All About Me

Greetings fellow Earthlings! I am Lord Maui but you can call me by my initials, LM. It still
baffles me how my parents came up with my name. I could have been called Christian, Gabriel,
or David the moment I was born. Instead, I was given the name Lord which is akin to God—the
Creator of Earth and the Giver of Life. As an individual raised by a Catholic family, I have been
taught that our world was created by a supreme deity also known as God. He is the one
believed to be responsible for all living things thriving within the planet. However, this particular
notion was tarnished after I discovered Earth and Life Science in elementary school. I realized
that religious faith operates differently compared to scientific understanding. From then on, I
began to envelop my young mind with everything related to the study of the natural world. When
I was a kid, I wanted to learn more about the history of life through fossils of organisms,
specifically dinosaurs, so I aspired to become a paleontologist someday.

My thirst for scientific knowledge has led me to attend a science high school in hopes of
achieving my ultimate dream. Throughout my four-year stay in that institution, I was educated
more about Earth and Life Science with the help of subjects such as Advanced Biology and
Environmental Science. Personally, it contributed a lot in shaping who I am today. For instance,
the science investigatory project we conducted concerning soil and water pollution opened our
eyes regarding the current state of our environment. Hence, I now strive to be eco-friendly as
much as possible by following proper waste disposal and recycling. As a matter of fact, the
picture in the previous slide was taken by my co-researcher which depicts me during one of our
investigations. Overall, Earth and Life Science brought a multitude of changes to how I perceive
our complex planet and the vast universe. Although my ambition has shifted to Humanities and
Social Sciences, it will always hold a special place in my heart.

ELS in Everyday Life

Earth and Life Science encompass a wide array of concepts that are related to our daily
lives as human beings. The first topic that I would like to shed light on is the occurrence of
exogenic processes. It refers to external activities or phenomena that transpire on the Earth’s
surface which are typically associated with aggradation and degradation. The four main types of
exogenic processes are weathering, mass wasting, soil erosion, and deposition. Weathering
pertains to the disintegration of rocks through physical, chemical, or biological factors. Next,
mass wasting concerns the downslope movement of land primarily due to the force of gravity.
Erosion refers to the gradual displacement of soil caused by various agents like wind, water,
and animals. Lastly, deposition involves the accumulation of sediments to form landmass. As a
resident of Antipolo, exogenic processes are evident in my community since we are surrounded
by mountains and hills. During the rainy season, mass wasting frequently occurs near our area
in the form of slope failures, sediment flow, and landslides. We also observe significant change
in the size of our roads and terrains annually because of soil erosion and deposition. The
population in my community continues to increase each day, thereby making the rocks of our
land more susceptible to biological weathering.
 The second topic that I would like to discuss is the three classifications of faults, namely,
normal, reverse, and strike-slip. Prior to this, it is essential that we understand the difference
between a hanging wall and a footwall. Basically, the hanging wall is the moving block whereas
the footwall is the nonmoving one. Normal fault is characterized by the downward movement of
the hanging wall relative to the footwall. Conversely, reverse fault is distinguished by the upward
movement of the hanging wall relative to the footwall. In strike-slip fault, two blocks slide past
each other, thus the hanging wall and footwall cease to exist since neither block can be
considered above or below the other. Identifying the precise location and type of faults near our
area is crucial for our survival because earthquakes tend to occur along these points. This is an
important matter especially for us living in the Philippines, a country situated within the Pacific
Ring of Fire where seismic activity is recurrent. In my case, our residence is close to the east
segment of the Marikina Valley Fault. Hence, my family should always be prepared for
earthquake occurrences any time. One of the precautionary measures we can do is to have a
ready-made survival kit, plan of evacuation, and list of emergency hotlines. Earth and Life
Science is indeed incorporated in every aspect of our mundane lives!

Myths and Facts

The greatest misconception about our planet since the beginning of human civilization is
probably the flat Earth cosmography. Before the early Greek philosophers provided empirical
evidence for the spherical Earth, many ancient cultures believed that our planet is shaped as a
plane or disk. Although this myth was debunked centuries ago, a lot of people in the modern era
still maintain the false belief. These so-called “Flat Earthers” continue to spread conspiracy
theories despite the scientific fact that the Earth is round, specifically an oblate spheroid.
Honestly, I thought that the world we live in was flat as well. When I was a kid I often wondered,
“If the Earth was really round, then all of us would have fallen to space by now.” Thankfully I
discovered the concept of gravity in grade school which answered my questions and cleared my
doubts. Another misconception that stayed in my head for quite some time is the “five-second
rule” of fallen food. This is certainly a myth because any food on the ground can instantly pick
up harmful bacteria in less than a second. Speaking of which, I learned through Life Science
that not all bacteria are dangerous for our health. Some are actually beneficial in terms of our
food digestion and nutrient absorption such as probiotics in yogurt, cheese, and kimchi.

Due to the complexities of our world and beyond, misconceptions, preconceived notions,
nonscientific beliefs, and conceptual misunderstandings are inevitable. It is human nature to be
curious and creative. However, we should not turn a blind eye and let these myths prevail in our
current society. It is our duty to combat misconceptions so that the new generations are
guaranteed to be on the right path of learning. By correcting misconceptions, we are being
critical of ignorance and prejudice. As students, it is vital that we fact check first the information
we encounter every day to avoid assimilation of false knowledge. Responsible learning is fun!
Easy and Difficult

One of the lessons in Earth and Life Science that I easily grasped was the basic
concepts of an ecosystem. The ecosystem is a structural and functional unit of the biosphere
where interaction of living and nonliving things occur. It consists of biotic components or
organisms (e.g., plants, animals, microorganisms) and abiotic components like physicochemical
and climatic factors (e.g., sunlight, water, soil, wind, temperature, humidity). Moving on, the first
concept is levels of biological organization which include six categories—individual, population,
community, ecosystem, biome, and biosphere. The next one is the classifications of species
found within specific biomes into native, nonnative, invasive, and keystone. Another concept is
the population viability or the probability of a species population to survive despite disturbances.
Lastly, there is the ecological resilience or the capacity of an ecosystem to withstand and
recover from disruptions caused by natural and anthropogenic factors. It is of great importance
that we learn this topic to better understand the current state of our respective environments. By
being aware of the notable changes happening in the ecosystems near us, we can immediately
assess and resolve environmental issues in order to preserve nature, prevent the extinction of
species, and maintain ecological balance.

