I.

SOLAR SYSTEM
A. Tools Used by Astronomers
1. Astronomy is the study of planets, stars, and other objects in space.
2. Astronomer a scientist who study stars and other heavenly bodies.
3. Telescope a tool that magnifies distant objects or produces images of objects that
are too faint to be seen by the naked eye.
4. Refracting Telescope collects and focuses light into a glass lens and then focuses
the light directly into the eyepiece.
5. Reflecting Telescope reflects light on a glass mirror and sends it to the eyepiece.
6. Radio Telescope a large curved metal dish or an antenna that resembles a
parabolic satellite TV dish.
7. Infrared Telescope collects infrared rays from objects in space. This is built on
mountain tops or sent in space aboard satellites.
8. X-ray Telescope has slats made of iron or lead that is used to detect source of X
rays.
9. Ultraviolet Telescope used to study very hot objects like stars and quasars(very
bright starlike objects)in the sky.
10.
Gamma ray Telescope used to study quasars and pulsars(smallest stars).
11.
Spectroscope a tool that separates light into its different wavelengths
arranged from longest to shortest.
12.
Spectrograph an instrument that separates radiation into a spectrum and
photographs the spectrum. It is used in studying the composition and temperature
of stars as well as detecting their movement.
13.
Sir Isaac Newton
14.
Galileo Galilee
B. Sizes of Stars
1. Supergiant Stars Ex: Betelgeuse and Antares
2. Giant Stars about 10 to 100 times larger than the Sun.
Ex: Aldebaran
3. Medium-sized Stars Ex: Sun, Altair, Sirius, Rigel
4. White Dwarf Stars Ex: Van Maanens Star
5. Neutron Stars/Pulsars is about 20 km.
C. Color and Temperature of Stars
1. Blue Ex. Vega
2. Bluish-white stars Ex: Rigel, Epsilon Orionis
3. White Ex: Sirius, Vega
4. Yellow-Orange
- Ex:
5. Yellow Capella, Sun
6. Orange Ex: Aldebaran, Arcturus
7. Red-Orange Ex:
8. Red Ex: Betelgeuse, Antares
D. Distance of Stars from Earth
1. Parallax is the apparent motion of a star against the background of more distant
stars when that star is observed from two positions.
2. Light-year is the distance travelled by light in one year.
3. Sun is 150 million km away from Earth. Suns light reaches the Earth in about 8
minutes. Proxima Centauri is the second nearest to the Earth. It is 40 trillion km
away from the Earth. It takes 4.2 years for the light to reach the Earth.
E. Brightness of Stars
1. The brighter a stars is, the lower its magnitude value.
2. Apparent Value/Apparent Magnitude it measures how bright a star appears from
Earth.
3. Absolute Value/Absolute Magnitude is a measurement of how bright a star would
appear if viewed at equal distances with other stars.
4. Sun is the brightest star during daytime.
5. Sirius is the brightest star at night.

F. Why Stars Twinkle

1. Because of the Earths unstable atmosphere or
2. Because of the moving layers of air and dust in the earths atmosphere where
light passes through.
G. Constellations
1. Constellation a group of stars that forms a pattern in the sky.
2. Zodiac is a belt which circles the sky close to the place of the earths orbit
around
the sun.
2. North Polar Constellations 3. South Polar Constellations
4. Zodiac Constellations
5. Uses of Constellations: Use to track artificial satellites that orbit the Earth.
H. Galaxies
1. Galaxy is a group of billions of stars, dust and gas that are close to one
another.
2. Elliptical Galaxy Ex: Whirlpool Galaxy
3. Spiral Galaxy Ex: Andromeda Galaxy
4. Irregular Galaxy
5. Milky Way Galaxy is the galaxy where we belong.
6. Great Nebula/Andromeda Galaxy is the nearest galaxy to the Milky Way.
7. Magellanic Cloud
a. Large Magellanic Cloud
b. Small Magellanic Cloud
8. Quasars
I. Universe
1. Steady State Theory - states that the universe is constant in size and uniform
throughout. The universe had no beginning and would have no end. As old stars
die, new stars will take their place.
2. Pulsating Theory states that the universe expanded from a ball of matter and
still expanding but time would come when it would stop expanding.
3. Big Bang Theory states that the universe began as huge/big explosion from
which all matter in the universe was created. Stars and galaxies were formed from
this matter.
J. Modern Space Facilities, Tools and Equipment for Studying the Universe
1. Sounding Rockets
2. Orbital Satellites
3. Space Telescopes
4. Space Probes
5. Lunar Probes
6. Probes to the Planets:
1. US Mariner Probes and Soviet Venera Probes explored planet Venus in
1960s. It was discovered that Venus has a hot surface and has weak
magnetic field.
2. Mariner 4,6, 7, and 9 explored planet Mars. It was discovered that Mars
has two moon, the Phobos and Deimos and its surface temperature is about
150 C.
3. Pioneer 10 explored Jupiter for 21 months of journey. Voyager 1
discovered the ring of Jupiter. Voyager 2 discovered Jupiters ring and
moons.
4. Pioneer 11, Voyager 1 and 2 discovered Saturn and found that one of its
moons has a white side because of ice and the presence of thousands of
rings.
7. Probe to the Sun:
1. Helios Probes-went inside Mercurys orbit to measure solar radiation.
2. Ulysses-first probe to observe the sun from an orbit over its poles.

