Teacher-made Learner’s Home Task

School: Date:
LILOAN NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
Grade / Section: GRADE 11 - STEM EARTH SCIENCE Subject Area/s:

I. MELC:
Distinguish the different layers of the geosphere and
II. Objective/s: Knowledge: the hierarchy of the biosphere. Construct situations
Skills: showing the interaction of the different spheres.
Values/Attitude: III. Subject Matter: IV. References: Evaluate the importance of the four spheres in our
Explain that the Earth consists of four subsystems, lives.
across whose boundaries matter and energy flow. Earth Systems
(STEM_BIO11/12-Ia-c-3)

Teaching Guide for Senior High School Earth Science

Aspen Global Change Institute (https://www.agci.org/earth-systems/)
V. Procedures:
A. Reading

The earth system is itself an integrated system but it can be subdivided into four main components, sub
systems or spheres: the geosphere(earth) , atmosphere(air) , hydrosphere(water) and biosphere (life) .
These components are also systems in their own right and they are tightly interconnected with each other.

GEOSPHERE
• The geosphere includes the rocks and minerals on Earth - from the molten rock and heavy metals in
the deep interior of the planet to the sand on beaches and peaks of mountains.
• It also includes the abiotic (non-living) parts of soils, and the skeletons of animals that may become
fossilized over geologic time.
• Beyond these parts, the geosphere is about processes. The processes of the rock cycle such as
metamorphism, melting and solidification, weathering, erosion, deposition and burial are responsible for
a constant recycling of rocks on Earth between sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic states. • The
primary agent driving these processes is the movement of Earth’s tectonic plates, which creates
mountains, volcanoes, and ocean basins. Changes in the rate that rocks are made and destroyed can have
a profound affect on the planet.
• Sedimentary rocks are formed via weathering and transport of existing rocks, and then deposition,
cementation, and compaction into a sedimentary rock
• Igneous rocks are formed by cooling and crystallization of molten rock.
• Metamorphic rocks are formed when heat or pressure are applied to other rocks.

• The geosphere also includes solid part of the earth, from the core to the surface.
• Crust
—Physical Properties:
> outermost layer
> thinnest layer (5-70km thick)
> 1% of Earth’s mass
> where we live
> touches the atmosphere
—Composition:
consists of loose rocks & soil

• Mantle
— The mantle is the largest layer of
the Earth.
— It is made of hot, dense rock.
The rock in the
mantle flows like asphalt because of
the
temperature differences found in the mantle.
— The movement of the mantle create the
movement of the Earth’s plates. (convection
current)
• Outer
Core
• It is the only liquid layer due to high
temperature
but relatively lower
• Mainly made up of the metals iron and
nickel
• Responsible for the Earth’s magnetic
field
(convection current)
• As the Earth spins around, iron inside the
liquid
outer core moves around causing powerful
electric
currents to develop in the liquid iron
is kept very hot by the Earth’s inner core
• about 2300 kilometers thick
• 4400 °C (7952 °F) in the outer regions to 6100 °C
(11012 °F) near the inner core.

• Inner Core
•solid
•made up almost entirely of iron and nickel
―remains solid because it is under an extreme
amount of pressure
•about 1200 kilometers thick

HOW DOES THE GEOSPHERE INTERACT IN THE EARTH SYSTEM? While seemingly
static, the geosphere is in fact a very active player in the earth's systems, affecting the atmosphere and the
oceans, as well as critical processes such as the water cycle and biogeochemical cycles. For instance, the
types of minerals contained in soils - the results of geologic processes - help to determine the vegetative
cover and ecosystems on the soil surface. Carbon – an essential element of life – is bound in organic matter
and is carried to the ocean via wind and water erosion where eventually it becomes part of the ocean floor.
Tectonic movement carries ocean deposits into the earth's interior. On geologic timescales, volcanic activity
can vent the stored carbon to the Earth's atmosphere as carbon dioxide. The carbon cycle is one of the key
cycles linking the geosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere.

The inner core of the earth contains liquid iron. Its motion is thought to drive the earth's magnetic field – the
magnetosphere - which extends far beyond the atmosphere, protecting Earth and its biosphere from solar
wind and cosmic radiation.

HOW DO HUMANS INTERACT WITH THE GEOSPHERE?

