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MODULE 1 – Earth and Life

Subject Teacher:
Science

UNIT 1- THE ORIGIN AND STRUCTURE OF THE EARTH

Learning Objectives:
a. Recognize the uniqueness of Earth being the only planet in the solar system with properties
necessary to support life.

Lesson 1.1. The Earth and It’s Subsystems

❖ Earth as the only Habitable Planet

Two major requirements for a planet to
be considered habitable:
1. The star should survive long enough
for its planets to develop life.
2. The planet should exist in a region
where water could remain liquid.

- Goldilocks zone- indicates that the

distance of Earth from the sun is just
right that the amount of energy
received is just enough to make the
temperature of Earth neither too hot
nor too cold. Image source: Warm welcome: finding habitable planets. Retrieved from
https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/what-is-an-exoplanet/how-do-we-find-habitable-planets/

❖ The Earth’s Spheres

- Earth is divided into different spheres: Hydrosphere, the water portion of the Earth; the
Atmosphere, the gaseous envelope of the Earth; the Geosphere, the solid component of the
Earth and the Biosphere, the living component of Earth.
- These spheres interact with one another that enable the Earth to sustain life. The interaction is
what makes Earth as a system where one sphere cannot act independently from the other.

1. Hydrosphere
- Earth is sometimes called the “blue planet” or the “blue marble” because of its water
component.
- Water is what makes Earth unique since it can appear in any of its three phases.
- The hydrosphere makes up 71% of Earth’s surface and most of it is saltwater found in the
oceans. It also includes the fresh water found in glaciers, rivers, streams, lakes and
underground.
- It is the fresh water part of the hydrosphere that is important to living things. Groundwater is the
largest reservoir of fresh water available to humans.
Oceans- 97% Fresh- 3%
Frozen- 77% Lakes, Rivers and Streams- 1%
Groundwater-22%
- Hydrosphere is a dynamic mass of water that interacts with each of Earth’s spheres through
the water cycle.
 Image source: The water cycle. Retrieved from https://gpm.nasa.gov/education/water-cycle

- The interaction of the geosphere and the hydrosphere is responsible for sculpturing Earth’s
surface that produces its magnificent landforms.

2. Atmosphere
- The atmosphere is the thin life-giving gaseous envelope of the Earth. It serves as a “blanket”.
- Its composition is divided into two: the major components and the variable components.
▪ Major components: the gaseous compounds Nitrogen and Oxygen along with the
trace gases. These provide the air that people breathe and it can also trap the
outgoing infrared radiation to keep Earth warm.
Nitrogen- 78% Argon- 0.9%
Oxygen- 21% Trace Gases- 0.1% (methane, helium, nitrous oxide, ozone, neon,
CO2)
▪ Variable components: water vapor and aerosols, responsible for the weather and
climate that is experienced on Earth through the interaction of the atmosphere to the
hydrosphere and geosphere.
- Water vapor is needed for cloud formation and for trapping the heat on Earth.
- Aerosols serve as condensation nuclei for the water vapor and it can absorb, reflect
and scatter incoming solar radiation.
- Ozone which is another variable component that protects the Earth from the harmful
ultraviolet radiation of the sun.
- The atmosphere is divided into different layers: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and
thermosphere.
▪ Troposphere- lowest layer of the atmosphere
where temperature decreases with altitude. It is
about 11 km thick and all-weather phenomena
occur in this layer.
o Tropopause- boundary between
troposphere and stratosphere.
▪ Stratosphere- about 11 km- 48 km from Earth’s
surface.
- in this layer, temperature increases with
altitude due to the presence of the ozone
layer.
o Stratopause- boundary between the
stratosphere and mesosphere.
▪ Mesosphere- temperature decreases with
altitude and it reaches about -90°C which is the
coldest temperatures in the atmosphere. It is also
in this layer that meteors burn up.
o Mesopause- boundary between
mesosphere and thermosphere.
 ▪ Thermosphere- starts at about 55 km and has no definite upper-limit. It has the least
amount of atmospheric molecules but these receive most of the high-energy radiation
that leads to the increase in temperature as altitude increases.