8. Probe to comets:
1. International Cometary Explorer- first probe to reach a comet named
Giacobini-Zinner.
K. Achievements in Space Exploration
1. Sputnik-first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth.
2. Apollo 11-first to land on the moon on July 20, 1969 and Neil Armstrong was the
first to set his foot on it.
3. Soviet Salyut and US Skylab-launched in space to carry equipment and support
systems needed for people to live and work in space.
L. Problems in Space Explorations
1. Overcoming gravity
Launch Vehicle/Booster-a powerful rocket to overcome gravity.
2. Decreasing speed of spacecraft when returning to Earth
II. Climate and Seasons
A. Factors that Affect Climate
1. Climate is the average weather condition in a place
2. Latitude is the measure of how far north or south of the equator a region is.
Regions on or near the equator receive vertical rays of the sun, so the
temperature is higher.
Regions farther from the equator receive the slanting rays of the sun, so the
temperature is lower.
Tropical Zones(equator to 23.5 north and south) have high temperature and
humidity. Heavy rains during part of the year.
Temperate Zones (23.5 to 66.5 north and south)have different
temperatures.
Polar Zones (66.5 to 90 north and south) have very low temperature.
There is very little precipitation because water is trapped as ice.
3. Altitude a locations distance above sea level.
The higher a place is above sea level, the colder its climate.
4. Wind Systems/Global Winds are winds that blow across the earth.
Two factors that control the specific patterns of global winds:
1. unequal heating of the earth
2. rotation of the earth
Doldrums / Windless Zone it has hot air that rises but does not move across
the earth.
Horse Latitudes is the region of subsiding dry and high pressure because
some of the air that rises at the equator returns to the earths surface at
about 30 and south latitudes.
Trade Winds they are almost steady winds which blow in the northern
hemisphere from the northeast toward the equator and in the southern
hemisphere from the southeast toward the equator. It is advantageous to
pilots who fly their planes to the west.
Prevailing Westerlies winds that blow from southwest to northeast while
between 30 and 60 north latitudes but, blow from northwest to southeast
while between 30 to 60 south latitudes.
Polar Easterlies are cold, dry and dense air that move over the highest
latitudes. In the NH, they move from northeast to southwest while, in the
SH, they move from southeast to northwest.
Local Winds are winds that blow near the coasts or mountains
Effects of Earths Rotation on the Wind Systems
1. Wind across the earth move from east to west.
2. The earth rotates from a west to east direction.
*Coriolis Effect shifts in winds direction caused by the rotation
of Earth on its axis. It causes moving bodies near the earths
surface to be deflected westward.

