EARTH AND
LIFE SCIENCE
SOLAR SYSTEM
Unique Features of the Earth
1. Presence of water: Earth is the
only planet covered mainly with 75%
surface water (ocean). Water is
present in the air and clouds on the
surface of the earth in rivers, oceans,
ice, and in living organisms.
2. Atmospheric oxygen: The Earth’s
atmosphere plays a vital. role in regulating
the temperature by providing a blanket of
gases that not only protects us from
excessive heat and harmful radiation from
the sun but also trap heat rising from the
Earth’s interior keeping us warm.
Nitrogen (N) – 78% Oxygen (O) – 20.9
Carbon dioxide (CO2) – 0.03% Argon (Ar) – 0.90%
Other gases – 0.17%
3. Plate tectonics: Earth has nickel-iron
core which produces its magnetic field.
Materials on earth including its water and
atmospheric gases are contained inside
because of magnetic field. Materials also
from the inside of the earth are
circulated to its surface through volcanic
activity, geosphere movement like
earthquake or through hot spots and
plate boundaries.
4. Climate stability: Climate
on earth is mostly stable and
predictable throughout the
year. The rotational pattern of
weather and climate make life
on earth possible.
5. Appropriate distance
from the sun: Earth’s right
distance make life on earth
possible. Being the 3 planet
rd
in the solar system makes
temperature here just
appropriate for living
organisms.
6. Moderate global
temperature (15 C): The
o
average temperature on
Earth is 61 Fahrenheit (15
0
0
Celcius).
7. Minerals and energy
resources: Energy and
mineral resources are vital to
modern society, and it is the
role of geologist to locate
these resources for human
benefit.
Earth’s subsystems
Subsystem - a system that is part of a
larger system
1. Atmosphere – makes up of all
the gases in our planet. It extends
outward about 10,000 km from
the surface of the Earth. The word
atmosphere comes from the Greek
roots “atmos” which means gas
and “sphaira” which means globe
or ball.
Layers of the atmosphere:
a. troposphere
*extends to about 14.5 km above the Earth’s
surface. It is the lowest layer where the
weather forms.
*considered to be the densest among other
layers
*most jets and planes would fly slightly
above the troposphere to avoid turbulent
weather
Troposphere
b. stratosphere – is found 14.5 to
50 km above the Earth’s surface. The
ozone layer that protects the Earth
from
the sun’s harmful UV radiation is
found in this layer. The air
has strong, steady horizontal winds
which is advantageous to long-
distance flights.
Stratosphere
c. mesosphere – extends from 50 t0
85 km above the
Earth’s surface. The temperature
reaches a minimum of - 90⁰C.
It is the coldest layer; the coldest
because the heat from the
sun has been decreased by the
absorption of thermosphere
It is important in protecting earth
from planetary debris; this is
where most of the space rocks,
such as meteors, break down into
smaller pieces such that by the
time they reach Earth, they are
already in small pieces.
d. thermosphere – is found 85 to
600 km above the Earth’s surface. It
has charged particles that are
affected by the Earth’s magnetic
field. It is the hottest layer because of
its absorption of highly energetic
solar heat; depending on solar
activity, the temperature in this layer
can rise higher, even reaching
beyond 1,000⁰C.
The aurora maybe visible in high
latitudes on Earth; if witnessed in the
northern regions such as the Arctic
and Northern Canada, it is called
aurora borealis or northern lights; if
seen in the southern regions such as
Antarctica and Southern Australia, it
is called aurora australis or southern
lights.
Auroras
e. exosphere – is the
farthest layer. It extends to
about 10,000 km above the
Earth’s surface. In this layer,
atoms and molecules escape
into space and satellites orbit
the earth.
2. Geosphere – includes all the soil rocks and
minerals present in the crust to the core of the
Earth. “Geo” is a Greek root which means
ground/earth. It is the portion of the earth that
includes the interior structure, rocks and minerals,
landforms, and all physical processes on land that
shape Earth’s surface. All the continents and the
ocean floor are also considered parts of the
geosphere. Essentially, this is the solid ground of
Earth. The term geosphere covers all of the solid
part of Earth, from its surface up to the deeper
depth of the core.
Geology is the study of the
Earth, the materials of which it is
made, the structure of those
materials, and the processes
acting upon them.
Geologists – scientists that
study the parts of the earth.
Layers of the geosphere:
a. crust – outermost layer;
made mostly of silicate rocks;
about 5 to 70 km thick
- composts of 8 elements:
oxygen, silicon, aluminum. iron,
potassium, sodium, calcium and
magnesium
The Mohorovicic
Discontinuity, or
"Moho," is the boundary
between the crust and the
mantle.
2 types of crust:
oceanic crust – lies beneath the oceanic floors
about 5 to 10 km thick.
continental crust – makes up the continents; about
15 to 70 km. thick
The lithosphere is the
solid, outer part of the
Earth. It includes the
brittle upper portion of
the mantle as well as the
crust.
mantle – lies below the
crust; is made mostly of
silicate rocks rich in
magnesium and iron. It is
about 2,900 km thick. It is
the thickest layer of Earth.
