NAME: ODEYEMI TUMININU

CLASS: YR12B

TITLE: CHEMISTRY
MID-TERM PROJECT

TOPIC: EARTH AND SPACE

CHEMISTRY
 EARTH AND SPACE CHEMISTRY

EARTH

The Universe includes everything we know but no one knows it size, how it began or when it will end. Some
astronomers say that the universe was formed in the distant past when a single body of matter exploded to form
galaxies which spread out through space.
A Galaxy is a huge collection of stars, gas and dust. Our star, the Sun is one of the more than one million stars that
make up our galaxy, The Milky Way. There are a larger number of galaxies beyond our own. Earth is one of the
planets that orbit round the sun. It is the only planet known to have life.

AGE OF THE EARTH

Diverse methods were used in the past to find out the age of Earth. The most exact method is based on the study of
the radioactivity of certain minerals in which one or more radioactive elements decay to form other elements. A
radioactive element decays to a daughter element at a constant and known rate that is half-life. The half-life is not
affected by external conditions. As the radioactive element decays, its quantity in a particular rock decreases while
the quantity in of the daughter element increases.
Scientists are able to calculate the age of the rock or mineral from the decay rates of the radioactive element and the
ratios of the parent to daughter elements. Radioactive isotopes are mainly used for these studies. Studies using the
above method show that the oldest known rock on earth was formed nearly 4.0*109 years ago, Thus, one can
deduce that the earth is between 4.5 to 5.0 billion years old.

STRUCTURE OF THE EARTH

The Earth is made up of three parts;

 The atmosphere which is the layer of air that surrounds the planet;
 The hydrosphere, which is the part composed of water; and
 The lithosphere, which is the solid part

The Atmosphere

The air atmosphere is composed of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 1% other gases including carbon(IV)oxide,
water vapour and the rare gases. Dust and air pollutants are also present in the atmosphere, especially in industrial
and agricultural areas. The atmosphere extends to a height of more than 450km from the surface of the Earth.

The lower layer of the atmosphere(up to about 10km at the poles and 17km at the equator above the Earth’s
surface) is known as the troposphere. This is the region where great changes in temperature and water vapour
content of the air takes place. It is the part of the atmosphere that determines the weather-clouds form here, and the
rain, thunder and lightning occur here.

The next atmospheric layer, extending from about 10km or 17km to about 45km above the Earth’s surface is the
stratosphere. This is the zone of horizontal air movements. The fast moving currents of air travel at speeds of up o
400kmh-1. The temperature in the stratosphere rises from -60°C at an altitude of about 10km to 0°C at about 45km.
The increase I temperature is due to the absorption of ultra-violet radiation by the ozone layer in the stratosphere.
NOTE: The build-up of the ozone layer in the stratosphere is due to the photo-dissociation of oxygen molecules,
O2, into single oxygen atoms, O, by the Sun’s ultraviolet rays, When an atomic oxygen collides with a oxygen
molecule, an ozone(O3) is formed. Ozone molecules can dissociate to give ordinary oxygen molecules.

The next layer of the atmosphere is the mesosphere, extending from about 45km to about 75km, the air of the
mesosphere is less dense than that of the stratosphere. The temperature varies from 0 0C at an altitude of about 45km
to -900C at about 75km.

The region of the atmosphere extending from about 75km to about 400km is know as the thermosphere. The air
in the thermosphere is thin. This layer is also referred to as the ionosphere because many of the molecules and
atoms in this region are ionized by the radiation from space and the Sun. The region beyond 400km is known as the
exosphere. The air in this layer is extremely thin and consists mainly of hydrogen. The exosphere continues
indefinitely into space and eventually merges with the Sun’s atmosphere.

Hydrosphere

Water forms a discontinuous layer over about 71% of the Earth’s surface. Approximately 98% of the total mass of
water is in the form of salt-water in the oceans and seas. Fresh water is present in inland lakes, in the soil(as ground
water) and in the pores of rocks. Ground water flows to the surface of the Earth as spring water and flows into
streams and rivers. Earth is the only planet in the solar system that contains large amount of water. Water
evaporates from the surfaces of water bodies and precipitates as rainfall.
Many substances are found dissolved in water. The most abundant of these is sodium chloride. Others include:
Chloride and tetraoxosulphate (VI) of magnesium, calcium and potassium. Dissolved gases such as nitrogen,
oxygen and carbon(IV) oxide are also present.

