EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE

Quarter 1
Earth Science

Learner’s Activity Module

Photo Credit: https://youmatter.world/en/definition/ecosystem-definition-example/

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The Universe, The Solar

Chapter 1: System, and the Earth
 Fig. 1. The Big Bang Theory
According to the widely accepted Big Bang Theory, the Universe came from a very dense particle that
suddenly expanded in all directions 13.8 billion years ago. Expanding matter formed galaxies with billions of
stars Our star, the sun, formed from the gases and dust in the Milky Way Galaxy. The masses whirling
around the sun formed into planets. One of which is our Earth, which eventually cooled into different
internal layers.
The question, nevertheless still remains. Why did the Big Bang happen? What caused it to “explode” and
expand? In almost all historical civilizations, the origin, the beginning of the natural world and the universe,
has been invariably attributed to supra-humans or to divine beings. The great monotheistic religions teach
that everything came about by God’s creation. Creation started by an act of his Divine Will. Therefore, the
Universe has a beginning. Does it have an end?

II. LESSON OBJECTIVES:

Lesson Standard:
 The formation of the universe and the solar system.
 The subsystems (geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere) that make up the Earth.
 The Earth’s internal structure.
Learning Competencies:
 Recognize the uniqueness of Earth, being the only planet in the solar system with properties
necessary to support life.
 Explain that the Earth consist of four subsystems across whose boundaries matter and energy
flow.

III. LESSON PROPER:

By the middle of the 20th century, there were two main

theories to explain the origin of the universe: The Big
 Fig. 2. The Universe

Bang and the Steady State Theories. The Big Bang theory holds that this universe is expanding. In the
past, the expanding universe must have been denser; and if we go back to the very beginning, it must have
been a point or a particle of infinite density. The Steady State theory holds that while the universe is
expanding, matter is continuously created. Thus, the density of the whole universe remains the same. The
universe has always been and will always be with the same density. It is an infinite universe.
Universe is described as an enormous empty space that holds small particle to the biggest galaxy. Scientist
believe that about 13.7 billion years ago that the big explosion happened that set the universe into motion
which is known as Big Bang explosion.
Evolution of the Universe according to the Big Bang Theory:
A. The age of the universe
brings us back to time
zero, 13.8 billion years
ago. At time zero, the
universe was a hot,
dense particle containing
all the matter and
energy.
B. From 10-43 second to 10-
32
second, it underwent
very rapid, exponential
inflation.
C. From 10-32 second until
the 10th second,
conditions were such
Fig. 3. Timeline of Big Bang Theory
that only fundamental
particles (quarks) and subatomic particles (hadrons and leptons) could exist.
D. From the 10th second to 20 minutes, quarks, hadrons, and leptons fused to create protons,
neutrons, and atomic nuclei, forming hydrogen, helium, and lithium by nucleosynthesis. At the 20 th
minute, cooling had reached a temperature that did not allow further nucleosynthesis.
E. From 20 minutes to 3,800,000 years, the universe continued cooling the photons (particles of light)
separated from matter. These photons could travel freely and are detected today as cosmic
microwave background radiation.
F. As the universe continued to cool down, and after 380,000 years (from time zero), matter collected
into nebulae, clouds giving rise to stars.
G. Galaxies would form after 100 million years from time zero during which, through nucleosynthesis
in stars, carbon and elements heavier than carbon were produced.
H. At about 9.8 billion years after the initial big bang, the solar system was formed. From 9.8 billion
years until the present, the universe has become dark-energy dominated and it undergoes
accelerating expansion.

Solar System
The solar system is defined as group of planets, moons, asteroid,
and comets. The Solar Nebula Theory is the model constrained in
the formation of the solar system which includes the motions of the
planets, compositions and ages of the sun, planets, and
meteorites.

