PHYSICAL SCIENCE

WEEK 1
UNIT PLAN
EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE’S

I. Objectives
At the end of the 4 hours lesson the student must be able to;
1. State the different hypothesis explaining the origin of the universe.
2. Describe the different hypotheses explaining the origin of the solar system.
3. Recognize the uniqueness of Earth being the only planet in the solar system that supports
life.
4. Explain the current information/ advancements on the solar system.
5. Shows the contributions/ People on the understanding of the earth systems.
6. Identify the layers of Earth ( Crust, Mantle and Core )

II. Subject Matter

A. Lesson Title- The Formation of the Universe and the Solar System/ Earth and Earth
System
B. Reference- Earth and Life Sciences Book, Learning Modules, Science.org.ph
C. Values Integration- Self Discipline as fundamental values to acquire knowledge and
information.
D. Materials- Chalk, Blackboard, TV Screen, Projector.

III. Procedures
A. Preliminaries- Prayer, Greetings, Attendance, Cleanliness.
B. Motivation- ‘’Pinoy Henyo’’ The students will be grouped into four. Each group will
participate in the game Pinoy Henyo, where they need to guess particular words that are
related to the formation of the universe and the solar system.
C. Activity
The students will watch the National Geographic Video about the Origin of the Universe
and The Solar System.
D. Analysis
1. How will you describe the formation of the Universe and the Solar system?
2. How does the universe form according to the video?
E. Abstraction

The Big Bang Theory

The Big Bang Theory stated that the universe start as a hot and infinitely dense point, until it exploded
and created everything.
The Solar System is composed of the Sun, the different planets, and the minor members. There are about seven (7)
theories that account for the origin of the solar system:

 Nebular Hypothesis/Theory: Hydrogen and other gases swirled around and condensed into our Sun and
its planets.
 Fission Theory: One day, our Sun burst open, and planets and moons shot out at high speeds and went to
their respective places, then stopped, and started orbiting the Sun, as the moons began orbiting the planets.
 Capture Theory: Planets and moons were flying around, and some were captured by our sun and began
circling.
 Accretion Theory: A pile of space dust and rock chunks pushed together into our planet, and another pile
pushed itself into our moon. Then the moon got close enough and began encircling the earth.
  Planetary Collision Theory: Our world collided with a small planet, and the explosion threw off rocks
which became the moon, and then it began orbiting us.
 Stellar Collision Theory: Our planets, moons, and suns spun off from the collision between stars.
 Gas Cloud Theory: Gas clouds were captured by our Sun. But instead of being drawn into it, they began
whirling and pushing themselves into planets and moons

Terrestrial Planets

The common characteristics of terrestrial planets include (1) nearness to the sun, (2) petiteness, and (3)
being rocky in structure.

 Mercury
o Closest planet to the Sun and thus considered the innermost planet
o It has no atmosphere and thus absorbs most of the sunlight that strikes it and reflects only about
6% into space.
o It has no moon and revolves quickly at about 88 earth days and rotates slowly at about 79 earth
days.
o Very cold planet at nighttime (- 173oC) and the day time temperature is about 427 oC
 Venus
o Brightest planet in the night sky next to our moon and is known as the goddess of love and beauty.
o Usually called the twin of planet Earth which orbits about the Sun in about 225 earth days.
o The surface temperature reaches about 475oC due to the thick atmosphere primarily containing
carbon dioxide that makes the planet experience greenhouse effect.
 Earth
o The only living planet in the solar system
o Has one moon named Luna and has a layer of atmosphere that regulates its surface temperature.
 Mars
o Known as the red planet and named after the Roman god of war
o Martian atmosphere has only about 1% of the Earth’s atmosphere. The rest is composed of carbon
dioxide.
o The northern surface contains large volcanoes on which one of these is known as Mons Olympus.
o There also exist two moons named Phobos and Deimos.

Jovian Planets

Jovian planets are known as the large planets of the solar system. They are also called the outer planets
since they reside on the farther part of the solar system. All of them have rings though only the rings of Saturn are
thick enough to be observed by the naked eyes. All of these planets are gaseous and have small densities. They also
have in their respective system several moons.

