EARTH AND LIFE

SCIENCES

Learner’s Material

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Lesson 1:
UNIQUENESS OF EARTH
AND ITS PROPERTIES
TO SUPPORT LIFE

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Learning Outcome(s): At the end of this lesson, the leaner(s) shall be able to recognize the uniqueness of
Earth, being the only planet in the solar system with properties necessary to support life.

Lesson Outline:
1. Introduction
2. Activity 1: Compare and Contrast
3. Activity 2: Interstellar Crash Landing
4. Earth: A Unique Planet

CONTENTS (BOOK)

INTRODUCTION

Many cosmological events took place before Earth came to be. These events explain how the
universe was formed and how the solar system became part of the universe. Let us investigate the
history of these formations as they are vital in illustrating where our planet came from. It is difficult
to completely understand the formation of the early universe because no human has ever witnessed
it. The science of cosmology provides various hypotheses that explain the origins of the universe
based on its present properties or characteristics. It should likewise be noted that advances in
scientific tools and instruments continuously help validate theories.

Guess the four letter word

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Answer is “L I F E”

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POSSIBLE RESPONSES MAY INCLUDE:

 The color blue for Earth is significant - liquid water. The size difference/ similarity is also
important.
 Similar size and mass of Venus and Earth. Mars is about half the Earth's size.
 All the three planets have spheroidal shape.
 Rows color coded to indicate relationship.
 Escape velocity - minimum speed an object needs to escape a planet's pull of gravity.
 Surface pressure – atmospheric pressure at a location on the surface of the planet. It is
proportional to the mass of air above the location.
 Temperature if no GHG - this would be the temperature of the planet without the warming
effect of greenhouse gases. Note that the temperature of the Earth would be ~ 18 0C lower
without green housewarming.
 Emphasize to the students that the greenhouse effect is not necessarily undesirable. It is
run-away greenhouse effect which we would like to avoid (e.g. Venus).

TERMS TO REMEMBER:

Escape velocity - minimum speed an object needs to escape a planet's pull of gravity.

Surface pressure – atmospheric pressure at a location on the surface of the planet. It is proportional
to the mass of air above the location.

Temperature if no GHG - this would be the temperature of the planet without the warming effect of
greenhouse gases. Note that the temperature of the Earth would be ~ 18 0C lower without
greenhouse warming.

Length of day - a function of rotational speed.

The Earth's magnetic field is believed to be the consequence of the presence of a solid metallic inner
core and a liquid metallic outer core.

The ability of a planet to retain its internal heat is proportional to its size.

Mars may have lost much of its internal heat very early in its evolution.

A planet's temperature is a function of distance from the Sun but is modified by the amount of
greenhouse warming.

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1. Venus, Earth, and Mars are part of the inner terrestrial or "rocky" planets. Their composition and
densities are not too different from each other.

2. Venus is considered to be the Earth's twin planet. It has a very similar size and mass with the
Earth. Mars is about half the Earth's size.

3. Orbital period and velocity are related to the planet's distance from the sun. Among the three
planet, Venus is the nearest and Mars is the farthest from the Sun.

4. Rotational speed of Earth and Mars are very similar. Rotational speed of Venus is extremely slow.

5. Abundance of liquid water on Earth, hence the blue color. The Earth is a habitable planet.

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Activity 2. Interstellar Crash Landing

Table 2. Factors that Make a Planet Habitable

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1. What factors would make a planet habitable. Try to elaborate your responses.

2. Read the document carefully on Table 2 - "Factors that Make a Planet Habitable” and compare
your answers you have given at the start of the activity.

3. Imagine a sketch/diagram of how you think your habitable planet/moon would look like based on
the factors for habitable planet/moon.

4. Visualize yourselves in an interstellar voyage. Your spaceship suffers mechanical problems and will
be forced to land. Fortunately you are passing through the Yanib System, which is composed of a
sun-like star surrounded by seven planets, some of which have moons. The profiles of planets and
moons of the Yanib System are listed on Table 3 below. You are to decide the best place to land your
ship.

5. What is your choice of planet or moon. What are the reasons why you did not choose the other
planets.

Table 3 Profiles of Planets and Moons of Yanib System.

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TERMS TO REMEMBER

Water - in the liquid form, turns out to be one of the most important prerequisites for life as we
know it.

There is recent evidence that liquid water, in the form of brine (salty water) flows intermittently on
the surface of Mars.

Thermophiles - bacteria that can tolerate extreme temperatures (41 to 122 0C) commonly associated
with hot springs and deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Life, in general can tolerate a wide range of
temperature conditions.

The temperature range that allows water to exist in the liquid state is the over-riding factor.

Planets should have sufficient size to hold a significant atmosphere. The composition of the
atmosphere, specifically the amount of greenhouse gases, influences the planet surface
temperature.

The amount of solar radiation that a planet receives is primarily a function of distance from the sun.

Sunlight is essential for photosynthesis but some organisms are able to extract energy from other
sources (chemosynthetic organisms).

A system that will be able to constantly supply nutrients to organisms is important to sustain life. On
Earth, nutrients are cycled through the hydrologic cycle and plate tectonics (volcanism)
Internal heat drives plate tectonics. The ability of a planet to maintain internal heat is related to size.

Earth: A Unique Planet

• It’s the only planet in solar system with liquid water.

• It’s the only planet whose atmosphere contains large proportion of oxygen.

• It’s the only planet known to support life.

• Scientists study the characteristics that make life on Earth possible to know what life-supporting
conditions to look for on other planets.

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SEATWORK / EXERCISE/ TASK SHEET/ QUIZ

ENRICHMENT:

Create a 200 word report/essay on the following topic: “Can man alter Mars environment to make it
more suitable for human habitation? How?”

MEDIA SCRIPT

Text/Image/Video Video
Video #1
00:24 – Unique Earth How Earth is Unique from other planets
00:48 – Water is essential for humans
considering we are made of 72% water
00:58 – This makes Earth habitable
01:01 – Earth has life on it
01:10 – Like these adorable animals
01:34 – Earth is the only planet with 21%
oxygen which we need in order to survive
01:40 – Humans breath in oxygen and breath
out CO2
01:45 – 30% of Earth’s surface is covered by
plants and trees
01:50 – Trees and plants convert CO2 into
oxygen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s_jg4A-
01:57 – This cycle creates enough oxygen for Zz4
all living organisms
02:10 – The sun gives off UV Rays and solar
flares
02:19 – Earth has a magnetic field at the
poles which keeps our atmosphere protected
from sun flares and ultra-violet rays
02: 26 – The atmosphere traps in heat from
the sun to keep the Earth warm
02:36 – The Earth’s surface is made of
tectonic plates
02:56 – They constantly move which floats on
a rock mantle

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03:09 – mountains, earth quakes and

volcanoes
03:16 – The Earth’s crust recycles itself by
going back into the mantle
03:24 – Magma pushes through a volcano
and becomes lava
03:33 – Lava is molten rock, it creates rock
after solidification and cooling
03:48 – The Earth is the only inner planet to
have one large moon
03:54 – The Earth’s oceans are affected by
the moon’s gravity creating waves
04:01 – Earth is covered in 71% water
04:11 – No other planets have liquid water at
all
04:19 – Earth has 8.7 million species and 2.2
million live in the ocean

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