MODULAR APPROACH Revised 2021

EARTH and
LIFE SCIENCE

Compiled by:
Glocielle Molabola
McRinsey Gulane
Sheena Borjal
Introduction

Earth and Life Science is a Senior High School core subject for non-STEM students that
takes up the integrated study of Earth’s origin, composition, its subsystems, and interaction. It
also examines the origin of life, relationship of structure and functions of the different components
of the cell, the perpetuation of life, evidence and processes of evolution and the survival and
adaptation of plants and animals. The course encompasses a broad study of Earth and its life
forms as Earth’s process affects individual lives. Weather patterns can affect the availability of
water resources and the potential natural disaster that can eliminate many organisms and can
cause a huge impact on property damage. Growing populations and expanding technologies
escalates the demand on natural resources. As humans extract these resources, humans impact
the Earth significantly which in turn will impact the next generation of human life. To enhance the
governance of the environment, humans must instill a profound understanding of Earth systems
and its interactions.

Course Outcomes

On the completion of the course, the student is expected to understand the components
and structures of the Earth; recognize the significance of Earth’s processes in the mitigation of
natural disasters; recognize the significance of Earth Science in light of human conservation of
Earth’s natural resources; develop comprehension of the adaptation and survival biological
organisms in view of the impacts of different Earth’s processes; analyze and offer reasonable
solution to climate change, degradation of natural resources and preservation of life

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction i
Course Outcomes i
Table of Contents ii
Rubrics for Essay Items iii
Lesson 1: The Universe 1
Activity 1 17
Lesson 2: The Earth System 18
Activity 2 28
Lesson 3: Rocks and Minerals 29
Activity 3 49
Lesson 4: Endogenic and Exogenic Processes 51
Activity 4 57
Lesson 5: Plate Tectonics 58
Activity 5 65
Lesson 6: Cell as the Basic Unit of Life 66
Activity 6 88
Lesson 7: Cellular Respiration 89
Activity 7 102
Lesson 8: Photosynthesis 103
Activity 8 109
Lesson 9: Plant Reproduction 110
Lesson 10: Animal Reproduction 115
Activity 9 118
Lesson 11: How Genes Work 119
Activity 10 132
Final Output 134
References 137

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 RUBRICS
To get the highest possible scores for each essay item, you essay must satisfy the following:

• Answers the specific central question that was asked;

• incorporates pertinent and detailed information from class discussion, providing needed
examples;
• maintains focus on the question;
• presents all information clearly and concisely and in an organized manner;
• does much more than merely restate the question and offer brief response;
• avoids distracting grammar/ spelling

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

Answers to the activities in this module must be written in a separate paper (short bond
paper or yellow paper). For every activity, DO NOT forget to write you name, year and section.
Also write the activity number and the page where it is found. For essay questions, do not forget
to copy the question. Please write legibly.

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 LESSON 1: THE UNIVERSE

Introduction
Humanity applied scientific principles to systematically study the origin of the universe. In
doing so, the modern discipline of scientific cosmology was established. This discipline provides
a groundwork from which we can begin to unravel the structure and evolution of the Earth.

In this lesson, we will characterize the overall architecture of the Universe and, of our Solar
System, specifically. Then we will introduce the Big Bang theory, which is the widely used theory
to elucidate the beginning of the Universe. We will also discuss the formation of the Sun, Earth,
and other celestial objects.

Learning Objectives
At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:

• describe our place in the Universe;

• differentiate the theories on the origin of the Universe; and
• explain how the Solar System was formed.

Discussion
Think about the moments that you stare at a clear night sky. What are the things that you
can see up there? Are they moving? How big are they? How far away are they? These are the
questions that ancient cultures around the world had thought long and hard. By 3,000 years ago,
the first astronomers had grasped that what they could see above had an identifiable order.
Specifically, most of the thousands of points of light visible to the naked eye move slowly across
the sky nightly, as if revolving around a fixed point, and the positions of these points relative to
each other remains fixed (Marshak, 2015). These points were later known as the stars. On the
other hand, some of the lights take seemingly complex paths across the night sky, moving in
relation to one another and to the backdrop of the stars. These lights became known as the
planets (from the Greek planēs, which means “wanderer”).

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 FIGURE 1.1. If you track certain objects in the night sky, they appear to move relative
to the backdrop of the stars. These “wanderers” are the planets. The numbers are
dates (month/ day), indicating when the planet shown was at a given location. (Photo and
caption adapted from Marshak, 2015)

Ancient observers did not know what the stars and planets were and their relationship with
the Earth, Moon and Sun. They didn’t know that the Earth is a planet, and the Sun is a star. For
instance, during the days of the Greek philosopher Homer, people in the Mediterranean region
held the belief that the Earth was a flat disk, with land toward the center and water around the
margins, and that this disk lay at the center of a celestial sphere, a dome to which the stars were
attached. The philosophers of Homer’s day reasoned about the nature of the Sun and why it gave
heat and light. For some, the Sun was a ball of red- hot iron, while to others it was a burning bowl
of oil. The idea that the movements of celestial bodies represented the activities of gods and
goddesses were believed by many. They named the distinctive arrangements of stars (called
constellations) after gods and goddesses. Various methodologies, full of symbolism, were
developed by other societies to interpret the heavens.
Two separate models regarding the arrangement of the stars and planets and their
association to the Sun, Earth and Moon were established in the West. The first was the geocentric
model, in which the Earth sits fixed at the center of the Universe while the Moon and the planets
move around it in circular orbits, all within a shell of stars. Aristotle, a famous Greek philosopher,
was an advocate of this model. Ptolemy, the Egyptian mathematician developed equations that
seemed to predict the movements of the planets, in the geocentric setting, with notable accuracy.
Due to his influence, the geocentric model gained extensive following. During the Middle Ages
(ca. 476–1400 c.e.), church leaders in Europe adopted Ptolemy’s geocentric image as dogma

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because it seemed to justify the comforting thought that humanity’s home occupies the most
important place in the Universe (Marshak, 2015). Ultimately, anyone who expressed opinions
contrary to this belief risked accusations of heresy.
The second model was the heliocentric model, wherein the Sun lies at the center of the
Universe, with the Earth and other planets orbiting around it. During the Renaissance— 15th
century Europe— bold thinkers created a new age of exploration and scientific discovery. The
works of Nicolaus Copernicus and Galileo Galilei paved the way for people to realize that the
Earth and planets orbit the Sun, so the Earth could not possibly be at the center of the Universe.
Johannes Kepler showed that the planets follow elliptical orbits rather than circular as proposed
by Ptolemy in his geocentric image. Kepler’s discovery solidified the idea of Heliocentric model.
Finally, it became possible to understand why celestial objects exhibit the motion that they do,
when Isaac Newton explained gravity, the attractive force that one mass exerts on another.

(a) (b)

FIGURE 1.2. Contrasting views of the Universe, as drawn by artists hundreds of years ago. (a) The geocentric image of the Universe
shows the Earth at the center, surrounded by air, fire, and the other planets, all contained within the globe of the stars. (b) The
heliocentric image of the Universe shows the Sun at the center, as envisioned by Copernicus. (Photos and caption adapted from
Marshak, 2015)

Where are we in the Universe?

Most people have addresses. This address is where one can receive their mail and is what
one may use to basically define where they can be located. An address might be composed of a
street number, street name, city, province or state and country. But we can extend this idea to
contain the immensely vast universe that we live in. Where are we in the universe? Our “cosmic

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address” is the answer. Our cosmic address might include: planet, star, galaxy, galaxy group,
galaxy cluster.
We live in a planet called the Earth, which,
under the influence of gravity, orbits around a star
called the Sun. The Sun is an ordinary, middle-
aged star, more massive and luminous than some
stars but less massive and luminous than others
(Palen et. al., 2015). The importance of the Sun in
our Solar System is what makes it extraordinary.
Our planetary system is called the Solar System.
This system consists of eight planets: Mercury,
Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and
Neptune. Many smaller bodies like dwarf planets
(for example Pluto, Ceres, or Eris), asteroids, and
comets can also be found in the Solar System.
Galaxy is a flattened collection of stars,
gas, and dust. There are several galaxies in the
universe; one is the Milky Way Galaxy. About
halfway out from the center of this galaxy, the Sun
is located. Our Sun if just one of the billions of
stars that are scattered in our galaxy.
The Milky Way Galaxy is part of a small collection
of a few dozen galaxies called the Local Group.
Our galaxy and its neighbor, the Andromeda
Galaxy, are giants within the Local Group. A vastly
larger collection of thousands of galaxies is called
a supercluster. Our Local Group is part of a FIGURE 1.3. Our place in the universe is given by our cosmic
address: Earth, Solar System, Milky Way Galaxy, Local Group,
supercluster called the Virgo Supercluster. Virgo Supercluster. (Photo and caption adapted from Palen et.
al., 2015)
Therefore, we can define our cosmic address as:
Earth, Solar System, Milky Way Galaxy, Local
Group, Virgo Supercluster.

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Forming the Universe
The widely accepted theory that explains the beginning of the universe is the Big Bang
Theory. But before we go into details of this theory, let us first look at some of the other theories
that tried to answer the question, “how did the universe form?”

Different Theories of the Universe

• Steady-State Universe

The universe is always expanding but maintains a constant average density; matter is
continuously created to form new stars and galaxies at the same rate that old ones become
unobservable as a consequence of their increasing distance and velocity of recession.

• Eternal Inflation Theory (Multiverse)

The multiverse is a group of multiple universes. These multiverses composed of

everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, information, and the physical
laws and constants that describe them.

• Oscillating Universe Theory

States that the universe undergoes cycles of expansion and contraction. A cosmological
model that combines both the Big Bang and the Big Crunch as part of a cyclical event. An
expansion (Big Bang) following a collapse (Big Crunch) such as this is aptly called a Big Bounce.
The bounce marks the end of the previous universe and the beginning of the next. In other words,
our universe can be the first of a possible series of universes or it can be the nth universe in the
series.

The Big Bang Theory

In the 1920s, unexpected observations about the nature of light from distant galaxies set
astronomers on a path of discovery that ultimately led to a scientific model of Universe formation
known as the Big Bang theory, and this idea become the foundation of scientific cosmology
(Marshak, 2015). To elucidate how these observations led to the Big Bang theory, let us first
understand an important phenomenon called the Doppler effect.
Doppler effect is a phenomenon that involves waves and frequencies. This explains that
the change in frequency happens when a wave source moves. This was fist explained by an
Austrian physicist named C.J. Doppler. Waves are disturbances that transmit energy from one
point to another in the form of periodic motions (Marshak, 2015). For example, when a train whistle

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screams, sound waves are produced. These sound waves travel through the air from the whistle
to your ear so that you can hear it. Another example is the most familiar water waves. As you
have probably seen, as water waves pass, the surface of the water goes up and down in a
direction perpendicular to the direction the wave moves. The ups form what we call the crests,
and the downs form the troughs. Sound waves, on the other hand, are different. As a sound wave
passes, air moves back and forth, alternately compressing and expanding. There is not just one
wave but a succession of many waves. Wavelength is the term used to refer to the distance
between successive waves and frequency refers to the number of waves that pass a point in each
time interval. Wavelength and frequency are inversely proportional, that is, if the wavelength
decreases, more waves pass a point in a given time interval, so the frequency increases.
You can plainly observe the relationship between wavelengths and frequencies when you
are standing on a station platform and a train moves toward you. As it does, the train whistle’s
sound gets louder. The sound has higher frequency (the waves are closer together, so the
wavelength is smaller) because the sound source, the whistle, has moved closer to you. When
the train moves away from, the sound has lower frequency as the wavelength increases.
Like sound, light also moves in the form of waves. Light is considered by physicists to be
a form of electromagnetic radiation, energy that can be released by hot or glowing objects and
can be transmitted through a vacuum. Visible light comes in many colors— the colors of the
rainbow. The colors you see depends on the frequency of the light waves— red light has lower
frequency (longer wavelength) than does blue light. The Doppler effect also applies to light.
However, it can be noticed only if the light source moves very fast, at least a few percent of the
speed of light. As stated by Marshak (2015), if a light source moves away from you, the light you
see becomes redder, as the light shifts to longer wavelength or lower frequency; and if the light
source moves toward you, the light you see becomes bluer, as the light shifts to higher frequency.
The former is called red shift and the latter is called blue shift.
How then did Doppler effect become significant to the observations that led to the
establishment of the Big Bang theory? In the 1920s, a group of astronomers led by Edwin Hubble
used telescopes to study the deep space. They were searching for distant galaxies. The aim of
their research was primarily to document the location and shape of newly discovered galaxies. In
the end, however, they also began to study the wavelength of light produced by distant galaxies.
Their discovery changed how humanity perceived the universe. They found out that light from
distant galaxies coming to the Earth exhibited a red shift, relative to the light coming from nearby
stars. Around 1929, Hubble (after whom the Hubble Space Telescope was named), determined

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that the red shift must be a consequence of the Doppler effect, and therefore galaxies displaying
red shift must be moving away from the Earth at an immense velocity.

FIGURE 1.4. Manifestations of the Doppler effect for sound and for light. (Photo and caption adapted from Marshak, 2015)

Take note that at the time of Hubble’s discovery, astronomers thought that the universe
had a fixed size, so initially, Hubble assumed that if there are some galaxies moving away from
the Earth, there must also be other galaxies moving toward Earth. But his team could not find any
galaxy moving closer to Earth. What they observed was that the light from all distant galaxies,
regardless of their direction from Earth, displays a red shift. Simply put, all distant galaxies are
moving rapidly away from us. Hubble concluded that the whole universe must be expanding.
The concept of the expanding universe can be represented by a ball of bread dough with
raisins scattered throughout (figure 1.5). As the dough bakes, it expands and the raisins moves

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away from its neighbor, in every direction. Say two raisins were originally 1 cm apart, after a given
time interval, they now become 2 cm apart and during the same time interval raisins that were
originally 4 cm apart become 8 cm apart. Thus, the farther apart the raisins are to start with, the
faster they move apart. This is true with galaxies too— galaxies farther away from Earth, moves
faster away from us than galaxies closer to us. Hubble created a graph (figure 1.6) that showed
this relationship which is known as the Hubble’s Law.

FIGURE 1.5. The concept of the expanding universe and the Big Bang (a and b) (Photo and caption adapted from Marshak,
2015).

What the premature universe is like can be told by Hubble’s law. If we assume the speed
of the expansion has always been constant, then the age of the universe can be estimated from
the slope of the line in the graph of the velocity of galaxies versus their distance (Palen et.al,
2015). Hubble time can be obtained by dividing 1 by H0, where H0 is the Hubble constant. The
Hubble time is an estimate of the universe’s age: 13.8 billion years (Palen et. al, 2015). As shown
in figure 1.6, if we look back in time, there was almost no space between the particles that make
up today’s universe. This suggests that expansion may have begin at a specific time in the past.
Most astronomers have concluded that there was a hot, dense beginning called the Big Bang. As
this cooled down, the universe expanded, changing the universe over time.
A consistent model of how the universe evolved, beginning an instant after the explosion
was developed through clever calculations with careful observations (see figure 1.5b). According

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to this model, during the first few instants of the universe’s existence, it was so small and dense
that it consisted entirely of energy— the atoms, or even the smallest subatomic particles that
make up atoms, could not even exist. Hydrogen atoms then begin to form within a few seconds
of cooling. When the universe reached the age of three minutes that is the temperature have
fallen below 1 billion degrees, Big Bang nucleosynthesis occurred. This is the formation of new
nuclei in this age of the universe and happened very rapidly. This is when hydrogen atoms fused
together to form helium atoms. This happened before any stars existed thus the the name Big
Bang nucleosynthesis. Only small atoms (atomic number less than 5) could be produced by this
process.

FIGURE 1.6. Looking backward in time, the distance between two galaxies is smaller and smaller, until all matter in the
universe is concentrated together at the same point: the Big Bang. (Photo and caption adapted from Palen et.al, 2015)

Eventually, the universe cooled enough for chemical bonds to bind atoms together in
molecules (Marshak, 2015). Atoms and molecules slowed down and accumulated into patchy

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clouds called nebulae as the universe further expanded and cooled. Hydrogen and helium gas
make up entirely the earliest nebulae of the Universe.

FIGURE 1.7. A representation of a starless nebula in the early

universe. This rendition is modified from a Hubble Space Telescope
photograph. (Photo and caption adapted from Marshak, 2015)

The First Stars

Gravitational pull, as first defined by Isaac Newton is a type of force that all matter exerts
on its surroundings. The amount of pull is dependent on the amount of mass. It is because of this
force that the universe was gradually remolded into what it is today. Somewhere in the young
universe, the gravitational pull of an initially more massive region of a nebula began to suck in
surrounding gas and, in a grand example of the rich getting richer, grew in mass and therefore
density (mass per unit volume) (Marshak, 2015). More gas was successively attracted to the
denser region of a nebula. Consequently, the gas compacted into a smaller region and its initial
swirling movement transformed into a rotation around an axis. The rotation became faster and
faster due to the continuous inward movement of the gas and the decrease of its volume. The
increased rotation caused the nebula to evolve into a disk. The disk continued to grow as more
matter rained down onto it until ultimately gravity collapsed its inner portion into a dense ball.
When the central ball of the disk became hot enough to glow, it became the protostar. More gas
was compressed into smaller and smaller space and its temperature intensely increased.