 Jupiter
o It is the planet known as the giant because it is the largest planet in the solar system.
o Its atmosphere is mainly made up of hydrogen-helium with little amounts of methane, ammonia,
water and sulfur compounds. It has more than 37 moons and the largest and most prominent are
referred to as Galilean moons: Callisto, Ganymede, Europa, and Io
 Saturn
o Is known as the most elegant planet because of its visible rings
o It circles the sun in about 29.46 earth years.
o The largest known moon is the Titan.
o It has a density less than that of water.
 Uranus
o It is known as the sideways planet because the planet rotates on its side. Its axis of rotation is
parallel to its orbit.
 o It has about 21 moons and the two largest among these are the Titania and Oberon which were
discovered by William Herchel in 1787.
 Neptune
o The outermost planet in the solar system.
o It is also believed to the twin of Uranus.
o Discovered in September 23, 1846 by Johann Gottfried Galle and Louis d’Arrest.
o Methane is the main component of its atmosphere which gives the bluish-green color of the planet.

THE 2 MAJOR STAGES OF EVOLUTION

1. Radiation Era
A. Planck Epoch
B. Grand Unified Epoch
C. Inflationary Epoch
D. Electro Weak Epoch
E. Quark Epoch
F. Hadron Epoch
G. Lepton Epoch
H. Nuclear Epoch
2. Matter Era
A. Atomic Epoch
B. Galactic Epoch
C. Stellar EPOCH

THE EARTH SUB SYSTEM

Everything in Earth's system can be placed into one of four major subsystems: land, water, living things,
or air. These four subsystems are called "spheres." Specifically, they are the "lithosphere" (land),
"hydrosphere" (water), "biosphere" (living things), and "atmosphere" (air). Each of these four spheres can
be further divided into sub-spheres.

The Lithosphere -contains all of the cold, hard solid land of the planet's crust (surface), the semi-solid
land underneath the crust, and the liquid land near the center of the planet. The surface of the lithosphere
is very uneven. There are high mountain ranges like the Rockies and Andes, huge plains or flat areas like
those in Texas, Iowa, and Brazil and deep valleys along the ocean floor.

The solid, semi-solid, and liquid land of the lithosphere form layers that are physically and chemically
different. If someone were to cut through Earth to its center, these layers would be revealed like the layers
of an onion. The outermost layer of the lithosphere consists of loose soil rich in nutrients, oxygen, and
silicon. Beneath that layer lies a very thin, solid crust of oxygen and silicon. Next is a thick, semi-solid
mantle of oxygen, silicon, iron, and magnesium. Below that is a liquid outer core of nickel and iron. At
the center of Earth is a solid inner core of nickel and iron.

The Hydrosphere - contains all the solid, liquid, and gaseous water of the planet. It ranges from 10 to 20
kilometers in thickness. The hydrosphere extends from Earth's surface downward several kilometers into
the lithosphere and upward about 12 kilometers into the atmosphere.
A small portion of the water in the
hydrosphere is fresh (non-salty). This water flows as precipitation from the atmosphere down to Earth's
surface, as rivers and streams along Earth's surface, and as groundwater beneath Earth's surface. Most of
Earth's fresh water, however, is frozen.
Ninety-seven percent of Earth's water is salty. The salty water collects in deep valleys along Earth's
surface. These large collections of salty water are referred to as oceans. The image above depicts the
different temperatures one would find on oceans' surfaces. Water near the poles is very cold while water
near the equator is very warm. The differences in temperature cause water to change physical states.
Extremely low temperatures like those found at the poles cause water to freeze into a solid such as a polar
icecap, a glacier, or an iceberg. Extremely high temperatures like those found at the equator cause water
to evaporate into a gas.

The Biosphere 
 -contains all the planet's living things. This sphere includes all of the microorganisms,
plants, and animals of Earth. 

Within the biosphere, living things form ecological communities based on
the physical surroundings of an area. These communities are referred to as biomes . Deserts, grasslands,
and tropical rainforests are three of the many types of biomes that exist within the biosphere.