Asthenosphere – sublayer of the
mantle that explains the
occurrence of earthquakes and
seismic activities. It lies on the
upper part of the mantle and is
directly below the crust.
This layer, which is soft enough to
flow, causes the plates of the
crust to move.
Gutenberg Discontinuity (or
the D’ prime; double prime) –
named after its discovery by
Beno Gutenberg .
- this boundary serves as a
transitional boundary between
the lower mantle and the outer
core.
c. core – has a radius of 3,400 km, is
the innermost layer of the Earth. It is
chiefly made up of iron and nickel. It
is the source of internal heat.
The iron in the outer core is in liquid
form, which is why the outer core is
known to be liquid while the inner
core is solid.
• Iron is particularly important because
this is the primary source of Earth’s
magnetic field.
• The magnetic field extends outward to
protect the Earth from solar winds by
deflecting them. Without this magnetic
field, the solar winds could damage
Earth’s atmosphere and all living forms
on Earth.
Lehmann discontinuity -
discovered by Danish
seismologist Inge Lehmann; a
transitional boundary
between the inner core and
the outer core.
3. Hydrosphere – encompasses all the waters
found on earth; includes water in various forms
(ice, liquid or vapor found on the surface of the
earth, below the surface of the earth, and in
the atmosphere (gaseous form). Water covers
about 70% of the earth’s surface and most of it
is water that makes up the oceans.
Hydro is the Greek root means water. It is
comprised of 97.5% saltwater and 2.5% fresh
water.
4. Biosphere – Bio is the Greek root that
means life. Biosphere is composed of all
living things and the areas where they are
found. It includes all microbes plants and
animals. It extends to the upper areas of
atmosphere where insects and birds can
be found. It also reaches the deep parts of
the oceans where marine organisms can
still survive.
Common Rock-Forming Minerals
A mineral is a naturally occurring
(not man-made or machine
generated) inorganic (not a
byproduct of living things) solid
having an orderly crystalline
structure and a definite chemical
composition. They are the basic
building block of rocks.
Physical Properties of Minerals
1. Color – the reflection of certain wavelength of light
by the crystal lattice results in the color perceived by
the observer. Color is usually the property used to
identify minerals easily. It is a result of the way
minerals absorb light.
salt
2. Streak - Streak is the color of the
mineral in powdered form. Streak shows
the true color of the mineral.
3. Luster – is the relative differences
in the opacity and transparency of a
mineral as light is reflected on its
surface. This describes the “sparkles”
of the mineral surfaces. It describes
how a mineral appears to reflects
light, and how brilliant or dull the
mineral is.
a. metallic luster – generally opaque and exhibit a
resplendent shine similar to a polished metal. Ex: pyrite,
malachite
b. non-metallic luster - include glassy (or "vitreous"),
adamantine (brilliant/diamond-like), resinous, silky, pearly
(like mother-of-pearl), dull (earthy), greasy among others.
Examples: quartz (vitrous); talc (resinous); diamond
(adamantine)
4. Hardness - refers to the measure of the
mineral’s resistance to scratching. To measure
the relative hardness of minerals, the Mohs scale
is used. The harder the mineral, the greater is its
resistance to scratching. The Mohs scale of
hardness was developed in 1812 by a German
minerologist named Frederich Mohs. It grades 10
fairly common minerals on a scale from 1 being
the softest to 10 being the hardest.
MOHS’ SCALE OF HARDNESS
Num Mineral Example
ber
1 Talc Powder
2 Gypsum Fingernail
3 Calcite Tooth
4 Fluorite Iron nail
5 Apatite Window glass
6 Feldspar Steel file
7 Quartz Porcelain
8 Topaz Hardened steel
9 Corundum Sapphire, ruby
10 Diamond none
5. Cleavage – is the tendency of the mineral to
be split or broken along flat surfaces. The
breakage along the crystalline structures where a
mineral is likely to break smoothly is known as
cleavage.
6. Fracture - the property of a mineral breaking
in a more or less random pattern with no smooth
planar surfaces. A mineral fractures when it
breaks in a direction where there is no cleavage.
Several types of fracture:
[Link] – smooth curved surfaces resembling
shells
b. fibrous – common with asbestos
c. hackly – jagged fractures with sharp edges
d. irregular or uneven –
rough or irregular surfaces
7. Tenacity - is the level of resistance or
reaction of minerals to stress such as
crushing, bending, breaking or tearing. It
can tell if a mineral is brittle, malleable,
elastic, etc.
8. Crystal habit – tells how mineral crystals are
arranged. A hand lens is necessary tool in
checking for crystalline structure. A crystal solid is
said to form a regular repeating three-dimensional
crystal lattice, while an amorphous solid forms
aggregates that have no particular order or
arrangement.
9. Specific Gravity – is a
measure of a density of
a mineral. It determines
how heavy the mineral
is by its weight to water.
specific gravity is used
especially when two
minerals have the same
size or the same color.
The specific gravity of
each mineral can distinguish
them apart.
Identify the physical property
that can be observed in the
following: