Everyday Science

Physical Science
 Astronomy is the study of Universe and Celestial bodies, gas and dust within it
 Universe can be defined as “The totality of everything that exists, including all matter and
energy, the planets, stars, galaxies and the contents of intergalactic space”
 International Astronomical Unit (IAU) system was adopted in 1976 and has been significantly
updated in 1994 and 2009.
 Astronomical unit of Time is Day
 Astronomical unit of mass is Solar mass
 Astronomical unit of distance is Light-year
 Big Bang theory explains the origin of Universe
 Astronomers believe the universe began in a big bang about 13.7 billion years ago. According to
big bang the entire universe was inside a bubble that was thousands of times smaller than a
pinhead and it was named as Singularity

Solar System
 Nicolas Copernicus proposed a Heliocentric (sun-centered) for solar system
 Before Copernican theory Astronomers believed that Earth was stationary at the center of Solar
System, and the sun and planet revolved around it.
 Our solar system consists of
 Planets
 Sun
 Dwarf Planets
 Satellites
 Asteroids
 Meteoroids
 Comet
 Our solar system is about 4.5 billion years old
 Our solar system is included in Milky Way galaxy that is large disk-shaped galaxy. Nearest
galaxy to milky way galaxy is Andromeda
Sun
 Sun is a star. It is a huge ball of gas, mostly Hydrogen (H) 74%, Helium (He) 24%, and remaining
2% heavy metals.
 Nuclear fusion reaction takes place inside the sun and release enormous amount of energy.
 Corona is the outermost part of Sun
 Density of Sun is 1.41g/cm3
 Mean distance from Earth is 150 million km
 Sun rays reach earth surface in 8 minutes and 20 seconds

Planets
 Our solar system is comprised of 8 planets. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn,
Uranus, and Neptune. Pluto, which was considered a planet some years back, is now classified
as dwarf planet
 Planets are categorized into Terrestrial Planets (Inner Planets) and Jovian Planets (Outer
Planets)

Terrestrial Planets Jovian Planets

 Close to sun  Far from sun
 Rocky, Solid Surfaces  Gaseous surface
 High densities  Low densities
 Slow rotation  Fast rotation
 Few moons  Many moons
 Mr. VEM (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars)  J-SUN (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune)

Physical Characteristics
Mercury
 Smallest and fastest revolving planet, same size as our moon.
 It has no atmosphere
 It is closest to sun
 It revolves around sun in 88-days
 Its temperature varies from -1700C to 4500C

Venus
 Venus is the hottest and brightest planet
 Its temperature is very high 460-4800C due to spinning clouds of CO2
 It is termed as Sister Planet of Earth
 Venus rotates from East to West while all other planets rotate from West to East
 Its revolution period is 225 days.
 It is called Morning star and Evening star
 It has no moon
Earth
 Most colorful and densest planet. About 30% of Earth is covered with land, while about 70% is
covered by water
 It is third in position and 5th largest in solar system
 Venus is the closest planet to Earth
 The Earth has one moon. Its name is Luna. Moon is called natural satellite.
 Its revolution period is 365 days
 Its rotation period is 23 hours 56 minutes and 4 seconds

Mars
 It is 2nd smallest planet
 It is also called red planet due to presence of red dust
 It has two moons, Phobos and Deimos
 Its revolution period is 687 days

Jupiter

 It is biggest and fastest spinning planet

 It has 67 moons
 Ganymede is the largest moon of Jupiter and is the largest moon in our solar system

Saturn

 It is the 2nd largest planet and also called Ring Planet because it is surrounded by rings made up
of ice and dust
 It has 62 moons
 Titan is the Saturn’s moon that is the second largest moon of our solar system
 Its average temperature is -1800C

Uranus
 It is called Green Planet because its atmosphere is made up of Hydrogen, Helium, and Methane
 It has 27 moons
 Its revolution period is 84 Earth years

Neptune
 It is the farthest planet from the Sun
 It is the coldest and slowest revolving planet
 It has 14 known moons
 Its biggest moon Triton is the 6th largest moon of our solar system
Environmental Science

 The term Environment is derived from a French word “Environia” means to surround
 Environment is anything immediately surrounding an object and exerting a direct influence on it.
 Environment has two major classifications
i. Physical Environment (all non-living things like water, air, and land__ also
called abiotic factors of environment)
ii. Living Environment (all living things including plants, animals, and
microorganisms ____ also called biological factors of environment)
 Earth’s atmosphere is divided into four segments
i. Atmosphere
ii. Hydrosphere
iii. Biosphere
iv. Lithosphere

Atmosphere
 Atmosphere is a gaseous layer surrounding the earth. “It’s a thin blanket of air that surrounds
the Earth”
 There are various gases in atmosphere that are present in different amount.
i. Nitrogen-N2 78-79% (largest constituent of atmosphere)
ii. Oxygen-O2 20-21% (2nd largest constituent of atmosphere, and
essential for life)
iii. Argon-Ar 0.9%
iv. Carbon Dioxide-CO2 0.03% (important greenhouse gas)
v. Water Vapors

Layers of Atmosphere
 There are different layers of atmosphere.
1. Troposphere
 Starts at Earth’s surface and goes up about 12km
 We live in this layer
 Formation of clouds and precipitation happen in this layer
 Commercial aircraft fly in this layer
 Temperature and pressure both decrease as we move upward. The temperature decreases upto
-530C
2. Stratosphere
 Starts at above 12km and goes upto 50km high
 This layer contains ozone layer that protects the Earth from dangerous Ultraviolet Radiations
coming from sun
 Temperature increases as you go higher into the Stratosphere from -530C to -30
3. Mesosphere
 This is the 3rd or middle layer of atmosphere
 It starts at about and goes upto 80-85km high
 It is the coldest layer of atmosphere.
 In this layer temperature decreases up to -930C as you go higher.
4. Thermosphere
 This is the hottest layer of the atmosphere
 It is where Auroras (North pole Aurora Borealis and South Pole Aurora Australis) are formed
because of the Ionosphere’s charged particles
 The temperature increases with height and rises upto 20000C
5. Exosphere
 This is the outermost part of the Atmosphere
 This is where artificial satellites travel
 This layer blends into outer space
Hydrosphere
 Total amount of water on a planet
 Hydrosphere includes water that is on the Surface of planet, Underground, Atmosphere
 The frozen part of Hydrosphere is called Cryosphere
 97% of the global water is found in the Oceans that is saline.
 The remaining 3% is fresh water (30% ground water, 1% Surface water, 69% Frozen water)

Biosphere
 It is the sphere where life exists
 The life supporting zone of the Earth consists on Atmosphere, Hydrosphere, Lithosphere
 This layer ranges from 10km above sea level to depths of the Ocean more than 8km deep
 In fact, it is said that biosphere is like the peel in relation to the size of an Apple
 Biome is the functional unit of Biosphere
 A Biome is a large geographical area of distinctive plant and animal groups like Forest Biome,
Desert Biome, Grassland Biome, Tundra Biome, Aquatic Biome
Lithosphere
 The term Lithosphere refers to the Earth’s rigid, rocky outer layer.
 Lithosphere comprised of Earth’s Crust and upper most solid layer of mantle
 Thickness of lithosphere is 100km

Lecture No. 19
Everyday Science
Environmental Science/Climate Change
Pollution
 Pollution is defined as “Undesirable Change” in physical, chemical or biological characteristics of
air, water, land.
 There are different types of pollution including water pollution, land pollution, air pollution,
noise pollution
 A substance which cause pollution is called pollutant.
 There are two types of pollutants
I. Primary Pollutant ___ directly emitted from the source CO2, CO, SO2, NO2
II. Secondary Pollutant ___ primary pollutants react in atmosphere and form secondary
pollutants H2SO4, HNO3, HNO2, O3
 Acid Rain and Smog are caused by secondary pollutants.
 PH of acidic rain is below 5.6
 Smog is a combination of smoke and fog
Climate Change
 Greenhouse effect is causing global warming
 Major greenhouse gases are water vapors, CO2, CH4, N2O, O3, and chlorofluorocarbons
 Since the industrial revolution began around 1760, human activities have contributed
substantially to climate change by adding CO2
 Global warming cause melting of glaciers, rise in sea level and loss of fresh water
 Kyoto Protocol was signed to control emission of Greenhouse gas. This protocol was adopted in
Kyoto, Japan on December 11, 1997 and entered into force on February 16, 2005
 Doha amendment was done in Kyoto protocol on December 8, 2012
 China is the first highest emitter of CO2.
 USA is the 2nd highest emitter of CO2
 India is the 3rd highest emitter of CO2
 Pakistan emits less 1% of total CO2 but still it is the most vulnerable country
 Ozone layer is present in Stratosphere that protects the earth from dangerous Ultraviolet
Radiations
 In 1970s scientists became concerned when they discovered that chemicals called
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) posed a possible threat to the ozone layer. An ozone hole was
discovered in Antarctic region
 One Chlorine from CFCs can destroy 100,000 molecules of ozone.
 To protect the ozone layer Montreal Protocol was agreed on September 16, 1987 and entered
into force on January 1, 1989

Cell Biology
 The study of all aspects of cell is called Cytology
 Cell is the unit of structure of living things
 The word cell is derived from the Latin word “Cellula” which means a “Little Room”
 The cell was discovered by Robert Hook in 1665
 Organisms are classified into Unicellular (comprised of one cell) and multicellular
(comprised of more than one cells)
 Cell contains different organelles
 Nucleus (it’s called brain of cell because DNA is present in Nucleus
that contains the whole information. It was discovered by Robert
Brown in 1831)
 Nuclear membrane (that surrounds the nucleus)
 Cell membrane/Plasma membrane (outer layer of cell that protects
the inner portion of cell and gives a shape to cell also acts as semi-
permeable)
 Cell wall (just present in plant cells and mostly composed of
Cellulose but cell wall of Fungi is composed of Chitin)
 Cytoplasm (it contains all organelles, all reactions take place in
cytoplasm)
  Mitochondria (it is called power house of a cell)
 Ribosomes (They are called protein factory)
 Chloroplasts (a green color pigment only present in plants that is
responsible for photosynthesis)
 Vacuole (that stores food and water)

 There are two types of cells

i. Eukaryotic cell (having prominent nucleus)
ii. Prokaryotic cell (don’t have prominent nucleus)
 Same types of cells combine to form Tissues
 The study of tissues is called Histology
 Xylem tissues of plants are responsible to transport water from roots to other parts of plant
 Phloem tissues are responsible to transport Food from source (where food is prepared) to sink
(where food is stored)

Human Physiology

1. Human Heart
 Human heart is a fist-sized, muscular organ that pumps blood through the body
 Human heart has four chambers. Two upper chambers, right and left atria also called auricles.
 The heart’s two lower chambers, right and left ventricles
 A wall of tissues that separates the right and left sides of heart is called Septum
 One complete heart beat makes up a cardiac cycle
 One cardiac cycle completes in 0.8 seconds
 Standard blood pressure is 120/80 mmHg
 Standard heart rate is 72 beats
2. Human blood
 The volume of blood in the body is about 5 litres and its 7 to 8% of human body weight
 55% of blood is composed of a liquid known as Plasma. This plasma is 92% water and remaining
albumin, fibrinogen, globulin and other blood clotting proteins
 Rest of the blood is composed of three major types of blood cells (Red blood cells, White blood
cells, Platelets)
 Blood is slightly alkaline with a pH between 7.35 and 7.45
 Blood carries oxygen from the lungs to all the other tissues in the body and in return carries
waste products, predominantly CO2 back to the lungs where they are released into the air
 Blood also transports special chemicals, called Hormones that regulate certain body functions
 Life span of Red blood cell is 120 days. They are produced in the bone marrow. They supply
oxygen to different parts of body
 Life span of White blood cells from several days to years in healthy body. They are produced in
bone marrow, lymph nodes and spleen. They are bodyguard of body as they defend the body
against infections
 Life span of Platelets varies from 7-10 days. They are also produced in bone-marrow. They help
in blood clotting
3. Human Coordination System
 There are two types of coordination systems in human being
 Nervous Coordination System
 Chemical Coordination System
 Nervous Coordination system comprised of two systems
 Central Nervous System (CNS) ___ made up of Brain and Spinal
Cord
 Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) ___ made up of Spinal and
Cranial Nerves
 Brain is made up of three main parts (Forebrain, Midbrain, Hindbrain)
 Cerebrum is the largest part of brain
 The spinal cord is a long bundle of nerve tissues about 18 inches long
 It extends from the lower part of brain down through spine.
 It is protected by Vertebral Column
 Spinal cord play important role in reflex action

4. Human Liver
 It is a vital organ that is essential for survival
 It is an abdominal glandular organ helps in digestion
 It is located in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen just below diaphragm
 It is the body’s 2nd largest organ as skin is the largest organ
 Its weight is 3 pounds (1.4 kg)
 It has four lobes and is a very soft, pinkish brown organ
 It produces Bile that breaks down fats and makes easily digestible
 Facts about Human Body
I. Largest Organ of the body? Skin
II. Largest internal organ of the body? Liver
III. Total number of muscles? more than 630
IV. Largest bone? Femur
V. Smallest bone? Stapes/Stirrup
VI. Hardest bone? Teeth
VII. Smallest muscle? Stapes Muscle
VIII. Largest Muscle? Gluteus Maximus
IX. Normal body temperature? 370C
X. Total number of bones? 206
XI. Normal Heartbeat? 72 beats per minute
XII. Normal respiratory rate? 16-20 per minute
XIII. Normal blood pressure? 120/80 mmHg
XIV. Spinal nerves? 31 pairs
XV. Volume of blood? 5 litres
XVI. Most common blood tie? O+ and A+
XVII. Least common blood type? AB-
XVIII. Largest part of brain? Cerebrum
XIX. Largest cell? Nerve cell
XX. Length of small Intestine? 25 ft.
XXI. pH of blood? 7.3-7.4
Human Physiology
1.Endocrine System
 Gland is a functional unit of endocrine system
 A gland is a group of cells that produces and secretes chemicals called Hormone
 Glands are of two types
I. Endocrine Glands (Release their hormones into blood)
II. Exocrine Glands (Release their hormones into ducts or cavities)
 Major Endocrine glands are:
I. Pituitary Gland (equal to the size of pea, called master gland because it
controls the secretion of other glands)
II. Thyroid Gland (present in the center of neck, it excretes thyroxin and
calcitonin. To produce thyroxin it needs Iodine which is found mainly in salt.
Deficiency of iodine cause Goitre. Calcitonin deposit Ca into bones)
III. Parathyroid Gland (found on the back of thyroid gland. It is released when
calcium level is lower in blood)
IV. Adrenal Glands (present at the top of kidneys. They produce two hormones
adrenaline and noradrenaline)
V. Pancreas (a pinkish-grey organ that lies behind the Stomach. It releases two
important hormones Glucagon and Insulin)
VI. Pineal Gland (smallest gland of the human body. Its size is about the size of a
grain of rice. Its shape is like a pinecone. It produces melatonin which
modulates sleeping patterns)

2. Digestive System
 Digestive system is made up of the Alimentary Canal also called Digestive Tract and other
organs including Liver and Pancreas
 An adult’s digestive tract is about 30 feet (about 9 meters) long
 Digestion begins in the mouth called oral cavity. A digestive enzyme called Amylase which is
found in Saliva starts to break down starch
 Then food enters into Oesophagus through pharynx. It’s a muscular tube of about 25 cm long.
 Food is squeezed down to Stomach. Glands of stomach produces gastric juice that contains a
very strong HCl having PH 2-3 and an enzyme pepsin that digest proteins. Proteins are made up
of Amino Acids
 After some digestion food is sent to Small intestine that is the longest organ of the digestive
tract. It is divided into three parts (Duodenum, Jejunum, Ileum)
 Maximum digestion and absorption take place in small intestine
 Undigested part of food and other waste materials are sent to large intestine. These waste
products are excreted out through anus
Human Eye
 Our eyes are vital for seeing world around us
 An eye is about 1 inch (2.5cm) in diameter
 Different parts of an eye:
 Iris (the colored part of eye)
 Cornea (a clear dome over the eye) actually cornea is transplanted to cure blindness
 Pupil (a black circular opening in the iris, which lets light in
 Sclera (white part of eye)
 Retina (the innermost layer of eye that contains photoreceptors
 Retina contains millions of tiny light-sensing nerve cells called Cones and Rods
 Nearsightedness (Myopia) a condition where near objects are seen clearly than distant
objects. It is corrected by Concave Lens
 Farsightedness (Hyperopia) a condition where near objects are not seen clearly. It can
be corrected by Convex lens
 Cataract is an eye disease in which the lens of eye becomes dense or opaque and does
not properly transmit light it cause blurry vision
 Night blindness is due to the deficiency of vitamin-A
About Vitamins
 Vitamins are required in very small amounts to trigger thousands of chemical reactions
necessary to maintain good health
 There are two types of Vitamins
 Fat-soluble Vitamins _____ Vitamin A, D, E and K
 Water-soluble Vitamins _______ Vitamin C and B complex (B1, B2, B4 ….. B12)

Vitamins Sources Health Benefit Disease due to

deficiency

A (Retinol) Green leafy Component of light- Night blindness

vegetables, eggs, sensitive pigment of
liver eye

D (D1 & D3) Dairy products, Calcium absorption Rickets (deforming of

egg, cod liver oil, and bone formation bone)

Osteomalacia
(softening of bone)

E Margarine seeds, Antioxidants Sterility, Anaemia, and

(Tocopherol) green leafy damage to retina
vegetables, nuts

K Green leafy Blood clotting Uncontrolled bleeding

(Manadion) vegetables and
synthesized by
intestinal
bacteria

C (Ascorbic Citrus fruits, Collagen formation Scurvy (break down of

Acid) tomatoes in teeth, bone and skin, blood vessels and
connective tissue of teeth
blood