Earth Science

UNIVERSE - the space where matter, time, and energy exist altogether.

BIG BANG THEORY

- The emerging theories that explain the origin of the universe
- The most plausible and widely believed by the scientific community.
- The universe originates from a very hot and dense primeval (ancient) matter that
undergoes very fast rapid inflation or expansion, 14 billion years ago, that cooled over
time and became the present universe.
- Associated with the explosion of primeval matter in other references.
- The remnants of the explosion were developed through time and are now the space
bodies including our planet.

BIG BANG THEORY TIMELINE

Era’s Name Time Events

1. Electroweak Era 10-38 s to 10-10 - Occurrence of inflation.

- Formation of elementary particles
(photons, gluons, and quarks),
electromagnetic, and weak forces (force
responsible to the decay of unstable
radioactive subatomic particles).

2. Particle Era 10-10 s to 0.001 s - Creation of matter and antimatter

(opposite of normal matter).

3. Nucleosynthesis 0.001 s to 3 minutes - Domination of elementary particles over

Era antimatter.

4. Nuclei Era 3 minutes to 500,000 - The universe is composed solely of

years hydrogen and helium.

5. Atoms Era 500, 000 years to 1 - Formation of atoms (elements).

billion years

6. Galaxy Era 1 billion years and up to - Formation of galaxy via coalescence of

present time universe debris from big bang.

EXPANDING UNIVERSE - Their discovery is anchored to the

galaxies’ light observed on planet
- Edwin Hubble and Milton Earth, the red-shift and blue-shift.
Humason discovered that the - Light is considered as a wave, it can
universe is continuously expanding. be compressed or stretched.

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 ❖ Red-Shift
- the source of light is moving
away from the observer if it
is stretched and it will be
shifted towards the red
portion of the spectrum
❖ Blue-shift
- the source of light is moving
towards the observer if the
light is compressed making it
shift towards the blue portion
of the spectrum
THE BIG CRUNCH - A certain point in time,
it will stop expanding and collapse into itself,
pulling everything with it until it eventually
turns into the biggest black hole ever.
EARTH’S SPHERE
● Earth is one of the remnants of the
primeval matter that underwent
inflation.
● Still remains the only known planet
that harbors life.
HABITABLE PLANET
1. The star, where the planet revolves,
must survive in a longer period of
time.
- the sun is medium in size.
- the sun’s fuel will take a longer
period of time to be totally
exhausted.
2. Water must be present in the planet
and it must remain in liquid form.
- Due to its strategic location
- Earth is located within the Goldilocks
Zone
Goldilocks Zone - area that received just
enough heat and solar energy from the star
- Too much greenhouse gases may
lead to the following Global
Warming and Development of
Catastrophic Storms or Cyclones
1. HYDROSPHERE
- The water that made up the planet.
- Responsible for the Earth’s
landscape formation.
- Interacts with other spheres via
water cycle.
Blue Marble - Earth’s nickname derived
from the water that mostly covers it by 71%
Earth’s Water Classification
➔ Saltwater (97%)
- found in the ocean and seas
- undrinkable and non-potable
➔ Freshwater (3%)
- found in the rivers, glaciers,
underground aquifers,
streams, and lakes
- drinkable and potable
2. ATMOSPHERE
- Thin gaseous envelope of the planet
that is located above the ground.
Four Layers: Troposphere, Stratosphere,
Mesosphere, Thermosphere, and
Exosphere.
Troposphere - layer of the atmosphere
where weather occurs.
Atmosphere’s Components
➔ Major Components
- Gases that are suspended in
the atmosphere (71%
nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and
1% trace gases)
➔ Variable Components
- composed of water vapour,
aerosols, and ozone layers
- Weather and climate: water vapor
and aerosols
- Heat retention and cloud formation:
water vapor
- Absorption, reflection, and scatter of
solar radiation: aerosols
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 - Protection against ultraviolet rays:
ozone layer

3. GEOSPHERE
- All of the solid portion of the planet
that includes the interior structure,
rocks, and minerals

Earth’s Layer Characteristics

CRUST - 5-70km thick

- Continental (made up of granite) or
Oceanic (made up of basalt).

MANTLE - 2980km thick

- 900ºC - 3700ºC (Deepness and
temperature are directly proportional)
- Semisolid, rocky, and very hot.
- Made up of magnesium and iron
silicates.

OUTER CORE - 2266 km thick

- 3600 ºC
- Composed of liquid iron and nickel
- Responsible to the Earth’s magnetic
field that protects it from harmful solar
winds.

INNER CORE - 1220km thick • 6000ºC

- Composed of solid iron and nickel

4. BIOSPHERE
- the biological components of the
planet which includes plants,
animals, and microbes that interact
to other spheres
Anthroposhere (Humans’ Sphere) - part of
the Earth that has been modified by humans

