EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE

Module 1: The Origin and Systems of Earth

FORMATION OF THE UNIVERSE

BIG BANG THEORY - according to this theory, the universe that was once small and very hot
expanded until it massively exploded around 13.7 billion years ago

STEADY STATE THEORY - this theory states that the universe is always expanding in a constant
average density, proposed by Sir James Jean in 1920, it gained popularity after it was revised by
Fred Hoyle, Herman Bondi, and Thomas Gold in 1948.

COSMIC INFLATION THEORY - the most recent cosmic inflation theory was proposed by
physicist Alan Guth and Andrei Linde in the 1980s, the term inflation refers to the rapid
expansion of space time, according to this theory, the universe was a rapidly expanding bubble
pure vacuum energy, this also explains why the universe would always look full of planetary
objects instead of appearing completely empty.

FORMATION OF STAR SYSTEMS

NEBULAR HYPOTHESIS - developed by Immanuel Kant and Pierre-Simon Laplace in the 18th
century, it was the model used to explain the formation and evolution of the solar system, it
presupposes that around 4.6 billion years ago, a star system was formed from a rotating gas
cloud or nebula of extremely hot gas.

THE PLANETESIMAL AND TIDAL THEORIES - developed by Tomas Chamberlin and Forest Moulton
during the early 20th century, and James Jean and Harold Jeffreys in 1918, a star supposedly
passed close to the sun; the gravitational pull of the passing star raised tides found on the
surface of the sun, some of the smaller masses quickly cooled to become solid bodies called
"Planetesimals."

FOUR INNER PLANETS

1. Mercury
2. Venus
3. Earth
4. Mars
The inner planets are called "Terrestrial" planets.

FOUR OUTER PLANETS

1. Jupiter
2. Saturn
3. Uranus
4. Neptune
 The outer planets are called "Gas" planets. (Made up of only primary materials, Helium and
Hydrogen. Similar to the composition of the sun.)

ADVANCEMENTS AND DISCOVERIES ON THE SOLAR SYSTEM

1. Pluto was once considered the outermost plant in the solar system.

- composed of ice and rocks would be similar to the other objects that belong to Kuiper belt.

- was reclassified by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) as a dwarf planet instead of
being the 9th planet of the solar system.

2. Mars may have prehistoric living forms.

- one evidence found on a dry lakebed on mars are sedimentary rocks shaped by microbes
that are found on earth.

3. The expansion of universe is accelerating

- the distance of the milky way to the nearby galaxies was measured and results proved that
while it is known fact that the universe indeed expands.

4. The farthest interstellar travel is outside the solar system

- the U.S spacecraft Voyager I was launched in 1977 and had been in space travelling for over
40 years.

DEVELOPMENT OF EARTH AND EARTH'S SYSTEMS

SHAPE OF EARTH - earth's present shape is not a perfect sphere but Oblate

SPHEROID - earth's core is the center of gravity, Isaac Newton actually predicted an almost
similar shape to describe earth during his time.

HISTORY OF EARTH - the age of earth is deemed to be around 1/3 of the age of the universe, it is
estimated to be 4.56 billion years old.

EARTH'S SUBSYSTEMS

Compose of four subsystems: Geosphere, Hydrosphere, Atmosphere, and Biosphere.

THE GEOSPHERE - the portion of earth that includes the interior structure, rocks, minerals,
landforms, and all physical processes on land that shape earth's surface, geosphere covers all of
the solid parts of earth, from its surface up to the deepest depth of the core, lithosphere covers
only the crust.
GEOLOGIST - scientist that study this part of earth.

EARTH'S INTERNAL STRUCTURE

Three main layers of Earth: Crust, Mantle, and Core.

CRUST- consist of a layer of oceanic and continental crust about 5 to 70 km in

thickness. Continental crust is thicker than Oceanic crust.

MANTLE- below the crust is the mantle. Sublayer of the mantle known as the
asthenosphere. The asthenosphere lies on the upper part of the mantle and is
directly below the crust. Made up of silicate rocks, considered to be the thickest
layer of earth, holds almost 84% of the volume of the planet.