The Atmosphere -contains all the air in Earth's system. It extends from less than 1 m below the planet's
surface to more than 10,000 km above the planet's surface. The upper portion of the atmosphere protects
the organisms of the biosphere from the sun's ultraviolet radiation. It also absorbs and emits heat. When
air temperature in the lower portion of this sphere changes, weather occurs. As air in the lower
atmosphere is heated or cooled, it moves around the planet. The result can be as simple as a breeze or as
complex as a tornado.

Although the four systems have their individual identities, there is important interaction between them.
Environmental scientists study the effects of events in one sphere on the other spheres. There are ten
possible types of interactions that could occur within the earth system. Four of these interactions are
between the event and each of the

earth's spheres. The double-headed arrows indicate that the cause and effect relationships of these
interactions go in both directions. These four types of interactions can be illustrated in Figure #1. The
"event < > hydrosphere" refers to the effects of the event on the hydrosphere, as well as the effects of the
hydrosphere on the event. For example, a volcanic eruption in the geosphere may cause profound direct
and indirect effects on the hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere as follows.

Example: (Volcano) On May 18, 1980, Mount Saint Helens, in the state of Washington, erupted. This
event altered the surrounding environment, and provided scientists with an opportunity to study the
effects of volcanic eruptions on the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere. Such studies are
important because volcanic eruptions will continue to occur, and will have increasing impact on humans
as people continue to settle lands closer to dormant volcanoes.

In addition to the above four event- sphere interactions, there are six interactions that occur among the
spheres themselves. Figure 2 illustrates a few of the many interactions resulting from a volcanic eruption.
The ten types of interactions that can occur within the earth system often occur as a series of chain
reactions . This means one interaction leads to another interaction, which leads to yet another interaction--
it is a ripple effect through the earth's spheres.

Volcano >> lithosphere >> atmosphere >> hydrosphere >> biosphere Volcanoes (an event in the
lithosphere) release a large amount of particulate matter into the atmosphere. These particles serve as
nuclei for the formation of water droplets (hydrosphere). Rainfall (hydrosphere) often increases following
an eruption, stimulating plant growth (biosphere). Particulate matter in the air (atmosphere) falls out,
initially smothering plants (biosphere), but ultimately enriching the soil (lithosphere) and thereby
stimulating plant growth (biosphere).

Volc ano >> lithosphere >> hydrosphere >> biosphere Volcanoes (events in the lithosphere) may release
a substantial amount of hot lava (lithosphere), which causes mountain glaciers (hydrosphere) to melt.
Mudflows (lithosphere) and flooding may occur downstream from volcanoes and may inundate
streamside communities (biosphere).

Volcano >> lithosphere >> atmosphere >> biosphere >> lithosphere Volcanoes (events of the lithosphere)
release a large amount of carbon dioxide (atmosphere), the raw material for sugar production in plants
(biosphere). This may increase photosynthetic production and eventually increase the amount of biomass,
which, after a very long time, forms coal and oil deposits (lithosphere).

Volcano >> complex interactions Volcanoes (lithosphere) may emit large quantities of sulfur dioxide
(atmosphere). When atmospheric sulfur dioxide combines with water (hydrosphere), sulfuric and
sulfurous acid form. Rain (hydrosphere) may bring these acids to the Earth, acidifying soils
(lithosphere), lakes and rivers (hydrosphere). Acidic water leaches nutrients from the soil
(lithosphere) into the water table (hydrosphere), making the soil less fertile for plants (biosphere), and the
subterranean water supply (hydrosphere) less potable for humans (biosphere). Acid rain falling on
lakes and streams reduces the pH of the water (hydrosphere), which may result in a decrease in
phytoplankton and zooplankton growth (biosphere). If photosynthesis is reduced, atmospheric
concentrations of carbon dioxide can build up and stimulate global warming (atmosphere) which may
contribute to increased melting of glaciers (hydrosphere).