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GEOLOGY
- Study of Earth’s solid components,
geologic processes, and history.
- Studies history through fossils.
Geologic Processes
1. Weathering
2. Mass Wasting
3. Plate Tectonics
WEATHERING
- Breaking down or dissolving of rocks
and minerals on Earth’s surface with
the help of water, ice, acids, salts,
plants, and animal interventions.
Clasts – rocks that are broken down into
smaller pieces.
- Can undergo further weathering that
causes them to become smaller and
smaller in size.
- These may accumulate near their
source or be spread by mass
wasting and geomorphic agents
(mover of soils and rocks)
❖ Physical Weathering/ Mechanical
Weathering
- disintegrates rocks, breaking smaller
rocks from a larger block or outcrop
of rock
- important to landscape modification
for smaller clasts are easily
transported
- increases the surface area of rock
making it more prone to weathering
❖ Chemical Weathering
- decomposes rocks through chemical
reactions that remove ions from the
original rock-forming minerals.
- the catalysts and reactive agents of
chemical weathering are: oxygen
(oxidation), water (hydrolysis), and
carbon dioxide (carbonation)
❖ OXIDATION
- chemical union of oxygen atoms with
another substance in the rocks to
create new product called oxides
that leaves rock unstable.
❖ HYDROLYSIS
- water reacts with the chemical
components of rock-forming
minerals to create new compounds.
❖ CARBONATION
- combination of water and carbon
dioxide reacting and decomposing
rock materials.
MASS WASTING
- the downslope transportation of
materials in response to the planet’s
gravity and is also termed mass
movement.
- Occurs on sloppy area
: Landslides, mudflows (lahar), and debris
flow.
● Triggered by: Water, Deforestation,
Quarrying, and Ground Shaking
PLATE TECTONICS
- the lithosphere, which floats above
the asthenosphere, is made up of
many independent massive slabs of
solid rocks called plates that are in
continuous motion with respect to
each other.
❖ LITHOSPHERE
- rigid and solid layer found in the
upper mantle and crust.
❖ ASTHENOSPHERE
- found in the mantle characterized by
its fluid-like composition making it
weaker
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\Types of Plate Boundaries
❖ Convergent Boundaries
- two plates move toward
❖ Divergent Boundaries
- two plates move away
❖ Transform Boundaries
- two plates slide past
The movements of the plates are
responsible for the formation of many
geologic landforms such as volcanoes,
mountain ranges, and trenches.
EARTH’S HISTORY
- Earth is approximately 4.50 billion
years old.
- The entire life of Earth is
accompanied by significant events
which are recorded in geologic time
scale.
- Making relative dating and
absolute dating a basis.
RELATIVE DATING
- a process of determination of the
age of rocks and geologic events
without giving specific and exact
ages
- Qualitative
❖ Law of Superposition
- the layers found at the top is the
youngest rocks and the layers at the
bottom are the oldest.
- the older the rocks the lower its
location on the sedimentary rocks.
❖ Principle of Original Horizontality
- layers of sediments are originally
deposited horizontally under the
influence of gravity.
❖ Principle of CrossCutting
Relationships
- any feature that cuts across a rock
or layer of sediment is younger than
the rock or layer it cuts.
❖ Unconformities
- the breaks and boundary between
rocks that result from erosion,
accumulation, and deposition and
can explain the span of geologic
times.
ABSOLUTE DATING
- a process of determining the age of
rocks and history of the Earth that
comes with it with the use of
unstable elements.
- gives the age in years of fossils
- Quantitative
❖ HALF-LIFE
- time it takes for radioactive
❖ ISOTOPES
- elements with the same number of
protons but different number of
neutrons.
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 Radioactive Isotopes Used for Absolute Dating
(Radiometric Dating)