3. Geosphere
- It has a depth of 6,400 km, making it the largest sphere of the Earth. It is divided into different
layers: crust; mantle; outer core and inner core.
▪ Crust- outermost layer of the Earth. There are two types: the continental crust and
oceanic crust.
▪ Mantle- marked by Mohorovicic discontinuity, a distinct difference between the denser
mantle and the crust. This also marks the base of the crust or the top of the mantle.
- comprise 82% of Earth’s volumes and is divided into upper mantle and lower mantle.
o Lithosphere- 100 km tick of the upper mantle and is made of solid rocks together
with the crust.
o Asthenosphere- weaker region about 700 km thick semi-solid. Below is the lower
mantle that is hot semi-solid rock that is 2, 100 km thick.
▪ Core- marked by Gutenberg discontinuity. It is made up of iron-nickel alloy making it
very dense and it is divided into the outer core and inner core. These two are
separated by the Bullen discontinuity, the hottest part of the core.
o Outer core- 2, 260 km thick, liquid iron- nickel composition, very low viscosity
allowing convection to happen
o Inner core- 1, 216 km thick, solid, contains more iron than nickel

4. Biosphere
- Biological component of the Earth.
- Includes all of the microbes, plants and
animals that can be found from about a
kilometer above the sea level down to the
deepest parts of the oceans. It extends to
any place that life of any kind might exist.
Under the biosphere is the anthroposphere
or the “human sphere”.

Image Source: The Biosphere (2020). Retrieved from

https://eschooltoday.com/learn/the-biosphere/

CONCEPTS AT A GLANCE

1. Earth is a unique that can sustain life because it can maintain water in its liquid form.
2. The basis of life is carbon since it can form long and complex molecules.
3. The four major spheres of the Earth are the hydrosphere (water portion), atmosphere
(gaseous portion), geosphere (solid portion), and biosphere (totality of life on Earth).
4. The four major spheres and its interactions make the Earth a system.
5. 71% of Earth’s surface is made up of water; 97% of all the waters on Earth are from oceans
and 3% are fresh water from glaciers, rivers, lakes and underground.
6. The layers of the atmosphere was determined using the changes in temperature and these
are the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere and thermosphere.
7. The solid Earth is divided into different layers: crust, mantle, outer core and inner core.
8. Lithosphere is the crust and the solid portion of the upper mantle that floats on top of the
asthenosphere—the weaker, plastic region of the upper mantle.
Reference/s:

Sia, S.R. and L.A. Cortez.(2016).Earth and life science.Quezon City.Sibs Publishing House, Inc.
The earth system.(2020). Retrieved from https://eschooltoday.com/learn/the-biosphere/
Warm welcome:finding habitable planets.(n.d.). Retrieved from
https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/what-is-an-exoplanet/how-do-we-find-habitable-planets/
What makes earth suitable for life.(2019). Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ihbuy5g84g
 Test Your Understanding!

Name: ________________________________ Date: ____________

Activity 1
Earth as the Only Habitable Planet

A. Essay
Write a short essay about the video on “What makes Earth Suitable for Life?” Click
the link below for you to watch the video. Please be guided with the criteria in
writing your essay.

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ihbuy5g84g

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Needs
Excellent Very Good Average Improvement Unacceptable
(5) (4) (3) (2) (1)

Content It is clear and It is mostly The writer is Topic is not well- As yet, the paper
focused. It holds focused, and beginning to defined and/or has no clear
the reader's has some good define the there are too sense of purpose
attention. Relevant details and topic, even many topics. or central
details and quotes quotes. though theme.
enrich the central development is
theme. still basic or
general.
Organization The organization Paper (and The Sentences The writing lacks
enhances and paragraphs) organizational within a clear sense of
showcases the are mostly structure is paragraphs direction. Ideas,
central idea or organized, in strong enough make sense, details, or events
theme. The order, order, and to move the but the order of seem strung
structure of makes sense to reader through paragraphs together in a
information is the reader. the text without does not. loose or random
compelling and too much fashion; there is
moves the reader confusion. no identifiable
through the text. internal structure.
Total Score
B. Analyze and complete the graphic organizer.

A system is a collection of interdependent parts enclosed within a defined boundary.