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 More mass was successively pulled in by the protostar causing it to grow and its core to
become extremely dense and its temperature to reach about 10,000,000ºC. Such conditions
favored a series of fusion reactions of hydrogen nuclei to occur. These fusion reactions eventually
formed the helium nuclei. Fusion reactions produce large amounts of energy. When the first
nuclear fusion reactions began in the first protostar, the body “ignited” and the first true star formed
(Marshak, 2015). This occurred perhaps 800 million
years after the Big Bang. At that time, the first starlight
illuminated the newborn universe. Many first-
generation stars came into existence because this
process happened again and again. First- generation
stars were 100 times more massive than the sun.
These stars burn hotter than the others thus they also
run out of fuel and die faster. They survive only a few
million years to a few tens of millions of years before
it explodes. The explosion produces a supernova.

The Birth of the Elements

Small atoms (atoms with atomic number less
than 5) which were produced by Big Bang
nucleosynthesis, made up the nebulae from which
the first- generation stars formed. Where did the other
elements come from? For instance, how did elements
such as carbon, sulfur, silicon, and iron, which have
atomic number greater than five, come into
existence? Physicists showed that these elements
formed during the life cycle of stars, by the process of
stellar nucleosynthesis. Because stars constantly
fashion larger atoms out of smaller atoms, they are
“element factories”.
FIGURE 1.8. Element factories in space. (Photo and
caption adapted from Marshak, 2015.)

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 Some of the atoms produced by stellar nucleosynthesis escaped into space during the
star’s lifetime. They escaped by moving fast enough to overcome the star’s gravitational pull.
Stellar wind is the term used to describe the stream of atoms emitted from a star during its lifetime.
Very large atoms, those with atomic numbers greater than that of iron, require even more forceful
conditions to form. Most large atoms form by supernova nucleogenesis, which takes place in the
inconceivable heat of a supernova explosion.
As described by Marshak (2015), when the first generation of stars died, it left a legacy of
new, heavier elements that then mixed with residual gas from the Big Bang. Compositionally more
diverse nebulae formed the second generation of stars and associated planets. Second-
generation stars lived and died and contributed heavier elements to third- generation stars. The
next generations contain a greater proportion of heavier elements. However, most of the visible
mass of the universe still consists of 74% hydrogen and 24% helium. Since not all stars live for
the same duration of time, at any given moment the universe contains many different generations
of stars. The sun may be a third-, fourth-, or fifth- generation star. Therefore, there is mix of
elements we find on Earth.

Nature of Our Solar System

Our understanding of the universe’s structure was gradually refined with the help of
telescope. We now know that a star is actually an immense sphere of incandescent gas that emits
intense energy even though with our naked eye, it just looks like a point of light. Gravity holds
stars together to form immense groups called galaxies. Astronomers estimate that more than 100
billion galaxies constitute the visible universe. As previously discussed, our sun is part of the Milky
Way Galaxy. The sun joins over 300 million stars to form this galaxy.
Many objects that are held together by our Sun’s gravitational pull together with Sun form
the Solar System. Most of the mass of the Solar System—99.8%, to be exact— resides in the
Sun itself (Marshak, 2015). A great variety of objects, the largest of which are planets, comprises
the remaining 0.02%. A planet, as defined by astronomers, is an object that orbits a star, is roughly
spherical, and has “cleared its neighborhood of other objects.” The last phrase in this definition
implies that a planet’s gravity has pulled in all particles of matter in its orbit. This definition was
formalized in 2005 and set forth that our Solar System includes eight planets—Mercury, Venus,
Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Until 2005, Pluto was considered by
astronomers to be a planet. But since Pluto has not cleared its orbit, it does not satisfy the modern
description of a planet. The eight planets orbit the Sun in the same direction and more or less in
the same plane, called the ecliptic.

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 Land- based instruments, as well as those of the Kepler Space Telescope (launched into
orbit in 2009), have allowed astronomers to locate about 2,000 exoplanets (planets that orbit stars
other than our Sun) as of 2015. Therefore, our Solar System is not alone in hosting planets. In
fact, astronomers now estimate that the Milky Way hosts about 14 billion Earth-sized planets.
Planets in our Solar System differ radically from one another both in size and composition.
The inner planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars), the ones closer to the Sun, are relatively
small. These are the terrestrial planets because, like Earth, they consist of a shell of rock
surrounding a ball of metal. The outer planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) are known
as the giant planets, or Jovian planets. These planets are indeed huge—Jupiter, for example,
contains 318 times as much mass as the Earth, and accounts for about 71% of the non-solar
mass in the Solar System. The overall composition of giant planets differs markedly from that of
terrestrial planets. Specifically, most of the mass of Neptune and Uranus consists of solid water,
ammonia, and methane, so these planets are known as the ice giants. Most of the mass of Jupiter
and Saturn consists of hydrogen and helium, in gas or liquid form—these planets are known as
the gas giants.

FIGURE 1.9. The Solar System (Photo adapted from Marshak, 2015).

In addition to the planets, the Solar System contains a great many smaller objects. A moon
is a sizable body locked in orbit around a planet. All but two planets (Mercury and Venus) have
moons in varying numbers—Earth has one, Mars has two, and Jupiter has at least 63. Some
moons, such as Earth’s Moon, are large and spherical, but many are small and have irregular
shapes.
Asteroids are rocky and/or metallic objects, with diameters ranging from less than 1 cm to
about 930 km. Millions of asteroids occupy a belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. About
a trillion bodies of ice lie outside the orbit of Neptune. (We’re using the word ice to mean not only

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frozen water but also other solid materials that could exist in gas form under conditions found at
the Earth’s surface; examples include carbon dioxide, methane, and ammonia.) Most of these icy
bodies are tiny, but a few (including Pluto) are spheres with diameters of over 2,000 km and are
known as dwarf planets. The largest dwarf planet, Eris, found in 2003, is about 20% larger than
Pluto. Th e gravitational pull of planets has sent some of the icy objects on paths that take them
into the inner part of the Solar System, where they release long tails of gas—these objects are
comets.

The Nebular Theory for Forming the Solar System

The Nebular Theory explains how the sun and all other objects in the solar system formed
from material that had been swirling about in a nebula. This theory states that there were several
stages involved in the Solar System formation. These stages are described below:

1. A nebula forms from hydrogen and helium

left over from the Big Bang, as well as from
heavier elements that were produced by
fusion reactions in stars or during explosion
of stars.
2. Due to gravity, the nebula formed into a
spinning disk with a central “bulb”. This bulb
eventually became the sun and the rest of
the Solar System formed from the material in
the flattened outer part of the disk, a region
now known as the protoplanetary disk. This
disk contained all the 92 naturally occurring
elements which may be isolated atoms or
bonded to others in molecules, mixture of
gases produced during the Big Bang as well
as gases expelled from earlier generations
of stars and from supernova explosions. The
materials formed from atoms and molecules
FIGURE 1.10. The Nebular Theory (Photo adapted from
in the protoplanetary disk are divided into Marshak, 2015).

two types: the volatile and refractory materials.

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 Volatile materials are those that remain in gaseous state at the Earth’s surface. Under the
pressure and temperature of space, they remain in gaseous state closer to the sun. But,
beyond a distance called the frost line, they can freeze to form ice. Note that in this case,
we do not limit the use of ice for frozen water alone but instead use it for any frozen
material. Volatile materials include hydrogen, helium, methane, ammonia, water, and
carbon dioxide. On the other hand, refractory materials melt only at high temperatures,
and they solidify to form solid soot- sized particles of “dust” in the coldness of space.
3. In the inner rings of the protoplanetary disk, the “dust” (particles of refractory materials)
was concentrated while the “ice” (particles of volatile materials) concentrated in the outer
rings. The dense ball of gas at the center of the disk became hot enough for fusion
reactions to begin. When it ignited, it became the sun.
4. Even before the sun ignited, the materials in the surrounding rings began to clump and
bind together due to gravity. Because of this, planetesimals eventually formed.
Planetesimals are solid bodies whose diameter exceeded about 1 km. Because of their
mass, they pulled small pieces of dust and ice as well as smaller planetesimals that were
in their orbit. Through this, they grew even more. This process of planetary growth is called
accretion. Eventually, irregularly shaped protoplanets were produced. Protoplanets are
bodies approaching the size of today’s inner planets.
5. When protoplanets incorporated effectively all the debris within its orbit and when gravity
ad reshaped them into spheres, they completely became planets. Because the inner rings
of the protoplanetary disk consisted mostly of dust or refractory materials, small terrestrial
planets composed mostly of rocks and metal were formed in this region. In contrast, giant
planets formed from the volatile materials in the outer rings of the disk. The interior of the
planets was also differentiated into layers because of gravity.
6. After the Earth formed, a protoplanet collided with, blasting debris that formed a ring
around the Earth. This ring eventually formed the moon.

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Table 1.1. (Adapted from Palen et., al, 2015)

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 ACTIVITY 1
I. ESSAY. Answer the questions given below:
1. Contrast the geocentric and heliocentric universe concepts. (5 points)
2. Describe how the Doppler effect works. (5 points)
3. What does the red shift of the galaxies tell us about their motion with respect to the
Earth? (5 points)

II. MULTIPLE CHOICE. Carefully read each question. Write the letter of the answer
that best fits the question on your answer sheet.

1. In astronomy, this term refers to the process of planetary growth.

a. Precipitation
b. Sublimation
c. Accretion
d. Collision
2. Which of the following planets was formed from the light gases of the outer solar
nebula?
a. Mars
b. Venus
c. Earth
d. Neptune
3. What theory states that the universe is static, and its density is unchanging?
a. Oscillating universe
b. Big Bang
c. Steady- State
d. Big Crunch
4. The process to which small atoms (atoms with atomic number less than 5) were
formed is generally called _____________________.
a. Supernova nucleosynthesis
b. Electron capture
c. Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
d. Stellar Nucleosynthesis
5. Stars begin their life cycle in ___________.
a. a black hole.
b. a nova.
c. a nebula.
d. a supernova.

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 LESSON 2: THE EARTH SYSTEM

Introduction
The Earth is the only planet in the Solar System that can support life. What makes this
possible? Earth is a very special planet. Its temperature and composition are unlike those of the
other planets. The Earth is also comprised of four interconnected subsystems: lithosphere,
hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere. The interaction of these subsystems also supports life
on Earth.
In this lesson, we are going to the study the basic characteristics of Earth as well as the
qualities of each subsystem and the features of their interactions with each other.

Learning Objectives
At the end of the lesson, you shall be able to:
• describe the basic characteristics of the Earth;
• characterize the different subsystems of the Earth;
• describe the interactions of the different subsystems and its impacts; and
• explain how the interactions of the subsystems enable Earth to support life.

Discussion
The Earth is in the habitable zone of the Solar System. Habitable zone is the distance
from the sun in which temperatures are in the range that liquid water can exist. Thirty percent of
the Earth’s surface is covered by dry land. Dry land refers to continents and islands. Surface water
covers the remaining 70% of the Earth. The land surface of the Earth has topography. Topography
refers to the variations in the elevation of land surface, and distinguishes plains, mountains, and
valleys. The highest point on land, which lies about 8.9 km above sea level is the Mt. Everest
while the lowest point on land is the Dead Sea, which lies about 0.4 km below sea level.

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 FIGURE 2.1. This map of the Earth show variation in elevation on both land and the sea floor. Darker blues are deeper water
in the ocean. Greens are lower elevation on land. (Photo and caption adapted from Marshak, 2015)

The Earth’s Layer

The Earth is divided into three principal layers, namely: the crust, the mantle, and the core.
The core is further divided into two, the outer core and the inner core. Let us examine each of
these layers beginning from the innermost part to the outermost layer.

The Inner Core

Geologists concluded that the core consists of iron alloy which is composed of more than
80% iron mixed with nickel and lesser amounts of sulfur, oxygen, and other elements. The inner
core has a radius of about 1,220 km. What distinguishes it from the outer core is that while the
outer core is liquid, the inner core is made up of solid iron alloy that may reach a temperature of
over 4,700 ºC. It is solid because it is deeper than the outer core and is therefore subjected to
greater pressure. This pressure tightly locks the atoms together.

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 FIGURE 2.2. A modern view of the Earth’s interior layers. (Photo and caption adapted from
Marshak, 2015)

The Outer Core

As previously mentioned, the outer core is liquid. It is made up specifically of liquid iron
alloy. This feature is extremely important because the flow of the liquid iron alloy generates the
Earth’s magnetic field. Earth’s magnetic field traps energetic charged particles to form Earth’s
magnetosphere. The magnetosphere is one of the reasons why Earth is habitable.

The Mantle

A 2, 885-km- thick shell called the mantle surrounds the core. This layer accounts for most
of the Earth’s volume. Geoscientists have observed that the velocity of seismic waves (waves of
energy caused by sudden movement of materials within the Earth) changes in a step- like manner

20
in the portion of the mantle that lies between 410 and 660 km deep. This observation led them to
divide the mantle into two sublayers, namely: the upper mantle and the lower mantle (see Figure
2.2). The transition zone which is part of the upper mantle is where the steps in seismic velocity
occurs.

Generally, the temperature of the mantle increases as you go deeper but locations even
at the same depth can have varying temperatures. Some regions of the mantle are warmer and
therefore less dense while some are cooler thus, they are denser. The warmer regions tend to
flow upward while the cooler ones tend to flow downward. This is called convection.

The Crust

The crust is the thinnest layer of the Earth. It represents only 1% of the Earth’s planetary
mass. There are two fundamentally different types of crust, namely: continental crust and oceanic
crust (see Figure 2.2.) The boundary between the crust and the mantle is called the Mohorovičić
boundary or the Moho. It was named after Andrija Mohorovičić, the one who discovered it.

Continental crust varies in thickness, from 25 km to 70 km. The thinnest continental crust
can be found beneath regions called rifts. This is so because in this area, the crust is constantly
being stretched and pulled apart. Beneath mountain belts, where two continents are squeezing
together, very thick continental crust can be found. On the other hand, oceanic crust is only 7 to
10 km thick. The top portion of the oceanic crust is a blanket of sediment, generally less than 1
km thick, that consists of clay and tiny shells that settled like snow out of sea water (Marshak,
2015). Below this, there is a layer of basalt, and below that, a layer of gabbro. Basalt and gabbro
are both type of igneous rock. We will learn about rocks in lesson 3.

The Earth’s Subsystem

The Earth’s environment can be further subdivided into the following subsystems:
Atmosphere, Hydrosphere, Biosphere and Lithosphere. Let’s explore each one of them.

The Atmosphere

Atmosphere is a layer of gases that insulates the Earth. Let’s consider how the
atmosphere evolved in the context of the Earth System. As seen in figure 2.3, the Earth’s
atmosphere underwent stages before it became what it is today. Hydrogen and helium together
with traces of other gases made up the first atmosphere or the primary atmosphere. The first
atmosphere survived for only a short time. This is because the gases in the primary atmosphere

21
that were made up of lightweight atoms escaped velocity and zoomed into space due to heat from
the Sun. As these gases were disappearing, new gases were generated from volcanic activities.

FIGURE 2.3. Stages in the evolution of the Earth’s atmosphere (not to scale). (Photo and caption adapted from Marsha, 2015)

The Earth then underwent differentiation where magnetic field had developed. The
development of the magnetic field causes the solar wind to be deflected. Because of this, new
gases from volcanic activities amassed to form the Earth’s secondary atmosphere. The secondary
atmosphere is composed of 70%- 90% water (H2O), with smaller amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2)
and sulfur dioxide (SO2), along with traces of other gases including nitrogen (N2) and ammonia
(NH3), methane (CH4) and carbon monoxide (CO), some of which were brought to Earth by
comets.

If you were to go back in the first and second atmosphere, you would not survive because
there is no oxygen. They were called the “oxygen- free atmospheres”. But between 3.8 and 3.5
Ga (giga- annum or billion years), organisms called cyanobacteria evolved on Earth. These
organisms are capable of undergoing photosynthesis. Due to this, significant amount of oxygen
(O2) was produced. The atmosphere is now an “oxygen- containing” atmosphere. This transition
is called the Great Oxygenation Event (GOE). The Great Oxygenation Event (GOE) is one of the
most significant changes in seawater and chemistry in Earth history (Pufahl and Hiatt, 2011).

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 As seen in figure 2.3, the concentration of oxygen continued to increase as more
photosynthetic organisms appeared on Earth. The concentration of oxygen in the air became
considerable about 600 million years ago. This gave rise to the third atmosphere or the tertiary
atmosphere or the modern atmosphere. This atmosphere is made up of 78% nitrogen (N2); 21%
oxygen (O2) and 1% trace gases of air which include argon (Ar), carbon dioxide (CO2), neon (Ne),
methane (CH4), helium (He), hydrogen (H2), and ozone (O3).

Pressure and density variations are two of the characteristics of the Earth’s atmosphere.
Air density, which is the total mass of gas molecules in a unit volume, increases from high
elevation down toward the surface of the Earth. Also, the air pressure in the atmosphere increases
as the elevation decreases.

FIGURE 2.4. This graph shows air pressure versus

elevation on the Earth. Climbers on top of the Mt. Everest
breathe an atmosphere that contains only about 33% of the
atmospheric gases at sea level. (Photo and caption adapted
from Marshak, 2015).

Atmospheric Layers
The Earth’s atmosphere is divided into layers based on temperature variation. Starting
from the base, these layers are troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and

23
exosphere. Troposphere is also called the “weather layer”. Within this layer, there is a gradual
decrease of temperature from an average of 18ºC at the surface to about -55ºC at the top. Air in
this layer constantly undergoes convection in that warm air rises and cold air sinks. The next layer
is called the stratosphere. The air in this layer remains relatively stable and stratified because
convection does not happen much here. The ozone layer which is made up of the gas ozone (O3)
is found in this layer. Ozone protects us by absorbing harmful ultraviolet radiation from the Sun.
The boundary between troposphere and stratosphere is called tropopause.

Next to stratosphere is called mesosphere which lies between 47 and 82 km. This layer
does not absorb much solar energy and the temperature in this layer decreases. Most meteors
also begin burning in this layer and have vaporized by the time they reach an altitude of 25 km.
The boundary between stratosphere and mesosphere is called the stratopause. Next to
mesosphere is a layer called the thermosphere. The temperature in this layer increases with
elevation because its gases absorb short wavelength solar energy. Very little (about 1%) of the
atmosphere’s gas are contained in this layer. A boundary called mesopause delineates
mesosphere and thermosphere. The layer above thermosphere is called exosphere. This
represents the gradual transition between the atmosphere and the space.

The Hydrosphere TABLE 2.1. Major Water Reservoirs of the Earth (Table and caption
adapted from Marshak, 2015)
The hydrosphere includes all the
waters of the Earth. Hydrosphere can be
liquid, vapor, or ice. The waters of the Earth
exist in distinct “reservoirs”. Table 2.1
summarizes the major water reservoirs of the
Earth. Oceans and seas are the largest water
reservoirs containing 96.5% of the total global
water. This type of water is saltwater.
Saltwater has high salinity, the measure of
the salt content of a body of water. Other
saltwater resources include saline
groundwater and salt lakes. Water resources
that have low salinity are called freshwater
resources. Only about 3% of the total global
water is freshwater. The largest freshwater
reservoirs are glaciers, ice caps and snow.

24
Other freshwater resources include fresh groundwater, permafrost, freshwater lakes, rivers, and
streams.

Water continuously moves within the Earth and the atmosphere. This movement is shown
in the water cycle. This cycle involves several complex processes. Water cycle is driven by solar
energy. Because of the Sun’s heat, liquid water from different water reservoirs evaporates into
water vapor, a process named evaporation. It then condenses to form clouds (condensation), and
eventually precipitates back to Earth in the form of rain and snow (precipitation). In its three
phases (solid, liquid, and gas), water ties together major parts of the Earth’s climate system— air,
clouds, the ocean, lakes, vegetation, snowpack, and glaciers (National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, 2019).

FIGURE 2.5. The water cycle (Photo and caption adapted from Cain, 2019).

The Biosphere
In the level of biological organization, biosphere is the largest. It encompasses all living
organisms on Earth— from the smallest to largest living things— and the places where life exists.
Biosphere is a vital part of the Earth’s system. We are going to talk more about this when we go
to our life sciences lessons.

25
 The Lithosphere

The solid, outer part of the Earth is called the lithosphere. It includes the crust and the
uppermost part of the mantle. The portion of the mantle that’s within the lithosphere is called the
lithospheric mantle. Oceanic lithosphere refers to the lithosphere topped by oceanic crust while
the lithosphere topped by continental crust is called the continental lithosphere. The former has a
thickness of about 100 km while the latter has a thickness of about 150 to 200 km.

FIGURE 2.6. A block diagram of the lithosphere emphasizing the difference between continental and oceanic lithosphere.
(Photo and caption adapted from Marshak, 2015)

Below the lithospheric mantle is a region called the asthenosphere. Asthenosphere is

the portion of the mantle that can flow and undergo convection. Most of our resources like rocks
and minerals as well as major landforms can be found in the lithosphere.

Interaction of the Earth’s Subsystems

The interactions of the Earth’s subsystem are integral in supporting life. NASA Earth
Observatory (n.d.) said that:

Living things influence the composition of the atmosphere by “inhaling” and

“exhaling” carbon dioxide and oxygen. They play a part in the water cycle by
pulling water from the soil and the air, and they help put it back again by
exhaling water vapor and aerating the soil so rain can soak into the ground.
They regulate ocean chemistry by taking carbon out of the atmosphere.

26
 Now, let’s analyze the statement of NASA Earth Observatory. What are the subsystems
that interacted with each other? One interaction is between biosphere and atmosphere. Living
things which are part of the biosphere interacted with the atmosphere by inhaling oxygen and
exhaling carbon dioxide. Additionally, the interaction among the four subsystems is described in
the statement. Water from the soil (lithosphere) and air (atmosphere) are pulled back by living
things (biosphere) and exhaled in the form of water vapor (hydrosphere; remember that a planet’s
hydrosphere includes water in its liquid, solid and gaseous state). This results in the aeration of
the soil (lithosphere) so that rain (hydrosphere) can soak into the ground (lithosphere). The last
sentence of the statement also illustrates an interaction among biosphere, hydrosphere, and
atmosphere.

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 ACTIVITY 2

I. ESSAY. Answer the following questions:

1. Why is the Earth’s outer core important? (5 points)
2. In the modern atmosphere, there is 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 1% other
gases. Hypothetically, what would happen if the percentage of nitrogen and
oxygen is exchanged, that is nitrogen becomes 21% and nitrogen becomes 78%?
(7 points)
3. How did the atmosphere obtain significant oxygen composition? (3 points)

II. Give five (5) examples of how the Earth’s subsystem can interact with each other.
(3 points each)
i.e. Animals (biosphere) obtains drinking water from freshwater
resources (hydrosphere)

III. Study your surroundings. What are the subsystems that are present in your area?
How do they interact? Explain in detail. (10 points)

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 LESSON 3: ROCKS AND MINERALS

Introduction

In your everyday activities, you use minerals. If you read the nutritional label of the food
that you consume, say a box of biscuits, you will see minerals that refer to certain nutrients that
you need to be healthy. Minerals are also used as raw materials for the toothpaste that you use.
They are also in your school materials, in your powder and in your cosmetic products. Minerals
are also what make up rocks. Rocks are also important raw materials in building houses, roads,
and bridges. Rocks and minerals also play important role in different geological processes on
Earth. In this lesson, you are going to explore the properties and the formation of rocks and
minerals.

Lesson Objectives

At the end of the lesson, you shall be able to:

• explain how minerals are identified by their physical properties;

• describe important minerals and their uses;
• explain how rocks are classified according to how they formed; and
• discuss the processes involved in the rock cycle.

Discussion

Mineralogy, the study of minerals began in 1928. With the help of an optical microscope,
mineralogists, people who study minerals, were able to carry out studies that helped in the
identification of minerals. In the early 20th century, researchers were able to develop methods for
using X- rays to study the arrangement of atoms inside minerals. Because of the continuous
advancement in science, especially with the invention of equipment such as electron microscope
and microprobes, detailed structure of minerals can now be examined. Why do we need to study
minerals? Minerals have practical uses. In different industries, they serve as raw materials for
producing concrete, wallboards, and chemicals. As mentioned in the introduction of this lesson,

29
minerals are the building blocks of rocks. Ore minerals provide valuable metals like copper and
gold which are raw materials in making various gadgets and appliances. They also provide energy
resources such as the mineral uranium which is used in nuclear power plants. Beautiful forms of
certain minerals we call the gems are used in jewelries. Minerals are also the building blocks of
rocks.

What is a mineral?

Geologists define a mineral a naturally occurring solid, formed by geologic processes,

that has a crystalline structure and a definable chemical composition. Additionally, most of the
minerals are inorganic. Let’s examine this definition in detail.

1. Naturally occurring. This means that no minerals are manufactured by men in factories or
in other places. Minerals must be formed via natural processes in nature.
2. Solid. This refers to the state of matter a substance must be in to be considered mineral.
It must be solid. That is, it can maintain its shape indefinitely and will not conform to the
shape of its container. Therefore, substances that are in liquid form or gaseous form are
not minerals.
3. Formed by geologic processes. This implies that minerals are formed only through
solidification of molten rock or direct precipitation from a water solution. These processes
do not involve living organisms. But as time goes by, geologists recognize that life is a
vital part of the Earth System so, they now consider solid crystalline materials produced
by organisms through the action of geologic processes to be minerals, too. They use the
term biogenic minerals to refer to these minerals.
4. Crystalline structure. This refers to the specific, orderly pattern that the atoms that make
up a particular mineral has. This orderly pattern is called a crystalline lattice. Figure 3.1
compares crystalline and noncrystalline structures.
5. Definable chemical composition. This means that the chemical formula of a mineral can
be written. Some minerals contain only one element while some may have two or more.
For example, the mineral quartz has a chemical formula SiO2. This means that it contains
the elements silicon and oxygen in the proportion of one silicon atom for every two oxygen
atoms.
6. Inorganic. Almost all minerals are inorganic, meaning that they are not organic chemicals.
Molecules that include carbon- carbon and/ or carbon- hydrogen bonds and either form in
living organisms or have structures like those that formed in living organisms are present
in organic materials. Examples include sugar, fat, and proteins. We say that “almost all”

30
 minerals are inorganic since as previously mentioned, mineralogists now consider a few
dozen organic substances to be biogenic minerals.

FIGURE 3.1. The nature of crystalline and noncrystalline materials. (Photo and caption from Marshak, 2015).

Properties of Minerals
We now examine the physical properties of minerals. Physical properties are those that
can be observed using one’s physical faculties— sense of sight, smell, taste, touch. These
properties are used to tell one mineral from another. Let’s explore these properties.

1. Color. This property results from the interaction of a mineral with light. The color of a
mineral that you see represents the wavelength of light that it absorbs. Certain minerals
always have the same color, but many occur in a range of colors (Marshak, 2015). For
instance, the mineral quartz has variable colors that include white, red, pink, and purple.
2. Streak. The color of a powder produced by pulverizing the mineral is called the streak.
How do you obtain a streak of a mineral? You can scrape the mineral against an unglazed
ceramic plate. This is shown in figure 3.2. The mineral hematite was scraped against the
ceramic plate which produced a reddish- brown powder on it. The reddish- brown powder
is the color of the hematite’s streak.

31
 3. Luster. A mineral’s shininess is called luster. Minerals that look like metals have metallic
luster while those that do not have nonmetallic luster. Nonmetalllic luster maybe silky,
waxy, vitreous, sugary, dull etc.
4. Hardness. Hardness is the measure of the relative ability of a mineral to resist scratching,
and it therefore represents the ability of bonds in the crystal structure to resist being broken
(Marshak, 2015). Mohs Hardness Scale, named after Friedrich Mohs, is used to measure
relative hardness of various substances including minerals (see figure 3.3). In this scale,
diamond is the hardest. This means that it can scratch anything. This is why it is used to
cut glasses.

FIGURE 3.2. To get the streak, rub the mineral

against an unglazed ceramic plate. (Photo adapted
from Marshak, 2015).

FIGURE 3.3. Mohs Hardness Scale measures the relative hardness of

various substances including minerals. (Photo adapted from Marshak,
2015)

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 5. Crystal Habit. A mineral’s crystal habit refers to the shape
of its single crystal. When describing a crystal habit, a
mineral is compared common geometric shapes, such as
cubic, prismatic, bladed, platy and others.
6. Fracture and cleavage. Fracture and cleavage refer to how
the mineral breaks. If a mineral breaks to form distinct
planar surfaces that have a specific orientation in relation
to the crystal structure, then we say the mineral has
cleavage (Marshak, 2015). Minerals that do not have
cleavage at all, break irregularly, forming fractures. Some
of them form conchoidal fractures, which are smoothly
curving, clamshell- shaped surfaces. Examine figure 3.5.
Which of the minerals shown have cleavage and which
have fracture?
7. Special Properties. Certain minerals can be readily
FIGURE 3.4. Crystal habit refers to the
distinguished from others because they have special shape or character of the crystal. Shown
here is a mineral called kyanite that have
properties. For instance, the mineral calcite, with a chemical bladed crystals. (Photo adapted from
Marshak, 2015)
formula CaCO3, reacts with dilute hydrochloric acid, HCl, to
produce carbon dioxide (CO2). Another example is the mineral magnetite, which from its
name, is magnetic. Others also have distinct tastes, like the mineral halite which tastes
salty.

Mineral Classification

According to Marshak (2015), below are the major classes of minerals:

1. Silicates: The fundamental component of silicate minerals is the SiO 44- anionic group.
Examples include quartz (SiO2) and feldspar (e.g., KAlSi3O8). We will learn more about
silicates in the next section.
2. Sulfides: Sulfides consist of a metal cation bonded to a sulfide anion (S2-). Examples
include galena (PbS) and pyrite (FeS2).
3. Oxides: Oxides consist of metal cations bonded to oxygen anions. Typical oxide minerals
include hematite (Fe2O3) and magnetite (Fe3O4).

33
FIGURE 3.5. The nature of mineral cleavage and fracture. (Photo and caption adapted from Marshak, 2015)

34
 FIGURE 3.6. Some special properties of minerals. Calcite (left) reacts with dilute hydrochloric acid and forms carbon dioxide
bubbles. Magnetite (right) can attract nails because it is magnetic. (Photo adapted from Marshak, 2015)

4. Halides: The anion in a halide is a halogen ion (such as chloride, Cl−, or fluoride, F−).
Halite, or rock salt (NaCl) and fluorite (CaF2), a source of fluoride are common examples.
5. Carbonates: In carbonate minerals, the molecule CO 3 2- serves as the anionic group.
Examples include calcite (CaCO3) and dolomite (CaMg[CO3]2).
6. Native metals: Native metals consist of pure masses of a single metal. The metal atoms
are bonded by metallic bonds. Copper and gold, for example, may occur as native metals.
A gold nugget is a mass of native gold that has been broken out of a rock.
7. Sulfates: Sulfates consist of metal cations bonded to SO4 2- anionic groups. Many sulfates
form by precipitation out of water at or near the Earth’s surface. An example is gypsum
(CaSO4 • 2H 2O).
8. Phophates. Phosphates contain phosphorus and oxygen. They are most used as
fertilizers. Examples are the minerals turquoise and wavellite.

Table 3.1 a and b lists some common minerals and their properties. Which minerals share
some properties?

35
TABLE 3.1. (a) List of some common minerals and their properties.

TABLE 3.1 (b). List of some common minerals and their properties.

36
 FIGURE 3.7. Some common minerals. (Photos adapted from geology.com and Marshak, 2015)

FIGURE 3.8. Some common minerals. (Photos adapted from geology.com)

37
 FIGURE 3.9. Some common minerals. (Photo adapted from geology.com)

What is a rock?
You previously learned that minerals are the building blocks of rocks. Now, let us further
define and study rocks. A geologist definition of a rock is that it is a coherent, naturally- occurring
solid that is composed of aggregate of minerals or in some cases, of a body of glass. A rock is
coherent meaning that it must be broken in order for it to be separated into smaller pieces.
Because of this coherence, rocks can form cliff or can be carved into construction blocks or
sculptures. Manufactured products such as concrete and bricks are not considered rocks because
they are not formed by natural processes. Only those that are formed naturally are considered
rocks. Majority of rocks are made up of an aggregate or a collection of minerals. Some rocks may
only have one type of minerals while others have two or more. Rocks that form at volcanoes
consist of natural glass.

38
Classification of rocks
Rocks are classified according to how they are formed. Based on this classification
scheme, geologists identify three basic rock classes: igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks, and
metamorphic rocks. Let us explore each of them.

Igneous rocks

Generally, igneous rocks are formed by the solidification of molten rock. Basically, a
molten rock is a hot liquid composed of several chemicals. A molten rock could either be magma
or lava. Molten rock (melt) that is underground is referred to as magma while melt that is on the
surface of the Earth is called lava. A lava has emerged at the surface because of volcanic
eruption. Depending on which molten rock has solidified, igneous rocks can be further classified
into two: intrusive igneous rocks and extrusive igneous rocks. Extrusive igneous rocks form by
the solidification of lava above ground, after it extrudes onto the surface of the Earth and meets
air or water, or forms by the cementing or welding together of pyroclastic debris. Pyroclastic debris
are fragmental materials and dust produced when a volcano erupts explosively. Extrusive igneous
rocks are also called volcanic rocks. Intrusive igneous rocks formed from solidification of magma
that had pushed its way, or intruded, into pre-existing rocks, and solidified out of view. They are
also called plutonic rocks.

FIGURE 3.10. The intrusive and extrusive realms. (Photo and caption adapted from Marshak, 2015)

39
 The size of the crystals of igneous rocks is dependent on the cooling time. The longer the
cooling time, the larger the crystal size. Extrusive igneous rocks could be glassy or fine and a fine
extrusive igneous rock could be vesicular sometimes. When lava cools or solidifies rapidly, it
forms a dark- colored volcanic glass. Because it cooled rapidly, the crystals had no time to grow
resulting to a rock that has a glassy texture. Obsidian (shown in figure 3.11.a) is an example of a
glassy extrusive igneous rock. Fast cooling of lava results in the formation of fine- textured
extrusive igneous rocks. Examples of these are basalt and rhyolite. Sometimes, as the lava cools,
air bubbles are trapped. When they have completely solidified, these bubbles were preserved
resulting in the formation of vesicular extrusive igneous rocks. Examples of these include pumice
and scoria.

a b c

d
e

FIGURE 3.11. Some examples od extrusive igneous rock, (a) obsidian, (b) basalt, (c) rhyolite, (d) pumice, and (e)
scoria. (Photos adapted from geology.com)

40
 Because intrusive igneous rocks are formed underground, the cooling or solidification time
is very slow. Therefore, crystals or minerals have more time to grow. Coarse- grained rocks are
formed. Examples of intrusive igneous rocks are diorite, gabbro, granite, peridotite, and
pegmatite.

FIGURE 3.12. Some examples of intrusive igneous rocks, (a) diorite, (b) gabbro, (c) granite, (d) peridotite, and (e) pegmatite.
(Photos adapted from geology.com)

Sedimentary rocks
Sedimentary rocks are formed when sediments (rock fragments, mineral grains, animal,
and plant remains) are compacted or cemented together. A sedimentary rock could be clastic or
non-clastic. Clastic sedimentary rocks are those that form from fragments (clasts) of pre- existing
rocks. There are five steps in the production of clastic sedimentary rocks. These steps are
weathering, erosion, transportation, deposition, and lithification. Weathering is the breaking down
of rocks. This may be physical or chemical. You’ll learn more about this in lesson 4. Through

41
weathering, rocks may be broken to form fragments that serve as sediments for the formation of
clastic sedimentary rocks. Once broken down, these sediments do not stay in place. Rather, due
to the action of gravity, they may fall off the outcrop (the exposed portion of a bedrock), or because
of wind or flowing water, they may be removed from the outcrop. This process is called erosion.
Once eroded, the sediments are now carried in a transporting medium (wind, water, or ice). This
process is called transportation. Eventually, the sediments will fall out of the medium and will be
deposited in certain regions. This is called deposition. Once deposited, say at the bottom of a
lake, the sediments undergo the last step which is lithification. Lithification is the transformation
of loose sediments into solid rock. Lithification is further described by Marshak (2015):

Lithification of clastic sediment involves two steps. First, when the sediment
has been buried, pressure generated by the weight of overlying material
squeezes out the water and air that had been trapped between clasts, and
clasts press together tightly, a process called compaction. Second, during
and/or after compaction, sediment may be bound in place to make coherent
sedimentary rock by the process of cementation. During cementation,
minerals (commonly quartz or calcite) precipitate from groundwater and fill
spaces between clasts. The resulting cement acts like glue and holds grains
together.

TABLE 3.2. Different clast sizes of sedimentary rocks. (Data adapted from Marshak, 2015)

42
 Clastic sedimentary rocks are classified by their clast size. Clast size or grain size refers
to the diameter of the grains (minerals) that make up the sedimentary rock. Table 3.2 describes
the different clast sizes.

FIGURE 3.13. Some examples of clastic sedimentary rocks, (a) breccia, (b) conglomerate, (c)
shale, and (d) sandstone. (Photos adapted from geology.com)

Non- clastic sedimentary rocks occur when minerals are precipitated directly from water
or are concentrated by biological matter. There are no clasts present. Non- clastic sedimentary
rocks could be organic and chemical sedimentary rocks. Organic sedimentary rocks are those
that lithify from the remains or organisms, both plants and animals. In clastic sedimentary rocks,
the sediments are fragments or clasts from pre- existing rocks, in organic sedimentary rocks, the
sediments are biological matter. Organic matter undergoes chemical reactions that slowly

43
transform it into organic sedimentary rock. Example of this is coal, which forms mainly from plant
debris.

FIGURE 3.14. Coal, an example of organic sedimentary rock.

(Photo adapted from geology.com)

Chemical sedimentary rock formed when dissolved minerals in lakes, seas, ocean, or
underground water reach saturation and lithify. The sediments involved here are evaporites and
precipitates. Examples include flint, dolomite, limestone, and rock salt. Flint is a hard, tough rock.
Dolomite is a chemical sedimentary rock that is very similar to limestone. Limestone is composed
primarily of calcium carbonate. Rock salt forms from evaporation of ocean or saline lake water.

44
 FIGURE 3.15. Some examples of chemical sedimentary rocks, (a) flint, (b) dolomite, (c)
limestone, and (d) rock salt. (Photos adapted from geology.com)

Metamorphic rocks
Metamorphic rocks are formed below the surface of the Earth through the process of
metamorphism with the recrystallization of minerals in rocks due to intense temperature and
pressure. The name metamorphic rock is derived from the Greek words meta meaning change,
and morphosis meaning form. Let’s explore more on this last type of rock.

You may be familiar with how caterpillars become butterflies. They undergo
metamorphosis, that is, there are hormonal changes in their bodies. Just like caterpillars, rocks
also undergo metamorphism. When rocks are subjected to heat, pressure, compression and

45
shear, and/ or very hot water, the minerals inside them can change. Metamorphism in rocks could
either be contact or regional. In regional metamorphism, pressure is the main factor. When
subjected to extreme pressure, the atoms of a mineral in a rock pack more closely together
(resulting in less space between atoms) and denser minerals tend to form. This type of
metamorphism creates foliated metamorphic rocks. The rock called gneiss (shown in figure 3.16)
is an example of a foliated metamorphic rock. Foliations or banding occur because the intense

FIGURE 3.16. Gneiss is an example of foliated

metamorphic rock. (Photo adapted from Marshak,
2015).

pressure aligned the minerals. Other examples of foliate metamorphic rocks are phyllite, and
schist.

FIGURE 3.17. An outcrop of 2.7-billion-year-old metamorphic rock in

Ontario, Canada, shows distinct foliations, in this case defined by alternating
bands of light and dark mineral. (Photo and caption adapted from Marshak,
2015)

46
 a
b

FIGURE 3.17. (a) Phyllite, and (b) schist are examples of foliated metamorphic rocks. (Photos adapted
from geology.com)

In contact metamorphism, heat (temperature) and reactive fluids are main factors. This
occurs when pre- existing rock gets in contact with magma which is the source of heat and
magmatic fluid where metamorphic alterations and transformations happen. This type of
metamorphism creates non- foliated metamorphic rocks. The rocks called amphibolite and
hornfels are examples of this type.

a b

FIGURE 3.18. (a) Amphibolite, and (b) hornfels are examples of non- foliated metamorphic rocks.
(Photos adapted from geology.com)

47
 The rock cycle

FIGURE 3.19. The stages of the rock cycle showing various alternative pathways. (Photo and caption adapted from Marshak,
2015)

Geologists refer to the progressive transformation of Earth materials from one rock to
another over time as the rock cycle. The rock cycle shows the relationships among the rock
classes that you previously learned. Figure 3.19 illustrates this cycle. Let’s follow the biggest
arrow (from igneous rock to sedimentary rock to metamorphic rock then back to igneous rock).
You learned that an igneous rock is formed by the solidification of lava or magma. How can
igneous rock become a sedimentary rock? The igneous rock may undergo weathering and
erosion, then the sediments would be transported and deposited then finally would undergo
lithification. The formed sedimentary rock may be buried in the deepest part of Earth and may
subjected to intense heat and/ or pressure. Minerals in that sedimentary rock would undergo
changes to become a metamorphic rock. Take note that the formation of metamorphic rocks may
takes place very slowly. A metamorphic rock may go through melting. Through this, it can become
igneous rock. Further study figure 3.19, how can a metamorphic rock become a sedimentary
rock? How about a sedimentary rock, how can it become an igneous rock?

48
 ACTIVITY 3

I. Choose two (2) minerals from table 3.1 a and b. Compare and contrast their
properties using a Venn diagram. (10 points)

Mineral 1 Mineral 2

II. ESSAY. Answer the following questions:

1. Is it reliable to only use color to identify if a substance is a mineral or not?
Explain
2. How are metamorphic rocks different from igneous and sedimentary rocks? (5
points)
3. How does the crystal or grain size reflect the cooling time of a magma? (5
points).

III. A. MULTIPLE CHOICE. Write the letter of the answer that best fits the question
on your answer sheet.
1. Which of the following physical properties can be expressed in numbers?
a. Hardness
b. Luster
c. Cleavage
d. Color

49
 2. The mineral gypsum belongs to the carbonate group of minerals.
a. True
b. False

3. Which mineral reacts with dilute hydrochloric acid to produce carbon dioxide
gas?
a. Mica
b. Quartz
c. Calcite
d. Pyrite

B. Interpret the table below. Use the data to answer questions 4 and 5.

4. Rank the following minerals according to hardness: graphite, magnetite, biotite

mica and quartz.
Answer: _________________________________
5. Which mineral contains iron, has a metallic luster, is hard, and has the same
color and streak?
Answer: _________________________________

50
 LESSON 4: ENDOGENIC AND EXOGENIC PROCESSES

Introduction
The surface of the Earth is unevenly spread out due to the presence of landforms including
mountains, plains, hills, etc. These landforms are formed and deformed over a while, in an
ongoing process, due to the influence of internal and external pressure from within and above the
surface of the Earth. Endogenic and exogenic forces are two major geomorphic pressures that
are responsible to the Earth’s movements and give shape to its surface.

Learning Objectives
At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:

• differentiate exogenic and endogenic processes;

• identify if a process is exogenic or endogenic; and
• explain how exogenic and endogenic process contribute to the formation
of different landforms.

Discussion
EXOGENIC PROCESSES

These are processes that refer to activities or phenomena that occur on the Earth’s surface.
They are also called gradational processes. They comprise degradation and aggradation.

I. Degradation Processes
- also called Denudation Process
a. Weathering
Weathering refers to the destructive forces that change the physical or chemical character
of a rock at or near the Earth’s surface. More precisely, it involves the mechanical or physical
disintegration and/ or chemical decomposition that fragments rock masses into smaller
components that amass on-site, before being moved by gravity or transported by other agents.
There are two main types of weathering: mechanical and chemical.

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 a.1. Physical Weathering
This is caused by the effects of changing temperature on rocks, causing the rock to break
apart; the process is somehow assisted by water. The chemical composition of the rock is not
changed. There are five main types: FREEZE- THAW, ROOT WEDGING, ANIMAL ATTACK,
EXFOLIATION & SALT WEDGING.

a.1.1. Freeze- Thaw

This occurs when water continually seeps into cracks, freezes and expands, eventually
breaking the rock apart.

FIGURE 4.1. Freeze- thaw is a type

of physical weathering.

a.1.2. Root Wedging

Even though the roots do not seem very strong compared to a rock, as roots grow and
expand, they apply forces to their surroundings.

FIGURE 4.2. Root- wedging.

a.1.3. Animal Attack

Animal life contributes to physical weathering. For example, burrowing creatures, from
earthworms to gophers, move rock fragments. Human activities, such as excavating quarries,

52
foundations, mines, or roadbeds by digging & blasting, we shatter & displace rock that might
otherwise have remained intact.

a.1.4. Exfoliation
This occurs as cracks develop parallel to the land surface as a consequence of the
reduction in pressure during uplift and erosion.

FIGURE 4.3. Exfoliation.

a.1.5. Salt Wedging

In arid climates, dissolved salt in groundwater precipitates and grows as crystals in open
pore spaces in rocks. This process, salt wedging, pushes apart the surrounding grains and
weaken the rock, so when exposed to wind and rain, the rock disintegrates into separate grains.

a.2 Chemical Weathering

This refers to the chemical reactions that alter or destroy minerals when rock meets water
solutions or air. There are new chemical compounds created or the chemical make- up of a rock
is changed.

TYPES OF CHEMICAL WEATHERING

a.2.1 DISSOLUTION: chemical weathering during which minerals dissolve into water. This
primarily affects salts and carbonates which dissolve relatively easily.

53
 a.2.2. HYDROLYSIS: water chemically reacts with minerals and breaks them down to form
other minerals. For example, potassium feldspar, a common mineral in granite, reacts with
acidic water to produce kaolinite (a type of clay).
a.2.3. OXIDATION: oxidation reactions on rocks transform iron- bearing minerals (such as
pyrite) into rusty- brown mixture of various iron- oxide and iron- hydroxide minerals.
a.2.4. HYDRATION: the absorption of water into the crystal structure of minerals, causes some
minerals to expand. The expansion weakens the rock.
b. Mass Wasting
c. Erosion
d. Transportation

II. Aggradation Process

a. Deposition

ENDOGENIC PROCESSES

These are processes that originate below the Earth’s surface.

a. Volcanism: Volcanic eruptions → volcanoes

It refers to the eruption of magma to the surface of the planet. It serves an important
role in the Earth system because it transfers materials from inside the Earth to our planet’s
surface. The products of eruptions come in three forms — lava flows, pyroclastic debris and
gas.

FIGURE 4.4. Volcanic eruption

54
b. Folding of Rocks
This occurs when an originally flat surface are bent or curved permanently. This bending
or warping of stratified rocks is due to tectonic forces and occurs at a very slow rate. There
are five types of fold — anticline, syncline, monocline, domes and basins.

b.1. Anticline
These are folds that have an arch- like shape in which the limbs dip away from the hinge.

FIGURE 4.5. Anticline.

b.2. Syncline
These are folds which have a trough- like shape in which the limbs dip toward the hinge.

FIGURE 4.6. Syncline

b.3. Monocline
A monocline has a shape of a carpet draped over a stair step.

55
 FIGURE 4.7. Monocline.

b.4. Dome
This is a fold with a shape of an overturned bowl.

FIGURE 4.8. Dome

b.5. Basin
This is a fold shaped like an upright bowl.

FIGURE 4.9. Basin

56
c. Faulting of Rocks
This occurs when rock fracture under the accumulation of extreme stress created by
compression and extensional forces. This process can occur very rapidly. There are three
types of faults— Normal, Reverse and Tear.
c.1. Normal Fault: rocks move away from each other due to land moving apart.
c.2. Reverse Fault: opposite of normal fault; rocks are compressed such that one plate
moves up while the other descends below.
c.3. Tear Fault/ Strike- Slip: two rocks/ rock forms slide laterally past each other.

ACTIVITY 4

I. ESSAY. Answer the question below.

1. Volcanism is an endogenic process, despite being a dangerous phenomenon,
what is the importance of it? Explain your answer. (5 points)

57
 LESSON 5: PLATE TECTONICS

Introduction

In 1915, Alfred Wegener proposed the continental drift theory which later became the
foundation of the pate tectonics theory. Palin and Santosh (2020) stated that the formulation and
eventual acceptance of the theory of plate tectonics in the 1960s was a monumental turning point
for science, which has forever changed the way we think about the Earth. In this lesson, you will
learn about the key elements of this theory.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you shall be able to:

• identify Wegener’s evidence of continental drift;

• describe the process of seafloor spreading;
• explain how the continental drift theory led to the proposal of plate
tectonics;
• explain how lithospheric plates move relative to one another; and
• distinguish among the three types of plate boundaries.

Discussion

Continental Drifting

For a long time, geologists believed that the continents had remained fixed in position
throughout Earth’s history. This idea was challenged by Alfred Wegener when he published his
book entitled, The Origin of the Continents and Oceans. Wegener was a German meteorologist
who suggested that the continents where once fitted together in a massive supercontinent which
he named Pangaea (pan-jee-ah). He proposed a phenomenon called the continental drift in which
he explained that Pangaea later divided into smaller continents that drifted apart, moving slowly
to their present positions. He presented many observations to support his claim but despite these
observations, his idea was rejected by many geologists. At a widely publicized 1926 geology

58
conference in New York City, a crowd of celebrated American professors challenged, “What force
could possibly be great enough to move the immense mass of a continent?” Wegener’s writings
didn’t provide a good answer, so most of the meeting’s participants rejected continental drift
(Marshak, 2015).

The evidence that Wegener presented for his continental drift include: the fit of the
continents, distribution of fossils, and matching geologic units. Let’s study each of these.

The fit of the continents

In the 1500s, the maps of the Atlantic coastlines became available. The scholars noticed
the remarkable fit of the continents. Specifically, the northwestern coast of Africa looks like it could
tuck in against the eastern coast of North America, and the bulge of South America could nestle
cozily into the indentation of southwestern Africa (Marshak, 2015).

FIGURE 5.1. The “Bullard fit” of continents. In 1965, Edward Bullard

used a computer to fit the continents and demonstrate how the minor gaps
and overlaps are, although the match still isn’t perfect. (Photo and caption
adapted from Marshak, 2015)

59
 The distribution of fossils

The species Mesosaurus are land- dwelling animals that lived during the Mesozoic era.
When Wegener studied the fossils of this species, he found that it existed on several continents.
Matching fossils of Mesosaurus were found on the separate continents of Africa and South
America. If there are oceans that lay in between continents, how can they travel from one
continent to the other? Wegener suggested that this may be because continents were once fitted
together which was just eventually separated through continental drifting.

FIGURE 5.2. Fossil localities show that Mesozoic land- dwelling organisms occur on
more than one continent. This would be hard to explain if oceans lay between these
continents. (Photo and caption adapted from Marshak, 2015)

Matching geologic units

The eastern coast of South America and the western coast of Africa are now regions
separated by an ocean. In these areas, same distinctive Precambrian rock assemblages were
found by Wegener. If the continents had been joined to create Pangaea in the past, then these
matching rock groups would have been adjacent to each other and thus could have composed

60
continuous blocks or belts (Marshak, 2015). He also studied the Appalachian Mountain belt of the
United States and Canada. He suggested that the belt strongly resemble those of the mountain
belts of Scandinavia, Great Britain, southern Greenland, and northwestern Africa. In the
supercontinent he called Pangaea, these regions would have rested adjacent to North America,
where United States and Canada belong.

FIGURE 5.3. Matching geologic units of continents. (Photo adapted from Marshak, 2015)

The Seafloor Spreading

Wegener’s idea of continental drifting was rejected by many geologists. His theory
remained dormant for many years until in the 1960, when the American geologist, Harry Hess
proposed that process of seafloor spreading. Hess’ observation became possible due to the
invention of sonar which permitted researchers to make a detailed map of the seafloor. These
maps revealed the existence of mid-ocean ridges, deep-ocean trenches, seamount chains, and
fracture zones. Mid- ocean ridges are elongate submarine mountains ranges whose peaks lie
about 2 to 2.5 km below sea level. Deep- ocean trenches are areas in the ocean floor that reach
depths of greater than 5 km. Seamounts are isolated submarine mountains. Many of these were
once islands at one time and then later sank beneath sea level. Fracture zones are bands of
vertical cracks that dice up the seafloor of mid- ocean ridges.

Harry Hess proposed that as continents move apart new ocean floor forms between them
by a process that his contemporary, Robert Dietz, named seafloor spreading. Hess further

61
suggested that continents can move toward each other when the old ocean floor between them
sinks back down into the Earth’s interior, a process now called subduction.