CORE- is chiefly made up of iron and nickel. The outer core is in liquid form,
inner core is solid. Iron is particularly important because this is the primary
source of earth's magnetic field.

THE HYDROSPHERE -encompasses all the waters found on earth, water covers 70% of earth's
surface, most of it is the water that makes up the ocean.

Importance of Water

1. Water could be in liquid, solid, or gaseous form.

2. Water has neutral ph.

3. Water is good conductor of heat and energy.

4. Water has high specific heat capacity.

5. Water is the universal solvent.

THE HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE - this circulation is made possible by the interaction of

energy and matter that allows the transformation of water from one phase to another,
allowing it to circulate and travel to different regions of earth.

DISTRIBUTION OF WATERS ON EARTH - all the waters found on earth are natural, but
not everything is considered safe for drinking, only 3% of the worlds water is potable.

SURFACE WATER - may be either be marine water or freshwater

MARINE WATER - has high salinity and is found in larger bodies of water such as oceans,
seas, bays, and gulf.

FRESHWATER - are those in lakes, rivers, springs, and falls which is the best source of
drinking water for all organisms because of its lower salt content. 2% of the world's
water.

GROUNDWATER - water found beneath earth's surface where there are spaces in the
soil or in rocks.
 AQUIFER - the underground layer of water-bearing rocks, acts as a reservoir for
groundwater and may contain large amount of minerals like magnesium and calcium.

THE ATMOSPHERE - assumed to be similar to the composition of the solar nebula from which
earth came from.

Composition of the ATMOSPHERE - the present atmosphere is composed of 78%

nitrogen and 20% oxygen, while the rest is of other gases like carbon dioxide, argon, and
water vapor.

LAYERS OF THE ATMOSPHERE - the atmosphere is composed of various layers which

differ in thickness, temperature, and density.

1. TROPOSPHERE - this layer is considered to be the densest among other layers,

prior to reaching the next layer above the troposphere is a thin buffer zone
called "Tropopause.:

2. STRATOSPHERE - the air in this layer has strong, steady horizontal wind which
is advantageous to long-distance flights. Another thin buffer zone exists before
the next layer above stratosphere, called "stratopause." At its upper layer the
ozone layer which contains a high concentration of ozone.

OZONE LAYER - plays a very important role to absorbing the ultraviolet

radiation from the sun.

3. MESOSPHERE - the temperature here reaches a minimum of -90°C and is

considered to be the coldest layer, mesosphere is important in protecting earth
from planetary debris. Thin buffer zone above the mesosphere is called the
Mesopause.

4. THERMOSPHERE - this layer is the hottest layer, the "thermopause" above

that also serve as a thin buffer zone which separates the thermosphere from the
outermost layer of the atmosphere.

5. EXOSPHERE - the outermost layer of the atmosphere, air is extremely thin and
gradually fades into space.

THE BIOSPHERE - makes up all the living components on earth.

The origin of the Biosphere

1. THE THEORY OF THE PRIMORDIAL SOUP - it states that life began from
nonliving matter like simple organic compounds, it was believed that the
primitive earth contained methane, water, ammonia, and hydrogen gas that
accumulate in a "soup." first known creatures to have inhabited earth were the
single-celled microorganisms, bacteria, and archaea

2. DEEP-SEA VENT THEORY - presupposes that life began not on the surface of
earth but deep down in the sea in areas known as 'marine hydrothermal vents.'
hydrothermal vents release boiling hot fluids mixed with toxic chemicals and
 heavy metals. 1990, the discovery of nanobes (organisms smaller than bacteria
that contain DNA and live in rocks), Thomas Gold "The Deep Hot
Biosphere"(1992)

3. PANSPERMIA - this hypothesis proposes that life on earth actually began

somewhere in the universe.

System of the Biosphere

- the biosphere is where certain organisms consume a different set of organisms

to allow energy transfer from one group of organisms to another and allow
materials to recycle.

- Food Web is composed of several interconnected food chains that involve

more organisms.

