PHYSICAL SCIENCE

Week 1 FORMATION OF
Module 1 ELEMENTS
For the learner/s:
Welcome to the PHYSICAL SCIENCE
Our mind is the most powerful part of our human body, with our mind working at its best, we can
achieve anything. Despite different circumstances we might face, we should stand firm and continue
with life. Our mind is associated with our ability to learn, appreciate and create essential things.
Hence, this signifies that you as a learner is capable and empowered to succeed. Your academic
success lies in your own hands!
This module aims to provide the essential concepts, skills and competencies needed which are useful
in real life situations. The lessons and activities in this module is designed with accordance to the
skills and tasks suited for 21st Century learners.
This module has the following parts and corresponding icons:

Objectives - These are what you will be able to know after completing
the lessons in the module
 Pre-test - This will measure your prior knowledge and the concepts to
be mastered throughout the lesson.

Lesson- This section will discuss the topic for this module.

Activities - This is a set of activities you will perform.

Generalization- This section summarizes the concepts and applications of the lessons.

Post-test - This will measure how much you have learned from the entire module.

OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lesson the student should be able to:

determine how stars are form and evolve; distinguish and describe the phases in the life
cycle of stars; analyze the formation of elements during the three nucleosyntheses;
identify the different elements formed in each nucleosynthesis; and appreciate the
abundance of natural materials in creating useful
elements.

P R E– T E S T
DIRECTION: READ EACH ITEM CAREFULLY AND ENCIRCLE THE LETTER OF THE
CORRECT ANSWER
1. In what stage of a star’s life happen when a core can no longer produce its fuel as star
explodes and releases a large amount of energy?
a. nebula
b. giant star
c. supernova
d. main sequence
2. One of the key evidences of the Big Bang Theory is the ratio of hydrogen to helium. Which
of the following best states the amount of these elements in the universe?
a. 75% hydrogen and 75% helium
b. 25% hydrogen and 75% helium
c. 75% lithium and 25% hydrogen
d. 25% helium and 75% hydrogen 3. When are heavier elements formed?
a. during the birth of stars
b. during the creation of the universe
c. during the supernova explosion of stars
d. during the black hole transformation of stars

4. What form of radiation carries energy without mass and charge?

a. alpha particles
b. daughter nucleus
c. beta particles
d. gamma particles
5. Which form of radiation has a positive charge?
a. α
b. γ
c. β
d. δ
We live in a universe that is full of bright objects. On a clear night one can see thousands
of stars with the naked eye. These stars occupy merely a small nearby part of the Milky Way
galaxy; telescopes reveal a much vaster realm that shines with the light from billions of galaxies.
According to our current understanding of cosmology, however, the universe was featureless and
dark for a long stretch of its early history. The first stars did not appear
until perhaps 100 million years after the big bang, and nearly a billion
years passed before galaxies proliferated across the cosmos.
THE NEBULA AND THE STAR
In essence, a nebula is formed when portions of the interstellar medium
undergo gravitational collapse. Mutual gravitational attraction causes
matter to clump together, forming regions of greater and greater density.
From this, stars may form in the center of the collapsing material, who’s
ultraviolet ionizing radiation causes the surrounding gas to become visible at optical
wavelengths.
FORMATION AND LIFE CYCLE OF A STAR

The life cycle for a particular star depends on its size. The diagram shows the life cycles
of stars

All stars begin life in the same way. A cloud of dust and gas, also known as a nebula,
becomes a protostar, which goes on to become a main sequence star. Following this, stars
develop in different ways depending on their size.
1. NEBULA
A star forms from massive clouds of dust and gas in space, also known as a nebula. Nebulae are
mostly composed of hydrogen.
2. PROTOSTAR
As the mass falls together it gets hot. A star is formed when it is hot enough for the
hydrogen nuclei to fuse together to make helium. The fusion process releases energy, which
keeps the core of the star hot.

3. MAIN SEQUENCE STAR

During this stable phase in the life of a star, the force of gravity holding the star together
is balanced by higher pressure due to the high temperatures. The Sun is at this stable phase in its
life.
4. RED GIANT STAR
When all the hydrogen has been used up in the fusion process, larger nuclei begin to form
and the star may expand to become a red giant.

5. WHITE DWARF STAR

When all the nuclear reactions are over, a small star like the Sun may begin to contract
under the pull of gravity. In this instance, the star becomes a white dwarf which fades and
changes colour as it cools
6. SUPERNOVA
A larger star with more mass will go on making nuclear reactions, getting hotter and
expanding until it explodes as a supernova

An exploding supernova throws hot gas into space

7. NEUTRON STAR OR BLACK HOLE
Depending on the mass at the start of its life, a supernova will leave behind either a
neutron star or a black hole.