Fig. 4. Solar System

Theories of the Origin of Solar System:
 1. Nebular Hypothesis – states that hydrogen and other gases swirled around the condensed into our
sun and its planets.
2. Fission Theory – according to George Darwin, he stated that the sun burst open and planets and
moons shot out a high speed and went to their respective places, then stopped, and started
orbiting the sun as the moon began orbiting the planets.
3. Capture Theory – planets and moons were flying around, and some were captured by our sun and
began circling.
4. Accretion Theory – a pile of space dust and rock chunks pushed together into our planet, and
another pile pushed itself into our moon. Then the moon got close enough and began encircling the
Earth.
5. Planetary Collision Theory – our world collided with small planet, and the explosion threw off rocks
which became the moon, and then it began orbiting us.
6. Stellar Collision Theory – our planets, moons, and sun spun off from the collision between stars.
7. Gas Cloud Theory – gas clouds were captured by out sun but instead of being drawn into it, they
began whirling and pushing themselves into planets and moons.
Types of Planets:
1. Terrestrial Planets – composed of rocks, metals with high densities, slow in rotation with weak
magnetic field and absences of rings; namely, Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.
2. Jovian Planets – composed of gases with low densities but fast in rotation, have strong
magnetic field and has many rings namely, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
Earth Systems
Earth is sometimes called the water planet or the blue planet
because azure seas covers more than two thirds of its
surface. The only planet with rain falling from clouds and
water that runs over the land top collect in extensive oceans
is the Earth or the Moon.
The Four Spheres of the Earth
The Geosphere
The Sun was formed as gravity pulled material toward the
swirling center. Simultaneously, rotational forces spun
material in the outer cloud into a thin disk. When the
turbulence of the initial accretion subsided, small grains
stuck together to form fist-sized masses. These planetary
seeds then accreted to form rocky clumps. Which grew to
form larger bodies called planetesimals, 100 to 1,000
kilometers in diameter. Finally, the planetesimals collected
to form the planets. This process was completed about
more than four billion years ago. Fig. 5. Earth’s Geosphere

As Earth coalesced, rocky chunks and planetesimals were accelerated by gravity so that they slammed
together at high speeds. Particles heated up when they collided, so the early Earth warmed as it formed.
Later, asteroids, comets, and more planetesimals crashed into the surface, generating additional heat. At
the same time, radio-active decay heated the Earth’s interior. As a result of these processes, our planet
became so hot that all or most of it melted soon after it formed.
Within the molten Earth, the denser materials gravitated toward the center while the less dense materials
floated toward the top creating a layered structure. Today, the geosphere consists three major layers: a
dense metallic core, a less dense rocky mantle, and an even less dense surface crust.
The Hydrosphere
 Fig. 6. Water Cycle

