Module w1. Gr. 11 1st Sem

SCIENCE – WEEK 1
TOPIC: Uniqueness of the Earth

*LECTURE
Planet Earth
That shiny blue marble that has fascinated humanity since they first began to walk across its surface. And
why shouldn’t it fascinate us? In addition to being our home and the place where life as we know it
originated, it remains the only planet we know of where life thrives. And over the course of the past few
centuries, we have learned much about Earth, which has only deepened our fascination with it.
1. Plate Tectonics Keep the Planet Comfortable:

Earth is the only planet in the Solar System with plate tectonics. Basically, the outer crust of the Earth is
broken up into regions known as tectonic plates. These are floating on top of the magma interior of the
Earth and can move against one another. When two plates collide, one plate will subduct (go underneath
another), and where they pull apart, they will allow fresh crust to form
2. Earth is Almost a Sphere:

Many people tend to think that the Earth is a sphere. In fact, between the 6th cenury BCE and the modern
era, this remained the scientific consensus. But thanks to modern astronomy and space travel, scientists
have since come to understand that the Earth is actually shaped like a flattened sphere (aka. an oblate
spheroid).
3. Earth is Mostly Iron, Oxygen and Silicon:

If you could separate the Earth out into piles of material, you’d get 32.1 % iron, 30.1% oxygen, 15.1%
silicon, and 13.9% magnesium. Of course, most of this iron is actually located at the core of the Earth. If
you could actually get down and sample the core, it would be 88% iron. And if you sampled the Earth’s
crust, you’d find that 47% of it is oxygen
4. 70% of the Earth’s Surface is Covered in Water:

When astronauts first went into the space, they looked back at the Earth with human eyes for the first time.
Based on their observations, the Earth acquired the nickname the “Blue Planet:. And it’s no surprise,
seeing as how 70% of our planet is covered with oceans. The remaining 30% is the solid crust that is
located above sea level, hence why it is called the “continental crust”
5. The Earth’s Atmosphere Extends to a Distance of 10,000 km:

Earth’s atmosphere is thickest within the first 50 km from the surface or so, but it actually reaches out to
about 10,000 km into space. It is made up of five main layers – the Troposphere, the Stratosphere, the
Mesosphere, the Thermosphere, and the Exosphere. As a rule, air pressure and density decrease the
higher one goes into the atmosphere and the farther one is from the surface.
1
SCIENCE – WEEK 1
*LECTURE
6. The Earth’s Molten Iron Core Creates a Magnetic Field:

The Earth is like a great big magnet, with poles at the top and bottom near to the actual geographic poles.
The magnetic field it creates extends thousands of kilometers out from the surface of the Earth – forming a
region called the “magnetosphere“. Scientists think that this magnetic field is generated by the molten
outer core of the Earth, where heat creates convection motions of conducting materials to generate electric
currents.
7. Earth Doesn’t Take 24 Hours to Rotate on its Axis:

It actually takes 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds for the Earth to rotate once completely on its axis,
which astronomers refer to as a Sidereal Day. Now wait a second, doesn’t that mean that a day is 4
minutes shorter than we think it is? You’d think that this time would add up, day by day, and within a few
months, day would be night, and night would be day.
8. A year on Earth isn’t 365 days:

It’s actually 365.2564 days. It’s this extra .2564 days that creates the need for a Leap Year once ever four
years. That’s why we tack on an extra day in February every four years – 2004, 2008, 2012, etc. The
exceptions to this rule is if the year in question is divisible by 100 (1900, 2100, etc), unless it divisible by
400 (1600, 2000, etc)
9. Earth has 1 Moon and 2 Co-Orbital Satellites:

As you’re probably aware, Earth has 1 moon (aka. The Moon). Plenty is known about this body and we
have written many articles about it, so we won’t go into much detail there. But did you know there are 2
additional asteroids locked into a co-orbital orbits with Earth? They’re called 3753 Cruithne and 2002 AA29,
which are part of a larger population of asteroids known as Near-Earth Objects (NEOs)
10. Earth is the Only Planet Known to Have Life:

We’ve discovered past evidence of water and organic molecules on Mars, and the building blocks of life on
Saturn’s moon Titan. We can see amino acids in nebulae in deep space. And scientists have speculated
about the possible existence of life beneath the icy crust of Jupiter’s moon Europa and Saturn’s moon
Titan. But Earth is the only place life has actually been discovered.
4 Uniquness of the earth

1. Lithosphere" (land)
2. Hydrosphere" (water)
3. Atmosphere" (air).
4. Biosphere" (living things)
2
SCIENCE – WEEK 1
*ASSESSMENT / WORKSHEETS
Exercises:
Direction: Make an essay how the earth become unique in other Planet? (500 words or more than)
By using the following idea:
5 Great things about the Earth
How earths give life to the living creature inside of it?
Question:
1. If you have the power to create your own world, what will be the name of that planet? Why
do you like that name? Where will you offer that name?
3
SCIENCE – WEEK 1
TOPIC:
4
SCIENCE – WEEK 1
TOPIC:
5
6

Module w1. Gr. 11 1st Sem

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Module w1. Gr. 11 1st Sem

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Module w1. Gr. 11 1st Sem

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

SCIENCE – WEEK 1

TOPIC: Uniqueness of the Earth

1. Plate Tectonics Keep the Planet Comfortable:

2. Earth is Almost a Sphere:

3. Earth is Mostly Iron, Oxygen and Silicon:

4. 70% of the Earth’s Surface is Covered in Water:

5. The Earth’s Atmosphere Extends to a Distance of 10,000 km:

6. The Earth’s Molten Iron Core Creates a Magnetic Field:

7. Earth Doesn’t Take 24 Hours to Rotate on its Axis:

8. A year on Earth isn’t 365 days:

9. Earth has 1 Moon and 2 Co-Orbital Satellites:

10. Earth is the Only Planet Known to Have Life:

4 Uniquness of the earth

By using the following idea:

5 Great things about the Earth

How earths give life to the living creature inside of it?

You might also like