Aside from surface disturbances such as excavations and agriculture, humans have a fairly minor
impact on the workings and scale of the geosphere. Humans still live largely at the mercy of
powerful geologic forces. The 2010 Haiti earthquake is just one of many examples of the impact of
these forces. While we may never be able to stop earthquakes or volcanoes, studying their mechanics
can enable us to better understand their dynamics so that we may continue to develop means for
reducing risk to homes and people when they occur.

BIOSPHERE
• Biosphere - sphere of life
• Made up of biomes, or biological zones, filled with many ecosystems

• Includes all living organisms (including humans), and all organic matter that has not yet decomposed
• structured into a hierarchy known as a food chain
• divided into distinct ecosystems that represent the interactions between a group of organisms forming a
trophic pyramid and the environment or habitat in which they live.

Food Chain HOW

DOES THE BIOSPHERE WORK?
Throughout the evolution of life on Earth, from primitive organisms to the present set, all life forms have
found ways to obtain energy, acquire nutrients to build organic molecules, and reproduce. Energy from the
sun is captured by photosynthesizing organisms called autotrophs, or producers, that can harness solar
energy to convert inorganic molecules into organic molecules -- the building blocks of life. These organic
molecules store energy and are consumed by other non-photosynthetic organisms called heterotrophs, or
consumers. This seemingly simple process -- grass being eaten by deer, for example -- took billions of years
to develop. Through the process of evolution, species diversify to fill the available opportunities for
 existence, creating an ever changing set of plants and animals found in the Earth’s biomes from tundra to
rainforests.

HOW IS THE BIOSPHERE CHANGING?

The suite of species on Earth at any given time is continually changing through the process of evolution. Over
geologic time, more species have gone extinct than exist today. A dramatic example of this change is past
extinction events. Paleobiologists and geologists have pieced together evidence in the geologic record of five mass
extinction events reducing the Earth’s biodiversity to a portion of its full potential. A notable example is the mass
extinction 65 million years ago that coincided with the end of the age of dinosaurs.

Abrupt change in the physical and chemical factors fundamental to life are key in mass extinctions. After each mass
extinction the diversity of life slowly recovers to fill the ecospace available in the Earth’s environment. This process
can take millions of years of evolution.

Potential causes for mass extinctions in the past include massive and sustained volcanic eruptions and impacts from
comets and/or asteroids – both causing consequent alteration of the atmosphere from the lofted debris that blocks
incoming sunlight. Sustained or very rapid climate change and sea-level change are also possible explanations of
past mass extinctions.

Since the last ice age, human activity changing land use has been a dramatic factor in the disruption of species
habitat. For example, about 35% of ice-free land is devoted to human agriculture, and as a consequence of this
expansion, species are forced into environments in which they are ill suited to survive. Since the industrial
revolution, human activity has altered air and water quality and is forcing a change in climate. These factors, in
addition to land use change, interact in complex ways to affect biodiversity. Many scientists consider our present
age a 6th mass extinction. An estimate of extinction from future climate change (projected in the range of 3.6 to 5.4
deg F) when compounded by other human impacts to biodiversity, finds that 20 to 30 percent of the identified
species known today could be lost along with the ecosystem services they provide.
Each of these spheres is also considered a system because they are always moving and being recycled.
•In the biosphere the life forms have a lifespan and when they die they provide nourishment for other
organisms.
•In the geosphere, the rocks are endlessly being broken down, then recycled into new rocks.
•In the hydrosphere, the water is endlessly moving, changing states and becoming refreshed.
•In the atmosphere, the air is continually rising, falling and mixing.

Exercise 1
Directions: With the information you have learned, create 10 situations showing the interaction of the different spheres
(atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and geosphere) and identify the spheres that are in the situations. 1

8
 9

10

Exercise 2
Directions: Illustrate the interaction of the all the different spheres (atmosphere, biosphere, geosphere and
hydrosphere) with each other. After illustrating, briefly write an explanation for your illustration.
C. Assessment/Application
Directions: Answer the given question on the blank provided below.
Q1: Why is it important for us to know the interaction of the four spheres in our lives, how it affects us and
how we affect them?

Prepared by:
CHRYSTELLE MAE E. ANGULO
Teacher
Verified by:
HIPOLITO Q. PEGARIDO
JR., Dev.EdD School Head