Within the boundary of the Earth is a collection of four interdependent parts called “spheres”: the
lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere. The spheres are so closely connected that a
change in one sphere often results in a change in one or more of the other spheres. Such changes
that take place within an ecosystem are referred to as events. Events can occur naturally, such as
an earthquake or a hurricane, or they can be caused by humans, such as oil spill or air pollution.
An event can cause changes to occur in one or more of the spheres, and/or an event can
be the effect of changes in one or more of Earth’s four spheres. This two-way cause and effect
relationship between an event and a sphere are called an interaction. Interactions also occur
among the spheres. For example, a change in the atmosphere can cause a change in the
hydrosphere, and vice versa. Below are a few examples:
•Humans (biosphere) built a dam out of rock materials (lithosphere).
•Water in the lake (hydrosphere) seeps into the cliff walls behind the dam, becoming
groundwater (lithosphere), or evaporating into the air (atmosphere).
•Humans (biosphere) harness energy from the water (hydrosphere) by having it spin
turbines (lithosphere) to produce electricity.
Understanding the interactions that occur in the Earth System also helps people to
prepare for the effects of natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and severe storms.
This understanding allows people to predict things like how far and in what direction the lava will
flow or the storm surge will rise and help them to evaluate their options throughout the time period
of the event.

Source: The Earth Systems.(n.d.).Retrieved from

https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/outreach/info_activities/pdfs/Teacher_PSA_sphere_interactions.pdf

Materials:

Image of Earth system

List of cause and effect relationships
Reference books or online sources
Procedure:

1. After reading/discussing the information in the

introduction section, you are given the opportunity to put the
process to work by analyzing a sample event.
2. Select an “event” to evaluate from the list provided.
Then research about it and decide how it may cause a change to
each of the spheres (hydrosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere,
biosphere) and how those spheres may impact the “event”.
Event < > lithosphere
Event < > hydrosphere
Event < > biosphere
Event < > atmosphere
3. Make a connection model like this one to show and explain your ideas.
Reminder: The double-headed arrows (< >)
indicate that the cause and effect relationships of these interactions go in both directions. For example,
“event hydrosphere” refers to the effects of the event on the hydrosphere, and the effects of the hydrosphere
on the event.
4. Refer to the guide questions to help you evaluate the cause and effect relationships of
your topic.
5. Evaluate and discuss the information you have acquired and write down how your
events will connect the spheres to each other.
lithosphere < > hydrosphere hydrosphere < > biosphere
lithosphere < > biosphere hydrosphere < > atmosphere
lithosphere < > atmosphere biosphere < > atmosphere
 Data Analysis: Complete your evaluation/s using the diagram below with EXPLANATIONS for the
connections.

Hydrosphere Atmosphere

Event

Lithosphere Biosphere

Guide questions for cause and effect:

1. How may each of the Earth's four spheres (hydrosphere, atmosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere)
have caused the event to occur? (These are sphere vs. event impacts.)

2. What are the effects of the event on each of the Earth's four spheres (hydrosphere, atmosphere,
lithosphere, and biosphere)? (These are the event vs. sphere impacts.)

3. What are the effects of changes in one of Earth's four spheres (hydrosphere, atmosphere,
lithosphere, or biosphere) on each of the other spheres (hydrosphere, atmosphere, lithosphere, or
biosphere)? (These are the sphere-to-sphere interactions.)

NOTE: This approach of answering the questions above is performed during every analysis; simply
replace the term "event" with the event you wish to investigate.

Source/s:

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 Earth System Interaction example:
Typhoon Yolanda/ Haiyan, November 2013

Possible events for analysis:

1. Oil spill
2. Acid rain
3. Deforestation
4. Wildfires
5. COVID-19
6. Drought
7. Flooding
8. Tsunami
9. Hurricanes
10. Volcanic eruption
 Graphic Organizer Rubrics

Criteria Excellent Merit Achieved Needs

(4) (3) (2) Improvement
(1)

Accuracy All information is Most Information is A good amount

accurate and well information is accurate with of the
supported. accurate and some vague information is
well supported. points. inaccurate
and/or vague.

Organization Information are Information are Information is Information is

clearly presented clearly clear. unclear and
and ordered in presented and Order of written in
such a way that it ordered. information does random order.
brings a full picture not clearly show
of the concept. cohesiveness.
Cause-and-Effect At least three Two cause-and- One cause-and- No cause-and-
Relationships cause-and-effect effect effect effect
relationships relationships relationship relationships
included on included on included on included on
graphic organizer. graphic graphic graphic
organizer. organizer. organizer.

Sources Used varied and Used varied Used varied Few sources are
reliable sources. and reliable sources. cited.
All sources are sources. Most sources are
cited. Most sources reliable and
are cited. cited.
Total Score