Billions of Years Potassium-40

Ago Half-Life: 1.30 billion years

Millions of Years Rubidium-87

Ago Thorium-232
Uranium-238
Uranium-235

Recent Years Carbon-14

Half-Life: 5730 years

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MINERALS
- Inorganic, naturally occurring,
crystalline substances by a specific
chemical formula.
❖ Inorganic Substances – no organic
materials or carbon-containing
compounds present.
❖ Naturally Occurring – created
through natural geologic processes
without human intervention
❖ Crystalline Substances – under
microscope its composition
resembles crystals wherein the
arrangement of its atom is in order
and repetitive.
❖ Represented by specific formula –
composed of different elements that
make up a compound - Table Salt:
NaCl
FORMATION OF MINERALS
❖ By crystallization of magma and lava
❖ By crystallization of materials
dissolved in water
ROCK-FORMING MINERALS
- Minerals that are abundant on the
Earth’s crust.
- Minerals that are embedded in the
rocks.
FELDSPAR: most abundant mineral on
earth.
- Hard, often white cream pink, and
may form crystals that look like small
blocks.
- Most common minerals on Earth.
a. Potassium Feldspar - contains
potassium (K) and is often pinkish in color.
b. Plagioclase Feldspar - contains sodium
(Na) and/or calcium (Ca) in lieu of
potassium.
QUARTZ
- Hard mineral that is most commonly
translucent or white but it can occur
in a range of other colors
Examples: Silica (white) and Amethyst
(purple)
MUSCOVITE
- Soft mineral that is usually silver,
light brown, or clear.
- A member of the mica group of
minerals occurs as flat crystals that
can be separated into flakes.
CARBONATES
- Soft and may range from clear to
white to grey or brown depending on
the elements that are arranged with
the carbonate ion (CO3 )
Examples: Calcite, Dolomite, Magnesite
ALUMINUM SILICATES
- common components of
metamorphic rocks and are hard and
range in color from white to grey to
light brown and light blue.
OLIVINE
- Dark-colored rock-forming minerals
commonly contain high proportions
of iron (Fe) and/or magnesium (Mg).
- Common mineral in dark-colored
igneous rocks.
PYROXENE
- Hard and often black or dark brown
in color.
AMPHIBOLES
- Hard and can be black, brown,
green, or blue in color occur
commonly in dark-colored igneous
rocks.
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IRON OXIDE (Rust)
- Hard, black or brown crystals.
ROCK CYCLE
- process wherein rocks change into
either igneous rock or sedimentary
rock or metamorphic rock.
Rock: solid materials that are naturally
found on Earth.
TYPES OF ROCKS
1. IGNEOUS ROCKS
- formed from the hot, molten rock
(magma) that crystallizes or
solidified.
Magma: molten rocks inside the Earth
Lava: extruded magma
❖ Extrusive/ Volcanic Rock
- molten material that solidifies at
earth’s surface
- cools quickly that resulted in its
fine-grained texture due to little time
available for crystal growth prior to
solidification
example: obsidian
❖ Intrusive/ Plutonic Rock
- molten materials that solidifies
beneath the earth’s surface
- cools very slowly and allows crystal
- larger than extrusive rocks
❖ Mafic (Ma for magnesium and f for
ferrum, Latin name of iron)
- lower in silica content and rich in
heavy minerals like magnesium and
iron.
❖ Felsic (Fel for the mineral feldspar
and si for silica)
- rich in light-colored lighter-weight
materials especially silicon and
aluminum.
Silica content is directly proportional to
viscosity.
❖ Intermediate
- rough balance composition between
mafic and felsic.
2. SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
- derived from sediments and most
abundant on the Earth’s crust.
❖ Clastic/ Detrital Sedimentary
Rocks
- form from fragments of preexisting
rocks, shells, or bones.
Examples: conglomerate, breccias,
sandstone, siltstone, and shale
❖ Chemical Sedimentary Rocks
- dissolved minerals in ocean or lake
water that precipitate.
Examples: halite, rock gypsum, and
dolomite
❖ Organic Sedimentary Rocks
- remains of both plant and animal
organisms.
Example: coal
3. METAMORPHIC ROCKS
- changed in form due to enormous
heat and pressure in Earth’s crust
- harder and more compact than the
original rock.
Metamorphism - a process of the
transformation of rocks with the use of
intense heat.
Foliation - arrangement of the minerals’
crystals in the metamorphic rock.
❖ Foliated Metamorphic Rocks
- exhibit parallel alignment of
minerals.
Example: shist (muscovite and biotite)
❖ Nonfoliated Metamorphic Rocks
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 - rocks that result from intense heat
but relatively low pressure and has
little deformation
- characterized by no definite
alignment of minerals
Examples: marble (limestone)
MAGMATISM
- the activity or motion of magma

Melting point of rocks depends on their

mineral compositions.

❖ Basaltic Magma
- most common magma on Earth has
low silica content, low viscosity, and
low gas content.

❖ Rhyolitic Magma
- high silica content, high viscosity,
and high gas content.

❖ Andesitic Magma
- roughly in between basaltic and
rhyolitic.

The higher the silica content of the magma

the more viscous (ability of matter to resist
flow)

FACTORS THAT AFFECT ROCK CYCLE

❖ Weathering – breaking down or

dissolving of rocks with the help of
water, ice, acids, salts, and plants
and animals interventions.

❖ Erosion – removal or movements of

rocks due to wind, flood, and
earthquakes.

❖ Deposition – sediments, soils, and

rocks are deposited in a particular
place or region.

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WATER RESOURCES AQUIFER - contains sufficient saturated
permeable material to yield economical
quantities of water to wells and springs.
Water
- a life-giving and sustaining
AQUITARD - no water moves.
substance.
- This colorless, odorless, tasteless
AQUICLUDE - poorly permeable bed, does
and formless inorganic substance is
not yield water freely to a well or springs but
a biological necessity on earth.
may transmit water from adjacent aquifers.
Occurs in; Solid, Liquid, and Gas.
- little amount of water, a form of clay

DISTRIBUTION OF EARTH’S WATER

SINKHOLE - a hole in the ground that forms
when water dissolves surface rock.
❖ Total Global Water:
Caused by: Drought, groundwater
pumping, and disturbance of the soil.
Freshwater (2.5%)
- Saline Groundwater 0.93%
BODIES OF WATER
- Saline Lakes 0.07%
Oceans (96.5%)
❖ OCEAN
- The ocean is a huge body of salt
❖ Freshwater
water that covers about 71% of
Earth’s surface.
Surface water and other freshwater - 1.3%
More than 80 percent of the ocean has
Glaciers and Ice Caps (68.6%)
never been mapped, explored, or even seen
Groundwater (30.1%)
by humans.

❖ Surface water and freshwater

❖ SEAS
- a portion of the ocean, surrounded
Atmospheric water - 0.22%
by land.
Biological water - 0.22%
We only know 7 seas, but there 50 water
Rivers - 0.46%
formations that can be called a sea.
Swamps and Marshes - 2.53%
Soil Moisture - 3.52%
❖ RIVERS
Lakes (20.1%)
- a large body of fresh, flowing water.
Ice and Snow (73.1%)
There are 412 rivers in the Philippines.