SCIENTIST WITH SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR KNOWLEDGE OF EARTH

1. JAMES HUTTON - recognized as the founder of modern geology, was a Scottish naturalist and
farmer. 'Theory of Uniformitarianism', he asserted that the same geological forces acting on and
shaping earth today are the same as those that operated in the past.

2. CHARLES DARWIN - was an English naturalist know for the 'theory of evolution.'

3. ANDRIJA MOHOROVIČIĆ- was a Croatian meteorologist and seismologist who suggested that
there lies a boundary between Crust and the Mantle. The boundary was known as the
Mohorovičić Discontinuity or the Moho. He is known to be one of the Founders of the modern
Seismologist.

4. BENO GUTENBERG - a German seismologist, discovered the Gutenberg boundary (lies

between the solid silicate mantle and the liquid Iron-nickel core.)

5. INGE LEHMANN - a Danish seismologist, discovered the Lehmann discontinuity that separates
the outer core from the inner core.

6. ALEXANDER OPARIN - was a soviet biochemist who proposed the primordial soupin 1924.

7. STANLEY MILLER a Jewish American chemist and Harold Urey was an American chemist who
both conducted an experiment in 1952, to test the hypothesis of Oparin's primordial soup

MODULE 2: THE EVOLUTION OF EARTH

Earth's Material

MINERALS - minerals are naturally occurring inorganic solids. There are thousands of minerals
identified on earth, a common example is salt.
Physical Properties of Minerals

1. COLOR - usually the property used to identify minerals easily, considered as

the least reliable means of identifying minerals.

2. STREAK - the color of mineral in powder form, scientist would pulverize them
to get their true color, however pulverizing minerals makes the minerals lose
their integrity.

3. HARDNESS -refers to the measure of the mineral's resistance to scratching,

The Mohs scale of hardness was developed in 1812 by a German minerologist
Frederick Mohs. 10 being the hardest and 1 is the softest.

4. CLEAVAGE AND FRACTURE - used to describe how minerals break into pieces.

5. CRYSTALLINE STRUCTURE - or the crystal lattice, tells how a mineral's crystals

are arranged.

6. TRANSPARENCY OR DIAPHANEITY - the extent of light that can pass through

the mineral.

7. MAGNETISM - indicates the ability of a mineral to attract or repel other

minerals.

8. TENACITY - the level of resistance or reaction of minerals to stress such as

crushing, bending, breaking, or tearing.

9. LUSTER - the reaction of a mineral to light.

10. ODOR - a distinct smell of a mineral that is usually released from a chemical
reaction when subjected to water, heat, air, or friction.

11. SPECIFIC GRAVITY - a measure of the density of a mineral. Determines how

heavy the mineral is.

CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF MINERALS - this classification was first used in 1848 by James
Dann.

1. SILICATE CLASS - the largest and most abundant group containing silicon and
oxygen with some aluminum, magnesium, iron, and calcium.

2. CARBONATE CLASS - mostly found deposited in marine environments.

3. SULPHATE CLASS - forms in areas with high evaporation rates and where salty
water evaporate.

4. HALIDE CLASS - contains natural salts and includes fluorite, halite, sylvite, and
Sal ammoniac components. Usually form in lakes, ponds, and other landlocked
seas such as the dead sea and the great Salt Lake.

5. OXIDE CLASS - a diverse class, these minerals are important as they carry
histories of changes in earth's magnetic field.
 6. SULPHIDE CLASS - metals like copper, lead, and silver, considered as
economically significant.

7. Phosphate class- contains minerals with phosphorus.

8. Native Element Class- contains metals and intermetallic class, semimetals,

nonmetals, or natural alloys, constituent of a few rare meteorites.

MODULE3: NATURAL HAZARDS, MITIGATION ANG ADAPTATION

Common Geologic Hazards we experience every year

1. Earthquake
2. Volcanic eruption
3. Landslide

Common Hydrometeorological phenomena

1. TROPICAL CYCLONES – also known as Typhoons for those occurring in the Northwest Pacific,
Hurricanes for those developing in the Atlantic and northeast pacific
PAGASA – issues public storm warming signals based on the speed, intensity, size of
circulation and direction of winds
STRONG WINDS – the strength of winds can destroy lightweight structures and uproot
plants and trees, super typhoon can even wipe out an entire community, leaving
families homeless

HEAVY RAINFALL LEADING TO FLOODING – primary causes clogged drainages or low

elevation of the affected areas, flooding can even worsen in places with high density of
population and narrow spaces.

This can lead to more problems like:

 Description of commercial and industrial operations, leading to loss of income
 Displacement of affected families
 Damaged properties resulting from corrosion and water intrusion
 Health disease including leptospirosis and pathological disease cause by water-
bone agents
2. MONSOONS – seasonal winds, Philippine experiences two monsoons every year, amihan and
habagat
AMIHAN – northeast monsoon is characterized by cold gusty wind with little or no
precipitation
 Begins early sept. up to May or June
 COOL WIND – northern China and Siberia that gradually moves southward as it
reaches the Phil.
 Hazards associated with amihan are thunderstorms, lightning, heavy rainfall,
and flooding

HABAGAT – southwest monsoon is characterized by hot and humid atmosphere with

frequent heavy rainfall.
  It begins in June and ends in August or September
 In some cases, habagat may bring about problems and hazards during extreme
heat and drought
 Lack of water of irrigation can decrease crop yield
 Changes in season are indicated by reversing winds
 Amihan blows to the east
 Habagat to the west
3. TORNADOES
 Locally known as ipo-ipo
 Rapidly swirling condensation funnel whose narrow end comes in contact with the
ground
 Occur anywhere in the Philippines at an average of 12-24 times in a year (PAGASA,
2011), among intermediate hazards of tornadoes are
a. STRONG WHIRLING WINDS – winds move toward the center (centripetal force),
impact breaks objects along its path, can pick up objects as heavy as vehicles
b. FLYING DEBRIS AND DUST – fragments of destroyed objects are hurled away and soil
particles scatter around the area, potentially hitting or slamming onto a structure or
person
c. Fire – tornadoes can destroy power lines and cause fire

LEYTE – high risk

As soon as PAGASA issues a warning for any hydrometeorological hazard:

1. Check your emergency kit.

2. Make plan for evacuation to higher of safer ground
3. Participate in cleanup activities
4. Cut dead or rotting trees and trim branches that could otherwise fall off from the force of
winds
5. Reinforce supports or foundation in your house
6. Transfer valuables and other furniture to higher ground
7. Secure objects found outside your home that be blown away
8. Unplug all electrical equipment

During Hydrometeorological Hazard

1. Stay indoors
2. Stay updated with PAGASA’s official announcements
3. If the electricity is cut out, use battery-operated radios
4. Stay away from corded devices like telephones, aircon, computers and lighting features.
5. Do not go near windows, doors, and porches.
Common Coastal Hazards

1. COASTAL EROSION – the seawater through wave actions, tidal currents, strong winds or
combination of all of these loosens the soil on the shore which eventually destroys the
integrity of land.
2. SUBMERSION – global atmospheric temperatures rise, oceans and seas become warm
causing them to expand.
3. STORM SURGES – may occur in coastal areas when typhoons make landfall
4. SALTWATER INTRUSION – movements of minerals and salts from coastal seas to fresh
aquifers

CAVITE – one of most prone of coastal hazards

Prevention and management of marine and coastal hazards

 Super typhoons – typhoon Sendong (2011), typhoon pablo(2012), typhoon

Yolanda(2013) and typhoon Hagupit(2014)
 Coastal planning is now given more consideration to improve the resilience of
communities living in coastal areas
 Learning systems and emergency management plans
 Different evacuation procedures are being practiced

Do the following as soon as typhoon has been forecasted near your place:

1. To prepare an emergency Survival kit

2. Create an evacuation plan with all of your household members.
3. Know where the nearest evacuation center is and how to get there
4. Listen to the radio for advisories or a specific instruction from your local government