN PLANETS
5. Jupiter o 5th planet from the Sun and the largest planet in our solar system
o It is two and a half times more massive than all other planets in the solar system
combined.
o Made primarily of gases and is therefore known as a “gas giant”
o 4th brightest object in the solar system
o It is the biggest planet of the Solar System, with a mean radius of 43.440 miles /
69.911 km. Almost 11 times bigger than Earth.
6. Saturn o Saturn – also nicknamed the “Ringed Planet”.
o 6th planet from the Sun and the most distant that can be seen with the naked
eye
o Though the volume of Saturn is about 764 times that of Earth, it is the least dense
planet in the solar system due to its gaseous composition.
o Saturn has the second-shortest day in the solar system, completing a rotation
quite quickly, in about 10.6 hours.
7. Uranus o Uranus is the sky god and the first ruler
o 7th planet from the Sun; has the 3rd largest planetary radius and 4th largest
planetary mass in the Solar System
o Coldest planet in the Solar system that has 27 moons.
o The density of Uranus 1.27 g/cm3 makes it the second least dense planet, after
Saturn.
o The interior rotation of Uranus is completed in about 17 hours, 14 minutes.
8. Neptune o Neptune is the fourth largest and the farthest planet of the Solar System with
the most powerful wind speeds out of all the planets.
o Neptune has an average distance of 2.8 billion miles/4.5 billion kilometers away
from the Sun.
o Can complete a trip around the Sun in about 165 years with a day completed
in 16.11 hours.
o It spins on its axis very rapidly and has similar composition with Uranus.
DWARF PLANETS
1. Ceres o Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt, but was reclassified a dwarf
planet in 2006 – even though it’s 14 times smaller than Pluto.
2. Pluto o Pluto is smaller than Earth’s moon, Pluto was a planet up until 2006 and has
five of its own moons.
3. Haumea o Haumea lives in the Kuiper belt and is about the same size as Pluto. It spins
very fast, which distorts its shape, making it look like a football.
4. Makemake o Also in the Kuiper belt, Makemake is the second brightest object in the
belt, behind Pluto. Makemake (and Eris) are the reason Pluto is no longer a
planet.
5. Eris o Eris is the same size as Pluto, but three times further from the Sun. remote
dwarf planet.
- this indicates that massive stars would have the least possibility to have habitable planets
since they only live for relatively period.
- Sun- medium mass star can survive long enough for life to develop.
2. The planet should exist in a region where water could remain liquid.
- The planet must be located in the Goldilocks Zone- orbits of planets that are neither too hot nor
too cold for life to exist
- A planet with the right temperature enables water to remain in its liquid form which is necessary
to maintain life. Temperatures: a) High- would change the phase of water from liquid to gas ,
b.) Low- would change its phase from liquid to soild.
- Carbon - has unique properties that are the basis of life. Has four valence atoms which enables
it to easily bond with other carbon atoms and create long complex molecules and polymers
Ex: lipids, carbohydrates, proteins and nucleic acids
The Earth is subdivided into different spheres. These spheres interact with one another,
enabling Earth to sustain life. The interaction of the spheres is what makes Earth system, where one
sphere cannot act independently from the rest. 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.
o Exo or Celestial Sphere -(Outside or heavenly sphere ) includes the whole universe beyond the
top of the atmopshere - the sun, moon, and stars as well as the asteroids and the little bits of
dust that make meteors when they hit the atmosphere.
2. Lithosphere/ Geosphere
The lithosphere includes the rocks of the crust and mantle, the metallic liquid outer
core, and the solid metallic inner core. The Plate Tectonics are important processes shaping
the surface of the Earth. The primary driving mechanism is the Earth's internal heat, such as
that in mantle convection.
B. ) Mantle- silica- rich layer lies between crust and core (40 km-2, 897 km below the surface)
- Mohorovicic Discontinuity- boundary between crust and mantle; temperature is about
2,2000 C.
3. Biosphere
- 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
Earth Science
Governor Pack Road, Baguio City, Philippines 2600
Tel. Nos.: (+6374) 442-3316, 442-8220; 444-2786; Science, Technology, Engineering and
442-2564; 442-8219; 442-8256; Fax No.: 442-6268
Email: email@uc-bcf.edu.ph; Website: www.uc-bcf.edu.ph Mathematics
MODULE I GRADE 11
is released as a by-product. The biosphere is a 𝐶𝑂2 sink, and therefore, an important part
of the carbon cycle.
- ANTHROPHOSPHERE- “Human Sphere” - includes all parts of the Earth that has been
modified by humans.
Reference Material/s:
Leopoldo de Silva, Ph.D. (2016)Teaching Guide for Senior High School Earth Science, Commission on Higher Education,C.P.
Garcia Ave., Diliman, Quezon City
I. . (50 Pts)