GROUNDWATER
❖ LAKES
- Water found underground in the
- a large body of slowly moving or
cracks and spaces in soil, sand, and
standing water that occupies an
rock.
inland basin of appreciable size.
Stored in and moves slowly through
3 Biggest Lake in the Philippines: Laguna
geologic formations of soil, sand, and rocks
De Bay, Lake Lanao, and Lake Taal.
called aquifers.
❖ RESERVOIRS
Water Table - the upper surface of the
- artificial lake
saturated zone.

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Dams and Cisterns (waterproof storage of
water/ rainwater)
❖ SWAMPS
- area of land permanently saturated
or filled, with water.
4 wetlands in the Philippines:
- Olango Island (Lapu-Lapu, Cebu)
- Naujan National Park (Oriental
Mindoro)
- Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary
- Tubataha Reefs National Marine
(Central Sulu Sea)
Water; evaporates into the air
Soil particles; wash away in storms
Organic Matter; compose into carbon
dioxide
Nutrients and Minerals; leach into
groundwater and taken up by plants
3. Translocation
- Movement of materials within the
soil
4. Transformation
- Alteration of materials in the soil

SOIL RESOURCES SOIL HORIZON - 6 basic layers

Soil as “an interface” O - Organic Layer

- A common boundary where the - humus
different parts of the system interact. A - Topsoil
- minerals with humus
SOIL - combines mineral, organic matter, E - Eluviation Layer
water, and air. - Leached minerals & organic matter
● Disintegrated and decomposed rock B - Subsoil
and humus (organic matter: decayed - Deposited minerals & metal salts
animal and plant life) - 50% C - Parent Rock
● Pore spaces (where air and water - Partly weathered rock
circulate) - 50% R - Bedrock
- Unweathered parent rock/hardest
SOIL PROFILE
- A vertical cross-section of the soil. SOIL PROPERTIES
- Depth of 3 to 5 feet. To see the soil
profile, soil cores may be taken or Horizonation - layers that make up a soil
holes dug to expose the profile.
Soil Color - in well-aerated soils, oxidized
Basic Process in the Soil or ferric iron compounds are responsible for
the brown, yellow, and red colors in soil
1. Addition
- Occurs as materials such as fallen Soil Texture - the proportion of the soil
leaves, windblown dust, or chemical “separates” that make up the mineral
from air pollution. component of the soil.
Rain; Water Separates are called sand, silt, and clay
Dust; Minerals
Animal waste; Organic Matter & Nutrients Sand = <2 to 0.05 mm
Humans add Fertilizer Silt = 0.05 to 0.002 mm
Clay = <0.002 mm
2. Loss
- Materials are lost from the soil
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Ideal soil for plant growth
LOAM:
40% Sand
40% Silt
20% Clay

Soil Structure
- soil separates can become
aggregated together into discrete
structural units called “peds”

Peds - a repeating pattern that is a soil

structure.
- Between the peds are cracks called
“pores” in which soil air and water
are conducted.

Soil Consistence
- The ease with which an individual
ped can be crushed by the fingers.
- Dependent on soil moisture content

SOIL pH
- “pH” is a measure of the active
hydrogen ion (H+) concentration that
serves as an indication of the acidity
or alkalinity of a soil, and also known
as “soil reaction”.
The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14, with
values below 7.0 acidic, and values above
7.0 alkaline. A pH value of 7 is considered
neutral
- Good soil must have a neutral pH
level

