Earth Science  The lowest point on earth is called

Challenger Deep
Earth as a Unique Planet  A year on earth lasts just over 365 days.

 Earth is the third planet from the Sun and

largest of the terrestrial planets. Earth as the only habitable planet
 It is the densest (5,513 kg/m3) of all the  The star should survive long enough for its
planets. planets to develop life
 Earth is the only planet in the solar system  The planet should exist in a region where
not named after mythological being, water could remain liquid
instead, its name is derived from the Old
English word “ertha” and the Angio-Saxion Goldilocks Zone
word “erdo” which means ground or soil.
 Indicates that the distance of the earth from
 Earth was formed somewhere around 4.54
the sun such that the amount of energy
billion years ago and is currently the only
received is just enough to make the
known planet to support life – and lots of it
temperature of earth neither too hot nor
 The earth was once believed to be the
too cold
center of the universe. For 2000 years
ancient astronomers believed that the earth Mercury and Venus
was static and had other celestial bodies
travelling in circular orbits around it. They  They are very close to the sun, the energy
believed this because of the apparent received from the sun is too much,
movement on the sun and planets in contributing to the increase in temperature
relation to their viewpoint. of their surfaces
 Earth’s atmosphere is composed of 78% For other planets…
nitrogen. 21% oxygen and trace amounts of
other gases including argon and carbon  Such as mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and
dioxide Neptune
 70% of the earth’s surface is covered by  Their distance from the sun is so far that the
water. The remainder consists of continents energy they receive is very little making
and islands which together have many lakes planets cold
and other sources of water
A planet with the right temperature enables
 Ozone layer is present on earth.
water to remain in its liquid form. Liquid water is
 Has a powerful magnetic field.
necessary to maintain life.
 The gravity between the earth and the
moon causes the tides on earth
 Earth has relatively few visible impact
craters compared with other solid bodies in
our solar system
 Earth has one of the most circular orbits of
all the eight planets. Its axis of rotation is
tilted 23.4 degree or 23.5 degree away from
the perpendicular of its orbital plane.
 Earth’s water was initially trapped within
the planet. Over time the earth’s water was
brought
 The highest point found on earth is mount
everest
 Earth System
o Atmosphere
 Is the thin life – giving gaseous
System envelope of earth
 Its composition is divided into the
 A set of interconnected components that major components (nitrogen and
are interacting to form a unified whole. oxygen) and the variable
components (water vapor, carbon
dioxide)

 Spheres:
o Geosphere
 Is the solid region of the earth
 It does not only comprise the
o Hydrosphere
visible solid layer, it also extends
 The collective mass of water found
to the center of the earth
over a planet’s surface
 It has a depth of 6,400 km
 Contains all the solid, liquid and
 The rocks, minerals, and
gaseous water of the planet
landforms
 Cryosphere
 Biggest sphere
 97% of earth’s is saltwater and 3%
 Only includes the non living
is freshwater
matters

o Biosphere
 Biological components of earth
 Under the biosphere is the
anthroposphere or the human
sphere – includes the part of earth
that has been modified by humans
 Interconnected Sphere o intrusive (plutonic)
 formed beneath the earth
System Interactions surface – magma
 Volcanoes (geosphere) erupt, sending ash  formed when magma
and gases into the air (atmosphere) and inside the volcano cools
sending lava and ash down onto slowly
surrounding forests (biosphere) and human  forms large grain crystals
habitations (biosphere) “phaneritic”
 What happens in one sphere, will happen to
other spheres

Rocks
Light colored Igneous rocks – (felsic)
 Is any solid that is naturally found on earth
 Are natural substances consisting of Dark colored Igneous rocks – Calcium, magnesium
aggregate minerals clumped together with (mafic)
other earth materials
Porphyritic – combination of fine grains and bigger
grains
3 types of rocks (difference in form) Aphanitic – fine grains
Igneous