STARS COLORS
Stars have different colors, which are indicators of temperature. The hottest stars tend to
appear blue or blue-white, whereas the coolest stars are red. A color index of a star is the
difference in the magnitudes measured at any two wavelengths and is one way that astronomers
measure and express the temperature of stars.
 ACTIVITY

DIRECTION: Using a drawing or diagram try to relate how the life cycle of a star is related or
similar to the growth of a Man
FORMATION OF HEAVIER ELEMENTS IN THE UNIVERSE
NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
is the process that creates new atomic nuclei from pre-existing nucleons (protons and
neutrons) and nuclei. According to current theories, the first nuclei were formed a few minutes
after the Big Bang, through nuclear reactions in a process called Big Bang nucleosynthesis.
BIGBANG NUCLEOSYNTHESIS (LIGHT ELEMENTS)
Three seconds after the bigbang when the universe was billions of degrees in temperature,
protons, and neutrons were produced in exact numbers as the universe continue to expand
rapidly. At this point, the first atomic nuclei were formed and only lighter elements such as
hydrogen and helium were formed and a negligible amount of lithium. By the time the universe
was three minutes old, the temperature went down. It was too cold for a nuclear reaction to take
place, so the process stopped, and the abundance of the elements was fixed at ratios of 75%
hydrogen and 25% helium.
STELLAR NUCLEOSYNTHESIS (HEAVY ELEMENTS)
is the creation of chemical elements by nuclear fusion reactions within stars. Stellar
nucleosynthesis has occurred since the original creation of hydrogen, helium and lithium during
the Big Bang. As a predictive theory, it yields accurate estimates of the observed abundances of
the elements

SUPERNOVA NUCLEOSYNTHESIS (HEAVIER ELEMENTS)

Massive stars begin a further series of nuclear burning or reaction stages. The elements
formed in these stages range from oxygen through to iron. When the mass of a star is higher, the
heavier elements it can create in its core, because heavy element fusion needed higher
temperatures, which only the most massive stars can attain. After all the hydrogen in the core has
been converted to helium, massive stars begin a series of nuclear burning or reaction stages:
carbon burning, neon burning, oxygen burning, and silicon burning. Carbon undergoes fusion
reactions to produce oxygen, neon, sodium, and magnesium. Throughout then neon burning
stage, neon fuses into oxygen and magnesium. During the oxygen burning stage, oxygen forms
silicon and other elements that lie between magnesium and sulfur.
 ACTIVITY

DIRECTION: Create a graphic organizer comparing the three types of Nucleosynthesis that
Occur
SYNTHESIS OF NEW ELEMENTS
THE PERIODIC TABLE
In 1869, the Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev first proposed that the chemical elements
exhibited a "periodicity of properties." Mendeleev had tried to organize the chemical elements
according to their atomic weights, assuming that the properties of the elements would gradually
change as atomic weight increased. What he found, however, was that the chemical and physical
properties of the elements increased gradually and then suddenly changed at distinct steps, or
periods. To account for these repeating trends, Mendeleev grouped the elements in a table that
had both rows and columns.
COMPONENTS OF PERIODIC TABLE
The periodic table orders elements by increasing atomic number, which is the number of
protons in the atom of an element.
The rows of the periodic table are called periods. All elements within a period share the
same highest electron energy level.
The columns of the periodic table are called groups. All elements in a group share the
same number of valence electrons.
The three broad categories of elements are metals, nonmetals, and metalloids. Most
elements are metals. Nonmetals are located on the righthand side of the periodic table.
Metalloids have properties of both metals and nonmetals.

ATOMIC NUMBER vs MASS NUMBER

The mass number is the sum of the protons and neutrons in an atom, the atomic number is
only the number of protons. The atomic number is the value found associated with an element on
the periodic table because it is the key to the element's identity. The only time the atomic number
and mass number are the same is when you are dealing with the protium isotope of hydrogen,
which consists of a single proton. When considering elements in general, remember the atomic
number never changes, but because there may be multiple isotopes, the mass number may
change.
SYNTHETIC ELEMENTS (MADE BY MAN)
In chemistry, radioactive elements that were not discovered occurring in nature but as
artificially produced isotopes. They are technetium (at. no. 43), which was the first element to be
synthesized, promethium (at. no. 61), astatine (at. no. 85), francium (at. no. 87), and the
transuranium elements (at. no. 93 and beyond in the periodic table). Some of these elements have
since been shown to exist in minute amounts in nature, usually as short-lived members of natural
radioactive decay series
FIRST SYNTHETIC ELEMENT
Element 43 named technetium, it was the first artificially produced lightest element through
fission in nuclear reactors. It was created by bombarding molybdenum atoms with deuterons hat
had been accelerated by a cyclotron.

TRANSMUTATION (NUCLEAR RADIATION)

Transmutation of elements is done primarily through the fission process. It is splitting of
atoms, opposite to nuclear fusion in stars. Moreover, emission of radiation is more apparent in
fission since particles tend to be radioactive and further decay.
Thus, atoms may undergo any of the three known radioactive decay processes.
1. Alpha decay- nucleus emits alpha particle (+), with 2 protons and 2 neutrons
2. Beta decay- nucleus emits an electron (-) /beta minus or beta plus (positron)
3. Gamma decay- nucleus emits the highest energy photons, gamma rays (0)
NUCLEAR REACTION (NUCLEAR EQAUTION)
Transmutation can be expressed in nuclear equation to depict not just the chemical
properties of the element but the entire nuclear change that makes it radioactive.

