Earth and Life Science

Level : SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

Subject Group : CORE SUBJECT
COLEGIO DE LOS BAÑOS EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCES 1ST SEM 2020-2021

MODULE 1 - DEVELOPMENT
MOTIVATION –
This module will discuss formation of the universe and the solar system. The difference in the physical and chemical
properties between the Earth and its neighboring planes will be specified and the factors that allow a planet to
support life will be enumerated.

LEARNING MATERIALS: Module, pen, paper, old earth science books, internet (if applicable)

PRAYER: Father God, please guide me in the lesson today and help me grow in love and kindness more like
Jesus every day. AMEN

LESSON 1: UNIVERSE AND THE SOLAR SYSTEM

INTRODUCTION:
MELC: At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
Recognize the uniqueness of Earth, being the only planet in the solar system with properties necessary to
support life
VALUES INTEGRATION: Integrity and Social Responsibility

Review points on the Solar System:

A. The solar system is located in the Milky Way galaxy, huge disc- and spiral-shaped
aggregation of about at least 100 billion stars and other bodies;
It is evident than human fail to protect the environment and LIFE here on Earth. The reason for this is perhaps due
B. Its spiral arms rotate around a globular cluster or bulge of many, many stars, at the center of which lies a
to:
supermassive blackhole;
1. Inability to recognize the full consequence of his/her actions;
C. This galaxy is about 100 million light years across (1 light year = 9.4607 × 1012 km;
2. Lack of appreciation of how truly unique the Earth is.
D. The solar system revolves around the galactic center once in about 240 million years;
E. The Milky Way is part of the so-called Local Group of galaxies, which in turn is part of the Virgo supercluster of
LESSON PROPER
galaxies;
F. Based on on the assumption that they are remnants of the materials from which they were
formed, radioactive dating of meteorites, suggests that the Earth and solar system are 4.6
billion years old.on the assumption that they are remnants of the materials from which they were formed.

Small scale features of the Solar System

1. Most planets rotate prograde
2. Inner terrestrial planets are made of materials with high melting points such as silicates, iron, and nickel. They
rotate slower, have thin or no atmosphere, higher densities, and lower contents of volatiles - hydrogen, helium, and
noble gases.
3. The outer four planets - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are called "gas giants" because of the dominance of
gases and their larger size. They rotate faster, have thick atmosphere, lower densities, and fluid interiors rich in
hydrogen, helium and ices (water, ammonia, methane).