5. Ocean Currents is the flow of water in the ocean that follows a definite path.
They carry warm water away from the equator and cold water away from the poles
that help moderate the earths climate.
Air above warm water current is warm so regions near warm ocean currents
have higher temperatures.
Air above cold water currents is cold so regions near cold ocean currents
have lower temperatures.
6. Mountain Ranges act as wall that block the wind.
Windward Slope slope of a mountain facing the wind that receives much
rainfall which makes the regions in this slope has wet climate.
Leeward Slope slope of the mountain away from the wind. It has very little
or no rain so regions in this slope has dry climate.(deserts)
Rising air(warm air) makes the windward slope rainy while sinking air(cold
air) makes the leeward slope dry.
B. Four Seasons in Some Countries
The earths axis is tilted at an angle of 23

1
2

1. SUMMER = Sumer Solstice (June 20 or 21) the time of the year when the NH
has its longest day and the SH has its shortest day.
Plants continue to bloom and crops in the fields are ready for harvest.
2. AUTUMN = Equinox (September 22 or 23) the time of the year when both the
NH and the SH experience 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. It is
autumn in the NH while spring in the SH.
It is also called FALL.
Leaves wither and fall to the ground, the weather becomes colder, and
animals start to store food.
3. WINTER = Winter Solstice (December 21 or 22) the time of the year when the
NH has is shortest day and the SH has its longest day.
Some animals hibernate or sleep throughout the season and some plants
become dormant.
4. SPRING = (March 20 or 21) the time of the year when both the NH and the SH
experience 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. It is spring in the NH
while autumn in the SH.
Plants are in bloom while animals mate and raise their young.
C. Seasons in the Philippines
1. Dry Season
2. Wet Season
D. Prevailing Winds are winds that blow from specific directions at specific times of the
year.
Monsoon is a wind that changes its direction with seasons. It is a seasonal
wind occurring in large continents due to uneven heating between the
continent and the ocean.
1. Northeast Monsoon/Hanging Amihan wind that prevails from November
to February and gives us the coldest temperature of the year. The moisture
carries heavy rains on the eastern part of the country.
2. Southwest Monsoon/Hanging Habagat wind that prevails from June to
October and it brings strong winds and heavy rains as it passes over the
western part of the country.
3. Northeast Trade winds wind that moves from east to west. This increase
cloudiness in the sky then provide large amount of rainfalls. It may also
result to Tropical Cyclones.
E. Types of Climate in the Philippines
1. First Type with dry(November to April) and wet(June to September)seasons. It
is experienced in the western parts of the islands of Luzon, Mindoro, Negros and
Palawan. Places are exposed to Southwest Monsoon.

2. Second Type with rainy season(November to January) and no dry season. It is

experienced in Catanduanes, Sorsogon, the eastern part of Albay. These places
are exposed to the Northeast Monsoon and the Trade Winds.
3. Third Type it does not have very pronounced seasons. It is dry from
November to April and wet during the rest of the year. The dry season is short,
lasting from only one to three months. It is experienced in the western parts of
Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, eastern part of Mountain Province, Masbate,
Romblon, Northeast Panay, Eastern Negros, central and southern part of Cebu,
northern part of Mindanao and most of eastern Palawan.
4. Fourth Type there is even distribution of rainfall throughout the year. It is
experienced in Batanes Province, north-eastern Luzon, southwestern part of
Camarines Norte, Bontoc Peninsula, eastern part of Mindoro,Marinduque, western
part of Leyte, northern part of Cebu, Bohol and most of the central, eastern and
southern parts of Mindanao.
III. Earth
A. Layers of the Earth
1. Core is the innermost portion of the earths interior.
a. Inner Core is the innermost part. It is about 1,200 km thick. It is made
up of solid iron and nickel.
Gutenberg Discontinuity (by Beno Gutenberg) it separates the outer
core from the lower mantle.
b. Outer Core is about 2,300 km thick. It is composed of iron-rich metal
alloy. It is liquid in form because it contains iron. It is the magnetic field of
the earth.
2. Mantle is the thickest layer which is about 5,200 km thick. It is where most of
the internal heat of the earth is located.
a. Upper Mantle is about 2,900 km and is a solid layer beneath the crust
just after the Mohorovicic Discontinuity.
Lithosphere solid portion of the earth. These are the crust and the
upper mantle.
Asthenosphere it is molten.
b. Lower Mantle it is about 2,300 km thick. It is composed mainly of iron
and magnesium. It is solid.
3. Crust is the outermost and the thinnest layer of the earths lithosphere.
a. Oceanic Crust it is composed mostly of basalt. It consists of dark,
dense igneous rocks such as basalt and gabbro. It is about 7.5 to 10 km
thick. It is denser than continental crust.
b. Continental Crust is composed mostly of the igneous and sedimentary
rocks
called granite. It consists of light-colored, less dense
igneous rocks, such as granite and diorite, and also
metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. It is about 30 to
50
km thick.
Layers of Oceanic Crust:
1. Uppermost Layer consists of sediments.
2. Second Layer consists of pillow lavas and rocks shaped like cushions.
3. Third Layer consists of intrusive igneous rocks.
4. Fourth Layer consists of igneous rocks which go downward into the
mantle.
Note: The oceanic crust has mountains, plateaus and low-lying areas.
B. Movement of the Earths Crust
Plates Movements:
1. can move away from each other
2. can move toward each other
3. slide past one another
Crustal Plates is a rigid layer of the earths crust that is believed to drift slowly.

