THE EARTH AS A UNIQUE PLANET

Learning Competency: Recognize the uniqueness of the Earth, being the only planet in the
solar system with properties necessary to support life. (S11/12ES-Ia-e-3)

Earth is the third planet from the sun and the fifth largest planet with a radius of 3,959
miles. The name “earth” is a Germanic word which means “the ground.” Earth revolves around
the sun once every 365.25 days and rotates in its axis every 23.9 hours. Among all these facts,
one stands out. It is the only planet that can support life which makes Earth unique among all
the planets in the solar system. But what are these characteristics that made Earth capable of
harboring life? Let’s find out in this module.

Our Earth is the only place in the universe that can support life. It is a modestsized planet
that orbits an average-sized star, the sun. Life on Earth is abundant. Some type of life is found
in every niche on the Earth. Even in the extremely cold Antarctica, hardy microscopic beings
exist in ponds, tiny wingless insects live in patches of moss and lichen, and even two types of
plants flower yearly. From the top of the atmosphere to the bottom of the oceans, from the
coldest part of the poles to the warmest part of the equator, life persists here.
Earth is unique. It is termed as a “planet of life” where matter and energy continue to
flow. Earth is one special planet. It has liquid water, plate tectonics, and an atmosphere that
shelters it from the worst of the sun's rays. But many scientists agree our planet's most special
feature might just be us.
"It’s the only planet we know of that has life," said Alan Boss, a planet formation theorist
at the Carnegie Institution of Washington in Washington, D.C.
Though other bodies in our solar system, such as Saturn's moon Titan, seem like they
could have once been hospitable to some form of life, and scientists still have hope of eventually
digging up microbes beneath the surface of Mars, Earth is still the only world known to support
life.
None of this is a revelation, but understanding what's special about Earth is crucial for
finding other planets out there and predicting what they might be like.
It is also unique in our solar system because it has liquid water on its surface. In fact,
most of Earth’s surface is about 75 percent covered with water. Water is present in the
atmosphere, ground, freshwater lakes, rivers, streams; and even in the polar ice caps. Water is
also found in all living things. Some plants, for example, are as much as 90–95 percent water by
weight. Adult humans are about 60 percent water by weight. Water is important for the many life
functions carried out by cells, tissues, and organs. It helps dissolve certain nutrients and carry
them throughout an organism. Water is also important for disposing of bodily wastes.
In this learner’s worksheet, you would be able to discover the characteristics of Earth as a
beautiful and sustainable planet to live!

But what makes Earth different from other planets? What properties does it possess to
make life possible on this planet?

SIX THINGS THAT MAKE LIFE ON EARTH POSSIBLE

1. Our location is far from many hazards.
The solar system sits far from
the galactic core (almost 30,000
light-years), between two major
spiral arms. More so, the solar
system's circular orbit helps it avoid
that dangerous part of the galaxy.
The galactic core likely contains a
massive black hole and releases
consistent bursts of radiation. Also,
there are relatively few stars near
the sun, reducing risks to Earth
from gravitational tugs, gamma-ray bursts, or collapsing stars called supernovae.
The presence of our big brother planet, Jupiter, farther out in the solar system
blocking Earth from much of the incoming debris, has also helped Earth become a safe
haven for life. Jupiter acts like a giant broom, sweeping the solar system of debris rocks as
small as cars and as huge as moons that could snuff out life in one fatal blow.

2. Our sun is a stable and long-lasting star.

Our sun is a yellow dwarf, a
relatively rare type of star that is both
small and stable. It also has a long life
and probably would not start to fizzle
out for another five billion years or so.
Stars more massive than the sun
burn hotter and usually do not live
long enough for planets to develop
life. Less massive, younger stars are
often unstable and are prone to
blasting their planets with bursts of
radiation.
The sun radiates light and heat, or solar energy, which makes it possible for life to
exist on Earth. The sun provides the earth with energy estimated at over 239 trillion
horsepower, about 35,000 horsepower for each current resident. Plants need sunlight to
grow. Animals, including humans, need plants for food and the oxygen they produce.
Without heat from the sun, Earth would freeze. There would be no winds, ocean currents,
or clouds to transport water.

3. We are at just the right distance from the sun.

Earth is at an average
distance of 93 million miles or 150
million kilometers away from the
sun. It orbits in the so-called
Goldilocks zone, where the planet
receives enough energy to allow
water to exist as a liquid on its
surface. Too far, and the vital
compound stays locked up as ice.
Too close, and the water would
rapidly evaporate into the
atmosphere.
The Earth is the only planet with huge bodies of water—70% of its surface area
consists of oceans, lakes, and seas surrounding huge bodies of land.
Water is unique because it absorbs large amounts of heat without much alteration
in its temperature. Its absorption speed is extremely rapid—about ten times as fast as steel.
 During the day, the seas rapidly soak up a great deal of heat, thus the Earth stays fairly
cool. At night, the oceans release the vast amounts of heat that they soaked up during the
day, which combined with atmospheric effects, keeps the surface from getting too cold at
night. If it were not for the tremendous amount of water on Earth, there would be far greater
day and night temperature variations. Many parts of the surface would be hot enough to
boil water in the day and the same part would be cold enough to freeze water at night. Water
is an excellent temperature stabilizer. The large oceans on Earth are a vital part of our
survival!

4. We have the right stuff to host a dynamic core.

The interstellar cloud of gas and dust
that gave rise to Earth contained enough
radioactive elements (potassium, uranium
and thorium) to power a churning core for
billions of years. This creates a magnetic field
which is crucial to life on our planet because
it protects the planet from dangers like solar
flares and solar wind.

The Earth's magnetic field serves to

deflect most of the solar wind, whose charged
particles would otherwise strip away the ozone
layer that protects the Earth and the life on it
from harmful ultraviolet radiation.
Other than this, it also keeps the planet’s
atmosphere in place and helps humans and
animals to find their way around.

5. We have a big moon to stabilize our axial wobble

The Earth has a slight tilt and teeters like a top as it spins, which can cause drastic
shifts in climate over the course of thousands of years. But because of the moon's stabilizing
effect on our orbit, our climate is a lot steadier.
Plus, the moon causes the tides, so if the Moon were much nearer to the Earth, say
20 times closer, it would exert a gravitational force 400 times greater than what we are used
to. It would result to huge tides which would overflow onto the lowlands, causing great
flooding.

6. We have an ozone layer to block harmful ray.

Ancient plantlike organisms in the oceans added oxygen to the atmosphere and
created a high-altitude layer of
ozone that shielded early land
species from lethal radiation.
Ozone (O3) is a gas in the
atmosphere that protects
everything living on the Earth from
harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays from
the sun. Without the layer of ozone
in the atmosphere, it would be very
difficult for anything to survive on
the surface. Plants cannot live and
grow in heavy ultraviolet radiation,
nor can the plankton that serve as
food for most of the ocean life. The ozone layer acts as a shield to absorb the UV rays, and
keep them from doing damage at the Earth's surface.
The mixture of gases found in the atmosphere, without man's pollution, is perfect for
life. Nitrogen accounts for 78% of the atmosphere, oxygen 21% and argon 0.9%. Greenhouse
gases like carbon dioxide, nitrous oxides, and methane are trace gases that account for
about a tenth of one percent of the atmosphere. These gases trap the sun’s heat to keep the
planet warm. If it were much different, life would cease to exist on Earth. If our atmosphere
were thinner, many of the millions of meteors which now are burned up would reach the
Earth's surface, causing death, destruction and fires everywhere.