Characteristics of Earth that

Sustain Life
Guess What!
Liquid Water
Presence of
Oxygen
Distance of Earth
from the Sun
 Influence of
Moon on Earth
 Earth’s
Atmosphere
• Earth is unique in our solar system because it has
liquid water on its surface. In fact, most of
Earth’s surface is about 75 percent and covered
with water. Water is present in the atmosphere,
ground, freshwater lakes, rivers, streams; and
even in the polar ice caps. Water is also found in
all living things. Some plants, for example, are as
much as 90–95 percent water by weight. Adult
humans are about 60 percent water by weight.
• Scientists sometimes speak of Earth as having
“Goldilocks” conditions—in other words, Earth is
“just right” for life as we know it. Earth’s place in
the solar system as the third planet from the
Sun, places it in an area of space, that is not too
hot and not too cold.
• Earth has enough
gravitational force to
keep most gases close
to its surface.
• The planet’s
atmosphere is
approximately 21%
oxygen, a gas which
is produced mostly
by plants needed in
respiration.
What makes Earth habitable?
 1. Temperature
• This will influence how quickly
atoms and molecules move.
• Most living things are limited to a
temperature range of minus 15˚C
to 115˚C. Given this temperature
range, H2O may still exist in liquid
form being crucial to life. Among
the other planets, only Earth’s
surface has this temperature range.
 2. Water
• This matter dissolves and
transports materials in and out of
the cell. Only Earth has the right
chemical materials like liquid water
that could support life.
3. Energy
• Living things use light or chemical energy to run essential
life processes. With the availability of sufficient energy,
organisms can perform different metabolic reactions
through the cells. The inner planets such as Earth, get
too much sunlight for life. The outer planets get too
little.
4. Right Distance from the Sun
• Earth is in the Goldilocks Zone. A region with the
just the right temperature to sustain life – not too
cold not too hot.
5. Strong magnetic field
• It shields us from the electromagnetic radiation
coming from the Sun. The magnetic field deflects
the radiation that may destroy the ozone layer.
6. Nutrients
• These are materials that build and maintain an
organism’s body. The inner planets including Earth
and moons have the same general chemical
components which makes the environment.
7. Greenhouse Gases
• Without the greenhouse effect,
Earth would be frozen, more
than 60º F colder. As mentioned
above, the atmosphere is
capable of trapping heat
because of greenhouse gases.
Examples of greenhouse gases
are water vapour, methane, and
carbon dioxide.
8. It is protected by the plate tectonics
from the very hot temperature of the core
• The earth’s core causes the convection currents in
the mantle causing the overlaying lithosphere to
move. However, the surface is protected from heat
from the core by the lithospheric plates.
The Four Subsystems that
Make Up the Earth
 Earth’s Systems
• The planet Earth is home to varied life forms which interact
continuously with the non-living components. There are
four subsystems that composed the earth. These include
the atmosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere.
Each of these systems, allow earth to keep itself in balance.
A change in one system will affect other system.
Four Subsystems
Atmosphere
• A set of layers of gases that blankets the planet
held by the planet’s gravity. It is consisted of 78%
nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon and
0.04% water vapor including all other gases.
Different layers of the atmosphere include the
troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere and
thermosphere.
Hydrosphere
• It is the liquid component of the Earth including
oceans, glacial waters, and freshwater bodies
that covers 70% of the earth’s surface; 98% of
the water on Earth is saltwater.
Geosphere
• It is the solid sphere of the earth. This is where
geologic processes such as volcanism and
oogenesis (mountain building) take place. The
lithosphere is a part of the geosphere that is
composed of the solid, outermost part of the
planet.
Biosphere
• This is the living sphere of the earth. It is the
totality of all the ecosystems in the whole planet.
It compels us to interact with other living
organisms with the influence of the abiotic
factors in the system.