FIGURE 5.4. The seafloor spreading. (Photo adapted from Marshak, 2015).

Plate Tectonics
The discovery of the seafloor spreading gave solid evidence for Wegener’s continental
drift theory. However, Wegener died long before he knew that his once rejected proposal became
the foundation of the theory of plate tectonics. Plate tectonics says that the Earth’s lithosphere is
divided into “plates” that move relative to one another. In plate tectonics, the top thermal boundary
layer (or equivalently, lithosphere or plates) can deform considerably and sink into the deep
mantle (Korenaga, 2013). As you learned in lesson 2, lithosphere consists of the crust and the
uppermost part of the mantle. It is rigid which means that it does not flow but rather bends or

62
breaks when acted on by force. Beneath the lithosphere is a layer called the asthenosphere,
which is the part of the mantle that can flow when acted by a force. This is illustrated in figure 5.5.

FIGURE 5.5. The lithosphere is fairly rigid, but when a heavy

load, such as a glacier or volcano, builds on its surface, the
surface bends down. This can happen because underlying
“plastic” asthenosphere can ow out of the way. (Photo
adapted from Marshak, 2015)

The lithosphere is broken into about 20 pieces called the lithospheric plates or simply
plates. These plates lie on top of the asthenosphere. Due to the convection of the asthenosphere,
the plates move relative to each other at various rates, from two to 15 centimeters (one to six
inches) per year. This interaction of tectonic plates is responsible for many different geological
formations such as the Himalaya Mountain Range in Asia, the East African Rift, and the San
Andreas Fault in California, United States (National Geographic Society, 2020).

Where the lithospheric plates meet is called the plate boundary. Geologists define three
types of plate boundaries based simply on the relative motions of the plates on either side of the
boundary (Marshak, 2015). These are divergent, convergent, and transform plate boundaries.

63
 FIGURE 5.6. A map of the major lithospheric plates. (Photo adapted from Marshak, 2015).

FIGURE 5.7. The three types of plate boundaries differ based on the nature of relative movement. (Photo adapted from Marshak,
2015).

64
 The divergent boundary is also called the spreading boundary. In this this type of plate
boundary, two plate move away from each other. Along these boundaries, magma rises from the
Earth’s mantle to the surface, solidifying to create new oceanic crust. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is
an example of divergent plate boundaries (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
n.d). A convergent plate boundary happens when two plates move toward each other. The impact
of the colliding plates can cause the edges of one or both plates to buckle up into mountain ranges
or one of the plates may bend down into a deep seafloor trench (National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, n.d). The bending or sinking process is called the subduction.
Oceanic crust is often the one that subsides into the mantle where it begins to melt. Magma rises
through the other plate and solidifies to create continental crust. Large earthquakes are generated
at convergent boundaries because the plate that sinks grinds along the base of the overriding
plate. Furthermore, a chain of volcanoes also forms parallel to convergent plate boundaries. The
last type of plate boundary is called a transform plate boundary. In this type of plate boundary,
one plate slips past another along a vertical fault. The San Andreas Fault in California, United
States is one common example of this plate boundary.

ACTIVITY 5

I. Research on the following:

1. In which lithospheric plate does the Philippines belong to? (5 points)
2. What are the active fault lines in the Philippines? What cities do each of these
fault lines traverses? What are the risks of living near a fault line? (30 points)

65
 LESSON 6: CELL AS THE BASIC UNIT OF LIFE

Introduction

In 1665, Robert Hooke used a crude microscope to examine a piece of bark from an oak
tree. Hooke compared the structures he saw to “little rooms”—cellulae in Latin—and the term cell
stuck. His contemporary, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, working with more refined lenses, examined
numerous subjects, from blood and sperm to pond water. He produced drawings and enthusiastic
descriptions of his discoveries, such as the tiny “animalcules, very prettily a-moving” he found in
the scrapings from his teeth. Since the days of Hooke and Leeuwenhoek, the study of cells, its
structure, and their functions, has come a long way. Cells are the subject of thousands of
publications every year, with every aspect of their miniscule structure coming under scrutiny. In
this lesson, you are going to explore the cell theory, cell structures and functions and compare
the two fundamentally different classes of cells.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:

• explain the postulates of the cell theory;

• describe the structure and function of major subcellular organelles; and
• distinguish prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells according to their distinguishing
feature.

Discussion

Before microscopes were first used in the 1600s, the fact that living organisms are
composed of the tiny units we call cells is still not known. Light microscopes were the first
microscopes. In a light microscope (LM), light is passed through a specimen, such as animal or
plant tissue, and then through glass lenses. The image of this specimen is magnified as it is
projected into your eye or a camera because the lenses bend the light. The increase in an object’s
image size compared with its actual size is called “magnification”. Figure 6.1 shows a micrograph
of a single- celled organism called Paramecium.

66
 FIGURE 6.1. Light micrograph of the unicellular organism Paramecium. (Photo and
caption adapted from Taylor et al., 2017)

The notation “LM 230x” that you see on the lower right side of the figure means that this
photograph was taken through a ligt microscope and that the image is 230 times the actual size
of the organism. Paramecium is about 0.33 millimeter (mm) in length. Table 6.1 summarizes the
most common units that biologists use.

TABLE 6.1. Common units of length that biologists use. (Data adapted from Taylor et al., 2017)

Metric Measurement Equivalents

1 meter (m)= 100 cm = 1,000 mm= 39.4 inches
1 centimeter (cm)= 10-2 m (0.01 or 1/100 m) = 0.4 inch
1 millimeter (mm)= 10-3 m (0.001 or 1/ 1,000 m)
1 micrometer (µm)= 10-6 m (0.000001 m) = 10-3 mm
1 nanometer (nm)= 10-9 m = 10-3 µm

According to Taylor et al. (2017), in their ninth edition of Campbell biology, from the time
that Hooke discovered cells in 1665 until the middle of the 1900s, biologists had only light
microscopes for viewing cells. They added that with these microscopes and various staining
techniques to increase contrast between parts of cells, these early biologists discovered
microorganisms, animal, and plant cells, and even some structures within cells. By the mid-1800s,
this accumulation of evidence led to the cell theory, which states that all living things are
composed of cells and that all cells come from other cells. The knowledge of the cell structure
took a big leap forward as biologists began using electron microscope in the 1950s.

67
 An electron microscope (EM) focuses a beam of electrons through a specimen or onto its
surface instead of using light. Electron microscopes can distinguish biological structures. To study
the detailed architecture of cell surfaces, biologists use the scanning electron microscope (SEM).
The SEM uses an electron beam to scan the surface of a cell or other sample, which is usually
coated with a thin film of gold. The beam excites electrons on the surface, and these electrons
are then detected by a device that translates their pattern into an image projected onto a video
screen. Figure 6.2 presents a scanning electron micrograph that highlights the numerous cilia on
Paramecium, projections it uses for movement.

FIGURE 6.2. Scanning electron micrograph of Paramecium. (Photo and caption

adapted from Taylor et al., 2017)

Another type of microscope if called transmission electron microscope (TEM). This is used
to study the details of internal structure. The TEM aims an electron beam through a very thin
section of a specimen, just as a light microscope aims a beam of light through a specimen. The
section is stained with atoms of heavy metals, which attach to certain cellular structures more
than others. Electrons are scattered by these denser parts, and the image is created by the pattern
of transmitted electrons. Instead of using glass lenses, both the SEM and TEM use
electromagnets as lenses to bend the paths of the electrons, magnifying and focusing the image
onto a monitor. Figure 6.3 shows the internal details of a single- celled organism called
Toxoplasma, a parasite of cats that can be transmitted to humans, causing the disease
toxoplasmosis.

68
 FIGURE 6.3. Transmission electron micrograph of Toxoplasma. (Photo and
caption adapted from Taylor et al., 2017)

The advent of electron microscopes has truly revolutionized the study of cell. Nonetheless,
they have not replaced the light microscope: electron microscopes cannot be used to study living
specimens because the methods used to prepare the specimen kill the cells. For a biologist
studying a living process, such as the movement of Paramecium, a light microscope equipped
with a video camera is more suitable than either an SEM or a TEM. We cannot deny the great
help that microscopes offered for us to understand the properties and structure of cells.

Cell Theory

In 1838, Matthias Schleiden, a German lawyer turned botanist, concluded that, despite
differences in the structure of various tissues, plants were made of cells and that the plant embryo
arose from a single cell. In 1839, Theodor Schwann, a German zoologist and colleague
Schleiden’s, published a comprehensive report on the cellular basis of animal life. Schwann
concluded that the cells of plants and animals are similar structures and proposed these two
tenets of the cell theory:

• All organisms are composed of one or more cells.

• The cell is the structural unit of life.

Schleiden and Schwann’s ideas on the origin of cells proved to be less insightful; both
agreed that cells could arise from noncellular materials. Given the prominence that these two
scientists held in the scientific world, it took a number of years before observations by other
biologists were accepted as demonstrating that cells did not arise in this manner any more than

69
organisms arose by spontaneous generation. By 1855, Rudolf Virchow, a German pathologist,
had made a convincing case for the third tenet of the cell theory:

• Cells can arise only by the division from a preexisting cell.

FIGURE 6.4. Matthias Schleiden (left), Theodor Schwann (middle), and Rudolf Virchow (right)
were the proponents of the cell theory.

Basic Properties of Cells

1. Cells are highly complex and organized.

2. Cells possess a genetic program and the means to use it.

3. Cells can produce more of themselves.

4. Cells acquire and utilize energy.

5. Cells carry out a variety of chemical reactions.

6. Cells engage in mechanical activities.

7. Cells can respond to stimuli.

8. Cells are capable of self- regulation.

9. Cells evolve.

70
Two Fundamentally Different Classes of Cells

FIGURE 6.5. The two different classes of cells and where each is observed.

Features shared by both types

• Plasma membrane of similar construction

• Genetic information encoded in DNA using identical genetic code

• Both contain ribosomes

• Similar mechanism of photosynthesis (between

cyanobacteria and green plants)

• The Cell Membrane: selective barrier (semi

permeable) that allows passage of enough
oxygen, nutrients and wastes to service the entire
cell. It consists of a double layer (bilayer) of
phospholipids.

FIGURE 6.6. The cell membrane. (Photo adapted

from Taylor et al., 2017)

71
• Cytoplasm and Cytosol
- CYTOPLASM: consists of organelles and cytosol
- CYTOSOL: makes up about 70% of the cell volume; composed of water, salts &
more macromolecules such as protein and enzymes.

FIGURE 6.7. A eukaryotic cell showing the cytoplasm and cytosol.

Prokaryotic Cells

• pro= before, karyon= nucleus

• structurally simpler than eukaryotic cells; include bacteria

• were first to evolve and were Earth’s sole inhabitants for more than 1.5 billion years

• absence of complex membranous cytoplasmic organelles

• major component of cell wall: peptidoglycan

• come in different shapes

72
 FIGURE 6.8. A diagram of a typical prokaryotic. (Photo and caption adapted from Taylor
et al., 2017)

Figure 6.8 shows the parts of a bacterium, a typical prokaryotic. A region called a
“nucleoid” is the location of the cell’s DNA. Note that this region is not enclosed by a membrane.
Ribosomes are also present in a prokaryotic cell, but they are smaller and somewhat different
that those found in eukaryotic cells. Prokaryotes also have cell walls found outside of their plasma
membrane. Certain prokaryotic organisms have capsule around their cell walls. The capsule helps
a prokaryote glue itself to surfaces or to other cells in a colony. Short projections, the fimbriae,
are found on the surface of some prokaryotes. These projections aid in attaching to their
substrates. Longer projections, the flagella, propel a cell through its liquid environment. Figure
6.9 shows some examples of common prokaryotes.

73
 FIGURE 6.9. Helicobacter pylori (left) is a bacterium that causes stomach ulcers;
Staphylococcus aureus (top right) is a bacterium that causes pneumonia, heart valve infections,
and bone infections; and Leptospira interrogans (bottom left) is a bacterium that causes
leptospirosis. Notice that bacteria come in different shapes.

Eukaryotic Cells

• eu= true, karyon= nucleus

• partitioned into functional components

• structurally more complex

• include protists, fungi, plants, and animals

74
 FIGURE 6.10. An animal cell with its parts. An animal cell is a eukaryotic cell. (Photo adapted from National Geographic
Society, 2019).

Figure 6.10 shows a diagram of an animal cell. An animal cell is a type of eukaryotic cell.
Notice that the DNA is contained inside a nucleus. This nucleus is enclosed by a nuclear
membrane. This is the major difference between a prokaryotic and a eukaryotic cell. Previously,
it was mentioned that in a prokaryotic cell, there is no true nucleus as its DNA is contained in a
region not enclosed by a membrane. Another example of a eukaryotic cell is a plant cell. Refer to
figure 6.11 to see the parts of a plant cell.

75
 FIGURE 6.11. Another eukaryotic cell is the plant cell. DNA is also found inside the nucleus. A plant cell has a cell wall.
(Photo adapted from Taylor et al., 2017)

The DNA in a plant cell is also fund inside the nucleus. One distinguishing feature of this
cell is the presence of cell wall. Its cell wall is composed primarily of cellulose. Additionally, a plant
cell usually has a large vacuole which occupies a large portion of the cell.

Organelles

- “little organs”; perform specific tasks

- Each organelle is bounded by a membrane with lipid and protein composition that suits its
function.

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 FIGURE 6.12. Basic functional groups of organelles.

The Nucleus and Ribosomes

The genetic instructions are encoded in deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA. In a eukaryotic cell,
most of the DNA is contained inside a nucleus. Thus, the nucleus controls the activities of the cell.
The eukaryotic DNA is associated with several proteins and are organized in structures called
chromosomes. The nuclear envelope is a double membrane that encloses the nucleus. It controls
the flow of materials into and out of the nucleus. Figure 6.13 shows a cross section of nucleus. A
prominent part called the nucleolus is the site of RNA synthesis. RNA synthesis is a process
wherein RNA is synthesized according to the instructions of the DNA. The machines that carry
out the command of the nucleus are the ribosomes. Ribosomes are the cellular components that
use instructions from the nucleus, written in mRNA, to build proteins (Taylor et al., 2017). They
are often referred to as the protein factory of the cell. This is the site where proteins are
synthesized. There are two types of ribosomes depending on their location. Free ribosomes are
suspended in the cytosol and bound ribosomes are those that are attached to endoplasmic
reticulum or nuclear envelope. These two types are structurally identical.

77
FIGURE 6.13. A cross section of the nucleus with a superimposed TEM. (Photo and caption adapted from Taylor et al., 2017)

FIGURE 6.14. The locations of the ribosomes (Photo and caption adapted
from Taylor et al., 2017)

78
Endoplasmic reticulum

An extensive network of flattened sacs and tubules comprises the endoplasmic reticulum
(often abbreviated as ER). An endoplasmic reticulum could either be smooth endoplasmic
reticulum or rough endoplasmic reticulum. Smooth ER’s surface lacks attached ribosomes. It
functions in a variety of metabolic processes. Enzymes of the smooth ER are important in the
synthesis of lipids, including oils, phospholipids, and steroids (Taylor et al., 2017). The surface of
the rough ER has bound ribosomes and thus appear rough under the microscope. According to
Taylor et al. (2017), Many types of cells secrete proteins produced by ribosomes attached to
rough ER. An example of a secretory protein is insulin, a hormone produced and secreted by
certain cells of the pancreas and transported in the bloodstream.

FIGURE 6.15. Smooth and rough endoplasmic reticulum. (Photo and

caption adapted from Taylor et al., 2017)

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Golgi Apparatus
The Golgi apparatus or Golgi body was named after Camilo Golgi, the Italian physician
and cytologist who discovered it. This organelle modifies, sorts, and ships cell products. Products
manufactured by the ER are brought to the Golgi apparatus by transport vesicles. Figure 6.16
illustrates how a Golgi apparatus receives products from the ER, processes, and ships them.

FIGURE 6.16. The Golgi apparatus modifies, sorts and ships cell products. (Photo adapted from Taylor et al., 2017)

The Golgi apparatus is made up of flattened sacs. One side of this organelle, called the
cis face, serves as the receiving side. It usually receives transport vesicles from the endoplasmic
reticulum. Once received, the vesicle then fuses with a Golgi sac, adding its membrane and
contents to the receiving side. As the products of the ER progress through the stack, they are
modified. The shipping side is called the trans face. This functions as the depot that dispatches
the products in vesicles that bud off and travel to other sites.

Lysosomes

Lysosomes are compartments within a cell that is filled with digestive enzymes. These
enzymes are made by rough ER and processed in the Golgi body. Lysosomes carry out a variety
of digestive functions. In protist, they may fuse with food vacuoles and digest the food. In humans,
the white blood cells engulf bacteria and then destroy them using lysosomes. They also serve as

80
recycling centers. Vesicles in cells enclose damaged organelles. Lysosomes then fuses with them
and dismantles the contents of the damaged organelles to make organic molecules available for
reuse. In this way, the cell continually renews itself.

Vacuoles

Vacuoles are present in both animal and plant cells. However, plant vacuoles are much
larger than animal vacuoles. Vacuoles are vesicles derived from ER and Golgi apparatus.
Vacuoles store vital chemicals and toxic waste products. In plant cells, they help the cell grow in
size by absorbing water and enlarging.

FIGURE 6.17. Plant cell has a large central vacuole that absorbs water and enlarges which
helps the cell to grow. (Photo adapted from Taylor et al., 2017)

Peroxisomes
Peroxisomes are metabolic compartments involved in the breakdown of fatty acids for use
as cellular fuel. In the liver, peroxisomes detoxify harmful compounds. In these processes,
enzymes transfer hydrogen from the compounds to oxygen, producing hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).
Other enzymes in the peroxisome convert this toxic by-product to water—another example of the
importance of a cell’s compartmental structure.

81
 FIGURE 6.18. Peroxisome functions in the breakdown of fatty acids.

Mitochondria and Chloroplasts

The energy converting organelles of the eukaryotic cells are the mitochondria (sing.
mitochondrion) and the chloroplasts. Aside from the nucleus, some DNAs are also found in these
organelles. In humans, mitochondrial DNA is passed unchanged from mother to her children. The
origin of these organelles is explained by the endosymbiont theory. The endosymbiont theory
states that mitochondria and chloroplasts were formerly small prokaryotes that began living within
larger cells. These prokaryotes may have gained entry to the larger cell as undigested prey or
parasites. We can hypothesize how the symbiosis could have been beneficial. In a world that was
becoming increasingly aerobic from the oxygen-generating photosynthesis of prokaryotes, a host
would have benefited from an endosymbiont that was able to use oxygen to release large amounts
of energy from organic molecules. Over the course of evolution, the host cell and its endosymbiont
merged into a single organism—a eukaryotic cell with mitochondria. If one of these cells acquired
a photosynthetic prokaryote, the prokaryote could provide the host cell with nourishment. An
increasingly interdependent host and endosymbiont, over many generations, could become a
eukaryotic cell containing chloroplasts.
Mitochondria harvest chemical energy from food. They are the sites of a process called
cellular respiration in nearly all eukaryotic cells. In this process, mitochondria use O2 and release
CO2 in transforming the chemical energy of foods to a form (ATP) that can be used for cellular
work.

82
 FIGURE 6.19. The endosymbiont theory. (Photo adapted from Taylor et al.,
2017)

Chloroplasts convert solar energy to chemical energy. These organelles are the sites of
photosynthesis, a process by which plants manufacture their own food. Thus, chloroplasts are
only present in plant cells. Chloroplasts contain the green pigment chlorophyll.

83
FIGURE 6.20. Mitochondrion harvests chemical energy from food. (Photo adapted from Taylor
et al., 2017)

84
 FIGURE 6.21. Chloroplast is the site of photosynthesis. (Photo adapted from Taylor et al., 2017)

The cytoskeleton and cell surfaces

Cytoskeleton is a network of fibers that extend throughout a cell. It provides support and
aid cell movement. Three main kinds of fibers make up the cytoskeleton: microtubules, the
thickest fiber; microfilaments, the thinnest; and intermediate filaments, in between in thickness.
See figure 6.22 for the components of each type. Microtubules give shape and support to the
cells. They also guide the movement of chromosomes when cells divide and are the main
components of cilia and flagella. In animal cells, they grow out from a region called the
centrosome. In plant cells, there are no centrosomes and so the microtubules are organized by
other means.

85
 FIGURE 6.22. The fibers of the cytoskeleton. (Photo adapted from Taylor et al., 2017)

Intermediate filaments reinforce cell shape and anchor some organelles. Microfilaments s
form a three-dimensional network just inside the plasma membrane that helps support the cell’s
shape. This is especially important for animal cells, which lack cell walls.

Cell Wall

One feature that distinguishes plant cell from an animal cell is the presence of cell wall. A
rigid, extracellular structure called the cell wall provides skeletal support and protection to the
plant cell. The main component of a plant’s cell wall is cellulose. Numerous channels that connect
adjacent plant cells is called plasmodesmata (singular, plasmodesma). Cytosol passing through
the plasmodesmata allows water and other small molecules to freely move from cell to cell.
Through plasmodesmata, the cells of a plant tissue share water, nourishment, and chemical
messages.

86
FIGURE 6.23. A plant cell wall. (Photo adapted from Taylor et al., 2017)

87
 ACTIVITY 6
I. Draw an illustration of an animal cell. Make sure to label all the parts. (10
points)

II. Compare plant and animal cell by filling out the table below. Write present
if the indicated cell part is seen in a particular cell otherwise, write absent.
(20 points)

CELL PART ANIMAL PLANT

Nucleus
Ribosome
Endoplasmic
reticulum
Golgi apparatus
Plasma
membrane
Cell Wall
Mitochondria
Chloroplast
Centrosome
Vacuole

III. ESSAY. Answer the following questions:

1. What are the features shared by both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells?
(5 points)
2. What is the importance of lysosomes in immunity? (5 points)

88
 LESSON 7: CELLULAR RESPIRATION

Introduction

In the previous lesson, you learned that the organelle called mitochondria is the site of a
process named cellular respiration. In cellular respiration, O2 is consumed as organic molecules
are broken down to CO2 and H2O, and the cell captures the energy released in ATP (Taylor et al.,
2017). In this lesson, you will learn about the stages of cellular respiration.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:

• explain how oxygen is used in cellular respiration;

• describe the different stages of cellular respiration; and
• explain the importance of cellular respiration.

Discussion

Metabolic Pathways
• A metabolic pathway is a series of chemical reactions in a cell that build and breakdown
molecules for cellular processes.
• Each reaction step is facilitated, or catalyzed, by a protein called an enzyme. Enzymes
are important for catalyzing all types of biological reactions: those that require energy as
well as those that release energy.
• Anabolic pathways synthesize molecules and require energy.
• Catabolic pathways break down molecules and produce energy.
An anabolic pathway requires energy and builds molecules while a catabolic pathway produces
energy and breaks down molecules.

89
 FIGURE 7.1. The metabolic pathways.

Anabolic and catabolic pathways: Anabolic pathways are those that require energy to
synthesize larger molecules. Catabolic pathways are those that generate energy by breaking
down larger molecules. Both types of pathways are required for maintaining the cell’s energy
balance.

FIGURE 7.2. The basic workflow of enzymes, starting with a substrate and producing end-products at the
end of the reaction.

What is an Enzyme
• are proteins that speed up reactions. Each enzyme typically binds
only to one substrate. Enzymes are not consumed during a
reaction; instead, they are available to bind new substrates and
catalyze the same reaction repeatedly.
• The three major parts include: Active site, substrate, and the
enzyme. FIGURE 7.3. Major
parts of an enzyme.

90
The Lock-and-Key-Theory about enzymes
• In this theory, the enzyme-substrate interaction suggests that the enzyme and the
substrate possess specific complementary geometric shapes that fit exactly into
one another. Like a key into a lock, only the correct size and shape of the substrate
(the key) would fit into the active site (the key hole) of the enzyme (the lock).

FIGURE 7.4. The three major glands contributing to

the production of saliva (containing the enzyme
Amylase) that is used for carbohydrate digestion.

THE 6 MAJOR CLASSES OF ENZYMES

91
Metabolism of Carbohydrates
• Carbs contain many chemical bonds and therefore store a lot of chemical energy. When
these molecules are broken down during metabolism, the energy in the chemical bonds
is released and can be harnessed for cellular processes.

FIGURE 7.5. All living things use carbohydrates as a form of energy: plants, like this
oak tree and acorn, use energy from sunlight to make sugar and other organic molecules.
Both plants and animals (like this squirrel) use cellular respiration to derive energy from
the organic molecules originally produced by plants.

Cellular Respiration: Energy Production from Carbohydrates

• Inside the cell, each sugar molecule is broken down through a complex series of chemical
reactions.

• As chemical energy is released from the bonds in the monosaccharide, it is harnessed to

synthesize high-energy adenosine triphosphate (ATP) molecules.
• ATP is the primary energy currency of all cells. Just as a money is used as currency to
buy goods, cells use molecules of ATP to perform immediate work and power chemical
reactions.

The breakdown of glucose during metabolism is call cellular respiration can be described by the
equation:

92
 FIGURE 7.6. The chemical equation of cellular respiration.

• It is a catabolic pathway
• Oxygen is consumed as a reactant along with organic compounds.
• Involves three stages:
1. Glycolysis
2. Krebs Cycle
3. Electron Transport Chain

FIGURE 7.7. Summary of cellular respiration. Glycolysis occurs in the cytosol while the last
two stages happen in the mitochondrion.

Electrons and Energy

• The transfer of electrons between molecules via oxidation and reduction allows the cell to
transfer and use energy for cellular functions.

93
NADH
• Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide: (NAD) An organic coenzyme involved in biological
oxidation and reduction reactions.
• NAD+ traps electrons from glucose to make NADH (energy stored)
• Similarly, FAD+ stores energy as FADH2

FIGURE 7.8. The structure of NADH and NAD+: The oxidized form of the
electron carrier (NAD+) is shown on the left and the reduced form (NADH) is
shown on the right. The nitrogenous base in NADH has one more hydrogen ion
and two more electrons than in NAD+.

FADH2
• Flavin adenine dinucleotide, or FADH2, is a redox cofactor that is created during the Krebs
cycle and utilized during the last part of respiration

94
Where Does Cellular Respiration Take Place?
• It actually takes place in two parts of the cell:
1. Glycolysis occurs in the Cytoplasm
2. Krebs Cycle & ETC Take place in the Mitochondria

I. Glycolysis
• Means “splitting of sugar”
• Occurs in the cytosol of the cell
• Partially oxidizes glucose (6C) into two
pyruvate (3C) molecules.
• Occurs whether or not oxygen is present.
• An exergonic process, (meaning energy
is released) most of the energy harnessed
is conserved in the high-energy electrons of FIGURE 7.9. In glycolysis, glucose Is broken down into two
molecules of pyruvic acid.
NADH and in the phosphate bonds of ATP

95
 FIGURE 7.10. The different steps in glycolysis.

Glycolysis Summary:
• Takes place in the Cytoplasm
• Anaerobic (Doesn’t Use Oxygen)

96
 • Requires input of 2 ATP
• Glucose split into two molecules of Pyruvate
• Also produces 2 NADH and 4 ATP

II. Formation of Acetyl CoA

• Junction between glycolysis and Krebs cycle

• Oxidation of pyruvate to acetyl CoA
• Pyruvate molecules are translocated from the cytosol into the mitochondrion by a carrier
protein in the mitochondrial membrane.
• A CO2 is removed from pyruvate – making a 2C compound
• Coenzyme A is attached to the acetyl group.

FIGURE 7.11. Coenzyme A is attached to the acetyl group.

III. Krebs Cycle

• Requires Oxygen (Aerobic)
• Cyclical series of oxidation reactions that give off CO2 and produce one ATP per cycle
• Turns twice per glucose molecule
• Produces two ATP
• Takes place in matrix of mitochondria

97
FIGURE 7.12. The Krebs Cycle involves several steps.

98
Krebs Cycle Summary
• Each turn of the Krebs Cycle also produces 3NADH, 1FADH2, and 2CO2
• Therefore, for each Glucose molecule, the Krebs Cycle produces 6NADH, 2FADH2,
4CO2, and 2ATP

IV. Electron Transport Chain

• Located in the inner membrane of the mitochondria.
• Oxygen pulls the electrons from NADH and FADH2 down the electron transport chain to
a lower energy state
• Process produces 34 ATP or 90 of the ATP in the body.
• Requires oxygen, the final electron acceptor.
• For every FADH2 molecule – 2 ATP’s are produced.
• For every NADH molecule – 3 ATP’s are produced.
• Chemiosmosis – the production of ATP using the energy of H+ gradients across
membranes to phosphorylate ADP.

ATP Synthase

FIGURE 7.13. ATP synthase plays an important role in the last stage of cellular respiration.

99
 FIGURE 7.14. One molecule of glucose produces about 38 ATP molecules.

Cellular Respiration in Summary

Glycolysis
• 2 ATP
• 2 NADH → 4-6 ATP (Depends on how this NADH molecule gets to the ETC. To
make things simple we will say that these two NADH’s make 4 ATP)

Formation of Acetyl CoA

• 2 NADH → 6 ATP

Krebs Cycle
• 2 ATP
• 6 NADH → 18 ATP
• 2 FADH2 → 4 ATP

Grand Total = 36 ATP

100
Anaerobic respiration
• Type of cellular respiration that does not require oxygen.
Fermentation
• Type of anaerobic respiration that includes glycolysis followed by the conversion
of pyruvic acid to one or more other compounds and the formation of NAD+.

• Occurs when O2 NOT present (anaerobic)

• Called Lactic Acid fermentation in muscle cells (makes muscles tired)
• Called Alcoholic fermentation in yeast (produces ethanol)
• Nets only 2 ATP
Lactic acid fermentation – a type of anaerobic respiration that includes glycolysis followed by
the conversion of pyruvic acid to lactic acid and the formation of NAD+.

FIGURE 7.15. Lactic acid fermentation.

• In lactate formation, the pyruvic acid that is produced by glycolysis is changed into a form
of lactic acid. This is the type of anaerobic respiration that occurs in muscle cells. However,
anaerobic respiration does not sustain muscle cells for very long: as lactic acid builds up,
fatigue and muscle cramps result. This same process in bacteria cause food to spoil, and
with certain bacteria such fermentation allows us to make cheese and yogurt.

Alcoholic fermentation – a type of anaerobic respiration that includes glycolysis followed by the
conversion of pyruvic acid to ethanol and carbon dioxide and the formation of NAD+.

101
 FIGURE 7.16. Alcohol fermentation.

• Fermentation of grape juice into wine produces CO 2 as a byproduct. Fermentation tanks

have valves so that the pressure inside the tanks created by the carbon dioxide produced
can be released.

ACTIVITY 7

ESSAY. Answer the questions below:

1. What is the role of oxygen in cellular respiration? (5 points)

2. Of all the stages of cellular respiration, which one do you think evolved first? Explain
your answer. (10 points)

102
 LESSON 8: PHOTOSYNTHESIS

Introduction

Solar powered, that is the life on Earth. The light energy that has traveled 150 million
kilometers from that sun is captured by chloroplasts in plant cells. Plants use this energy to convert
carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) to sugars and other organic molecules, releasing oxygen
(O2) as a by- product. This process is commonly known as photosynthesis. Organisms that are
able to photosynthesize or make their own food are called autotrophs. Plants are autotrophs.
Autotrophs not only feed themselves, but they are the sources of organic molecules for almost all
other organisms. Because they use the energy of light, plants and other photosynthesizers are
specifically called photoautotrophs. Photoautotrophs are often referred to as the producers of the
biosphere because they produce its food supply. The photographs below show some of the
diversity among today’s photoautotrophs. On land, plants such as those in the tropical forest are
the producers. In aquatic environments, producers include algae like kelp and some protists.
Cyanobacteria, which are prokaryotes, are important producers in freshwater and marine
ecosystems.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:

• describe organisms that undergo the process of photosynthesis; and
• explain how photosynthetic organisms use light energy to combine carbon dioxide
and water to form energy- rich compounds.

103
Discussion

Photosynthesis occurs in chloroplasts in plant cells

All green parts of a plant have chloroplasts in their cells, but leaves are the major sites of
photosynthesis in most plants. Indeed, a section of leaf with a top surface area of 1 mm2 has

FIGURE 8.1. Cross section of a leaf showing the tissue called mesophyll. Chloroplasts are found in this tissue. (Photo adapted from Taylor
et al., 2017)

about a half million chloroplasts (Taylor et al., 2017). The green color that most leaves have
comes from a green pigment called the chlorophyll. This pigment absorbs certain wavelengths of
light that trigger the start of photosynthesis and it reflects the green wavelength. The reflected
wavelength is what our eyes see. Mesophyll is a tissue found in the interior of the cell. Figure 8.1
shows the mesophyll. Chloroplasts are concentrated in this tissue. Tiny pores called the stomata
(sing. stoma, meaning “mouth”) are where carbon dioxide enters, and oxygen exits. Water
absorbed by the roots is delivered to the leaves in veins. Leaves also use veins to export
manufactured sugar to roots and other parts of the plant. Each cell has numerous chloroplasts. A

104
typical mesophyll cell has about 30 to 40 chloroplasts. Membranes within the chloroplast form the
framework for many of the reactions of photosynthesis. As Taylor et al., (2017) described:

In the chloroplast, an envelope of two membranes encloses an inner

compartment, which is filled with a thick fluid called stroma. Suspended in the
stroma is a system of interconnected membranous sacs, called thylakoids, which
enclose another internal compartment, called the thylakoid space. In many
places, thylakoids are concentrated in stacks called grana (singular, granum).
Built into the thylakoid membranes are the chlorophyll molecules that capture light
energy. The thylakoid membranes also house much of the machinery that
converts light energy to chemical energy, which is then used in the stroma of the
chloroplast to make sugar.

Photosynthesis has two stages: light reactions and the Calvin cycle. These two are linked
by ATP and NADPH. The thylakoids are where the light reactions occur. This stage converts light
energy to chemical energy and release oxygen. Figure 8.2 illustrates this stage.