GENERALIZATION

Scientists believe that about 25 of the known elements are essential to life. Just four of
these carbon (C), oxygen (O), hydrogen (H) and nitrogen (N) make up about 96% of the human
body. The human body functions as a result of a large number of chemical reactions involving
compounds of all of these elements.
HOW IMPORTANT ARE THE ELEMENTS FOR OUR SURVIVAL?
 P O S T– T E S T

DIRECTION: READ EACH ITEM CAREFULLY AND ENCIRCLE THE LETTER OF THE
CORRECT ANSWER
1. In what stage of a star’s life happen when a core can no longer produce its fuel as star explodes
and releases a large amount of energy?
a. nebula
b. giant star
c. supernova
 d. main sequence
2. One of the key evidences of the Big Bang Theory is the ratio of hydrogen to helium. Which of the
following best states the amount of these elements in the universe?
a. 75% hydrogen and 75% helium
b. 25% hydrogen and 75% helium
c. 75% lithium and 25% hydrogen
d. 25% helium and 75% hydrogen
3. When does a massive star enter the stage of becoming a supernova?

a. when the star has used up all its hydrogen fuel

b. when the star has burned all its oxygen

c. when the chromium fusion stops

d. when the silicon fusion stops

4. Which of the following are the first two most common elements in the universe that makes up
your body?
a. carbon and oxygen

b. carbon and nitrogen

c. hydrogen and helium

d. hydrogen and oxygen

5. What is used as basis for the better arrangement of elements in the periodic table and the key
to the discovery of synthetic elements?
a. atomic mass c. atomic neutron
b. atomic bomb d. atomic number

PHYSICAL SCIENCE

Week 2
MOLECULAR POLARITY
Module 2
 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lesson the student should be able to:

differentiate polar and non -polar molecules,

identify polarity based on structure, shape (VSPER), and
relate the polarity of a molecule to its properties

P R E– T E S T

1. What type of bond exists when two electrons are equally shared between two atoms?
a. nonpolar covalent bond
b. polar covalent bond
c. chemical bond
d. ionic bond
2. Why is water (H2O) a polar molecule?
a. the molecule has positive (+) and negative (-) charges on the opposite sides
 b. hydrogen and oxygen are both polar, and so is their combination
c. hydrogen and oxygen have equal charges
d. water freezes at polar temperatures
3. Which of the following is NOT a property of covalent compounds?
a. Low boiling points
b. Solids are brittle and variously colored
c. Poor conductors of heat and electricity
d. Superior malleability
4. Which of the following best describes a nonpolar molecule?
a. nonpolar molecule has uneven distribution of electrons
b. nonpolar molecule has lone pair on the central atom.
c. nonpolar molecule is mostly hydrocarbon liquids
5. . How many electrons should carbon have around its Lewis dot structure?
a. 6 c. 3
b. 4 d. 5

LESSON

MOLECULAR POLARITY
IONIC BOND AND COVALENT BOND
A molecule or compound is made when two or more atoms form a chemical bond,
linking them together. The two types of bonds are ionic bonds and covalent bonds. The
distinction between them has to do with how equally the atoms participating in the bond share
their electrons.

IONIC BOND
In an ionic bond, one atom essentially donates an electron to stabilize the other atom. In
other words, the electron spends most of its time close to the bonded atom. Atoms that
participate in an ionic bond have different electronegativity values from each other.
COVALENT BOND
In a covalent bond, the atoms are bound by shared electrons. In a true covalent bond, the
electronegativity values are the same

SUMMARY TABLE

IONIC COVALENT
Bond between metal and nonmetal. Bond between two nonmetals with
Description The nonmetal similar electronegativities.
attracts the electron, so it's like the Atoms share electrons in their
metal donates its outer orbitals.
electron to it.

Polarity High Low

Shape No definite shape Definite shape
Melting Point High Low
Boiling Point High Low
State at Room Solid Liquid or Gas
Temperature
Examples Sodium chloride (NaCl), Methane (CH4), Hydrochloric
Sulfuric Acid (H2SO4 ) acid (HCl)
 Chemical Metal and nometal Two nonmetals
Species (remember hydrogen can act
either way)

POLAR MOLECULES vs NON POLAR MOLECULES

Polar molecules have positive and negative ends (charges) while nonpolar molecules
charges are cancelled out.
In Polar molecules, charges is unevenly distributed, while in nonpolar molecules
distribution of electrons is equal and are completely symmetrical.
When a highly electronegative atom bond with less electronegative atom a polar molecule
is formed.
Nonpolar are mostly hydrocarbons liquids.
Polar molecules have electrical dipole movement while nonpolar don’t have.
Polar molecules interact with polar molecules. Nonpolar molecules do not interact the
same way.
Polar molecules have a lone pair on the central atom while nonpolar molecules don’t have
lone pair on the central atom.
When an atom on the terminal is different then it is polar.
“Like dissolves like” which means that polar molecules dissolves into other polar
molecules and nonpolar into other nonpolar. Polar cannot dissolve into nonpolar
molecules and vice versa.