The hydrosphere is the liquid water component of the Earth circulates among oceans, continents, glaciers,
and the atmosphere. The ocean makes up the 71 percent of Earth and contains 97.5 percent of water.
Ocean currents transport heat across vast distances, altering global climate.
About 1.8 percent of Earth’s water is frozen in glaciers. The glaciers cover about 10 percent of Earth’s land
surface today. They cover much greater portions of the globe as recently as 18,000 years ago. The Earth’s
total water exists on the continents as liquid is about 0.64 percent. Although small proportion, freshwater is
essential to life on Earth. Lakes, rivers, and clear sparkling streams are the most visible reservoirs of
continental water. The ground water composes the upper few kilometers of the geosphere, is much more
abundant. Only a minuscule amount, exist in the atmosphere but this water is so mobile. It profoundly
affects both the weather and climate of our planet.
The Atmosphere
The Earth’s atmosphere is made up of nitrogen,
oxygen, and smaller amounts of argon, carbon
dioxide, and other gases. It has four vertical
layers.
The atmosphere supports life because animals
needs oxygen, and plant need both carbon
dioxide and oxygen. In addition, the atmosphere
supports life indirectly by regulating climate. Air
acts as blanket and a filter retaining heat at night
and shielding us from direct solar radiation during
Fig. 7. Layers of the Atmosphere
the day. Wind transports heat from the equator
toward the poles, cooling equatorial regions and
warming temperate and polar zones.
The Biosphere
The biosphere is the part that life inhabits. It produces the
succession of life-forms needed to keep the planet habitable.
Plants and animals also live on the Earth’s surface. Large
populations of bacteria live in rocks to depths of as much as
4 kilometers. Some organisms live on the ocean floor. Plants
and animals are clearly affected by Earth’s environment.
Organisms breathe air, require water, and thrive in a
relatively narrow temperature range. Terrestrial organisms
ultimately depend on soil, which is part of geosphere. Less Fig. 8. Biosphere
obviously, plants and animals also alter and form the
environment they live in. For example, living organisms contribute to the evolution of the modern
atmosphere.
Layers of the Planet Earth
1. The Core – Earth’s entire core is a very
dense, very hot sphere with a diameter
of about 6 970 km which is more than
half of the Earth’s diameter and about
the size of the moon. The whole core
occupies 15% of the earth’s volume and
consist 33% of its mass. The core starts
at a distance of about 2 900 km from
the surface. The boundary between the
solid inner core and liquid outer core is
called the Lehmann Discontinuity.
 a. Solid Inner Core – The inner core has a radius of about 1 250 km. The mass of the inner
core comprises 1.7% of the Earth’s total mass. The pressure in the inner core is more than
3.5 million times the pressure at the surface. This is due to all the weight of the rest of the
earth. Hence, it is very dense and solid. The inner core is mostly likely nickel and iron
whose melting point is about 1500°C. The temperature Fig.
of9.the
Layers
innerofcore
the Earth
is estimated at
6,000°C.
b. Liquid Outer Core – The outer core is about 2 400 km thick. Its temperature is about
5,000°C. The liquid metal of the outer core has very low viscosity which allows movements
and current flow. Within the outer core, there are differences in temperature and density
which cause convection in the molten metal. Dense matter with lower temperatures sinks
while matter with higher temperatures and lower density rises. Flowing liquid iron
generates electric currents which in turn creates a magnetic field; and when metal flows
through a magnetic field, electric currents are created which produce magnetism.

2. The Mantle – made mostly of silicate rocks rich in magnesium and iron. Silicates are compound of
oxygen and silicon (SiO4). Hence, mantle is made of 45% silicon, 22% oxygen, and 23%
magnesium. The volume of the mantle is 84% of earth’s total volume. It has a thickness of 2,900
km, between the outer core and the crust. Near the crust, its temperature is about 1000°C and, at
the boundary with the core, 3,700°C.
a. Core-mantle boundary – Also knowns as the Gutenberg Discontinuity, the boundary is
about 2900 km from the surface.
b. Lower Mantle – Also known as the mesosphere, this layer reaches from 2900 km to 650
km, where rocks are even denser, less ductile, and semi-solid. Temperatures are very high
but rocks remain solid due to intense pressure.
c. Transition zone – This zone which extends from 650 to 410 km contains rocks that are
very dense.
d. Upper Mantle – Also called the asthenosphere (Greek: asthenes, soft and sphere, layer),
the upper mantle is the weak layer beneath the crust and extends from the depth of 410
km to a depth of 10 km. Because the high temperature, the rocks of the asthenosphere are
plastic, meaning they are pliable, flexible, and bendable.

3. The Crust – The crust is a thin layer that is about 5 to 75 km thick, considered to be part of the
upper mantle because in the early stage of earth’s formation, the mantle and the crust were just
one molten mass. The boundary between the crust and the mantle is called the Mohorovicic
Discontinuity.
a. Oceanic crust – The thin oceanic crust has a density of 2.9 g/cm 3 and extends 5-10 km
beneath the ocean floor. It is composed mostly of basalt. Basalt is a magma that breaks
through the crust and the mid-oceanic ridges, where it then produces new seafloor.
b. Continental Crust – much thicker than the oceanic crust to as much as 70 km beneath
mountain ranges, but also slightly less dense at 2.7 g/cm 3. The continental crust is made
mostly of granite.
The crust and the upper mantle form the earth’s lithosphere, which is broken up into tectonic plates. The
Earth’s lithosphere is composed of seven major plates and a number of minor plates. Plates are made
active by the convection of magma in the mantle. At their boundaries, plates may be diverging, converging,
or sliding past each other.