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COLEGIO DE LOS BAÑOS EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCES 1ST SEM 2020-2021
provide energy to necessary for life. there are too many Sub-surface: Most
1. Venus, Earth, and Mars are part of the inner terrestrial or "rocky" planets. Their composition and cells, such as iron harmful rays, such solid planets &
densities are not too different from each other. or sulfur, organisms as ultraviolet. Too moons have
2. Venus is considered to be the Earth's twin planet. It has a very similar size and mass with the Earth. die. many energy-rich energy-rich
Mars is about half the Earth's size. chemicals is chemicals.
3. Orbital period and velocity are related to the planet's distance from the sun. Among the three not a problem
planet, Venus is the nearest and Mars is the farthest from the Sun. 4. Nutrients Without chemicals All solid planets & Too many nutrients Surface: Earth has
4. Rotational speed of Earth and Mars are very similar. Rotational speed of Venus is extremely slow. Used to build and to make proteins & moons have the are not a problem. water cycle, an
5. Abundance of liquid water on Earth, hence the blue color. The Earth is a habitable planet. maintain an carbohydrates, same general However, too active atmosphere, and
organism’s organisms chemical makeup, a circulation volcanoes to
This table summarizes the factos that make a planer habitable body. cannot grow. so nutrients are system, such as the circulate nutrients.
Planets without present. Those with constant volcanism Venus, Titan, Io,
FACTORS THAT Not Enough of the Just Right Too Much of the Situation in the systems to deliver a water cycle on Jupiter’s and Mars have
MAKE A PLANET Factor Factor Solar System nutrients to its or volcanic activity moon, Io, or the nutrients and ways
HABITABLE organisms can transport and churning to circulate them to
1. Temperature Low temperatures Life seems to be At about 125oC, Surface: only the (e.g., a water cycle replenish atmospheres of the organisms.
influences how cause chemicals to limited protein and Earth’s surface is or volcanic activity) the chemicals gas planets, Sub-surface: Any
quickly atoms and react slowly, which to a temperature carbohydrate in this temperature cannot support life. required by interferes with an planet or moon
molecules move. interferes with the range of molecules, and range. Subsurface: Also, when nutrients living organisms. organism’s ability to with sub-surface
reactions necessary -150C to 115oC. In the genetic material the interior of the are spread so thin get enough water or molten
for life. this range, liquid (e.g., DNA and solid planets and that they are hard to nutrients. rock can circulate
It can also cause water can still exist RNA) start to break moons may be in obtain, such as on a and replenish
the under certain apart. this temperature gas planet, life nutrients for
freezing of water, conditions. Also, high range. cannot exist. organisms
making liquid water temperatures cause Source: https://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/explore/our_place/hab_ref_table.pdf
unavailable. the quick
evaporation of
water.
2. Atmosphere Small planets and Earth & Venus are Venus’s Of the solid planets
Traps heat, shields moons have the right size to hold atmosphere is 100 & moons, only Additional References:
the surface from insufficient gravity a sufficient-sized times thicker than Earth, Venus, & (1) http://www.voyagesthroughtime.org/planetary/sample/lesson5/z_act3.htm
harmful radiation, to hold an atmosphere. Earth’s Earth’s. It is made Titan have (2) http://www.voyagesthroughtime.org/planetary/sample/lesson5/pdf/goldilocks.pdf
and provides atmosphere. The atmosphere is almost entirely of significant (3) http://www.voyagesthroughtime.org/planetary/sample/lesson5/pdf/5_3_1sas_crashland.pdf
chemicals needed gas molecules about 100 miles greenhouse gases, atmospheres. Mars’ (4) https://btc.montana.edu/ceres/html/Habitat/habitablezone.htm
for life, such as escape to space, thick. It keeps the making the surface atmosphere is (5) http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/
nitrogen and leaving the planet or surface warm & too hot for life. The about 1/100th that
carbon dioxide. moon without an protects it from four giant planets of Earth’s, too small
insulating blanket or radiation & small- to are completely for significant
a protective shield. medium-sized made of gas. insulation or
meteorites. shielding.
3. Energy When there is too With a steady input Light energy is a Surface: The inner
Organisms use light little sunlight or too of either light or problem if it makes planets get too
or chemical energy few of the chemical energy, a planet too hot or if much sunlight for
to run their life chemicals that cells can run the life. The outer
processes. chemical reactions planets get too little.

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COLEGIO DE LOS BAÑOS EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCES 1ST SEM 2020-2021
ENGAGEMENT Performance Task TERRAFORMING MARS Score: _____________
Direction: Write a handwritten 200 word report/essay on the following topic: ‘Can man alter Mars’ environment to
Name: ___________________________________________ Section: _______________________________ make it more suitable for human habitation? How?’
LAST NAME, FIRST NAME MIDDLE INITIAL Essay Guide
1. Identify similarities and differences among the three planets, namely Venus, Earth, and Mars. (10pts)
Activity 1 MY CRASH LANDING Score: _____________ 2. Explain the impact of planet size to gravity, internal heat, and atmosphere of the planet. (10pts)
Direction:. 3. Identify factors that influence a planet's temperature. (10pts)
Imagine yourself in an interstellar voyage. Your spaceship suffers mechanical problems and will be forced 4. Explain factors that make a planet habitable. (10pts)
to land. Fortunately you are passing through the Yanib System , which is composed of a sun-like star 5. Explain why the presence of liquid water is important to life(10pts)
Use yellow paper for your essay.
surrounded by seven planets, some of which have moons . The profiles of planets and moons of the Yanib
System are listed on the table below.
ASSIMILATION
You are to decide on the best place to land your ship.
A. Write down on a piece of yellow paper your choice of planet or moon. Reasons for your choice REFLECTION (Learning Journal) Score: _____________
should also be written down. (10pts) Upon learning the advantages of living on earth, as a student what can you do to preserve it?
B. Also write the reasons why you did not choose the other planets. (10pts) _____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Planet 1 (closet to the Planet 2 Planet 3 Planet 4 _____________________________________________________________________________________________
star) Mass: 0.5 Mass: 1 Mass: 1.5 _____________________________________________________________________________________________
Mass: 1.5 (Earth = 1) Tectonics: No activity Tectonics: Active Tectonics: Active _____________________________________________________________________________________________
Tectonics: Active detected volcanoes and seismic volcanoes and seismic _____________________________________________________________________________________________
volcanoes and seismic Atmosphere: Thin CO2 activity detected. activity detected _____________________________________________________________________________________________
activity detected atmosphere Atmosphere: CO2, H2O Atmosphere: N, O2, and _____________________________________________________________________________________________
Atmosphere: CO2, N, and detected Temperature: 30 C O ozone layer _____________________________________________________________________________________________
H20 Average Temperature: Description: Liquid water Average Temperature: _____________________________________________________________________________________________
Ave. Temperature: 651 C0 10 C
o oceans cover much of the o 2C
Description: Thick clouds Description: Polar ice surface. Volcanic island Description: Cold oceans, Note: Please submit this page.
surround the planet. No caps, dry riverbeds chains make up most of covered with ice along RUBRIC:
surface is visible through the dry land. much
the of the globe, some open
clouds. water around equator
Planet 5 Planet 6 Planet 7 (furthest from the star)
Gas Giant with one large Gas giant with four large, Gas giant with two large moons.
moon. rocky satellites (moons). Moon 1: Thick methane atmosphere with pressure high
Moon: Sulfur dioxide Moons have no enough to keep a potential methane ocean liquid
(SO2) atmosphere. Many appreciable atmosphere. underneath.
volcanoes Ice detectable Temperature: -200 C o

and hot springs on on one. Moon 2: Covered in water ice. Ice appears cracked and
surface. re-frozen in
Temperatures in hot parts, indicating a potential liquid ocean underneath.
spots can be up to 600 C.
o Surface temperature -100 C.
o

Other
spots away from volcanic
______________________________________________________________
heat can get as low in
SIGNATURE OVER PRINTED NAME AND OF PARENT OR GUARDIAN
temperature as 145 C.
o
DATE: ______________ CONTACT NUMBER: _____________________________

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COLEGIO DE LOS BAÑOS EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCES 1ST SEM 2020-2021
LESSON 2: EARTH SUBSYSTEMS
INTRODUCTION:
MELC: At the end of the lesson, you should be able to: LESSON PROPER
Explain that the Earth consists of four subsystems, across whose boundaries matter and energy
flow Definition of a System
VALUES INTEGRATION:  A set of interconnected components that are interacting to form a unified whole.

DEVELOPMENT Earth System as closed system

MOTIVATION –  A closed system is a system in which there is only an exchange of heat or energy and no
The El Niño phenomenon starts with the unusual warming of the central Pacific Ocean accompanied by exchange of matter. The earth is a closed system. It receives energy from the sun and returns
the weakening of the trade winds. The warming of the central Pacific Ocean results to an eastward shift of some of this energy to space.
the low pressure area (away from
the Indo Pacific). El Niño is not limited to atmospheric conditions. It is the result of ocean (hydrosphere)- Subsystems or Components of the Earth System
atmosphere interaction.  The diagram below shows the subsystems of the Earth.

The Earth system. (Source: https://www.earthonlinemedia.com)

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/05/what-is-el-nino

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COLEGIO DE LOS BAÑOS EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCES 1ST SEM 2020-2021
Atmosphere Hydrosphere
 The atmosphere is the thin gaseous layer that  About 70% of the Earth is covered with liquid
envelopes the lithosphere. water (hydrosphere) and much of it is in the
 The present atmosphere is composed of 78% nitrogen form of ocean water (Figure 3).
(N), 21% oxygen (O2), 0.9%  Only 3% of Earth's water is fresh: two-thirds are in
argon, and trace amount of other gases. the form of ice, and the remaining one-third is
 One of the most important processes by which the present in streams, lakes, and groundwater.
heat on the Earth's surface is redistributed is through  The oceans are important sinks for CO2 through
atmospheric circulation. direct exchange with the atmosphere and
 There is also a constant exchange of heat and indirectly through the weathering of rocks.
moisture between the atmosphere and the  Heat is absorbed and redistributed on the surface
hydrosphere through the hydrologic cycle. of the Earth through ocean circulation.