CURRENT INFROMATION ADVANCENTS IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM

1. Clyde Tombough discover Pluto as the ninth planet in the Solar System in 1930.
2. However the discovery of Kulper Belt ( an area after Neptune that containing asteroids, comets,
and other celestial planets) questioned the status of Pluto as planet.
3. In 2005, Eris a Kulper Belt Object was discovered to be 10 percent bigger than pluto.
4. At first Eris, was suggested as the tenth planet in the Solar System but it was demonstrated as
dwarf planet.

Dwarf Planet

1. Celestial Bodies the orbit the Sun.

2. Have enough mass to assume a nearly round shape.
3. Have not cleared its orbit due to lack of gravity.
4. Examples of dwarf planets are Ceres, Haumae, and makemake.
 CONTRIBUTIONS/ PEOLE ON THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE EARTH SYSTEMS

Earth System Science (ESS) is the study of the Earth as a system. It considers interactions
between the Earth’s “spheres” – atmosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere.

 James Hutton, the father of modern geology, proposed uniformitarianism, which implies that the
present geological processes are the same as those in the past. · Alexander von Humboldt laid the
foundations for Earth System Science by his holistic observations of nature.

 Vladimir Vernadsky, one of the founders of geochemistry, popularized the term noosphere,
which is the sphere of human consciousness.

 James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis collaborated on the Gaia hypothesis, which postulates that
the Earth works as a self-regulating system.

 National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) studies components of the Earth system,
their linkages, dependencies, and fluxes.

THE LAYERS OF THE EARTH

A knowledge of earth's interior is essential for understanding plate tectonics. A good analogy for teaching
about earth's interior is a piece of fruit with a large pit such as a peach or a plum. Most students are
familiar with these fruits and have seen them cut in half. In addition, the sizes of the features are very
similar.
If we cut a piece of fruit in half, we will see that it is composed of three parts: 1) a very thin skin, 2) a
seed of significant size located in the center, and 3) most of the mass of the fruit being contained within
the flesh. Cutting the earth we would see: 1) a very thin crust on the outside, 2) a core of significant size
in the center, and 3) most of the mass of the Earth contained in the mantle.

There are two different types of crust: thin oceanic crust that underlies the ocean basins, and
thicker continental crust that underlies the continents. These two different types of crust are
made up of different types of rock. The thin oceanic crust is composed of primarily of basalt, and
the thicker continental crust is composed primarily of granite. The low density of the thick
continental crust allows it to "float" in high relief on the much higher density mantle below.

Earth's mantle is thought to be composed mainly of olivine-rich rock. It has different

temperatures at different depths. The temperature is lowest immediately beneath the crust and
increases with depth. The highest temperatures occur where the mantle material is in contact
with the heat-producing core. This steady increase of temperature with depth is known as the
geothermal gradient. The geothermal gradient is responsible for different rock behaviors, and the
different rock behaviors are used to divide the mantle into two different zones. Rocks in the
upper mantle are cool and brittle, while rocks in the lower mantle are hot and soft (but not
molten). Rocks in the upper mantle are brittle enough to break under stress and produce
earthquakes. However, rocks in the lower mantle are soft and flow when subjected to forces
instead of breaking. The lower limit of brittle behavior is the boundary between the upper and
lower mantle.

Earth's Core is thought to be composed mainly of an iron and nickel alloy. This composition is
assumed based upon calculations of its density and upon the fact that many meteorites (which are
thought to be portions of the interior of a planetary body) are iron-nickel alloys. The core is
earth's source of internal heat because it contains radioactive materials which release heat as they
break down into more stable substances.

The core is divided into two different zones. The outer core is a liquid because the temperatures
there are adequate to melt the iron-nickel alloy. However, the inner core is a solid even though
its temperature is higher than the outer core. Here, tremendous pressure, produced by the weight
of the overlying rocks, is strong enough to crowd the atoms tightly together and prevents the
liquid state.

IV. Application

Conduct a survey to assess the possible geological hazards that your community may
experience.

V. Evaluation
Unit Test

VI. Assignment

Conduct a survey to assess the possible geological hazards that your community may
experience.