OVERVIEW OF

EARTH SCIENCE
EARTH AND LIFE
SCIENCE
QUARTER 1
INTRODUCTION
TO EARTH
SYSTEM
MARVIN O. VENERACION, LPT MAED
 OBJECTIVES:
•1. Describe the characteristics of Earth
that are necessary to support life.
•2. Explain that the Earth consists of
four subsystems, across whose
boundaries matter and energy flow.
Question: The humanity’s
failure to protect the
environment and life here on
Earth is likely due to?
• Inability to recognize
the full consequence of
his/her actions
• Lack of appreciation of
how truly unique the
Earth is
ACTIVITY 1: COMPARE
AND CONTRAST THE
PLANETS
ACTIVITY 2: Factors that
make a Planet Habitable
USE THE FOLLOWING WORDS TO
ANSWER THE QUESTION:WHAT
FACTORS WOULD A PLANET
HABITABLE. LEARNERS
SHOULD TRY TO ELABORATE
ON THEIR RESPONSES.
 ATMOSPHERE
ENERGY
NUTRIENT CONTENT
TEMPERATURE
SIMILARITIES AND
DIFFERENCE
• VENUS, EARTH, AND MARS
ARE PART OF THE INNER
TERRESTRIAL OR "ROCKY"
PLANETS. THEIR COMPOSITION
AND DENSITIES ARE NOT TOO
DIFFERENT FROM EACH OTHER.
• VENUSIS CONSIDERED TO BE
THE EARTH'S TWIN PLANET. IT
HAS A VERY SIMILAR SIZE
AND MASS WITH THE EARTH.
MARS IS ABOUT HALF THE
EARTH'S SIZE.
• ORBITAL PERIOD AND
VELOCITY ARE RELATED TO THE
PLANET'S DISTANCE FROM THE
SUN. AMONG THE THREE
PLANET, VENUS IS THE NEAREST
AND MARS IS THE FARTHEST
FROM THE SUN.
• ROTATIONAL SPEED OF EARTH AND
MARS ARE VERY SIMILAR.
ROTATIONAL SPEED OF VENUS IS
EXTREMELY SLOW.

• ABUNDANCE OF LIQUID WATER ON

EARTH, HENCE THE BLUE COLOR.
THE EARTH IS A HABITABLE PLANET.
FACTORS THAT MAKE
A PLANET HABITABLE
• ESCAPE VELOCITY.

•is the minimum speed an

object needs to escape a
planet's pull of gravity.
• SURFACE PRESSURE

•is the atmospheric pressure at a

location on the surface of the planet.
It is proportional to the mass of air
above the location
• ‘TEMPERATURE
if no greenhouse gases are present’ indicates
the temperature of the planet without the
warming effect of greenhouse gases. Note that
the temperature of the Earth would be a r o u n
d 1 8 o C l o w e r w i t h o u t greenhouse
warming.
Question: What is the
consequence if greenhouse
gases are not present?
Temperature-influences how
quickly atoms and
molecules move.
• LENGTH OF DAY IS A FUNCTION OF
ROTATIONAL SPEED.

• THE ABILITY OF A PLANET TO RETAIN ITS

INTERNAL HEAT IS PROPORTIONAL TO ITS
SIZE. MARS MAY HAVE LOST MUCH OF ITS
INTERNAL HEAT VERY EARLY IN ITS
EVOLUTION.
TEMPERATURE
• is a function of its distance from
the Sun. However, this factor can
be modified by the intensity of
greenhouse warming
• WATER
•- in the liquid form, turns out
to be one of the most
important prerequisites for
life as we know it.
•the amount of solar radiation that a planet
receives is primarily a function of distance
from the sun. Sunlight is essential for
photosynthesis but some organism are
able to extract energy from other sources
(chemosynthetic organisms).
EARTH SUBSYSTEM
LABEL THE
DIFFERENT
PROCESSES AND
PHASES OF
WATER
INVOLVED IN
THE WATER
CYCLE.
What do you know about or
have experienced El Niño?
What is system?
system as a set of interconnected
components that are interacting
to form a unified whole.
 EARTH SYSTEMS OVERVIEW
The Earth is a system consisting of four major
interacting components:
• the atmosphere,
• the biosphere,
• the hydrosphere, and
• the geosphere

Let’s examine each of these four spheres in

detail………
MAKE A CONCEPT MAP/ RADIAL DIAGRAM
AND USE IT TO EXPLAIN HOW THE
GEOSPHERE, HYDROSPHERE, ATMOSPHERE,
AND BIOSPHERE ARE INTERCONNECTED
 THE ATMOSPHERE
The Earth is surrounded by a
blanket of air, which we call the
atmosphere.
• The atmosphere consists of
four unique layers (the
troposphere, the stratosphere,
the mesosphere, and the
thermosphere).
THE ATMOSPHERE REACHES OVER 350
MILES UP FROM THE SURFACE OF THE
EARTH.