1. Pacific Plate
2. African Plate
3. North American Plate
4. Eurasian Plate
5. Antarctic Plate
6. Indo-Australian Plate
7. Cocos Plate
8. Nazca Plate
9. Philippine Plate
10. Caribbean Plate
Theories About the Movement of the Earths Crust:
1. Tectonic Plate - the earths crust and the upper mantle, which form the
lithosphere is broken into nine large plates and several smaller ones. All
continents and ocean basins are on top of moving plates.
a. Continental Plates are plates that carry continents.
b. Oceanic Plates are plates that carry oceans.
2. Continental Drift - all continents had been part of one huge
supercontinent, Pangaea, which broke into separate plates that slowly
drifted away from each other, leading to todays present continental
arrangement.
Types of Plate Boundaries:
Note: Plate boundaries are determined by how the plates move.
1. Divergent Boundary is formed when plates move away from each other.
2. Convergent Boundary is formed when plates move toward or collide each
other.
Types:
a. Oceanic-to-Oceanic Plate Boundary the denser plate is the one that
subducts or pushes downward the less dense plate. This triggers the formation of
island arcs.
b. Continent-to-Continent Colliding Plate Boundary the denser plate slides
over the less dense plate. This results to the formation
of
mountain ranges.
c. Oceanic-to-Continental Colliding Plate Boundary the oceanic plate
subducts
since it is denser than the continental plate.
3. Transform Fault Boundary is formed when plates slide past each other. The
plates move in opposite direction, diverging or converging or in the same direction
at different rates.
Associated Changes:
1. Formation of Ridges and Rift Valleys
Ridge is an elongated elevation on the ocean bottom.
When two oceanic plates diverge or move away from each other, the lithosphere is
pulled and torn apart. Magma from the asthenosphere(the portion of the mantle
where magma is generated) rises through the crack and slowly creeps out on both
sides of the crack.
Rift Valley it is a string of sunken valleys and lake basins.
2. Formation of Mountain Ranges
How?
When two continental plates converge or move toward each other,
they become joined and compressed. With pressure from opposite sides, the
adjoining plates become uplifted and form a mountain range.
3. Formation of Subduction Zones the place where the oceanic plate goes down
into
the asthenosphere
How?
When a continental plate converge with an oceanic plate, the edge of
the

oceanic plate sinks into the asthenosphere because it is denser than the
continental plate.
4. Formation of Island Arcs - chains of volcanic islands formed that reached ocean
surface.
5. Formation of Fault Boundaries
How?
When two plates slide past one another, no new crust is formed and no
old crust is destroyed but form a transform fault boundary which is found on
the
ocean floor.
Note: Earthquakes occur when two plates slide past one another on the same or
opposite direction.
Why Crustal Plates Move?
1. Because of Convection Currents s the continuous rising and sinking of air.
Warm air expands and rises. Cooler air sinks. The earths core is very hot,
but the heat is not evenly distributed. The hotter portions of the asthenosphere
expand and rise. Upon reaching the cooler upper mantle, those portions cool and
sink.
C. Earthquakes are the trembling or shaking of the ground caused by sudden breaking
or slippage of large rock masses below or at the surface of the earth.
Types/Kinds of Earthquakes:
1. Tectonic Earthquakes caused by movements in the earths crust.
2. Volcanic Earthquakes caused by the movement of molten material or by gas
pressure inside a volcano.
How Earthquakes are Detected and Observed:
1. Seismometer an instrument used to detect seismic waves. It is attached to
a
recorder which produces a record of seismic waves.
2. Seismograph composed of the seismometer and recorder that measure the
magnitude and intensity of an earthquake.
3. Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) is the
agency that maintains a network of seismographs to detect and observe
earthquakes in the country.
4. Seismologists scientists who study the seismic waves recorded by the
seismograph to locate the epicenter of the earthquake.
4. Epicenter is the point in the ground surface which is directly above the origin
of the earthquake.
Note: The origin or focus of the earthquake is the point in the earth where
the rocks first break.
5. Magnitude of an Earthquake is the amount of energy released by an
earthquake.
How is it measured?
Richter Magnitude Scale is used to measure and describe the
magnitude
of an earthquake based on the height of the wave measured in the
seismograph.
6. Intensity of an Earthquake is the measure of how strong or how much
damage an earthquake is felt in a specific place or caused the surface.
How is it measure?
Rossi-Forel Scale and Modified Mercalli Scale are used to measure
the intensity of an earthquake.
Note: If a place is nearer to the epicenter of an earthquake, people living there
would experience strong shaking of the ground. If place is farther away from the
epicenter, people living there would experience very little shaking.
Places Where Earthquakes Occur:
1. Subduction Zones