LEWIS DOT STRUCTURE

Lewis structures, also known as Lewis-dot diagrams, show the bonding relationship
between atoms of a molecule and the lone pairs of electrons in the molecule. Lewis structures
can also be useful in predicting molecular geometry in conjuntion with hybrid orbitals. A
compound may have multiple resonance forms that are also all correct Lewis structures. This
section will discuss the rules for writing out Lewis structures correctly.
EXAMPLE H2O (WATER)
Step 1: Arrange the atoms: H O H
Step 2: Count up total valence electrons: 2(1) + 6 = 8 e- total
Step 3: Draw single bonds between central atom and surrounding atoms:
H-O-H
Step 4: Place remaining electrons, in pairs, around appropriate atoms; start with outer atoms.
8 - 4 = 4 e- left; therefore 2 lone pairs to add:
In this example, the 2 lone pairs must go around O, since H never gets lone pairs‡

Step 5: Make sure all atoms that need octets have octets: done in Step 4
TAKE NOTE OF THE FOLLOWING!
1. Single bond- one pair of electrons is shared ( one dash; 2 electrons)
2. Double bonds- two pairs of electrons are shared ( two dashes; 4 electrons)
3. Triple bonds- three pairs of electrons are shared ( three dashes; 6 electrons)
PREDICTING POLARITY USING LEWIS STRUCTURE
General Steps
Step 1: Draw a reasonable Lewis structure for the substance.
Step 2: Identify each bond as either polar or nonpolar. (If the difference in electronegativity for
the atoms in a bond is greater than 0.4, we consider the bond polar. If the difference in
electronegativity is less than 0.4, the bond is essentially nonpolar.)
If there are no polar bonds, the molecule is nonpolar.

If the molecule has polar bonds, move on to Step 3.

Step 3: If there is only one central atom, examine the electron groups around it.
If there are no lone pairs on the central atom, and if all the bonds to the central atom are
the same, the molecule is nonpolar. (This shortcut is described more fully in the Example
that follows.)
If the central atom has at least one polar bond and if the groups bonded to the central
atom are not all identical, the molecule is probably polar. Move on to Step 4.
Step 4: Draw a geometric sketch of the molecule.
Step 5: Determine the symmetry of the molecule using the following steps.
Describe the polar bonds with arrows pointing toward the more electronegative element.
Use the length of the arrow to show the relative polarities of the different bonds. (A
greater difference in electronegativity suggests a more polar bond, which is described
with a longer arrow.)

Decide whether the arrangement of arrows is symmetrical or

asymmetrical
If the arrangement is symmetrical and the arrows are of equal length, the molecule is
nonpolar.
If the arrows are of different lengths, and if they do not balance each other, the molecule
is polar.
If the arrangement is asymmetrical, the molecule is polar.
Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion
The valence shell electron pair repulsion model is often abbreviated as VSEPR
(pronounced "vesper") and is a model to predict the geometry of molecules. Specifically, VSEPR
models look at the bonding and molecular geometry of organic molecules and polyatomic ions. It
is useful for nearly all compounds that have a central atom that is not a metal.
LEWIS STRUCTURE VS VALENCE ELECTRON PAIR REPULSION
Lewis structures only tell the number and type of bonds between atoms, as they are limited to
two dimensions. The VSEPR model predicts the 3-D shape of molecules and ions but is
ineffective in providing any specific information regarding the bond length or the bond itself.
THINGS TO REMEMBER! bond angle: the angle between a bonded atom, the central
atom, and another bonded atom
lone pair: a pair of valence electrons that are not shared with another atom
molecular geometry: the 3-D arrangement of bonded atoms in a polyatomic ion or
molecule
electron pair geometry: the 3-D arrangement of electron pairs around the
 central atom of a polyatomic ion or molecule.

MOLECULAR GEOMETRY REFERENCE

BASIC STEPS IN GETTING THE CORRECT MOLECULAR SHAPE

1. Draw the Lewis dot structure of the molecule.
2. Figure out the molecular geometry (visualize or draw using VSEPR theory).
3. Determine which of the five categories of shapes your molecule falls into linear, tetrahedral,
trigonal planar, bent, trigonal pyramid.
KEEP IN MIND
a. count the number of electron groups
b. divide 3600 by the number of electron groups to get the bond angle
(optional, if you really need to compute)
c. take note that lone pair occupies more space than bonded electrons
DON‟T FORGET
a. first three shapes above are symmetric shapes, the last two are asymmetric
b. non-polar molecules are perfectly symmetrical while polar molecules are not (bent or trigonal
pyramid, gives a polar molecule)
c. asymmetry applies even if the outer atoms are the same (arrangement of the atoms matters
more)
d. all atoms attached to the central atom must be the same if it is a non-polar molecule (different
atoms result to polar molecule)
EXAMPLE
AMMONIA (NH3)