 Derive from the latin word “ignis” meaning

“fire”
 It formed through cooling and solidification
of magma/lava
 Factors to consider: temperature, structure,
and formation
 2 types of igneous rocks (differ in the
environment on where they solidify)
Sedimentary
o Extrusive Igneous Rocks (volcanic)
 Formed in the earth surface  sedimentary comes from the latin word
– lava “sedimentum” which means settling down
 Formed from lava exiting  fragments of rocks, sediments transported
the volcano and cooling and deposited by different exogenous
quickly agents, turn into rock through compaction,
 Forms fine grain crystals this process is called lithification
“aphanitic” o lithification is the process by which
the sediments are transformed
into solid sedimentary rock
  compaction is the tighter according to the mineral
packing of sedimentary present
grains  Limestone –
 cementation involves composed of the
filling pore space with mineral calcite,
solid minerals may contain
marine fossils;
formed by
precipitation
from water
 Rock salt –
composed of the
mineral halite
(salt); formed by
evaporation
 Rock gypsum –
 2 types of sedimentary rocks composed of the
o Clastic sedimentary rocks mineral gypsum;
 Describes rock that is formed by
composed of fragments of evaporation
other rocks  Chert –
 Classified by size composed of
 Named according to the microscopic
grain size of the sediment mineral grains of
particles quartz, very hard
 Conglomerate – with sharp edges
coarse (about
2mm in diameter
or larger), Metamorphic
rounded grains
 Breccia – coarse,
angular grains
with sharp edges
rather than
rounded
 Sandstone –
grains ranging in
size from 0.5 to 2
mm
 Shale – contains
higher amounts
of clay particles
o Non-clastic
 Form from chemical
reaction, mainly in the
ocean.
 Non-clastic sedimentary
rocks are named
 Minerals

 Naturally occurring, inorganic solid that has

both a regular crystal structure and a
definite composition
 Are basic building blocks of rocks

How minerals form?

 Cooling of magma (hot, liquid rock and

minerals inside the earth)
o Fast cooling = No crystals
(mineraloids)
o Medium cooling = Small crystals  Streak
o Slow cooling = Large crystals o The color of mineral in its
powdered form
 Elements dissolved ub liquids (usually
o Can be obtained by rubbing the
water) will reform into crystals as the water
evaporates and the dissolved elements mineral across a streak plate
recrystallized (ex. Gypsum and Halite) Mineral Strength

 How easily minerals break down or deform

Physical Properties of a Mineral under stress is determined by the type and
strength of the chemical bonds that hold
Optical Properties the crystal together
 Tenacity
 Luster
o Level of resistance or action to
o The quality of light that is being
stress such as crushing, bending,
reflected by the surface of a
breaking or otherwise being
mineral
deformed
 Metallic luster
o These minerals can either be
 Submetallic luster
brittle, malleable, elastic, etc.
 Nonmetallic luster
 Hardness
o It is measure of the resistance of a
mineral to abrasion or scratching
o To determine the hardness of a
mineral, the Mohs hardness scale
is used

 Color
o The property of the mineral that is
easiest to identify
o The most obvious feature
  Cleavage
o It is the property of some minerals
to break along a parallel repetitive
plane of weakness to form smooth,
flat surfaces
o As it breaks, it has a smooth
surface and has a regular pattern

 Fracture
o Minerals that break at random
with rough or jagged edges
o Fracture is the way a mineral break
when it doesn’t break along planes
o As its breaks, it has a rough surface
and does not have a regular
pattern

Specific Gravity

 Measurement done by mineralogist to

describe the density of the mineral
 It represent the ratio of the mass of the
mineral to the mass of equal volume of
water
 Most rock forming minerals have a specific
gravity that is between 2 and 3
Soil resources Soil Profile

Components of Soil

 Air 25%
 Water 25%
 Mineral Particles 45%
o Differ on how they hold and retain
 Organic Matter 5%
o Organisms 10%
A Horizon – darker because it contain humus
o Roots 10%
o Humus 80% B horizon - abundant in clay matters, can hold more
water

C horizon – made up of partially altered rocks

Bedrock – it is where the unweathered parent

material

Uses of Soil

 Mineral deposits
 Suitable land for agriculture
 Regulating water and filtering potential
Soil Formation
pollutants
 Originates from the rocks (weathering)  Nutrient cycling
 Soil forms when rocks weathers.  Foundation and support
 It may be a slow or rapid process,
Human activities degrade soil quality
depending on the factors at play
 Parent Material  Soil erosion
o The soil will form or undergo a soil  Urbanization
to form  Soil compaction
o Example:  Desertification
 Limestone- the soil will be  Intensive agriculture
high in calcium
 Lakes- High amounts of clay Conservation of Soil Resource
materials
o Climate  Increasing soil organic matter
 Temperature and moisture.  Keeping the soil covered and vegetated
o Topography  Avoiding excessive tillage
 Shape of the land surface,  Manage pests and nutrients efficiently
angle, and direction.  Promoting crop rotation
 How much sunlight it gets,  Reducing erosion and preventing soil
and how water it can keep compaction
o Biological factors
 All living organism that affect
the soil
o Time
 The older soil differs to the
younger ones
Energy Resources

 Everything around us has energy

 Something that can produce heat,
electricity and can move objects
 Classified into 2
o Renewable
o Non-renewable

Renewable

 It can be replenished or regenerated on a

human time scale
 It includes geothermal, hydro, wind and
solar

Non-renewable Resources

 It cannot be replenished or regenerated on

a human scale
 Examples are nuclear and fossil fuels