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EARTH’S PROCESSES: EXOGENIC
EXOGENIC PROCESS
- An external process that occurs on
or near the surface of the earth
- Exhibited in the rock cycle
- Caused by external agents such as
weathering, erosion, mass wasting,
and deposition
DEGRADATION
- A process that reduces the overall
size of the riverbed by eroding the
sediments settled within the base of
the river.
ADDRADATION
- Sediment deposition raises the level
of the stream channel or land
surface.
Degradation:
WEATHERING
- physical breakdown (disintegration)
and chemical alteration
(decomposition) of rocks at or near
Earth’s surface
- Elements of weather: temperature,
rainfall, frost, fog, and andice.
Mechanical Weathering - rocks are broken
down into smaller pieces, each retaining the
characteristics of the original material
❖ Frost Wedging
- Water seeps into the cracks of rocks,
gets frozen, and expands or
enlarges the cracks, produces
angular fragments.
Frost Heave: the expansion of moist soil
due to the growth of ice lenses (bodies of
ice formed when moisture, diffused within
soil or rock, accumulates in a localized
zone).
❖ Salt Crystal Growth
- Weaken the rock or enlarges its tiny
cracks due to the growth of salt
crystals
Occurs when sea spray from breaking
waves or salty groundwater penetrates
crevices and pore spaces in rock.
❖ Sheeting
- Onion-like layers take place in
response to the great reduction in
pressure that occurs when
overlaying rock is ended away.
❖ Biological Activity
- Occurs due to the activities of
different organisms including plants,
burrowing, animals, and humans.
Earthworms and Termites: According to
scientists, there is a possibility of
occurrence about 150,000 earthworms in an
acre and they can convert 10 to 15 tons of
rock mass into good soil and bring it to the
surface.
Burrowing: Earthworms, rats, rabbits,
termites, and ants breakdown the rocks
- Disintegrated rocks can easily be
eroded or removed by wind. Hooves
of animals break the soil and assist
soil erosion.
Human Activities: Quarrying and mining of
minerals, agriculture, and construction of
houses.
Chemical Weathering - the complex
processes that alter the internal structures
of the minerals by removing or adding
elements
❖ Oxidation
- Atmospheric oxygen reacts with the
rock to produce oxides.
- Oxygen in humid air reacts with iron
grains in the rock to form a yellow or
red oxide of iron also known as rust.
❖ Carbonation
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 - Various types of carbonates are
formed in which some of them are
soluble in water.
Limestone Pavement: a result of the joints
expansion due to the action of carbonic acid
that originates from rainwater and contains
CO2
- Carbonic acid forms from water and
carbon dioxide mixing and can
dissolve feldspar and calcite found in
rocks.
CO2 + H20 = H2CO3
❖ Spheroidal Weathering
- Causes physical change that results
in the formation of concentric or
spherical layers.
MASS WASTING - the downslope
movement of rock and soil under the
influence of gravity.
- Results in earth’s surface not being
flat but instead consisting of slopes.
- A natural process and considered a
natural hazard
- Become natural disaster when it
leads to loss of life and property.
➔ Controlled and triggered by moisture
(water) and speed (rate).
➔ The saturation of water destroys the
cohesion of rock particles causing
them to lose.
Classification:
ROCK FALL - free-fall movement of
detached individual pieces of rock.
SLIDES - rock materials remain fairly
coherent
FLOW - rock materials are saturated with
water.
❖ Rock Fall
- The abrupt movement and free fall
of loosened blocks of solid rock.
❖ Landslide
- The movement of rock, debris, or
earth down a slope.
❖ Slump
- A coherent mass of loosely
consolidated materials or rock layers
moves a short distance down a
slope.
❖ Mudflow (Lahar)
- Very rapid to extremely rapid surging
flow of debris that has become
partially or fully liquified by the
addition of significant amounts of
water.
❖ Earthflow
- A downslope viscous flow of
fine-grained materials that have
been saturated with water and
moves under the pull of gravity
- Intermediate type of mass wasting
that is between downhill creep and
mudflow.
❖ Solifluction
- The gradual movement of wet soil or
other material down a slope,
especially where frozen subsoil acts
as a barrier to the percolation of
water.
❖ Creep
- A very slow mass movement that
goes on for years or centuries.
- Covered with long narrow steps
called terracettes (built by soil
creep.)
EROSION - the removal of soil at a greater
rate than its replacement by natural
agencies (water, gravity, glaciers, rain, wind,
etc.)
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Processes:
1. Detachment
- Known as the separation of a
particle from its surrounding
material.
Mechanisms: plucking, cavitation, raindrop
impact, and abrasion.
2. Entertainment
- Lifting particles due to agent of
erosion and the main force
responsible for entertainment is fluid
drag which causes particles to
move.
When particles are entrained, transport can
already occur through various mechanisms
➔ Solution: minerals are dissolved in
the water/chemical change.
➔ Suspension: fine, light material is
carried along by the river.
➔ Traction: large boulders and rocks
are rolled along the river bed.
➔ Saltation: small pebbles and stones
are bounced along the river bed.
3. Deposition
- accumulation of sediments to form
or create a new landform that occurs
when the transported particles fall
out of the transporting medium and
settle on a surface
Kinds of Water Deposition:
❖ DELTA – sediment deposits at the
junction of a sea or river.
❖ ALLUVIAL FAN – a fanlike structure
formed when streams deposit
sediments at the junction of a hill.
Kinds of Glacial Deposition:
❖ Moraine – layers of rocky material
❖ Esker – a winding ridge of sand and
gravel
❖ Drumlin – asymmetrical hill
❖ Kame – irregularly-shaped hill
Kinds of Wind Deposition:
❖ Sand Dune – deposits of coarse
materials in the shape of hills or
ridges
❖ Loess – sediments deposited over
broad vertical areas
EARTH’S PROCESSES: ENDOGENIC
ENDOGENIC PROCESS
- Formed, located, or occurring
beneath the surface of the earth.
- Associated with energy originating in
the interior of the solid earth.
- The ground we live on is moving all
the time.
Endogenic Forces: the forces within the
earth that cause the ground to move
DIFFERENT ENDOGENIC PROCESSES
❖ FOLDING & FAULTING
- The fracturing and displacement of
more brittle rock strata along a fault
plane are either caused by tension
or compression.
Fault: a break in rock along which a vertical
or horizontal rock movement has occurred.
Fault Line
- the line of fault which appears on the
land surface
- lines of weakness allow molten rock
to rise up onto the earth's surface
when there is active volcanic activity
nearby.
Normal Fault – footwall is not moving,
hanging wall moves downward
Reverse Fault – moves upward movement
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Strict-Slip Fault – sliding past each other,
and producing earthquakes of that high
magnitude
❖ EARTH’S INTERIOR HEAT
● Primordial Heat
- Heat generated during Earth’s
formation
➔ Accretion Energy
- Heat released from a collision of
planetary objects during early
formation of earth.
➔ Adiabatic Compression (air)
- Heat generated as materials are
compressed
- Air will be heated through the action
of compression
➔ Core Formation Energy
- Heat from the Earth’s core.
● Radioactive Heat
- Heat generated by long-term
radioactive decay
Sources: K40, Th232, U235, U238
➔ Convection
- transfer of heat by the movement of
substance that can only take place
in fluid.
Convection Current: lighter (less dense)
material rises while heavier (more dense)
cool material sinks.
- Warm Air Rises, Cool Air Sinks
➔ Conduction
- transfer of heat through matter by
molecular activity through collisions
from one molecule to another.
❖ MAGMATISM
- This happens when magma
generated and develops into
igneous rocks.
TYPES OF MAGMA
Basaltic - most common magma on earth
that has low silica, low viscosity, and low
gas content.