FIGURE 8.2. The light reactions of photosynthesis occur in the thylakoids of the chloroplast. (Photo adapted from Taylor et al.,
2017)

105
The Light Reaction Process
1. A photon of light strikes one of the pigment molecules in a light- harvesting complex of PS
II, boosting one of its electrons to a higher level. The process continues until it reaches the
P680 pair of chlorophyll a molecules in the PS II reaction- center complex.
2. This electron is transferred from the excited P680 to the primary electron acceptor.
3. An enzyme catalyzes the splitting of a water molecule into two electrons, two hydrogen ions
(H+), and an Oxygen atom. This process is called photolysis. The electrons are supplied one
by one to the P680 pair, each electron replacing one transferred to the primary electron
acceptor. The H+ are released into the thylakoid space. The oxygen atom immediately
combines with an oxygen atom generated by the splitting of another water molecule, forming
O2.
4. Each photoexcited electron passes from the primary electron acceptor of PS II to PS I via
an electron transport chain, the components of which are similar to those of the electron
transport chain that functions in cellular respiration. The electron transport chain between
PS II and PS I is made up of the electron carrier plastoquinone (Pq), a cytochrome complex,
and a protein called plastocyanin (Pc). Each component carries out redox reactions as
electrons flow down the chain, releasing free energy that is used to pump protons (H +) into
the thylakoid space, contributing to a proton gradient across the thylakoid membrane.
5. The potential energy stored in the proton gradient is used to make ATP in a process called
chemiosmosis.
6. Meanwhile, light energy has been transferred via light- harvesting complex pigments to the
PS I reaction- center complex, exciting an electron of the P700 pair of chlorophyll a
molecules located there. The photoexcited electron is then transferred to the PS I’s primary
electron acceptor.
7. Photoexcited electrons are passed in a series of redox reactions from the primary electron
acceptor of the PS I down a second electron transport chain through the protein ferredoxin
(Fd). This chain does not create a proton gradient and thus does not produce ATP.
8. The enzyme NADP+ reductase catalyzes the transfer of electrons from Fd to NADP +. Two
electrons are required for its reduction to NADPH. Electrons in NADPH are at a higher
energy level than they are in water, so they become more readily available for the reactions
of the Calvin cycle.

106
The Calvin Cycle
The Calvin Cycle is also called the light- independent reaction. This occurs in the stroma
of a chloroplast. There are three phases involved in this process.

Phase 1: Carbon fixation

• The Calvin cycle incorporates each CO2 molecule, one at a time, by attaching it to a five-
carbon sugar named ribulose bisphosphate (RuBP).
• The enzyme that catalyzes this first step is RuBP carboxylase- oxygenase, or rubisco.
• The product of the reaction is a six- carbon intermediate that is short- lived because it is
so energetically unstable that it immediately splits in half, forming two molecules of 3-
phosphoglycerate for each carbon fixed.
Phase 2: Reduction
• Each molecule of 3- phosphoglycerate receives an additional phosphate group from ATP,
becoming 1,3- bisphosphoglycerate.
• Next, a pair of electrons donated form NADPH reduces 1,3- bisphosphoglycerate, which
also loses a phosphate group in the process, becoming glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate
(G3P).
Phase 3: Regeneration of the CO2 Acceptor (RUBP)
• In a complex series of reactions, the carbon skeletons of five molecules of G3P are
rearranged by the last steps of the Calvin cycle into three molecules of RuBP.
• To accomplish this, the cycle spends three more molecules of ATP. The RuBP is now
prepared to receive CO2 again, and the cycle continues.

107
FIGURE 8.3. The Calvin Cycle. (Photo adapted from Taylor et al., 2017)

108
 ACTIVITY 8

I. Compare cellular respiration and photosynthesis by filling out the table below.
(8 points)

Cellular Respiration Photosynthesis

Site
Stages (enumerate)
Products
Importance

II. ESSAY. Answer the following questions:

1. Compare and describe the roles of CO 2 and H2O in cellular respiration and
photosynthesis. (5 points)
2. What is the role of the electron transport chain in the light reaction of
photosynthesis? (5points)
3. At what stage of photosynthesis is oxygen produced? (2 points)

109
 LESSON 9: PLANT REPRODUCTION

Introduction
The evolutionary fitness is measured by its ability to produce healthy, fertile offspring. In
plants, reproduction is either sexual or asexual. In sexual reproduction, offspring is formed by the
fusion of gametes while in asexual reproduction offspring is formed without the fusion of gametes.
In this lesson, you will learn the different ways in which plants reproduce.

Learning Objectives
At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:
• describe the different ways of how plants reproduce; and
• illustrate the relationships among structures of flowers, fruits and seeds.

Discussion

Flowers, the reproductive shoots of angiosperms, vary greatly in shape. Despite such
variation, most flowers contain four types of modified leaves called floral organs: sepals, petals,
stamens, and carpels. The sepals, which enclose and protect the flower bud, are usually green
and more leaflike than the other floral organs (picture the green wraparound “leaves” at the base
of a rosebud). The petals are often colorful and fragrant, advertising the flower to pollinators. The
stamens and carpels are the reproductive organs, containing the sperm and eggs, respectively.

A stamen consists of a stalk (called the filament) tipped by an anther. Within the anther
are sacs in which pollen is produced via meiosis. Pollen grains house the cells that develop into
sperm. A carpel has a long slender neck (called the style) with a sticky stigma at its tip that
captures pollen. The base of the carpel is the ovary, which contains one or more ovules, each
containing a developing egg and supporting cells. The term pistil is sometimes used to refer to a
single carpel or a group of two or more fused carpels.

110
 FIGURE 9.1. The structure of an idealized flower (Photo and caption
adapted from Taylor et al., 2017)

The life cycles of plants are characterized by an alternation of generations, in which

haploid (n) and diploid (2n) generations take turns producing each other. The diploid plant body
is called the sporophyte. A sporophyte produces special structures, the anthers and ovules, in
which cells undergo meiosis to produce haploid cells called spores. Each spore then divides via
mitosis and becomes a multicellular gametophyte, the plant’s haploid generation. The
gametophyte produces gametes by mitosis. At fertilization, gametes from the male and female
gametophytes unite, producing a diploid zygote. The life cycle is completed when the zygote
divides by mitosis and develops into a new sporophyte. In angiosperms, the sporophyte is the
dominant generation: It is larger, more obvious, and longer-living than the gametophyte.

The cells that develop into pollen grains (the male gametophytes) are found within a
flower’s anthers. Each cell first undergoes meiosis, forming four haploid spores. Each spore then
divides by mitosis, forming two haploid cells, called the tube cell and the generative cell. The
generative cell passes into the tube cell, and a thick wall forms around them. The resulting pollen
grain is ready for release from the anther. In most species, the ovary of a flower contains several
ovules, but only one is shown at the top of the figure. An ovule contains a central cell (gold)
surrounded by a protective covering of smaller cells (yellow). The central cell enlarges and
undergoes meiosis, producing four haploid spores. Three of the spores usually degenerate, but
the surviving one enlarges and divides by mitosis, producing a multicellular structure known as
the embryo sac. Housed in several layers of protective cells (yellow) produced by the sporophyte

111
plant, the embryo sac is the female gametophyte. The sac contains a large central cell with two
haploid nuclei. One of its other cells is the haploid egg, ready to be fertilized.

The first step leading to fertilization is pollination, the transfer of pollen from anther to
stigma. Most angiosperms depend on insects (mainly bees), birds, or other animals to transfer
pollen. But the pollen of some plants—such as grasses and many trees—is windborne (causing
pollen allergies in some people). After pollination, the pollen grain germinates on the stigma. Its
tube cell gives rise to the pollen tube, which grows downward into the ovary. Meanwhile, the
generative cell divides by mitosis, forming two sperm. When the pollen tube reaches the base of
the ovule, it enters the ovary and discharges its two sperm near the embryo sac. One sperm
fertilizes the egg, forming the diploid zygote. The other contributes its haploid nucleus to the large
diploid central cell of the embryo sac. This cell, now with a triploid (3n) nucleus, will give rise to a
food-storing tissue called endosperm.

The union of two sperm cells with different nuclei of the embryo sac is called double
fertilization, and the resulting production of endosperm is unique to angiosperms. Endosperm will
develop only in ovules containing a fertilized egg, thereby preventing angiosperms from
squandering nutrients.

The ovule develops into a seed

After fertilization, the ovule, containing the triploid central cell and the diploid zygote,
begins developing into a seed. As the embryo develops from the zygote, the seed stockpiles
proteins, oils, and starch to varying degrees, depending on the species. This is what makes seeds
such a major source of nutrition for many animals.

Embryonic development begins when the zygote divides by mitosis into two cells.
Repeated division of one of the cells then produces a ball of cells that becomes the embryo.
Meanwhile, the other cell from the zygote divides to form a thread of cells that anchors the embryo
to the parent plant and pushes the embryo into the endosperm, the nutritive material that develops
from the central triploid cell. The bulges you see on the embryo are the developing cotyledons.
The result of embryonic development in the ovule is a mature seed. Near the end of its maturation,
the seed loses most of its water and forms a hard, resistant seed coat (brown). The embryo,
surrounded by its endosperm food supply, becomes dormant; it will not develop further until the
seed germinates. Seed dormancy, a condition in which growth and development are suspended
temporarily, is a key evolutionary adaptation. Dormancy allows time for a plant to disperse its
seeds and increases the chance that a new generation of plants will begin growing only when

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environmental conditions, such as temperature and moisture, favor survival. The dormant embryo
contains a miniature root and shoot, each equipped with an apical meristem. After the seed
germinates, the apical meristems will sustain primary growth as long as the plant lives. The
embryo also contains cells that will eventually form the dermal, ground, and vascular tissue
systems.

FIGURE 9.2. Development of a dicot’s embryo (Photo adapted from

Taylor et al., 2017)

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The ovary develops into a fruit

While the seeds are developing from ovules, hormonal changes triggered by fertilization
cause the flower’s ovary to grow, thicken, and mature into a fruit. A fruit is a mature ovary that
acts as a vessel, housing and protecting seeds and helping disperse them from the parent plant.
Although a fruit typically consists of a mature ovary, it can include other flower parts as well.

Asexual reproduction produces plant clones

In angiosperms and other plants, asexual reproduction (also called vegetative

propagation) is an extension of their capacity to grow throughout life. A plant’s meristems can
sustain growth indefinitely. In nature, asexual reproduction in plants often involves fragmentation,
the separation of a parent plant into parts that develop into whole plants. A garlic bulb is actually
an underground stem that functions in storage. A single large bulb fragments into several parts,
called cloves. Each clove can give rise to a separate plant, as indicated by the green shoots
emerging from some of them. The white, paper-thin sheaths are leaves that are attached to the
stem.

Many plants can reproduce both sexually and asexually. What advantages can asexual
reproduction offer? For one thing, a particularly fit parent plant can clone many copies of itself, all
of which would be equally well suited to current conditions. Also, although new seedlings
produced by sexual reproduction are quite fragile, offspring produced asexually from mature
fragments of the parent plant can often be much hardier and therefore more likely to survive. And
if a plant is isolated (and therefore unlikely to be pollinated), asexual reproduction may be the only
means of reproduction.

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 LESSON 10: ANIMAL REPRODUCTION

Introduction

Reproduction is important for the continuity of life. An animal’s ability to produce healthy
and fertile offspring ensures that its kind will not go extinct. Just like plants, animals also reproduce
sexually and asexually. In this lesson, you will explore the ways on how animals reproduce.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:

• differentiate sexual and asexual reproduction in animas; and

• describe the different ways of how representative animals reproduce.

Discussion

Asexual reproduction results in the generation of genetically identical offspring

Although every individual animal has a relatively short life span, species transcend this
time limit by reproduction, the creation of new individuals from existing ones. Animals reproduce
in a great variety of ways, but there are two modes: asexual and sexual.

Asexual reproduction (reproduction without sex) is the creation of genetically identical

offspring by a lone parent. Several types of asexual reproduction are found among animals. Many
invertebrates, such as the hydra, reproduce asexually by budding, the outgrowth and eventual
splitting off of a new individual from a parent. The sea anemone undergoes fission, the separation
of a parent into two or more offspring of about equal size. Asexual reproduction can also result
from the two-step process of fragmentation, the breaking of the parent body into several pieces,
followed by regeneration, the regrowth of lost body parts. In sea stars (starfish) of the genus
Linckia, for example, a whole new individual can develop from a broken-off arm plus a bit of the
central body. Thus, a single animal with five arms could potentially give rise to five offspring via
asexual reproduction in a matter of weeks. In some species of sea sponges, if a single sponge is
pushed through a wire mesh, each of the resulting clumps of cells can regrow into a new sponge.

In nature, asexual reproduction has several potential advantages. For one, it allows
animals that do not move from place to place or that live in isolation to produce offspring without
finding mates. Another advantage is that it enables an animal to produce many offspring quickly;

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no time or energy is lost in the production of eggs and sperm or in mating. Asexual reproduction
perpetuates a particular genotype faithfully, precisely, and rapidly. Therefore, it can be an effective
way for animals that are genetically well suited to an environment to quickly expand their
populations and exploit available resources. A potential disadvantage of asexual reproduction is
that it produces genetically uniform populations. Such individuals may thrive in one environment.
But if the environment changes and becomes less favorable (because of a natural disaster or a
new predator, for example), all individuals may be affected equally, and the entire population may
die out.

FIGURE 10.1. Hydra (left) and sea anemone (right) reproduce asexually. Hydra reproduces via budding while sea anemone
by fission. (Photo adapted from Taylor et al., 2017)

Sexual reproduction results in the generation of genetically unique offspring

Sexual reproduction is the creation of offspring through the process of fertilization, the
union of sperm and egg. Both sperm and egg are gametes, sex cells with a haploid (n) set of
chromosomes. The male gamete, the sperm, is a relatively small cell that moves by means of a
whiplike flagellum. The female gamete, the egg, is a much larger cell that is not self-propelled.
When egg and sperm join, they form a diploid (2n) zygote, or fertilized egg. The zygote—and the
new individual it develops into—contains a unique combination of genes inherited from its parents
via the egg and sperm.

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 Most animals reproduce mainly or exclusively by sexual reproduction, which increases
genetic variability among offspring. Meiosis and random fertilization can generate enormous
genetic variation. And such variation is the raw material of evolution by natural selection. The
variability produced by the reshuffling of genes in sexual reproduction may provide greater
adaptability to changing environments. Put another way, when an environment changes suddenly
or drastically, the chance that some of the diverse offspring produced via sexual reproduction will
survive and reproduce is better than that of offspring that are genetically very similar.

Animals that can reproduce both asexually and sexually benefit from both modes. In the
figure, you can see two sea anemones of the same species; the one on the left is reproducing
asexually (via fission) and the one on the right is releasing eggs. Many other marine invertebrates
can also reproduce by both modes. Why would such dual reproductive capabilities be
advantageous? Some animals reproduce asexually when there is ample food and when water
temperatures are favorable for rapid growth and development. Asexual reproduction usually
continues until cold temperatures signal the approach of winter or until the food supply dwindles
or the habitat starts to dry up. As conditions change, the animals switch to sexual reproduction,
producing a generation of genetically varied individuals, thereby increasing the chance that some
offspring will have adaptations that are well suited to the new conditions.

Although sexual reproduction has advantages, it presents a problem for nonmobile

animals and for those that live solitary lives: how to find a mate. One solution that has evolved is
hermaphroditism, in which everyone has both female and male reproductive systems. Some
hermaphrodites, such as tapeworms, can fertilize their own eggs. Other species require a partner.
When hermaphrodites mate, each animal both donates and receives sperm. Because each
hermaphrodite reproduces as both a male and a female, any two individuals can mate. This mode
of reproduction can produce twice as many offspring as mating in which only one individual’s eggs
are fertilized.

FIGURE 10.2. Hermaphroditic earthworms mating (Photo adapted from

Taylor et al., 2017)

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 The mechanics of fertilization play an important part in sexual reproduction. Many aquatic
invertebrates and most fishes and amphibians exhibit external fertilization: The parents discharge
their gametes into the water, where fertilization then occurs, often without the male and female
even making physical contact. Timing is crucial because the eggs and sperm must be available
for fertilization at the same time. For many species, environmental cues such as temperature and
day length or chemical signals released by individuals cause a whole population to release
gametes all at once, a process called spawning. When external fertilization is not synchronized
across a population, individuals may exhibit specific courtship behaviors. For example, many
fishes, amphibians, and some marine invertebrates have specific rituals that trigger the
simultaneous release of gametes by the male a female. One such mating ritual is the mounting
of a female horseshoe crab by a male.

In contrast to external fertilization, internal fertilization occurs when sperm are deposited
in or near the female reproductive tract and gametes unite within the tract. Nearly all terrestrial
animals exhibit internal fertilization, which is an adaptation that enables sperm to reach an egg
despite a dry external environment. Internal fertilization usually requires copulation, or sexual
intercourse. It also requires complex reproductive systems, including organs for gamete storage
and transport and organs that facilitate copulation.

ACTIVITY 9
I. ESSAY. Answer the following questions:
1. What are the advantages of sexual reproduction? (5 points)
2. What are the advantages of asexual reproduction? (5 points)

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 LESSON 11: HOW GENES WORK

Introduction
The field of genetics, the scientific study of the transmission of traits from one generation
to the next, is centered on the study of genes. At a molecular level, a gene is a segment of DNA
that has the information to produce a functional product. The functional product of most genes is
a polypeptide—a linear sequence of amino acids that folds into units that constitute proteins.
Furthermore, genes are commonly described according to the way they affect traits, which are
the characteristics of an organism. As an organism grows and develops, its collection of genes
provides a blueprint that determines its characteristics. In this lesson, we explore how genes
work.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:

• explain how the information in the DNA allows the transfer of genetic information and
synthesis of proteins; and
• explain how the molecular expression of genes within cells leads to an organism’s traits.

Discussion

To fully understand the relationship between genes and traits, we need to begin with an
examination of the composition of living organisms. Every cell is constructed from intricately
organized chemical substances. Small organic molecules such as glucose and amino acids are
produced from the linkage of atoms via chemical bonds. The chemical properties of organic
molecules are essential for cell vitality in two keyways. First, the breaking of chemical bonds
during the degradation of small molecules provides energy to drive cellular processes. A second
important function of these small organic molecules is their role as the building blocks for the
synthesis of larger molecules. Four important categories of larger cellular molecules are nucleic
acids (i.e.,DNA and RNA), proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids. Three of these—nucleic acids,
proteins, and carbohydrates—form macromolecules that are composed of many repeating units

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of smaller building blocks. Proteins, RNA, and carbohydrates can be made from hundreds or
even thousands of repeating building blocks. DNA is the largest macromolecule found in living
cells. A single DNA molecule can be composed of a linear sequence of hundreds of millions of
nucleotides!

The formation of cellular structures relies on the interactions of molecules and

macromolecules. For example, nucleotides are the building blocks of DNA, which is one
component of chromosomes. Besides DNA, different types of proteins are important for the
proper structure of chromosomes. Within a eukaryotic cell, the chromosomes are contained in a
compartment called the cell nucleus. The nucleus is bounded by a double membrane composed
of lipids and proteins that shields the chromosomes from the rest of the cell. The organization of
chromosomes within a cell nucleus protects the chromosomes from mechanical damage and
provides a single compartment for genetic activities such as gene transcription. As a general
theme, the formation of large cellular structures arises from interactions among different
molecules and macromolecules. These cellular structures, in turn, are organized to make a
complete living cell.

FIGURE 11.1. Molecular organization of a living cell

(Photo and caption adapted from Brooker, 2012)

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 To a great extent, the characteristics of a cell depend on the types of proteins that it makes.
All of the proteins that a cell or organism makes at a given time is called its proteome. The range
of functions among different types of proteins is truly remarkable. Some proteins help determine
the shape and structure of a given cell. For example, the protein known as tubulin can assemble
into large structures known as microtubules, which provide the cell with internal structure and
organization. Other proteins are inserted into cell membranes and aid in the transport of ions and
small molecules across the membrane. Proteins may also function as biological motors. An
interesting case is the protein known as myosin, which is involved in the contractile properties of
muscle cells. Within multicellular organisms, certain proteins also function in cell-to-cell
recognition and signaling. For example, hormones such as insulin are secreted by endocrine cells
and bind to the insulin receptor protein found within the plasma membrane of target cells.

Enzymes, which accelerate chemical reactions, are a particularly important category of

proteins. Some enzymes play a role in the breakdown of molecules or macromolecules into
smaller units. These are known as catabolic enzymes and are important in the utilization of
energy. Alternatively, anabolic enzymes and accessory proteins function in the synthesis of
molecules and macromolecules throughout the cell. The construction of a cell greatly depends on
its proteins involved in anabolism because these are required to synthesize all cellular
macromolecules.

Molecular biologists have come to realize that the functions of proteins underlie the cellular
characteristics of every organism. At the molecular level, proteins can be viewed as the active
participants in the enterprise of life.

DNA stores the information for protein synthesis

The genetic material of living organisms is composed of a substance called

deoxyribonucleic acid, abbreviated DNA. The DNA stores the information needed for the
synthesis of all cellular proteins. In other words, the main function of the genetic blueprint is to
code for the production of proteins in the correct cell, at the proper time, and in suitable amounts.
This is an extremely complicated task because living cells make thousands of different proteins.
Genetic analyses have shown that a typical bacterium can make a few thousand different proteins
and estimates among higher eukaryotes range in the tens of thousands.

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 FIGURE 11.2. A micrograph of the 46 chromosomes found in a cell
from a human male (Photo and caption adapted from Brooker, 2012)

DNA’s ability to store information is based on its structure. DNA is composed of a linear
sequence of nucleotides, each of which contains one of four nitrogen-containing bases: adenine
(A), thymine (T), guanine (G), or cytosine (C). The linear order of these bases along a DNA
molecule contains information similar to the way that groups of letters of the alphabet represent
words. For example, the “meaning” of the sequence of bases ATGGGCCTTAGC differs from that
of TTTAAGCTTGCC. DNA sequences within most genes contain the information to direct the
order of amino acids within polypeptides according to the genetic code. In the code, a three-base
sequence specifies one particular amino acid among the 20 possible choices. One or more
polypeptides form a functional protein. In this way, the DNA can store the information to specify
the proteins made by an organism.

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 In living cells, the DNA is found within large structures known as chromosomes. The DNA
of an average human chromosome is an extraordinarily long, linear, double-stranded structure
that contains well over a hundred million nucleotides. Along the immense length of a
chromosome, the genetic information is parceled into functional units known as genes. An
average-sized human chromosome is expected to contain about 1000 different genes.

The information in DNA is accessed during the process of gene expression

To synthesize its proteins, a cell must be able to access the information that is stored
within its DNA. The process of using a gene sequence to affect the characteristics of cells and
organisms is referred to as gene expression. At the molecular level, the information within genes
is accessed in a stepwise process. In the first step, known as transcription, the DNA sequence
within a gene is copied into a nucleotide sequence of ribonucleic acid (RNA). Most genes encode
RNAs that contain the information for the synthesis of a particular polypeptide. This type of RNA
is called messenger RNA (mRNA). During the process of translation, the sequence of nucleotides
in an mRNA provides the information (using the genetic code) to produce the amino acid
sequence of a polypeptide. After a polypeptide is made, it folds into a three-dimensional structure.
As mentioned, a protein is a functional unit. Some proteins are composed of a single polypeptide,
and other proteins consist of two or more polypeptides. Some RNA molecules are not mRNA
molecules and therefore are not translated into polypeptides.

The expression of most genes results in the production of proteins with specific structures
and functions. The unique relationship between gene sequences and protein structures is of
paramount importance because the distinctive structure of each protein determines its function
within a living cell or organism. Mediated by the process of gene expression, therefore, the
sequence of nucleotides in DNA stores the information required for synthesizing proteins with
specific structures and functions.

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 FIGURE 11.3. Gene expression at a molecular level
(Photo and caption adapted from Brooker, 2012)

The relationship between genes and traits

A trait is any characteristic that an organism displays. In genetics, we often focus our
attention on morphological traits that affect the appearance, form, and structure of an organism.
The color of a flower and the height of a pea plant are morphological traits. Geneticists frequently
study these types of traits because they are easy to evaluate. For example, an experimenter can
simply look at a plant and tell if it has red or white flowers. However, not all traits are
morphological. Physiological traits affect the ability of an organism to function. For example, the
rate at which a bacterium metabolizes a sugar such as lactose is a physiological trait. Like
morphological traits, physiological traits are controlled, in part, by the expression of genes.
Behavioral traits also affect the ways an organism responds to its environment. An example is the
mating calls of bird species. In animals, the nervous system plays a key role in governing such
traits.

The molecular expression of genes within cells leads to an organism’s traits

A complicated, yet very exciting, aspect of genetics is that our observations and theories
span four levels of biological organization: molecules, cells, organisms, and populations. This can

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make it difficult to appreciate the relationship between genes and traits. To understand this
connection, we need to relate the following phenomena:

1. Genes are expressed at the molecular level. In other words, gene transcription and translation
lead to the production of a particular protein, which is a molecular process.

2. Proteins often function at the cellular level. The function of a protein within a cell affects the
structure and workings of that cell.

3. An organism’s traits are determined by the characteristics of its cells. We do not have
microscopic vision, yet when we view morphological traits, we are really observing the properties
of an individual’s cells. For example, a red flower has its color because the flower cells make a
red pigment. The trait of red flower color is an observation at the organism level, yet the trait is
rooted in the molecular characteristics of the organism’s cells.

4. A species is a group of organisms that maintains a distinctive set of attributes in nature. The
occurrence of a trait within a species is an observation at the population level. Along with learning
how a trait occurs, we also want to understand why a trait becomes prevalent in a particular
species. In many cases, researchers discover that a trait predominates within a population
because it promotes the reproductive success of the members of the population. This leads to
the evolution of beneficial traits.

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FIGURE 11.4. The relationship between genes and traits at (a) molecular,
(b) cellular, (c) organism, and (d) population levels (Photo and caption
adapted from Brooker, 2012)
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 As a schematic example to illustrate the four levels of genetics, Figure 11.4 shows the trait
of pigmentation in butterflies. One is light-colored and the other is very dark. Let’s consider how
we can explain this trait at the molecular, cellular, organism, and population levels.

At the molecular level, we need to understand the nature of the gene or genes that govern
this trait. As shown in Figure 11.4a, a gene, which we will call the pigmentation gene, is
responsible for the amount of pigment produced. The pigmentation gene can exist in two different
forms called alleles. In this example, one allele confers a dark pigmentation and one causes a
light pigmentation. Each of these alleles encodes a protein that functions as a pigment-
synthesizing enzyme. However, the DNA sequences of the two alleles differ slightly from each
other. This difference in the DNA sequence leads to a variation in the structure and function of
the respective pigmentation enzymes.

At the cellular level (Figure 11.4b), the functional differences between the pigmentation
enzymes affect the amount of pigment produced. The allele causing dark pigmentation encodes
a protein that functions very well. Therefore, when this gene is expressed in the cells of the wings,
a large amount of pigment is made. By comparison, the allele causing light pigmentation encodes
an enzyme that functions poorly. Therefore, when this allele is the only pigmentation gene
expressed, little pigment is made.

At the organism level (Figure 11.4c), the amount of pigment in the wing cells governs the
color of the wings. If the pigment cells produce high amounts of pigment, the wings are dark-
colored; if the pigment cells produce little pigment, the wings are light.

Finally, at the population level (Figure 11.4d), geneticists want to know why a species of
butterfly has some members with dark wings and others with light wings. One possible
explanation is differential predation. The butterflies with dark wings might avoid being eaten by
birds if they happen to live within the dim light of a forest. The dark wings help to camouflage the
butterfly if it were perched on a dark surface such as a tree trunk. In contrast, the lightly colored
wings would be an advantage if the butterfly inhabited a brightly lit meadow. Under these
conditions, a bird may be less likely to notice a light-colored butterfly that is perched on a sunlit
surface. A geneticist might study this species of butterfly and find that the dark-colored members
usually live-in forested areas and the light-colored members reside in unforested regions.

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Inherited differences in traits are due to genetic variation

In Figure 11.4, we considered how gene expression could lead to variation in a trait of an
organism, such as dark- versus light- colored butterflies. Variation in traits among members of the
same species is very common. For example, some people have brown hair, and others have
blond hair; some petunias have white flowers, but others have purple flowers. These are
examples of genetic variation. This term describes the differences in inherited traits among
individuals within a population. In large populations that occupy a wide geographic range, genetic
variation can be quite striking. In fact, morphological differences have often led geneticists to
misidentify two members of the same species as belonging to separate species. As an example,
Figure 11.5 shows two dyeing poison frogs that are members of the same species, Dendrobates
tinctorius. They display dramatic differences in their markings. Such contrasting forms within a
single species are termed morphs. You can easily imagine how someone might mistakenly
conclude that these frogs are not members of the same species.

FIGURE 11.5. Two dyeing poison frogs (Dendrobates tinctorius) showing different
morphs within a single species (Photo and caption adapted from Brooker, 2012)

Changes in the nucleotide sequence of DNA underlie the genetic variation that we see
among individuals. At the molecular level, genetic variation can be attributed to different types of
modifications.

1. Small or large differences can occur within gene sequences. When such changes
initially occur, they are called gene mutations, which are heritable changes in the

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 genetic material. Gene mutations result in genetic variation in which a gene is found
in two or more alleles, as previously described in Figure 1.7. In many cases, gene
mutations alter the expression or function of the protein that the gene specifies.
2. Major alterations can also occur in the structure of a chromosome. A large segment of
a chromosome can be lost, rearranged, or reattached to another chromosome.
3. Variation may also occur in the total number of chromosomes. In some cases, an
organism may inherit one too many or one too few chromosomes. In other cases, it
may inherit an extra set of chromosomes.

Variations within the sequences of genes are a common source of genetic variation among
members of the same species. In humans, familiar examples of variation involve genes for eye
color, hair texture, and skin pigmentation. Chromosome variation—a change in chromosome
structure or number (or both)—is also found, but this type of change is often detrimental. Many
human genetic disorders are the result of chromosomal alterations. An example is Down
syndrome, which is due to the presence of an extra chromosome (Figure 11.6a ). By comparison,
chromosome variation in plants is common and often can lead to plants with superior
characteristics, such as increased resistance to disease. Plant breeders have frequently exploited
this observation. Cultivated varieties of wheat, for example, have many more chromosomes than
the wild species (Figure 11.6b).

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 FIGURE 11.6.

(Photo and caption adapted from Brooker, 2012)

During reproduction, genes are passed from parent to offspring

How are traits passed from parents to offspring? The foundation for our understanding of
inheritance came from the studies of pea plants by Gregor Mendel in the nineteenth century. His
work revealed that genetic determinants, which we now call genes, are passed from parent to
offspring as discrete units. We can predict the outcome of many genetic crosses based on
Mendel’s laws of inheritance.

The inheritance patterns identified by Mendel can be explained by the existence of

chromosomes and their behavior during cell division. As in Mendel’s pea plants, sexually
reproducing species are commonly diploid. This means they contain two copies of each
chromosome, one from each parent. The two copies are called homologs of each other. Because
genes are located within chromosomes, diploid organisms have two copies of most genes.
Humans, for example, have 46 chromosomes, which are found in homologous pairs. With the
exception of the sex chromosomes (X and Y), each homologous pair contains the same kinds of

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genes. For example, both copies of human chromosome 12 carry the gene that encodes
phenylalanine hydroxylase. Therefore, an individual has two copies of this gene that may or may
not be identical alleles.

Most cells of the human body that are not directly involved in sexual reproduction contain
46 chromosomes. These cells are called somatic cells. In contrast, the gametes—sperm and egg
cells—contain half that number (23) and are termed haploid. The union of gametes during
fertilization restores the diploid number of chromosomes. The primary advantage of sexual
reproduction is that it enhances genetic variation. For example, a tall person with blue eyes and
a short person with brown eyes may have short offspring with blue eyes or tall offspring with brown
eyes. Therefore, sexual reproduction can result in new combinations of two or more traits that
differ from those of either parent.

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 ACTIVITY 10

Write the letter of the answer that best fits the question on your answer sheet.

1. Which of the following is not a constituent of a cell’s proteome?

a. An enzyme

b. A motor protein

c. A receptor in the plasma membrane

d. An mRNA

2. A gene is a segment of DNA that has the information to produce a functional

product. The functional product of most genes is

a. DNA.

b. mRNA.

c. a polypeptide.

d. All of the above.

3. The function of the genetic code is to

a. promote transcription.

b. specify the amino acids within a polypeptide.

c. alter the sequence of DNA.

d. None of the above.

4. The process of transcription directly results in the synthesis of

a. DNA.

b. RNA.

c. a polypeptide.

d. All of the above.

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5. Gene expression can be viewed at which of the following levels?

a. Molecular and cellular levels

b. Organism level

c. Population level

d. All of the above

6. Variation in the traits of organisms may be attributable to

a. gene mutations.

b. alterations in chromosome structure.

c. variation in chromosome number.

d. All of the above.

7. A human skin cell has 46 chromosomes. A human sperm cell has

a. 23.

b. 46.

c. 92.

d. None of the above.

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 FINAL OUTPUT

I. Cell Comics

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Choose a tenet of the cell theory and then create a short comic strip illustrating and
explaining the chosen tenet.
2. The comic must at least have four panels.
3. The highest possible score this part is 50 points. You will be graded through the rubrics
that you can find below.

CATEGORY 4 3 2 1
The pictures All but 1 of the All but 2 of the More than 2 of
and captions pictures and pictures and the pictures
reflect an captions captions and captions
exceptional reflect an reflect an reflect little
CREATIVITY degree of exceptional exceptional degree of
(30%) student degree of degree of student
creativity. student student creativity.
There is great creativity. creativity.
attention to
detail.
Covers the Includes Includes Content is
topic essential essential minimal and
completely knowledge information there are
and in depth about the about the several factual
CONTENT (40%) with details topic. Subject topic but there errors. It is
and examples. knowledge are 1-2 factual hard to tell
Subject appears to be errors. The who the main
knowledge is good. The main the characters
excellent. The main characters are are.
main characters are identified but
characters are clearly not well
clearly identified, and developed
identified, and their actions and their
their actions and dialogue actions and
and dialogue match most of dialogue are
are well- the time. too general.
matched to
each other.
NUMBER OF The comic has The comic has The comic has The comic has
ITEMS (10%) at least four three panels. two panels. one panel.
panels.
SPELLING, There are no There are 1-3 There are 4- 5 There are
PUNCTUATION spelling, spelling, spelling, more than 5
AND GRAMMAR punctuation, punctuation, punctuation, spelling,
(10%) or grammar or grammar or grammar punctuation,
errors. errors. errors.

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 or grammar
errors.
The comic is The comic is The comic is The comic is
submitted on submitted 1-2 submitted 3-5 submitted
TIME (10%) or before the days after the days after the more than 5
set deadline. set deadline. set deadline. days after the
set deadline.

II. MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the letter of the answer that best
fits the question.
1. The Earth’s atmosphere is basically divided into layers that are based on their
_________.
a. water content.
b. relative humidity.
c. pressure gradient.
d. temperature gradient.
2. From the Earth’s atmosphere, carbon dioxide is used by plants, algae and cyanobacteria
during the process of _________.
a. photosynthesis.
b. respiration.
c. decomposition.
d. nitrogen fixation.

3. Which of the following is considered a special property that applies only to a few minerals?
a. Color
b. Luster
c. Streak
d. Magnetism

4. Mohs Hardness Scale which is used to measure the hardness of a mineral was named
after _________.
a. Frederick Mohs
b. Freddie Mohs
c. Ferrie Mohs
d. Friedrich Mohs

135
5. This group of minerals is formed by combining oxygen with a metal or hydrogen.
a. Oxides
b. Halides
c. Carbonates
d. Silicates

III. VENN DIAGRAM. Create a Venn Diagram to compare prokaryotic and

eukaryotic cells. (15 points)

136
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