Lithosphere

The lithosphere consists of rocks and soil. It is made up of three parts: the crust, mantle and core.
The outermost part is called the crust and extends to a depth of about 30km in the continental areas and about
8km in the main ocean floors.
The portion below the crust is know as the interior of earth. From research of earthquakes, volcanic activities
and other phenomena, scientists think that it consists of a nickel-iron center core, surrounded by the mantle. The
mantle which is about 290km thick is thought to be the plastic i.e neither solid nor liquid.
About a hundred different elements may be listed as components of the lithosphere. Oxygen is the most
abundant amongst all the element, which is found commonly as silicon(IV)oxide.
Most of the other elements are also found as compounds although a few exist in the pure state. The interior of the
earth is composed of heavier elements and their compounds e.g. the dense rocks in the mantle are composed of
trioxosilicates(IV) of iron and magnesium.
In order of abundance in the earth after silicon we have the following elements; Aluminium, Iron, Calcium,
Sodium, Potassium, Magnesium, Titanium, Hydrogen and others.

Mass percentage of the most abundant element in the earth crust

Rank Element Atomic Crustal

Number Abundance
1 Oxygen 8 46.60
2 Silicon 14 27.70
3 Aluminium 13 8.13
4 Iron 26 5.00
5 Calcium 20 3.63
6 Sodium 11 2.83
7 Potassium 19 2.59
8 Magnesium 12 2.09
9 Titanium 22 0.44
10 Hydrogen 1 0.14
10+ Other 0.85

APPLICATION OF SPECTROSCOPY TO THE STUDY OF PLANETS AND STARS

Passing sunlight through a prism, gives a band of coloured light known as a spectrum prism, used in spectroscopes
to disperse all types of electromagnetic radiation to give a spectra. Diffraction grafting are used in most
spectroscopes instead of prisms. This is because they give very sharp spectra.

There are two types of spectra:

(I) Emission spectra
(II) Absorption spectra

Emission spectra: These are observed when light from a source undergoes dispersion directly. For example, when
light from a glowing sodium source is examined through a spectroscope, we see a line emission spectrum which
consists of two bright yellow lines very close together in a dark background. A glowing hydrogen source emits a
spectrum with red, blue-green and violet lines.
Usually, line emission spectrum are emitted by atoms and ions which are not interacting. Band emission spectra
which is composed of groups or bands of lines are emitted by molecules of glowing gases or vapors. Continuous
emission spectra are emitted by hot solids, liquids and gases at high pressures where the molecules are close enough
to interact.

Absorption spectra: In absorption spectra, the emitted light passes through a material that partially absorbs it
before it is dispersed. For example, when white light passes through a cool gas or vapour, a line absorption
spectrum is obtained. Dark lines occur in the continuous spectrum of white light. These lines occur at exactly at the
same positions as the coloured lines in the emission spectrum of the gas or vapour. As in the emission spectra, band
and continuous absorption spectra are also obtained.
A spectroscope can be used to identify the chemical composition of the source that emits a particular radiation or
the material that absorbs the radiation. This method extremely sensitive and can detect the presence of minute
quantities of materials.
Spectroscopy is used to analyze the light from stars and the reflected sunlight from planets t get information
about the chemical composition of these heavenly bodies.
A star’s spectrum provides information about its temperature, luminosity and chemical composition. The
chemical composition includes the identity of the elements present ad whether they are present as compounds,
molecules, atoms or ions.

THE SOLAR SYSTEM

The solar system consists of the sun and all the bodies orbiting round it. The sun is a star because it glows, giving
off its own heat and light. The planets and their moons are the main bodies that revolve round the sun. These bodies
shine because they reflect the Sun’s light that falls on them. Other bodies in the Solar system are the asteroids,
comets and meteoroids. The Solar system is about 12000 million kilometers.
The Sun

The Sun is a vast ball of hot glowing gas. It has a diameter that is more then 100 times that of the Earth. It has an
enormous gravitational pull about 28 times stronger than that of the Earth. Thus, the Sun controls the movements of
all the bodies in the Solar system, except those of the moons.

