Session 1 Planet Earth

A system of diverse planets speeding around a
nuclear-powered star - our Solar System –

evolved around five billions years ago out of
swirling mass of gas and dust. Only one of these
planets, as far as we know, gave rise to complex
life: Earth, the third planet from the Sun and the
fifth largest planet in the solar system in terms of
size and mass (Chaplain et al., 2021).
EARTH: A PERFECT PLANET Earth Science – Session 1

EARTH: A PERFECT
PLANET Earth Science – Session 1
EARTH: A PERFECT
The Sun and its family of planets formed when a cloud
of dust and gas condensed 4.6 billion years ago.
Several hundred million years after the Earth took
form, an outer crust developed. But these surface
rocks are no longer available for study: they have
disappeared into the interior of our dynamic
planet. Our only clues to how the Earth formed come
from meteorites and the Moon because both formed
simultaneously with the planets.

● The planet Earth tries to speed
through space in a straight line. The
Sun’s gravitational force tries to pull
Earth into the Sun. Inertia—the tendency
of an object to resist a force changing
its speed or direction— prevents this
from happening.
● Earth orbits the Sun at a mean
distance of 92,960,000 miles
(149,600,000 km).
● Earth’s orbital velocity is 18.5 m/s
(29.8 kmps).

● Earth revolves around the Sun in a
counterclockwise direction if viewed from
space.
● Each year’s complete revolution traces an

elliptical orbit bringing Earth closest to the Sun
in January and furthest away in July.
● At perihelion, about January 3rd, Earth

comes within 91,400,000 miles (147,100,000 km)
of the Sun.
● At aphelion, about July 4th, it is 94,510,000

miles (152,100,000 km) from the Sun.
EARTH: A PERFECT
EARTH’S SHAPE
Earth: Nearly an Ellipsoid
● The distance from the North Pole to the South
Pole of 7,900 miles (12,714 km) is 26 miles (42 km)
shorter than the distance across the equator,
which is 7,926 miles (12,756 km).

EARTH’S SHAPE
Earth: Nearly an Ellipsoid
● The shape of Earth can be represented
as a near-ellipsoid by visually
exaggerating the differences between its
polar and equatorial diameters.

EARTH’S SHAPE

EARTH’S SHAPE
The Geoid: Earth’s actual shape
● The geoid is Earth’s actual shape
calculated to take account of its mass,
elasticity, and rate of spin. It follows mean
sea level in the oceans and is slightly pear-
shaped, with the North Pole 18.9 miles (30
km) further from Earth’s center than other
places and the South Pole 25.8 miles (42 km)
nearer.

EARTH’S SHAPE
The geoid: Earth’s actual shape

● The diagram stresses Earth’s pear-like
shape by visually exaggerating small
differences in distance from surface to
center.

Because azure seas cover more than two-
thirds of Earth’ surface, it is frequently
referred to as the water planet or the blue
planet. Water falls from clouds as rain, runs
across the land surface, and gathers in vast
seas on Earth, the only planet in the Solar
System.

Activity 1: Crash Landing
THE FIRST SIGNS OF LIFE
NO MODERN DAY LIFEFORM could survive

Earth on its youngest day since its atmosphere is
devoid of oxygen and is high in methane. The oldest
known living forms were minute organisms
(microbes) that left traces of their existence in
rock dating back 3.7 billion years.

STROMATOLITES

How has the Earth formed?
The crust contains the

historical record of our planet.
Its most ancient rocks are four
billion years old, and the youngest
ones are still forming today.

Continental Crust

What is the Earth made of?
The great bulk of our planet is composed of

oxygen, iron, silicon, and magnesium. Since
the Earth formed relatively close to the Sun
by the aggregation of smaller solid bodies, it
is a rocky, solid planet whose atmosphere
formed later. The more remote, giant gas
planets, from Jupiter to Neptune, formed
predominantly from the lighter, more volatile
elements, like hydrogen and helium.
How has Earth supported life?
1. MOON
Earth’s environment become

more stable as a result of the
moon’s stabilizing effect on its
orbit.

1. MOON
Earth’s environment become
more stable as a result of the
moon’s stabilizing effect on its
orbit.

1. MOON

2. STRONG MAGNETIC FIELD
Earth has a strong, steady magnetic

field that protects the world from
cosmic rays and solar flares, which
would otherwise roast the planet.

3. DYNAMIC GEOLOGY
The cloud of gas and dust that finally

formed the Earth had enough
radioactive elements in it to keep the
planet’s core spinning happily for
billions of years. There would be no
magnetic field if that motion did not
exist.

4. THE ATMOSPHERE
Plant-like species unwittingly made way for

animal life by replenishing the atmosphere
with oxygen in the early days of life. Early
mammals were protected from harmful
radiation by high-altitude layer of gas.

5. WE ARE ISOLATED.
The cloud of gas and dust that finally
formed the Earth had enough radioactive
elements in it to keep the planet’s core
spinning happily for billions of years.
There would be no magnetic field if that
motion did not exist.
EARTH: A PERFECT
6. THE SUN
Our sun is a yellow dwarf, a type of star that
is both exactly small and steady and is rather
uncommon. It also has a lengthy life
expectancy, with no signs of fading for
another five billion years or so. Smaller stars
tend to send forth massive plumes of
radiation, but larger stars burn hotter and
die sooner.
EARTH: A PERFECT
7. HELPFUL NEIGHBORS
Because of their tremendous magnetic pull, gas giants like
Jupiter grab stray asteroids and comets, making disasters
like one that wiped put the dinosaurs a rare occurrence.

Fin.
Thank you!

Session 1 Planet Earth

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A system of diverse planets speeding around a

nuclear-powered star - our Solar System –

EARTH: A PERFECT PLANET Earth Science – Session 1

EARTH: A PERFECT PLANET Earth Science – Session 1

EARTH: A PERFECT PLANET Earth Science – Session 1

● Each year’s complete revolution traces an

● At perihelion, about January 3rd, Earth

● At aphelion, about July 4th, it is 94,510,000

EARTH: A PERFECT PLANET Earth Science – Session 1

EARTH: A PERFECT PLANET Earth Science – Session 1

EARTH: A PERFECT PLANET Earth Science – Session 1

EARTH: A PERFECT PLANET Earth Science – Session 1

The geoid: Earth’s actual shape

EARTH: A PERFECT PLANET Earth Science – Session 1

EARTH: A PERFECT PLANET Earth Science – Session 1

NO MODERN DAY LIFEFORM could survive

EARTH: A PERFECT PLANET Earth Science – Session 1

EARTH: A PERFECT PLANET Earth Science – Session 1

The crust contains the

EARTH: A PERFECT PLANET Earth Science – Session 1

EARTH: A PERFECT PLANET Earth Science – Session 1

The great bulk of our planet is composed of

Earth’s environment become

EARTH: A PERFECT PLANET Earth Science – Session 1

EARTH: A PERFECT PLANET Earth Science – Session 1

EARTH: A PERFECT PLANET Earth Science – Session 1

Earth has a strong, steady magnetic

EARTH: A PERFECT PLANET Earth Science – Session 1

The cloud of gas and dust that finally

EARTH: A PERFECT PLANET Earth Science – Session 1

Plant-like species unwittingly made way for

EARTH: A PERFECT PLANET Earth Science – Session 1

EARTH: A PERFECT PLANET Earth Science – Session 1

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