IV. ACTIVITIES/EXERCISE:
Part A. Outline the Biography of the Universe

Time Event
 Zero to 10-43 seconds

10-43 to 10-32 seconds

10-32 seconds to 10 seconds

10 seconds to 20 minutes

20 minutes to 380 000 years

380 000 years from zero

100 million years from zero

9.8 billion years to present

Part B. Identify the layers of the earth and indicated by the arrows and then write an important fact about
each.
g.) ____________________________
____________________________
f.) ____________________________
____________________________
e.) ____________________________
____________________________
d.) ____________________________
____________________________

c.) ____________________________
____________________________

b.) ____________________________
____________________________

a.) ____________________________
____________________________

V. ASSESSMENT:
Direction: Encircle the letter of the correct answer.
1. The branch of astronomy that studies the origin and evolution of the universe is _________.
a. Astrophysics c. Planetary Science
b. Astrogenesis d. Cosmology

2. This is the solid sphere of Earth also known as lithosphere.

a. Hydrosphere c. Atmosphere
b. Biosphere d. Geosphere

3. This is the part where life inhabits and produces the succession of life-forms needed to keep the
planet inhibitable.
a. Hydrosphere c. Atmosphere
b. Biosphere d. Geosphere

4. Regarding the evolution of the solar system, the most acceptable theory so far is the _________.
a. Capture Theory c. Accretion Theory
 b. Collision Theory d. Nebular Theory

5. This is the main rock found in the continental crust.

a. Basalt c. Talc
b. Granite d. Pumice

VI. SUMMARY:

 Monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam hold that from nothing,
God the almighty and the omnipotent created the Earth, with all that it contains, and
the whole universe, hence, from Acts of Divine Will.
 There were two main theories to explain the origin of the universe: the Big Bang
Theory and the Steady State Theory.
 Terrestrial planets have slower rotations, thin atmosphere, and low amount of
hydrogen, helium, and noble gases. Outer planets have low densities, rotate faster,
composed mostly of gases, have thick atmosphere, and are rich in hydrogen and
helium; water, ammonia, and methane are present in ice form.
 The solar system was born from the rotating solar nebula which began to collapse
inward due to gravity and eventually formed the protosun and whirling rocky objects
called planetesimals which became planets.
 The inner core is solid nickel and iron due to very high pressure. It is very dense
and solid due to extreme pressure.
 The mantle consists of a semi-solid and very viscous, molten magma. Heat transfer
in the mantle creates convection currents. Convection in the mantle drives plate
movements of the crust.
 The crust is differentiated into oceanic crust and continental crust. Oceanic crust is
basaltic, is denser and is thinner. Continental crust is thicker, less dense, and is
mostly granite.

VII. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

The learners could visit the following links for further knowledge for the following lessons.

Evolution of Universe

- https://www.space.com/13352-universe-history-future-cosmos-special-report.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universe
- https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/the-universe/the-universe/formation-and-evolution-of-
the-universe

Solar System

- https://solarstory.net/evolution/
- https://academic.oup.com/astrogeo/article/41/1/1.12/182262
- https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/astronomy/the-solar-system/origin-and-evolution-of-the-
solar-system

Earth’s System and Structure

- https://earthsystems.com.au/
- https://www.slideshare.net/maleigh/grade-11-earth-life-science-earth-systems-subsystems
- https://www.natgeokids.com/au/discover/geography/physical-geography/structure-of-the-earth/
- https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structure_of_the_Earth
VIII. REFERENCES:
 Exploring Natural Science: Earth and Life Science (2017), D.C. Angeles & C.G. Gicaraya, Don Bosco
Press, Inc.
 Workbook in Earth and Life Science (First Edition), R. A. Salazar Ed. D. et. al., OLFU