The Moon

The Moon is Earth’s natural satellite and our nearest neighbour in space. It is about 384400km away from Earth.
The diameter of the Moon is about one-quarter that of the Earth. Its gravity is only one-sixth that of Earth.
The Moon revolves around the Earth once every 27-32 days. In the same period, it completes one rotation on its
own axis. Therefore, the same side of the Moon is facing Earth. Therefore, the same side of the Moon is always
facing Earth. There is no water or air on the Moon. As a result, it is very hot (about 1200) when lit by the Sun and
very cold(about -1800C) when it is not. The Moon’s surface has many craters, jagged mountains and flat dust-
covered plains known as seas. Studies of the rock, brought back from the Moon, show that the Moon is as old as the
Earth, i.e about 4800 million years old. Although lunar rocks look similar to those on Earth, their chemical
compositions are different.

The Planets

Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are known as the terrestrial planets. They are all about the same size and mass.
They are all about the same size and mass. They are dense because they are rich in rocks and minerals. Jupiter,
Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are mush larger than terrestrial planets. They are also less dense because they are made
up of light gases such as hydrogen, helium, ammonia and methane. Pluto is less dense like thee other outer planets,
but unlike them, it is small. All the planets revolve around the Sun and all the same time rotate on their axes from
west to east except for Venus, which rotates in the opposite direction.

Mercury

Mercury is a small,rocky, sun-scorched planet whose surface is similar to that of the Moon.The temperature of the
side facing the Sun is so high that even lead would melt, while the other side is extremely cold. Mercury's scanty
atmosphere is composed mainly of hydrogen, helium and neon. Its mass and volume are about one-sixteenth those
of Earth. Although Mercury is a smaller planet, its density is nearly the same as the Earth's. This indicates that it
may have a core of dense metals.

Venus

Venus is similar to Earth in size, mass and density.The planet is completely covered with opaque white clouds. The
atmosphere of Venus consists of 96% carbon(IV) oxide, 3.5% nitrogen and traces of other gases such as
sulphur(IV) oxide, argon, carbon(ll) oxide, oxygen, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen fluoride and water. Its
atmospheric pressure is 60 to l00 times that of Earth. while its surface temperature is about 4600C.

Earth

Earth is a rocky planet that is almost spherical, with a polar radius of 6356 km and an equatorial radius of 6378 km.
Earth is the only planet in the Solar System that lies in a region with a temperature that can support life. In addition,
it has an abundance of oxygen and water on its surface-two substances that are essential for life.
Mars

Mars is a dry cold planet with temperatures at its equator that vary between 250C in the afternoon to -400C at night.
Mars has many earth-like features such as clouds, mountains, craters, deserts and polar ice- caps. These led
astronomers to believe that intelligent beings lived on Mars. These ideas had to be abandoned after studies showed
that most parts of Mars do not have water. The polar caps are a frozen mixture of water and carbon(IV) oxide. The
clouds are composed of dust, not water vapour. Great dust storms sweep through the airless deserts at high speeds.
Mars has a thin atmosphere. which consists of about 96.5 carbon(IV) oxide, 1.5 nitrogen, 1.5 argon, and traces of
oxygen. carbon(II) oxide and water.The mean density of Mars is lower than that of Earth.This means that it may
have a richer content of the lighter elements or a lower nickel-iron content than Earth. Studies indicate that it may
have a solid core.

Jupiter

Jupiter, the largest of the nine planets, has a diameter that is more than eleven times the size of Earth. Its mass
is 318 times that of Earth, hence it has an enormous gravitational pull. However, the mass of Jupiter is small
compared to its size. This is because Jupiter is composed mainly of hydrogen. The hydrogen exists as a gas in its
thick atmosphere and probably as a liquid underneath the atmosphere. The most abundant substance is helium.
followed by methane, ammonia and other simple molecules. Jupiter has belts of colourful clouds in its atmosphere.
The clearly visible Great Red Spot is now known to be a huge hurricane that has been blowing for years. Jupiter
also has a faint ring system composed of dark sand grains and dust. Jupiter gives off a lot more heat than it receives
from the Sun. This indicates an intensely hot and active core. Jupiter's mean surface temperature is around I400C.
although the temperature at its core is estimated to be about 300000C. Jupiter has 16 moons. Io, one of its large
moons, has eight active volcanoes.