WATER (H2O)

ACTIVITY
DIRECTION: DRAW THE LEWIS STRUCTURE OF THE FOLLOWING
a. CH4 e. CH2O i. SO2
b. NCl3 f. CHN j. CS2
c. CCl2F2 g. PI3
d. CF2H2 h. N2O

GENERALIZATION

Atoms seek more stable states. The structure of an atom is similar to that of the solar system. The
large protons (with a positive charge) and neutrons (with no charge) are found at the nucleus or
center. The tiny electrons (with negative charges) circle rapidly in orbits around the nucleus,
forming electron shells at different distances, much like the planets and other objects that circle
the sun. Atoms of each element have varying numbers of electrons in their outermost shells.
Atoms become more stable when their outermost electron shells are emptied out or filled up. One
way they can achieve this goal is for two atoms to share one or more electrons between them so
that each of them can fill or empty that outermost shell. But they can only share the electron(s) if
they stay close to each other, and this is called a covalent bond.

P O S T– T E S T

1. What type of bond exists when two electrons are equally shared between two atoms?
a. nonpolar covalent bond
b. polar covalent bond
c. chemical bond
d. ionic bond
2. Why is water (H2O) a polar molecule?
a. the molecule has positive (+) and negative (-) charges on the opposite sides
b. hydrogen and oxygen are both polar, and so is their combination
c. hydrogen and oxygen have equal charges
d. water freezes at polar temperatures
3. Which of the following is NOT a property of covalent compounds?
a. Low boiling points
b. Solids are brittle and variously colored
c. Poor conductors of heat and electricity
d. Superior malleability
4. Which of the following best describes a nonpolar molecule?
a. nonpolar molecule has uneven distribution of electrons
b. nonpolar molecule has lone pair on the central atom.
c. nonpolar molecule is mostly hydrocarbon liquids
5. . How many electrons should carbon have around its Lewis dot structure?
a. 6 c. 3
b. 4 d. 5

PHYSICAL SCIENCE

Week 3
CHEMICAL BALANCING
 Module 3

OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lesson the student should be able to:

 Determine mole ratio s
Perform stoichiometry calculations

P R E– T E S T

DIRECTION:Balance the following equations

Write and balance chemical equations

LESSON

BALANCING CHEMICAL EQUATIONS

LAW OF CONSERVATION OF MASS
The Law of Conservation of Mass states that matter is neither created nor destroyed.
In chemical reactions, the amount of particles in the reactants is equal to the amount of particles
in the products.

CHEMICAL REACTION

Involve changes in the chemical composition of matter

Creates new materials with new properties AMOUNT of
matter does not change
CHEMICAL EQUATION

Describe a chemical reaction

Written similar to a mathematical equation/is like a „RECIPE‟
BASIC CHEMICAL EQUATION
REACTANTS
Atoms or compounds that are changed in a chemical reaction (LEFT SIDE)
PRODUCTS
Atoms or compounds that are generated as a result of a chemical reaction (RIGHT SIDE)

PARTS OF CHEMICAL EQUATION

COEFFICIENTS AND SUBSCRIPT COEFFICIENTS
how many moles or formula units
SUBSCRIPTS
how many atoms or ions within a compound
RULES OF CHEMICAL EQUATIONS
Because of Law of Conservation of Mass, chemical equations MUST BE BALANCED
BALANCED = same number of each kind of atom on both sides (reactants and products)

The TOTAL number of any given atom is equal to the COEFFICIENT x SUBSCRIPT

You MAY change the COEFFICIENTS

You MAY NOT change the SUBSCRIPTS
WHY IS THAT?
Changing the subscripts changes the compound
EXAMPLE OF A BALANCE EQUATION

STEPS FOR BALANCING EQUATION

1. Write the correct formula for the reactants and the products
2. .Find the number of atoms for each element on the left side
3. Determine where to place coefficients in front of formulas
4. C heck your answer to see if:

The numbers of atoms on both sides of the equation are now balanced
The coefficients are in the lowest possible whole number ratios. (Reduced)

ACTIVITY

DIRECTION: Balance the following Equations

CuS(s) + O2(g) + C(s) -----> SO2 + Cu(s) + CO(g)

C6H12O6(aq) + O2 ----> CO2 + H2O(l)

C8H18(l) + O2 (g) ----> CO2(g) + H2O(l)

P O S T– T E S T

DIRECTION: Balance the following equations

PHYSICAL SCIENCE
 Week 4 EARTH IS NOT THE
CENTER
Module 4

OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lesson the student should be able to:

Explain what the Greeks considered to be the three types of terrestrial motion.
 Explain diurnal, annual motion and precession of equinoxes.
Differentiate the competing models of the universe by Aristotle, Eudoxus, Ptolemy,
Copernicus, Brahe and Kepler.
Discuss the Plato’s saving the appearances.
Explain the evidences that Earth is not the center of the Universe.
Explain how Galileo’s discoveries helped weaken the support for the model of
Ptolemy; and
Explain how Brahe’s collection of data helped Kepler Develop.

P R E– T E S T

1. Compare the Three Early models of the Universe, namely Ptolemaic, Copernican and
Tychonic Models.

2. Name one Discovery of Galileo which helped weaken support for the Ptolemaic model.

3. State Kepler’s Three Laws of Planetary motion.

4. Find the mean distance of a planet from the Sun if its period of revolution is 300days.

5. Define Plato’s “saving Appearances”

LESSON

EARTH IS NOT THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE AFTER ALL

The Greeks and Three Types of Terrestrial Motion

In early ages, the idea of Greeks regarding terrestrial motion was highly influenced by the
Philosopher Aristotle. His philosophy was far more speculative than experimental.
In Aristotle’s world everything on Earth had its appointed place in and functions. Every object
in this world can be categorized under the following four elements: Earth, water, air, and fire. Let
us say, for example, a rock. It is mostly made in Earth and water.
Therefore, its rightful place is close to the center of the Earth. The larger the rock, the greater its
desire to move closer to the center of the Earth. Therefore, if someone carried this rock to a
higher place, its natural motion would fall straight toward the center of the Earth.
Aristotle also postulated that the Planets and Stars were made of a fifth element called
“quintessence”. The natural motion of these objects was a circular path, not up and down. Early
people had observed that these celestial objects were moving in a circular path.

Three Types of Motion

1. Diurnal Motion- the apparent daily motion the sky from East to West. This apparent
movement of heaven saw celestial objects seeming to rise from the east to west.

2. Annual Motion – Referred to the events or phenomena that came annually or once a
year. Specifically it refers to the orbit of the Earth to the Sun.

3. Precession of Equinoxes – this refers to gradual shift in the orientation of Earth’s Axis
of rotation. This is just as a wobbling top tracing out a pair of cones joined at their apices
in a cycle of approximately 26 000 years.

Concept of the Spherical Earth

The concept of the spherical Earth Dates back to around 6 th Century B.C. in Ancient Indian
Philosophy and ancient Mediterranean thought.
Aristotle supported the idea of a spherical Earth. He provided physical observational arguments
regarding this matter. He observes that every portion of the Earth tends toward the center until,
by convergence or compression, they form a sphere.
He noticed that travellers going south see southern constellations rise higher above horizon and
the shadow of earth on the moon during lunar eclipse is round.

“Saving the Appearances”

It was the job of a philosophers to “save the appearances” by connecting reality with truth using
logic. It means without violating any known principles.
One has to understand perceptions of reality through its transformation into what one knows to
be true. This was known as the Socratic Method.Eudoxus (400 BC)- a student of plato used his
skills in geometry to envision a model a universe. The erratic motion of the planets could be
explained while still allowing for perfectly inside a sphere sharing a common center whish was
Earth. In the model of Eudoxus, Earth was shared a common center of sphere inside a sphere.
Models of the Universe by Eudoxus, Aristotle, Aristarchus, Ptolemy, Copernicus
Aristotle, the foremost Greek Scientist, failed to imagine what motion would be like without
friction because he did not recognize the idea of inertia. Based in his experience, all motion was
subject to resistance, he made this fact central to his theory of motion.
Motion according to him was either natural or violent. On the other hand, natural motion on
Earth was thought to either straight up or straight down, like the rising if smoke and steam, and
the falling of stone to the ground.
Fire rose naturally to the sun and the stars, Earthly objects like wood and pieces of metal. All fall
toward Earth. Violent motion was conceived to be result of a push or a pull. Motion was
imparted to objects. The natural state of object was one of rest if they were not pushed of pulled.
 Ptolemy
A Greek philosopher and native of Alexandria named
Ptolemy altered Aristotle’s model in several ways to count
for detailed observation of the motion of the planets.
He Advocates the Ptolemaic system where Earth lies
stationary at the center of the celestial sphere. In his system,
each planet is supposed to travel around the Earth in loops
while the orbits of the sun and moon are circular.
In his model, the sun was thought to move around the Earth
once a day while the Moon was much slower than the Sun.
The models of Aristotle and Ptolemy had rivals
even from the earliest days.

Aristarchus
Aristarchus of Samos, a Greek astronomer and
mathematicians, presented the first known model of
the universe that placed the Sun at its center.
His model had Earth revolving around the Sun. The
Ancient thinkers then thought that is this was true and
Earth were moving.
The distant stars ought to change positions with respects
to one another. However, the apparent relative motion
among the stars was too small that no available
instruments during those times could detect them. His
Theory did not gain an enduring support. His
astronomical ideas were often rejected in favor of
geocentric
model of Aristotle and Ptolemy.
Nicolas Copernicus
He formulated his theory of the moving Earth. He explained
that Earth rotates on its axis. It also revolves with the other
planets around the Sun.
During the last days of his life, his close friend persuades him
to send his work to the printed. He received the first copy of if
his work, De
Revolutionibus.
 Tyco Brahe
After they discovered that the Ptolemaic Alfonsine Tables and
the Prutenic table were wrong in predicting the conjunction of
Jupiter and Saturn several days.
He initiated a program to develop a model and correct the
discrepancies. He observed stars and comets only a large
sextants and compass. He was able to find the accuracy in
defining the position of Jupiter and Saturn.
He also found 1577 comets moving in space among the planets
which meant that these heavenly bodies were not supported on
fixed spheres.