Rhyolitic - high silica, viscosity, and gas
content.
Andesitic - roughly in between basaltic
and rhyolitic.
SOURCES OF MAGMA
❖ Mid-Oceanic Ridges
- The rising magma in mantle
convection cells brings heat to the
surface, transferring heat to the
overlying rocks.
- The transfer of heat due to the
convection is accompanied by a
decrease in pressure or
decompression associated with the
spreading of the tectonic plates.
❖ Mantle Plumes
- A mass of hotter-than normal mantle
material that ascends toward the
surface, where it may lead to
igneous activity.
- These plumes of solid yet mobile
material may originate as deep as
the core-mantle boundary.
❖ Subduction Zones
- A long, narrow zone where one
lithospheric plate descends beneath
the other.
METAMORPHISM
- The changes in mineral composition
and texture of a rock subjected to
high temperature and pressure.
Types:
1. Regional Metamorphism -
large-scale mountain building
processes.
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 2. Contact Metamorphism - changes
in rock caused by the heat from a
nearby magma body.
Factors Influencing Rocks’ Behaviour
❖ Compression - Rock push or
squeeze against one another where
the stress produced is directed
towards the center.
❖ Tension - Rocks pulled apart and
maybe separated in opposite
directions.
❖ Shearing - Some of the portion of a
plate at the edge may break away in
different directions that eventually
makes the plate smaller inside.
❖ Confining - The crust becomes
compact, thus making it look smaller.
VOLCANISM
- The phenomenon of eruption of
molten rock (magma) onto the
surface of the Earth or a
solid-surface planet.
- Most volcanoes are formed by the
movement of tectonic plates on the
surface of the earth.
- These plates are basically huge
pieces of rock that ‘float’ on the
mantle (a layer of the earth that is
sort of liquid rock).
- The areas where most volcanoes
occur are in the edge of plate
boundaries
Volcano - a vent or opening on the planet’s
surface which allows molten rock called
magma, volcanic ash, and gas to escape
out onto its surface.
❖ Active Volcano - active magma
chamber
❖ Dormant - magma chamber slowly
filling
❖ Extinct - inactive magma chamber
Crater: the depression at the summit of a
volcano, or at which is produced by a
meteorite impact
Caldera: a large depression typically
caused by collapse or ejection of the
summit area of a volcano.
TYPES OF VOLCANO
❖ Composite
- Largest and tallest volcano
- Most explosive and dangerous
❖ Cinder Cone
- Smaller in size than composite
volcanoes, and the eruptions are
smaller also.
- Form into steep cone-shaped hills.
❖ Shield Volcano
- Widest, with a gentle slope due to
the low viscosity or runny lava.
VOLCANIC MATERIALS: GAS AND
PYROCLASTS
- most of the gas released during
eruption is water vapour
- carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide,
hydrogen sulfide, and hydrochloric
acid, are given off in lesser amounts
- surface water introduced into a
volcanic system can greatly increase
the explosivity of an eruption
TYPES OF VOLCANIC ERUPTION
Hawaiian — Less Viscous — Least Violent
Strombolian — Less Viscous —Violent
Vulcanian — Viscous — Violent
Plinian — Viscous — Most Violent
❖ HAWAIIAN ERUPTION
- fluid lava is ejected from a vent as
fire fountains or lava flows.
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The1969 eruption at Mauna Ulu, a vent of
Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii, was a
spectacular example of fire fountaining.
❖ STROMBOLIAN ERUPTION
- short bursts of glowing lava created
from the bursting of large gas
bubbles at the summit vent of a
volcano
❖ VULCANIAN ERUPTION
- Columns of ashes and gases,
pyroclastic flows.
❖ PLINIAN ERUPTION
- Largest and most violent of all
explosive eruptions, send columns
of pulverized rock, ash, and gases
that rise miles into the atmosphere in
a matter of minutes.
TYPES OF LAVA FLOW
❖ PAHOEHOE
- smooth and continuous lava crust.
- forms when the effusion rate is low
and consequently the velocity of lava
flow is slow
- usually flows at least 10 times
slower than typical lava flow.
❖ AA (AH-AH)
- rough rubbly (resemblance of
rubble) crust of a lava flow.
❖ PILLOW LAVA
- hot lava flows into water and cools
rapidly, creating long tubes and
bulbous pillow shaped mounds of
rock.
- found under glaciers that overlie
volcanoes.
❖ BLOCKY
- consist of large angular blocks of
lava that are common if the silica
content of lavas is higher
(composition of basaltic, andesitic, to
rhyolitic).
PLATE TECTONICS
Continental Drift + Sea Floor Spreading
CONTINENTAL DRIFT THEORY:
Super-Continent, Pangaea
PERMIAN - 225 million years ago
TRIASSIC - 200 million years ago
JURASSIC - 135 million years ago
CRETACEOUS - 65 million years ago
PRESENT DAY
- According to Wegener, the continent
has moved slowly to its current
locations.
- All continents once were connected
as one landmass that broke apart
about 200 million years ago.
- He called this large landmass,
Pangaea
Continental Drift + Sea Floor Spreading =
Plate Tectonic
Evidence of Continental Drift Theory
❖ Puzzle-like Fit of the Continents
- The edge of some continents looks
as if they would fit together like a
puzzle.
- Africa and South America fit each
other.
- The fit of continents across the
Atlantic
❖ Fossil Clues
Mesosaurus: freshwater swimming reptile
- Fossils are found in South America
and Africa
- Alfred Wegener thought that this
reptile lived on both continents when
the continents were connected
Glossopteris: Fossil Fern
- Found in Africa, Australia, India,
South America, and Antarctica.
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 - Wegener believed that all these
areas were connected.
❖ Climate Clues
Glacial Deposits: and groove bedrock
found in southern areas of South America,
Africa, India, and Australia.
- These continents were once covered
with glaciers.
- Wegener believed that these
continents were covered with ice
near Earth’s South Pole at one time.
❖ Rock Clues
- Similar rock structures are found on
different continents.
- Mountains found in the eastern U.S.
are similar to those found in
Greenland and western Europe.
SEA FLOOR SPREADING
- Discovered by Harry Hess
- He discovered flat-topped
seamounts using echo sounders on
his ship, at US Naval Reserve.
- The oceans as young and with
constant renewal by magma flowing
into the mid-ocean ridges.
- The ocean floor moves like a
conveyor belt, which in turn moves
the continents.
- This movement begins at the
midoceanic ridge, which forms along
the crack in the oceanic crust.
- At the mid-ocean ridge, molten
materials rise from the mantle and
erupt.
- The molten material spreads out,
pushing older rock to both sides of
the ridge.
Evidence:
1. Age of Rocks
- Youngest rocks located at the ridges
- Rocks are increasingly older as you
move farther from the ridges.
2. Magnetic Stripes
- Pattern of magnetized stripes which
holds a record of the reversals in
Earth’s magnetic field.
Plate Tectonics
- Greek word tekton means “builder”
The outermost part layer of the Earth's
interior:
Lithosphere and Asthenosphere
- The lithosphere(upper mantle) is
broken up into what are called
tectonic plates
- Lateral Movement of the plates
speed of 0.66 to 8.50 centimeters
per year, caused by convection
current in the mantle.
Tectonic Plates
- Plates move around on top of the
mantle like rafts.
- A section of the lithosphere that
slowly moves over the
asthenosphere, carrying pieces of
continental and oceanic crust.
THEORY OF TECTONIC PLATES
- Pieces of Earth’s lithosphere are in
constant motion, driven by
convection currents in the mantle.
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Types:
Convergent - move toward each other,
colliding
Type 1: Oceanic to Continental
- Ocean plate colliding with a less
dense continental plate.
Subduction Zone: the less dense plate
slides under the more dense plate
Volcanoes: occur at the subduction zones
Type 3: Continental to Continental
Collision Zones: a place where folded and
thrust faulted mountains form.
Divergent - move away from each other
Transform - slide past each other
Continental - granite
Oceanic - basalt