 Effects of Earthquakes:
1. Tsunami is a series of huge waves caused by an earthquake under the sea.
2. Seiche is a big wave in an enclosed lake or pond generated by an underwater
earthquake.
3. Faulting is a raised section of the crust above the section near it.
4. Landslides and Avalanches loosening of rocks and soil that may slide down.
5. Sand Blows sand deposited on the ground in the form of volcano-like mounds.
This is caused by an earthquake that occurs in a place where there is much ground
water because the water is forced out of the ground in the form of an earthquake
fountain.
6. Fire it happens when electrical power and gas lines break.
Precautionary Measure Before, During and After Earthquakes:
D. Volcanic Eruptions
1. Volcano is a vent or an opening, a hill or a mountain through which molten
rock or lava, ashes or pyroclasts and gaseous materials are ejected.
a. Cone
b. Crater a steep-walled depression at the peak of the volcano.
c. Central Vent an opening where magma is forced up and flows out onto
the
earths surface as lava, forming a volcano.
d. Calderas are large craters that can exceed about 1 km in diameter.
Kinds of Volcanoes According to Shape and Composition of the Cone:
1. Shield Volcano has a wide base with gently sloping sides. The cone is made
up of purely lava that has poured out and solidified during a mild or quiet eruption.
Ex: Mauna Kea, Kilauea
2. Cinder Cone Volcano is built almost entirely of loose fragments called
cinders(pyroclasts and tephra). It is formed by explosive eruptions. It has a
narrow base and very steep slope.
3. Composite Volcano or Stratovolcano are composed of alternating layers of
lava and cyinders. They are formed when volcanic eruptions vary between quiet
and violent.
Ex: Mt. Fuji in Japan, Mt. Mayon
Kinds of Volcanoes According to Activity/Eruptions:
1. Active Volcanoes are volcanoes currently erupting.
Ex: Mt. Mayon, Mt. Kanlaon, Mt. Taal
2. Dormant Volcanoes are volcanoes that have currently erupted and then enter
a long period of inactivity.
Ex: Mt. Pinatubo
3. Extinct Volcanoes are volcanoes that have not shown signs of eruption for a
long period of time. It has no record of volcanic eruption in the past thousand
years.
How a Volcano Forms
A volcano forms when magma rises and is stored in a chamber until it finds
its way to the Earths surface.
Where Volcanoes Form
1. At Convergent Boundaries these are result of two plates that moved
toward each other. These are in the form of trenches, ocean ridges and
transform faults.
2. At Divergent Boundaries these are result of two plates that move away
from each other.
Note: Many volcanoes are found in the Circumpacific Belt or Pacific Ring of
Fire
since there are trenches, ocean ridges and transform faults in this
area.
Why is the Philippines Considered as an Earthquake-Prone Area?

1. The Philippine Islands is part of the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire. The
east of Philippines lies on the 10, 539-m deep Philippine Trench. A plate on
one side of the trench is being forced beneath the other plate in a
subduction. The subduction of the plate causes frequent earthquakes in
the Philippines.
How a Volcano Erupts:
A volcano erupts when pressure on the magma chamber causes the magma
to
rise and come out together with gas, rocks and ashes.
Why Volcanic Eruption Differ:
1. Because of the varied amount of water vapor and other gases trapped in the
magma
2. Because of the varies pressure exerted by the magma
3. Because of the varied composition of the magma