Lithosphere
 The lithosphere includes the rocks of the crust and Origin of the Systems Approach to the Study of the Earth.
mantle, the metallic liquid outer core,
and the solid metallic inner core.  One of the first scientists
 Briefly discuss the Plate Tectonics as an important  to push for a more integrated or holistic approach in the understanding of the universe (and by
process shaping the surface of the Earth. extension the Earth) was Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt. He considered the
 The primary driving mechanism is the Earth's internal universe as one interacting entity.
heat, such as that in mantle convection.  The term "biosphere" was popularized by Vladimir Vernadsky (1863-1945), a Russian - Ukranian
scientist who hypothesized that life is a geological force that shapes the Earth.
 In the 1970s, the Gaia Hypothesis was jointly developed by James Lovelock, an English
scientist/naturalist, and Lynn Margulis, an American microbiologist. According to the Gaia
 Hypothesis. the biosphere is a self-regulating system that is capable of controlling its physical
Biosphere and chemical environment.
 The biosphere is the set of all life forms on Earth.  In 1983, NASA advisory council established the Earth Systems Science Committee. The
 It covers all ecosystems—from the soil to the rainforest, committee, chaired by Moustafa Chahine, published a ground breaking report Earth System
from mangroves to coral reefs, and from the plankton-rich Science: A Program For Global Change in 1988. For the first time, scientists were able to
ocean surface to the deep sea. demonstrate how the many systems interact.
 For the majority of life on Earth, the base of the food chain
Additional References:
comprises photosynthetic organisms. During (1) Earth Systems. http://serc.carleton.edu/earthlabs/climate/index.html
photosynthesis, CO2 is sequestered from the atmosphere, https://www.google.com.ph/webhp?sourceid=chromeinstant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=earth+systems
while oxygen is released as a byproduct. The biosphere is a (2) Earth Systems. http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/outreach/lesson_plans/Teacher%20Background%20Information-
CO2 sink, and therefore, an important part of the carbon 20The%20Major%20Earth%20Spheres.pdf
cycle. (3) Hydrologic Cycle. http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/outreach/lesson_plans/The%20Hydrologic%20Cycle.pdf
(4) El Niño Phenomenon. http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/obop/mlo/educationcenter/students/brochures%20and%20diagrams/noaa
 Sunlight is not necessary for life. %20publications/ El%20Nino%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf
(5) Video Daisy World Model. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cW4JTHz1aRg

Assignment:

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COLEGIO DE LOS BAÑOS EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCES 1ST SEM 2020-2021
Differentiate rocks and minerals _______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
ENGAGEMENT ASSIMILATION
Name: ___________________________________________ Section: _______________________________ REFLECTION (Learning Journal) Score: _____________
LAST NAME, FIRST NAME MIDDLE INITIAL What new realizations did you have after the lesson?
Activity 1 SUBSYSTEMS OF THE EARTH Score: _____________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Direction: _____________________________________________________________________________
A. Complete the following graphic organizer of the earth subsystems with the descriptions for each. _____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
• NNN
_____________________________________________________________________________
• nnn _____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Atmosphere Lithosphere _____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Note: Please submit this page.

RUBRIC:
Hydrosphere Biosphere CRITERIA Exceeds Meet Needs Not visible
expectations expectations improvement
Understands the concept of a system. 5 4 3 2
• nnn • nnn
Can describe the different components or 5 4 3 2
subsystems of the Earth System.
Can identify and explain how mass and energy is 5 4 3 2
exchanged among the components of a system.
Essay is relevant to the assigned topic and written 5 4 3 2
B. In bullet form enumerate how the subsystems are interconnected. logically and clearly.

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SIGNATURE OVER PRINTED NAME AND OF PARENT OR GUARDIAN
_______________________________________________________________________ DATE: ______________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
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