Type 2: Oceanic to Oceanic

- The less dense plate slides under
the more dense plate creating a
Subduction Zone called a Trench.

EARTH’S TECTONIC PLATES

Major Plates Area Covered

1. African Plate Africa Continental Plate

2. Antarctic Plate Antarctica Continental Plate

3. Australian Plate Covering Australia (fused with Indian Plate between 50 – 55

million years ago)

4. Eurasian Plate Asia and Europe Continental Plates

5. North American Plate North America and North-East Siberia Continental Plates

6. South American Plate South America Continental Plate

7. Pacific Plate Pacific Ocean – Oceanic Plate

Minor Plates: - “Strong” earthquakes (~M7) occur once a

month while >M8 occur about once/year.
1. Caribbean Plate - The earthquakes coincide with plate
2. Arabian Plate boundaries, and the deepest quakes (blue)
3. Cocos Plate are in subduction zones.
4. Juan de Fuca Plate
5. Nazca Plate RATES OF PLATE MOTION
6. Philippine Plate - The relative plate motion rates vary from
7. Scotia Plate about 2 cm to over 10 cm/yr
- Average rate: about 5 cm/yr or as fast as
EARTHQUAKES your fingernail growth
- There are thousands of small earthquakes - San Andreas – average rate
every day - Pacific Plate near Japan – 10 cm/yr