Saturn

Saturn is the second largest planet in the Solar System. It has a very cold planet with a surface temperature of about
-1820C. It has an atmosphere of mainly hydrogen and helium with traces of ammonia and methane. Saturn is one of
the least dense planets despite a rocky core slightly bigger than Earth. A series of cloud belts surround the planet.
These are similar to but paler than those of Jupiter. Saturn, encircled by its series of rings, is one of one the most
beautiful planets in the Solar System. There are seven large distinct rings. The rings are made up of thousands of
separate ringlets and dark grooves, These ringlets consist of rocks. dust and lumps of lice of various sizes. Most of
the ringlets are about a few hundred meters thick. Saturn has many moons. To date 20 have been recorded.

Uranus

Uranus is a very cold planet as it receives only 1/350 as much sunlight as Earth. Uranus is an unusual planet
because its axis of rotation is tilted sideways until it almost horizontal. Uranus' atmosphere is made up of mainly
hydrogen and helium with traces of methane, ammonia and water. However. it is so cold that all the last three
compounds probably form a frozen mixture. The maximum surface temperature of the planet is about -1850C. The
planet probably has a solid core surrounded by ice and liquid hydrogen.

Neptune

Neptune is about the same size as Uranus. It has a thick stormy atmosphere of hydrogen and helium with white
clouds of frozen methane around the equatorial region. Its Great Dark Spot is a huge hurricane about the size
of Earth. It is also encircled by five narrow rings. Neptune is very cold with a temperature of -2050C. It may have a
solid core surrounded by a thick layer of ice. Triton, one of its moons, is volcanic with a temperature of -2400C. the
coldest recorded for any of the bodies in the Solar System.

Pluto

Pluto is the smallest planet as well as the farthest from the Sun. Pluto probably has a surface temperature of about
-2200C on the sunlit region, and about -2530C on the dark side. All substances would have been liquefied or frozen
at this temperature. Its body probably contains a large amount of solid methane.

Asteroids, Comets and Meteoroids

Asteroids These are small rocky bodies, usually found between Mars and Jupiter. This region is known as the
"asteroid belt".There are thousands of asteroids of varying sizes. They could be the remains of heavenly bodies that
broke up long ago. Most asteroids move along circular orbits. Asteroids are rich in elements similar to those on
Earth. Efforts are being made to tap these mineral resources to sustain industries on Earth.

Comets These are frozen collections of ice. dust and gases which move in elongated, irregular orbits around the
Sun. Far from the Sun, a comet consists of a small body (or a collection of small bodies) which reflects sunlight and
is called the nucleus. The nucleus is composed of compounds such as frozen water, ammonia, methane, and other
heavier hydrocarbons. As the comet approaches the Sun. it becomes heated, melts and the compounds in it
dissociate to produce a cloud of gaseous molecules, atoms and ions which shroud the nucleus.The doud,together
with the nucleus, forms the head of the comet. When dose to the Sun, a bright tail (which may be long) may
develop. This tail always points away from the Sun because of the solar wind. which is a stream of energetic ions
and electrons from the Sun. A comet may make only one appearance or it may appear regularly. A spectacular
comet, the Halley’s comet, is seen every 76 years. It was last seen in I 986.

Meteoroids These are small fragments of stone flying through space at very high speeds. They are usually the
remains of comets and asteroids. Millions of meteoroids travel around the Sun. When the meteoroids enter our
atmosphere, they are known as meteors. They travel at great speeds and the air friction heats them up. They glow
and disintegrate. forming a bright Hash of light. known as a shooting star. Occasionally. pieces of meteors land on
Earth. These are called meteorites. A large meteorite can cause a big crater if it falls on land. Meteorites are
composed of m any elements , such as iron , magnesium, sodium, calcium. aluminium, nickel, silicon and hydrogen.
found on Earth. Spectroscopy of meteors also shows a similar composition.

STARS

Stars are self-luminous objects. shining by radiation obtained from energy source within themselves (by nuclear
fusion).By contrast, planets shine by reflected light. Stars vary in age, size, temperature, luminosity (brightness),
colour and chemical composition. The Sun is a typical star.

Classification of stars

Stars are grouped according to their spectra, which give information on their temperature, luminosity, and chemical
composition. These special classes are given the letters O, B, A, F, G, K and M. They are arranged in order of
decreasing temperature, from the hottest to the coolest stars. Stars in classes O to M are said to belong to the main
sequence group. Other stellar classes which are outside the main sequence include the C stars and the S stars, which
are the giants and the supergiants. and the white dwarfs. The stars in the main sequence have essentially the same
chemical composition but their surface temperatures and atmospheric pressures are different. In addition.these stars
also show a colour sequence- from the very hot (200000C) bluish-white O and B stars, to the moderately hot
(60000C) yellow G stars, to the the cool (30000C) red K and M stars. Like the Sun, the stars in classes O to M are
composed mainly of hydrogen. helium and small amounts of other elements found on Earth. However, stellar
spectra show that the particulate nature of these elements varies with the temperature of the stars. In cool stars,
simple molecules and neutral atoms of elements arc abundant, while in hot stars highly ionized atoms of elements
predorninate. Thus, spectra of the cool stars of class M show the presence of simple molecules like titanium oxide
and neutral atoms of metals like iron, calcium and magnesium. The spectra of the slightly hotter K stars show that
molecules like titanium oxide are not present although stable pieces of molecules like the hydroxyl radical are
present. The spectra of the G stars arc characterized by emission line, showing the presence of ionized atoms of
metals like iron and calcium. The spectra of F stars indicate the presence of more ionized metal ion than neutral
atoms. Class A star, have spectra showing strong hydrogen emission lines (indicating unionized hydrogen
atoms), while in the spectra of class B stars, these lines are faint indicating that most of the hydrogen atoms are
ionized. The spectra of the very hot O stars show that even helium atoms are ionized, while oxygen, nitrogen and
carbon are doubly ionized.

The Sun

The Sun was born an average-sized star and probably will have a life span of about ten billion years.It is now .
yellow G star which is in its middle age. it will slowly expand to form a red giant which may extend up to Earth.
Then it will become a white dwarf when its shell drifts away. This marks the beginning of the end of its life as it
slowly cools and fades into a old black dwarf.

Light years

Astronomers measure stellar distances by light years. One light year is the distance travelled by light in one year, i.e
about 9.24 x 1015 m. So when we look into space to see a star, we are really looking back in time. Most of the
starlight we see started on its journey a long long time ago. For example, light from Sirius (the brightest star) takes
87 years to travel to us on Earth. Light from our star, the Sun. takes only 8 minutes to reach us.

SPACE TRAVEL

On October 4, 1957 Russian scientists and engineers shook the world by placing into orbit the first man-made
satellite. Sputnik L. Sputnik I had a mass of 82.8kg and a diameter of 0.58 m. The polished aluminium sphere
orbited Earth at heights ranging from 228km to 946km for 92 days, completing a total of 1400 orbits. No sooner had
the world recovered from the excitement of this first achievement than it was again shaken by the launching of
Sputnik 2 on, November 3, 1957 Sputnik 2 weighed 508.5 kg and carried a living animal. a husky dog named Laika.
Since the early launchings, many types of artificial Earth satellites have been successfully placed in orbit These
include weather satellites, Earth satellites, communications satellites, and scientific and astronomical satellites. In
April 1961, the first man, Yuri Gagarin was launched into space. He orbited Earth for 108 minutes and returned
safely to Earth. Advances made in radio, telemetering and television made it possible to guide unmanned spacecraft.
It also enabled the transmission of all kinds of scientific data and pictures to ground stations. Thus, many unmanned
spacecraft were sent out to study the planets in the Solar System. These probes include the Mariners and Vikings (to
study Mercury, Mars and Venus), and the Pioneers and the Voyagers (to study the outer planets). To send a manned
flight to the Moon, the problems of excessive acceleration, weightlessness, radiation in space and re-entry into
Earth's atmosphere had to be solved. Finally, in July 1969. Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin
landed on the Moon. Later, in November 1969, Charles Conrad and Alan Bean landed the Apollo 12 lunar module
on the Moon. Manned space stations circling Earth are fast-becoming a reality after the launching of the first space
shuttle, Columbia, in 1981. In 1984, two astronauts walked in space using a manned manoeuvring unit (MMU)
without a life line and repaired a disabled satellite. Many activities can now be carried out in space. Scientists are
working towards landing astronauts on Mars. However, any predictions about trips to Mars and other planets would
be purely speculative at present. One has to wait and see what the future holds but it would certainly be most
exciting.