THE ATMOSPHERE IS PRIMARILY

COMPOSED OF NITROGEN (ABOUT
78%) AND OXYGEN (ABOUT 21%).
OTHER COMPONENTS EXIST IN SMALL
QUANTITIES.
THERE IS ALSO A
CONSTANT EXCHANGE OF
HEAT AND MOISTURE
BETWEEN THE
ATMOSPHERE AND THE
HYDROSPHERE THROUGH
THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE.
LITHOSPHE
RE

LITHOSPHERE INCLUDES THE

ROCKS OF THE CRUST AND
MANTLE, THE METALLIC LIQUID
OUTER CORE, AND THE SOLID
METALLIC INNER CORE.
QUESTION: WHAT ARE THE
IMPORTANT ROLE OF
PLATE TECTONIC IN OUR
EARTH?
PLATE TECTONICS AS AN
IMPORTANT PROCESS SHAPING
THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH.
THE PRIMARY DRIVING
MECHANISM IS THE EARTH'S
INTERNAL HEAT, SUCH AS THAT
IN MANTLE CONVECTION.
 THE BIOSPHERE
The biosphere is the “life zone” of the Earth, and includes all
living organisms (including humans), and all organic matter that
has not yet decomposed.
• The biosphere is structured into a hierarchy known as a food
chain.
• Energy and nutrients, like carbon, are transferred from one
level of the food chain to the next.
• IT COVERS ALL ECOSYSTEMS—
FROM THE SOIL TO THE
RAINFOREST, FROM
MANGROVES TO CORAL REEFS,
AND FROM THE PLANKTON-
RICH OCEAN SURFACE TO THE
DEEP SEA.
FOR THE MAJORITY OF LIFE ON EARTH,
THE BASE OF THE FOOD CHAIN
COMPRISES PHOTOSYNTHETIC
ORGANISMS. DURING PHOTOSYNTHESIS,
CO2 IS SEQUESTERED FROM THE
ATMOSPHERE, WHILE OXYGEN IS
RELEASED AS A BYPRODUCT. THE
BIOSPHERE IS A CO2 SINK, AND
THEREFORE, AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE
CARBON CYCLE.
 HYDROSPHERE
The hydrosphere contains all the
water found on our planet.
• Surface Water: Includes the
ocean as well as water from lakes,
rivers and creeks.
• Ground Water: Includes water
trapped in the soil and
groundwater.
 ATMOSPHERE: WATER VAPOR.
FROZEN WATER: INCLUDES ICE CAPS AND
GLACIERS. ALSO CALLED THE
CRYOSPHERE.
ONLY ABOUT 3% OF THE WATER ON
EARTH IS “FRESH” WATER, AND ABOUT
70% OF THE FRESH WATER IS FROZEN IN
THE FORM OF GLACIAL ICE. (0.9% IN
LIQUID FORM).
 GEOSPHERE
The geosphere is the solid
part of the earth, from the
core to the surface.
• Includes volcanoes, rocks,
minerals, coal, oil etc.
•Mineral resources are mined
from the geosphere.
 EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
Earth System Science
is the study of how the
four spheres of the
Earth system interact
continually, each
affecting the others.
Example: A scientist that
studies global warming is an
Earth System Scientist.
 SYSTEM INTERACTIONS
Volcanoes erupt, sending ash and
gases into the air and sending lava
and ash down onto surrounding
forests and human habitations.

Geosphere

Atmosphere Biosphere
 SYSTEM INTERACTIONS
Hurricanes sweep across the ocean
and onto the land, damaging the
dwellings of people who live along the
coast.

Hydrosphere

Atmosphere Geosphere

Biosphere
 SYSTEM INTERACTIONS
Earthquakes can damage buildings which
may kill people, as well as cause fires which
release gases into the air. Earthquakes in
the ocean may cause a tsunami which can
eventually hit land and kill both animals
and people.

Biosphere

Geosphere Atmosphere

Hydrosphere
 EVAPORATES AND CONDENSATES INTO CLOUDS

HYDROSPHERE ATMOSPHERE
HA PRECIPITATES AS RAIN
B IT
AT
FO R
R
AQ S AI
N
UA
TI TAI
C ON LIFE PROCESSES
SOIL ERODES LI
F E IL
C
PUT METHANE
SO MOST LIVING
ERODES SOIL S OI
L
HU
INTO THE
THINGS USE
WATER O DE M
ATMOSPHERE
OXYGEN
ER AN
DS PO
LL
IN UT
W
ES
WA
TE
R
PLANTS GROW IN SOIL
GEOSPHERE BIOSPHERE

ROTTING ORGANISM ENRICH SOIL