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ORIGIN OF LIFE
- Earth is the only known planet that
harbors life.
- During the early days of Earth, its
condition is not conducive to support
life.
EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF EARTH
A. The formation of planet did not
remove all the materials orbiting
around the sun, so early Earth
received a constant bombardment of
meteorites and asteroids.
B. The volcanoes are continuously
erupting. This led to the formation of
the atmosphere called outgassing.
This happens when the gases are
trap inside the container.
C. The extraterrestrial materials along
with the volcanic materials provided
components of Earth’s land, seas,
and atmosphere.
D. Earth’s surface was a molten rock.
This means that the water during
early years of the planet is in a form
of water vapor.
E. Around 4.30 billion years ago, the
planet had cooled enough for water
to exist in liquid form and pooled on
its surface.
BEGINNING OF LIFE
- All living things are made up of
organic compounds.
Organic Compounds: carbon-containing
chemical compounds
Carbon: backbone of life
Monomers of Biomolecules:
Nucleic Acid - Nucleotide
Carbohydrates - Monosaccharide
Lipid - Glycerol/Fatty Acid
Protein - Amino Acid
SOURCES OF LIFE’S BUILDING BLOCKS
HYPOTHESES
❖ Lightning-fuelled Atmospheric
Reactions
Proposed by Stanley Miller and Harold Urey
in 1953.
- The lighting could have powered
synthesis reactions in Earth’s early
atmosphere.
- They tested this idea by conducting
an experiment. The set-up of the
experiment is they have a chamber
filled with methane, ammonia, and
hydrogen gas, and zapped it with
sparks from electrodes
- Result: After a week, a variety of
organic molecules are formed, this
includes amino acids.
❖ Reaction of Hydrothermal Vents
- The synthesis of organic monomers
occurred at deep-sea hydrothermal
vents.
Hydrothermal vent: area where
mineral-rich water is heated by geothermal
energy that streams out through a rocky
opening in the seafloor.
❖ Delivery from Space
- The meteorites from outer space
brought organic monomers to the
planet Earth.
Evidence: Modern meteor that falls to the
planet and gas that surrounds a star
contains sugars, amino acids, and
nucleotide bases.
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ORIGIN OF LIFE THEORIES
❖ Creation Theory
- A biblical theory of the origin of life
wherein there is a supreme being
that created all the life forms on the
planet.
Christianity: God the Father
Hinduism: Brahma, God of Creation
Creationist (believer of creation theory):
the species of living things that exist today
are the same as what existed during their
creation.
❖ Theory of Abiogenesis/
Spontaneous Generation Theory
Proposed by Stanley Miller through an
experiment.
- Many years ago gases in the
atmosphere had the ability to react
upon being struck by lightning or
other sources of energy. This
reaction led to the creation of amino
acids which is a building block of
proteins and in turn the basic
components of living things’ tissues
- Life arose on Earth via spontaneous
natural means due to conditions
present at the time with the help of
non-living matter.
❖ Theory of Biogenesis
Tried to explain thru experiments by Louis
Pasteur and Francisco Redi.
- Life came from preexisting life by
reproduction and not from non-living
material.
❖ Theory of Catastrophism
Proposed by Georges Cuvier and Orbigny.
- God created the living things one by
one and each encountered a
catastrophe that completely
destroyed them. As a result, each
new creation consisted of life forms
that happen to be different from the
previous ones.
CHARACTERISTIC OF LIVING THINGS
- give a comprehensive definition of
living things.
- set the boundaries between living
and non-living things.
❖ Living Things are Made Up of
Cells
Robert Hooke: coined the term “cell” from
the Latin word “cella” which means “little
room”, with his observation of a piece of
cork under a microscope.
- Cell as the basic unit of life.
- Cell perform different functions in
nutrition, respiration, and
reproduction.
Prokaryotes: came from the Greek word
“pro” and “karyon” which means before and
nut or kernel
- single-cell or unicellular organisms
- no membrane-bound nucleus,
mitochondria, and other organelles
example: bacteria
Eukaryotes
- multi-cellular organisms such as
animals
- membrane-bound nucleus (contains
DNA), mitochondria, and other
organelles
❖ Living Things Metabolize
Metabolism: came from the Greek word
“metabole” which means “change” and
refers to the building up and breaking down
processes in living organisms.
- The chemical components of foods
are metabolized by the body for
them to be utilized by the cells.
Anabolism: building up of the substances
or chemicals needed by the body to grow,
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store energy, and repair tissues through
synthesis or combination reaction.
Catabolism: breaking down of complex
substances like food to extract energy which
will be needed or used by anabolic reaction.
- Through metabolism living, things
grow, maintain their structure and
functions (repair action), and
respond to stimuli.
❖ Living Things Grow and Develop
Growth: the process of becoming larger.
Development: the process of change that
occurs during an organism’s life, producing
a more complex organism
❖ Living Things Respond to Stimuli
Stimuli (singular: stimulus) - the signals that
cause an organism to produce a response
or reaction
- Cooling effect of the body, through
sweating, during hot weather.
- Automatic retraction of hand when
you touch a hot surface.
Homeostasis: the internal balance of the
body such as temperature and body fluid for
body’s optimal function.
❖ Living Things Interact
- Living things are social beings. They
interact and socialize with their
fellow living things and nonliving
things directly and indirectly.
Reproduction: sexual reproduction with
other the same species organisms.
Exchange of Gases: trees give oxygen and
in turn, humans release carbon dioxide.
Prey and Predator Relationship: food
chain and food web of animals for survival.
❖ Living Things Reproduce
Reproduction: ability of organisms to
produce offspring asexually or sexually.
- For the species’ perpetuation and
avoidance of extinction
Sexual: requires the gametes (sex cells) of
parents to undergo union. This results in the
variation of the characteristics of the
offspring from the parents.
Asexual: produces offspring which is
completely identical to the parents such as
in bacteria and plants.
❖ Living Things Adapt and Evolve
Adaptation: the organism’s response
toward a stimulus that helps them to survive
within its environment.
Evolution: the gradual change in an
organism’s characteristics and structure
over a longer period of time as a response
to the changing environment.
❖ Living Things are Organized
- The organism’s body is very
organized in structure for it follows a
set of development.
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