Galileo Galilei
In 1609, Galileo built his first telescope and began making
observations of the heavenly bodies among his discoveries and
observation were the lunar craters on the moon.
He also observed the four largest moons of Jupiter, he
discovered the sunspots on the sun which confirms that the sun
rotates and planets orbit around the Sun and not the Earth.
This is evidence against the Geocentric Theory of Ptolemy. He
also confirmed that the orbits of the planets were circular in
shape which was later proven to be wrong Kepler who found
out through mathematical analysis of the data of Brahe that the
orbits of planets are ellipses where the Sun is one of the foci of
ellipse.

Kepler
Johannes Kepler a Danish Astronomer was the assistant of Tyco
Brahe, after the death of Brahe, Kepler obtained all the recorded
data and analyze them. He Formulated the Three Laws of
planetary motion as follows:

1. Planets move in Elliptical orbits. The paths of the

planets are ellipses with the sun at one focus.

2. An imaginary line from the planet to the sun sweeps equal areas in equal time intervals
whether the planets is close to or far from the Sun.
 3. The ratio of the squares of the periods (T) of the planets are proportional to the cubes of
their means distances (R) from the Sun. this can be expressed mathematically as T 2/R2= K or
T2=kR3, where k is constant of proportionality. The relationship applies to all the planets.

ACTIVITY

EXERCISE: “philoKNOWsopher”

Instructions: list down the philosophers and their contributions in the field of astronomy.

Name Cont ribution Information

 GENERALIZATION

P O S T– T E S T

1. Compare the Three Early models of the Universe, namely Ptolemaic, Copernican and
Tychonic Models.

2. Name one Discovery of Galileo which helped weaken support for the Ptolemaic model.

3. State Kepler’s Three Laws of Planetary motion.

4. Find the mean distance of a planet from the Sun if its period of revolution is 300days.

5. Define Plato’s “saving Appearances”

PHYSICAL SCIENCE

Week 5
LAWS OF PHYSICS
M odule 5
 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lesson the student should be able to:

Compare the Aristotelian and Galilean concept of motion; and

Explain how Galileo inferred that an object in a vacuum fall with uniform
acceleration and that force is not necessary to sustain horizontal motion.

P R E– T E S T

ESSAY
Assuming you have a piece of 20kg of barbell and a pencil, which of the two
object will hit the ground first if both were let go the same time? and why?
 LESSON

THE LAWS OF PHYSICS ARE UNIVERSAL

Aristotle‟s Ideas of Motion

More than 2000 years, Aristotle suggested that a force is necessary to produce motion. He
further suggested that to maintain that motion the force must be continuously exerted on the
object. He further explained that if there is no force, there can be no motion.
Aristotle further believed that the absence of an external force, any moving body will ultimately
come to rest.
In some respects, he was right, as we know from observations that a body at rest will not move
unless a force is continuously applied to it. However, there are also some cases of bodies which
continue to move even without force acting on them. An example is block of ice thrown along a
very smooth surface.
But so strong was the belief of Aristotle’s Idea contemporaries on his idea that all kinds of weird
arguments were used to support them. One such idea was the argument that a falling body
accelerates because its weight increases as it approaches Earth’s surface.

Galileo‟s thought Experiment about Motion

For many centuries nobody seemed to be successful in challenging the ideas of Aristotle.
Twenty centuries later, Galileo Challenge Aristotle’s theories concerning motion. He tested
Aristotle’s ideas through “thought experiments” experiments he did not actually perform except
in his mind.
Galileo uses a ball that was released from position A to run down a bent trail. When the rail is
bent along ABC, the ball rises to C, which is nearly the same height as A. the bent along ABD
AND ABE, the ball again rises to nearly the same height as A from where it was released.
What happens if the trail is bent along ABF where BF is horizontal? The ball would never be
able to rise to the level of A.
Galileo argued that, in the absence of friction, an object would move continuously at a constant
speed along the straight line.
Galileo did not attempt thought to explain why a body keeps on moving at a constant velocity
along a straight line. He simply showed that it is natural for a moving body to do so, just as it is
for a stationary body to remain at rest. This natural tendency of the body is called Inertia.
Inertia is the tendency of the body to maintain its state of rest or of uniform speed along a
straight line.