On the other hand, the lesson that I had a difficult time comprehending was geological
stress and strain. Initially, I was confused with the definition of both terms so I had to play the
video lecture on repeat just to remember the difference between the two. After a few minutes,
however, I got it eventually by assigning a specific word for each term that best describes its
feature. Stress is the force applied to rocks so I used the word “force” for it. Meanwhile, strain is
the deformation caused by stress so I used the word “deformation” for it. In short, stress creates
strain which means stress can happen without strain but strain cannot happen without stress. I
gained a much clearer understanding of this topic by also keeping in mind the analogy of
geological stress to pressure as mentioned in the video lecture. It is important to study
geological stress for us to discern which among compression, tension, or shear primarily
influences the different types of folds and faults close to our locality.

Proudly Filipino

Recently, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) together with the
Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) launched their first cluster
monitoring center for earthquake and tsunami in Mindanao. The establishment stationed in
Davao City is capable of instantly issuing and disseminating earthquake and tsunami
information to the general public. It acts as a backup site for the Data Receiving Center in
Quezon City so that PHIVOLCS can still continue earthquake and tsunami monitoring
operations in case of major disruptions or abrupt emergencies. Due to the region of our country
where seismic activity and hydrologic events are recurrent, this update in Earth Science is
beneficial for us Filipinos, especially for those living near fault lines and coastal areas who are at
greater risk of earthquake and tsunami occurrences. They can immediately prepare for
precautionary measures and evacuation, thereby saving their lives from these natural hazards.
 An excellent Filipino scientist that we should all be proud of is Phillip Alviola who has
published more than 40 research articles in scientific journals that shed light on the studies of
mammalian ecology and taxonomy in the Philippines, specifically the diverse species of bats. In
2017, he received the award of DOST-NAST Outstanding Young Scientist and he was
recognized as one of the eight Filipinos included in the top 100 scientists in the Asia-Pacific
region. Since 2007, he has been conducting research about Philippine bats along with
virologists abroad, resulting in their discovery of coronavirus and other novel virus genotypes
(Read more of this at https://dx.doi.org/10.3201%2Feid1608.100208). Among his latest
contributions to the DENR is the co-authorship of the Manual on Biodiversity Assessment and
Monitoring System for Inland Wetland Ecosystems. Truly, the works of Phillip Alviola in Life
Science are valuable in the preservation of wildlife not just in our country but also internationally.

Self-check

As a former science high school student, I had gone through several activities that
maximized my scientific skills and attitudes. Back in eighth grade, we conducted a simple
science investigatory project entitled “Soil Environmental Investigation in Antipolo City National
Science and Technology High School.” It aimed to describe the characteristics of the soil in our
school and determine the implications of the soil properties to its ecosystem. By observing the
physical quality of the soil in terms of color and texture as well as measuring the precise
quantity needed for the pH test, we were able to describe the characteristics of the sample soil.
After experimenting, we inferred from the findings that our proposed hypothesis was accepted.
Our recommendations include using a complete soil test kit, testing the NPK (Nitrogen,
Phosphorus, Potassium) content of the soil, and comparing soil samples from multiple areas
within the school vicinity.

In this course of Earth and Life Science, the project that maximized my scientific skills
and attitudes was the sub-irrigated planter. Its two objectives were to construct an SIP and
observe the growth of the plant in six weeks. Similar to the previous one, I was able to
accomplish it through in-depth observation of the properties such as height of the plant, number
of leaves, water level, and environmental factors. By rigorously evaluating the variables
affecting my SIP, I have sustained the growth of my plants and provided significant data in the
final project report. In order to make this activity more challenging and interesting, I suggest
building more than one planter and cultivating a variety of vegetable plants. In this way, we get
to harvest a lot of crops in the future and enjoy gardening as one of our convenient hobbies.
GMA News Online. (2014, October 11). Rain triggers landslide in Antipolo City. GMA News
Online. Retrieved September 10, 2021, from
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/metro/383178/rain-triggers-landslide-in-antipolo-
city/story/

National Research Council. (1997). Science Teaching Reconsidered: A Handbook. The

National Academies Press. Published. https://doi.org/10.17226/5287

Specialized Philippine Enterprise Reference pf Experts and Scientists. (n.d.). Phillip Alviola.
Retrieved October 1, 2021, from http://www.spheres.dost.gov.ph/profiles/33-phillip-alviola

Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. (n.d.). DOST-PHIVOLCS Introduces Its

First Cluster Center for Earthquake and Tsunami Monitoring. Retrieved October 1, 2021, from
https://www.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph/index.php/news/12894-press-release-dost-phivolcs-
introduces-its-first-cluster-center-for-earthquake-and-tsunami-monitoring

UPLB Museum of Natural History. (n.d.). Prof. Phillip A. Alviola. Retrieved October 1, 2021, from
https://mnh.uplb.edu.ph/about/curators/52-zoological-museum/174-paalviola