Free Fall
Do heavier objects fall faster than light objects? Or, do they fall at the same rate? People had, for
a long time, believed that the heavy bodies fall at a faster tare than light objects popular account
was said of Galileo dropping a small iron ball and a large cannon ball from the leaning tower of
Pisa in the sixteenth century.
To the amazement of spectators, the two balls hit the ground almost at the same time, but what
about the case of a coin and a piece of paper? In air, the coin falls faster than the flat piece of
paper.
 In a vacuum, however they fall at the same rate, as demonstrated by the “coin and feather”
experiments.
Air resistance has a great effect on the light feather than on the heavier coin because of the
larger exposed surfaced area of the feather against air resistance.
Acceleration Due to Gravity
If air resistance is negligible, a body falls freely under the influence of gravity with uniform
acceleration. This is called acceleration due to gravity, denoted by g.
The standard value of g is 9.8 m/s2

ACTIVITY

Pa-Fall
The student will conduct an experiment about Galileo’s free fall.
Materials:
1. Feather or paper
2. Ball (big and small)
3. Camera with slow-motion feature (optional)

Feather and Ball

Instructions:
1. Bring out the feather or a piece of paper and a ball.
2. Step on an elevated platform.
3. Release the ball and the piece of paper at the same time and let the two objects fall free.
4. Observe.
Big and Small Ball
Instructions:
1. Bring out the two ball one heavier or bigger and one lighter than the other or smaller.
2. Step on an elevated platform.
3. Release the two balls at the same time and let the two objects fall free.
4. Observe
Optional: if you have a good model of camera or mobile phone that has a slow-motion feature.

Guide Questions:

1. What have you observed with the first experiment? What object hits the ground first?
2. What have you observed with the second experiment? What object hits the ground first?

3. Why does that the two balls hit the ground at the same time regardless of their weight and
size?

4. Compare the Aristotelians and Galilean concept of motion

5. Explain how Galileo inferred that an object in a vacuum fall with uniform acceleration
and that force is not necessary to sustain horizontal motion.

GENERALIZATION

P O S T– T E S T
ESSAY
Assuming you have a piece of 20kg of barbell and a pencil, which of the two

object will hit the ground first if both were let go the same time? and why

PHYSICAL SCIENCE

Week 6 MASS, MOMENTUM A

M odule 6 ACCELERATION
 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lesson the student should be abl

e to:

Differentiate mass from weight

Define momentum and acceleration
Solve problems involving equations and formulas of weight, momentum
and acceleration.

PRE
–T E S
T

TRY TO SOLVE THIS!

What is the weight of a man with 80 kg mass?

1. Given:
2. Unknown:

3. Formula:

4. Solution:

5. FINAL ANSWER

LESSON

MASS, MOMENTUM AND ACCELERATION

Mass vs. Weight

Mass is more fundamental than weight. It is the measure of actual material present on a body.
Mass depends only on the number and kind of atoms that compose the body. On the other hand,
the weight of a body is the gravitational force that acts on the material, and depend on where the
object is located.
To get the weight of a body, W= mg
where: W= weight
m= mass
g= acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m/s2)
An object with more mass is pulled by gravity with greater force, so mass and weight is closely
related. However, the weight of an object can change if the force of gravity changes, even while
the mass of the object remains constant. Look at NASA astronaut in the Figure above. He was
one of the first humans to walk on the moon and feel the force of its gravity. He weighed less on
the moon than he did on Earth because the moon’s gravity is weaker than Earth’s.
 Momentum

Based on our daily experiences, a body has a greater mass and velocity the greater effort
needed to change its path or stop, therefore the body has great momentum.
Momentum is the quantity that measures the tendency of a body to continue in motion along a
straight path.
Its mathematical form is p=mv
Where: p= momentum, m= mass
v= velocity

Acceleration

An object in motion seldom moves at a constant speed, nor does it remain in the same direction.
So, it is important to specify both magnitude and direction of a moving object. When the velocity
of an object is changing, we can say that the body is experiencing acceleration. Acceleration (a)
is defined as the rate of change of velocity overtime.

Where: a= acceleration
V2= Final velocity a = V2 - V1

V1= Initial velocity t

t=Time

ACTIVITY

Instruction: Apply what have you learn earlier in each word problem set and solve the following
problems systematically.
WEIGHT MASS

What is the weight of a man with 50 kg mass? Find the mass of 5OON sack of rice?

1. Given: 1. Given:

2. Unknown: 2. Unknown:

3. Formula: 3. Formula:

4. Solution: 4. Solution:

5. Final Answer: 5. Final Answer:

average
MOMENTUM ACCELERATION

A Bowling ball has a mass of 2kg. Find its A car’s performance is often assessed by the
change in momentum if it changes in speed shortest time required to accelerate it from rest
from 10m/s to 20 m/s? to 100 km/hr. The new Ferrari can achieve this
in 5 seconds. What is the acceleration of the
car?
1. Given:
1. Given:
2. Unknown:
2. Unknown:
3. Formula:
3. Formula:
4. Solution:
4. Solution:

5. Final Answer: 5. Final Answer:

 GENERALIZATION

P O S T– T E S T

TRY TO SOLVE THIS!

A car’s performance is often assessed by the shortest time required to accelerate it from rest to 60
km/hr. The new Ferrari can achieve this in 2.5 seconds. What is the average acceleration of the
car?

1. Given:

2. Unknown:

3. Formula:

4. Solution:
5. Final Answer: