DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Region I
Pangasinan Division II
MANGALDAN NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
Mangaldan, Pangasinan

Name: Date of Submission:

Year and Section: Name of Teacher:

QUARTER 1
EARTH SCIENCE WORKSHEET 1

MELCs:
Describe the characteristics of Earth that are necessary to support life- S11ES-Ia-b-3
Explain that the Earth consists of four subsystems, across whose boundaries matter and energy flow-
S11ES-Ib-4
Objectives:
• give examples of an open and closed system
• list down at least three examples of earth system interaction

PRE-TEST
Direction: Choose the letter of the correct answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet of
paper or in your notebook
1. Which of the following is not included in Earth’s subsystems?
a. Atmosphere
b. Geosphere
c. Hydrosphere
d. Photosphere

2. Hydrosphere includes all the _________________ on Earth.

a. Landforms
b. Gases
c. Water
d. Living Things

3. Which of the following is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere?

a. Argon
b. Carbon dioxide
c. Nitrogen
d. Oxygen
4. Which of the following are included in the geosphere?
a. Lake
b. Mineral
c. Nitrogen gas
d. Water Vapor

5. The Earth system is considered __________________.

a. a closed system
b. an open system
c. an isolated system
d. none of the above

6. An example of a connection between hydrosphere and geosphere is:

a. boats transporting goods
b. fish swimming in water
c. water evaporating to make clouds
d. waves eroding rocks on beach

7. What main system do you interact with when you are exploring an underwater cave?
a. Biosphere
b. Cryoshpere
c. Geosphere
d. Hydrosphere

8. When volcanoes erupt, dust and ash particles spread through much of the air blocking the
sun. Which two spheres are interacting?
a. Atmosphere and atmosphere
b. Biosphere and atmosphere
c. Geosphere and atmosphere
d. Hydrosphere and atmosphere

9. When plants draw nutrients from the soil, the interaction is between which two spheres?
a. atmosphere and geosphere
b. biosphere and geosphere
c. geosphere and hydrosphere
d. hydrosphere and atmosphere

10. When carbon dioxide dissolves from the air into the ocean-the interaction is between
a. atmosphere and atmosphere
b. atmosphere and hydrosphere
c. atmosphere and geosphere
d. atmosphere and biosphere
 Lesson
1 Earth

What is a system?
A system is an interconnected set of components that are linked through
interconnections that function to create an outcome. The interaction of components and their
interactions create system behavior. A bicycle is a system composed of a set of components
that interact to provide transportation, much like the organ systems in our body that have a
coordinated function which enable all the physiological processes for life possible.
How does a system work?
The Earth and its subsystems “work” by movement or transfer of matter and energy
and the processes involved with these transfers. For example sunlight (energy) warms
(process) a body of water (matter) and the water evaporates (process) into the atmosphere.
Later on, the water condenses (process) back into a liquid and the rain (matter) falls (process)
on the land and runs off (process) downslope back to the sea.
Two Basic Kinds of Systems: Open and Closed System
Most systems, like the earth system have matter and energy that flow freely through
the system. Our earth system runs smoothly due to the combination of smaller components
that link our planet together. To understand our system, we need to start with matter and
energy.
Matter, which is anything that has mass and takes up space is one of the two most basic
components of our universe. Matter can be in the form of atoms, molecules or large objects
both living and non-living. Energy, the other basic component, is the ability to do work. The
transfer of energy comes in many forms like heat, light or electromagnetic waves. In order to
know whether a system is open or closed, transfer in matter and energy must be determined.
A closed system is a system where only energy is transferred or exchanged with its
surroundings. Matter is not included. An open system on the other hand includes the transfer
and exchange of both energy and matter with the surrounding system. All of the systems on
Earth are classified as open systems. However, the Earth system as a whole is considered a
closed system because there is a limit to how much matter is exchanged.
Activity 1
A. Give and explain two examples of an open and closed system.

Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor and
support life. About 29.2% of Earth's surface is land consisting of continents and islands. The remaining
70.8% is covered with water, mostly by oceans, seas, gulfs, and other salt-water bodies, but also by
lakes, rivers, and other freshwater, which together constitute the hydrosphere. Much of Earth's polar
regions are covered in ice. Earth's outer layer is divided into several rigid tectonic plates that migrate
across the surface over many millions of years, while its interior remains active with a solid iron inner
core, a liquid outer core that generates Earth's magnetic field, and a convective mantle that drives
plate tectonics

Earth Characteristics that Support Life

1.The presence of liquid water. The existence of water at the earth’s surface is neither
too much nor too little that is in liquid form. Water is an
excellent solvent, capable of dissolving many substances, 70%
of Earth’s surface is covered by water. This allows water to
carry nutrients to cells and carry waste away from them.
So, the presence of liquid water in huge quantities on the
surface of our planet is a crucial differentiating factor for
life’s existence here.

Right distance to the Sun. Proximity to the sun is

neither too much heat nor too little. It is just the right
distance for water, an indispensable inorganic
substance for life to exist in its three physical forms:
liquid, solid and gas. If Earth were too close to the Sun,
water would vaporize and be useless to life. If it too
far, water would be rock hard to be any use to living
things. Our planet is in the so-called Goldilocks’ zone
from the Sun so that, on balance, it is neither too hot
nor too cold for living things on its surface.

Plate Tectonics. It is vital for a world to host life- that

is, planet whose shell is broken up into plates that
constantly move around. Plates cover the entire Earth
and their boundaries play an important role in geologic
happenings. The movement of these plates atop a
thick, fluid “mantle” is known as plate tectonics and is the source of earthquakes and
volcanoes. System of plate tectonics that enables carbon-silicate cycle regulating
temperature.
 The right size. large enough to hang on to
its atmosphere, but not so large tohold
on too much atmosphere and consequently
too much heat.

The right strength of gravity. Its protection by

“big brother Jupiter” whose gravity helps divert
and vacuum up incoming debris and keep Earth
safe. Earth’s gravity is a decisive factor for life’s
existence.

The presence of an atmosphere. It contains 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 1 % argon.
It blocks some of the Sun’s dangerous rays from reaching Earth. It traps heat, making
Earth a comfortable temperature and the oxygen within our atmosphere is essential
for life. The ozone layer protects living things from the damaging ultraviolet rays of the
sun. The presence of the right amount of CO2 and other greenhouse gases helps retain
enough heat for living things. Oxygen supports respiration; it is needed for energy
production, a constant requirement of living things.
 Presence of moon. The moon stabilizing effect
on our planetary rotation prevents the poles
from shifting unexpectedly.

The presence of magnetosphere. The role of the magnetosphere to

life is now recognized. Without a magnetic field, the atmosphere
and the surface of the planet would constantly be bombarded with
solar wind and cosmic particles decimating any emergent life
form. The magnetic field of the planet renders particles from the
Sun less harmful.

Energy. Life needs energy. Without energy, virtually nothing

would happen. The most obvious source of energy is a planets
or moon’s host star, as is case on Earth, where sunlight drives
photosynthesis in plants. The nutrients created by
photosynthesis in turn are what the bulk of life on Earth directly
or indirectly relies on for fuel. There may be no shortage of
energy sources for life to live off.

Time. Scientist have argued that habitable world’s need stars that
can live at least several billion years, long enough for life to evolve
was the case on Earth. For instance, the Earth is about 4.6 billion
years old. Because our sun is so long-lived, comparatively higher
orders of life, including humans, had time to evolve.
 Lesson
2 Earth`s Subsystem

ATMOSPHERE

This is the gaseous layer

surrounding the earth and
held to its surface by
gravity. The atmosphere
receives energy from solar
radiation which warms the
earth's surface and is re-
emitted and conducted to
the atmosphere. The
atmosphere also absorbs
water from the earth's
surface via the process of
evaporation; it then acts to redistribute heat and moisture across the earth's surface. In addition, the
atmosphere contains substances that are essential for life, including carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and
hydrogen.

Layers of the Atmosphere

Troposhere- This is the lowest part of the atmosphere - the part we live in. It contains most of our
weather - clouds, rain, snow. In this part of the atmosphere the temperature gets colder as the
distance above the earth increases, by about 6.5°C per kilometre. The actual change of temperature
with height varies from day to day, depending on the weather.
Stratosphere- This extends upwards from the tropopause to about 50 km. It contains much of the
ozone in the atmosphere. The increase in temperature with height occurs because of absorption of
ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun by this ozone. Temperatures in the stratosphere are highest
over the summer pole, and lowest over the winter pole.

Mesophere- The region above the stratosphere is called the mesosphere. Here the temperature
again decreases with height, reaching a minimum of about -90°C at the "mesopause".

Thermosphere - The thermosphere lies above the mesopause, and is a region in which temperatures
again increase with height. This temperature increase is caused by the absorption of energetic
ultraviolet and X-Ray radiation from the sun.

Exosphere- The region above about 500 km is called the exosphere. It contains mainly oxygen and
hydrogen atoms, but there are so few of them that they rarely collide - they follow "ballistic"
trajectories under the influence of gravity, and some of them escape right out into space.

Ionosphere- The ionosphere is not a distinct layer like the others mentioned above. Instead, the
ionosphere is a series of regions in parts of the mesosphere and thermosphere where high-energy
radiation from the Sun has knocked electrons loose from their parent atoms and molecules. The
electrically charged atoms and molecules that are formed in this way are called ions, giving the
ionosphere its name and endowing this region with some special properties.

GEOSPHERE

The geosphere is considered that portion of the

Earth system that includes the Earth's interior, rocks and
minerals, landforms and the processes that shape the
Earth's surface. The Earth itself is not a perfect sphere but
an oblate spheroid, with a radius of 6,357 kilometers (km)
from the Earth's center to the North Pole and 6,378 km
from the center to the Equator.

CRUST
The crust is everything we can see and study directly. The thinnest layer of the Earth,
the crust still measures about 40 km on average, ranging from 5–70 km (~3–44 miles) in depth.
But at the scale of the planet, that’s less than the skin of an apple.
There are two types of crust: continental and oceanic crust. Oceanic crust can be
found at the bottom of the oceans or below the continental crust; it is generally harder and
deeper, consisting of denser rocks like basalt, while continental crust contains granite-type
rocks and sediments. The continental crust thicker on land.
MANTLE

Below the crust is the upper mantle, with the upper-most portion referred to as the asthenosphere.
The upper mantle is liquid rock, and very hot. The upper mantle actually moves large areas of crust,
called tectonic plates, very slowly. When tectonic plates move, they can form volcanoes, mountains,
or earthquakes.
The lower mantle is the lower liquid portion of the mantle ranging from 400 miles below the surface
to about 1,800 miles below the surface. The lower mantle is incredibly large and takes up most of the
volume of the earth.

CORE
When the earth was formed, the heaviest materials sank to the center. These materials form
the Earth’s core which are divided into outer and inner core.

The outer core is made mostly of iron and nickel. The outer core is approximately 2300 km thick. It is
very hot with a temperature between 40000C and 50000C. Because of the very high temperature, the
outer core is liquid. The inner core is about 1250 km thick and is the hottest layer. The temperature
of the inner core is believed to be approximately 5400 degrees Celsius. This heat is caused by three
elements: residual heat from the formation of the earth, gravitational forces from the moon and the
sun and the radioactive decay of the earth’s inner elements.

HYDROSPHERE
The hydrosphere is the sum of all water on Earth and the water cycle that distributes
it around the planet. Earth is unique in the solar system for its abundant surface waters. Our
orbital distance from the sun, in addition to our unique atmosphere, gives Earth the right
temperature in our middle-aged solar system to have water as a liquid, and lots of it. It's
because of the hydrosphere that life flourishes on Earth.

Just as important as the existence of water is the hydrologic cycle that moves water
around the globe. See the figure below:

Driven by solar
energy, surface
waters evaporate into
the atmosphere,
condense, and fall
back to the surface as
precipitation, shaping
continents, creating
rivers, and filling
lakes

http://water.tamu.edu/watercycle.html
 By far, most of the hydrosphere is salt water - around 97 percent - but the 3 percent
that is fresh is critical for terrestrial and fresh water species.

Water Distribution
Water on Earth.
Most of the water
on Earth is either
salty or
inaccessible to
humans. Only 3%
is fresh, and of
that only about
32% is unfrozen.

Water Distribution
Water on Earth.
Most of the water
BIOSPHERE on Earth is either
salty or inaccessible
The biosphere contains the entirety of Earth’s living things. It is sometimes referred to
to humans. Only 3%
as the “zone of life”. From a geophysical standpoint, biosphere is the global ecological system
is fresh, and of that
integrating all living things and their relationship including their interactions with the elements
only about 32% is
of the lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere.
unfrozen.
The biosphere is divided into biomes. Biomes are the world’s major communities.
They are classified according to the predominant vegetation characterized by adaptations of
organisms to that particular climate.

Five Major Biomes

1. Aquatic –includes freshwater (ponds, lakes, rivers) and marine (ocean, estuaries). The
aquatic region houses numerous species of plants and animals.
2. Forest- can be tropical, temperate, boreal forest and taiga. Each type of forest has
distinctive features dominated by grasses rather than large shrubs or trees.
3. Desert- characterized by low rainfall (less than 50 cm) per year. Most deserts have
specialized vegetation as well as specialized animals that can adapt to its condition.
4. Tundra- coldest of all biomes. It has low biotic diversity and simple vegetation.
5. Grassland- made of rolling hills of various grasses and could be divided into savannas
and temperate grasslands. . They receive just enough rain to sustain grass but not
enough to grow many trees. There are few tress that grow in grasslands but sporadic
wildfires keep them under control.

Atmosphere: Interactions with other Earth System Components

Biosphere: The atmosphere supplies oxygen and carbon dioxide that form the basis of life
processes (photosynthesis and respiration).
Geosphere: Gases in the atmosphere react with water to produce weak acids that aid in the
breakdown of rock.
Typhoon formation (atmosphere) sweep across the ocean (hydrosphere) and onto the land
(geosphere), damaging the dwellings of people (biosphere) who live along the coast.

Geosphere: Interactions with other Earth System

Components
Atmosphere: Volcanism spews significant amounts of gases into the atmosphere. For
example, volcanoes inject large amounts of sulphur dioxide to the upper atmosphere,
resulting in global cooling.
Hydrosphere: The formation of many minerals involves incorporation or release of water.
Also, water speeds up chemical reactions that dissolves ions from the mineral and carries
them away.
Biosphere: Nutrients released from rocks during their breakdown are dissolved in water (to
be used by aquatic plants.

Hydrosphere: Interactions with other Earth System Components

Geosphere: Interactions with other Earth System Components

Atmosphere: Water is transferred between the hydrosphere and biosphere by evaporation

and precipitation. Energy is also exchanged in this process.
Biosphere: Water is necessary for the transport of nutrients and waste products in organisms.
Geosphere: Water is the primary agent for the chemical and mechanical breakdown of rock
(weathering), to form loose rock fragments and soil, and sculpts the surface of the Earth.

Biosphere: Interactions with other Earth System Components

Geosphere:
Atmosphere: Life Interactions with other
processes involve manyEarth System
chemical Components
reactions which either extract or
emit gases to and from the atmosphere (e.g. photosynthesis consumes carbon dioxide and
releases oxygen, whereas respiration does the opposite).
Hydrosphere: Evaporation of water from leaf surfaces (transpiration) transfers water to the
atmosphere.
Geosphere: The biosphere is connected to the geosphere through soils (mixtures of air,
mineral matter, organic matter, and water). Plant activity (e.g. root growth and organic acid
production) are also for the mechanical and chemical breakdown of the rocks.
 Performance Task

List down and explain at least three examples of earth system interaction that you
always experience or observe in your everyday living. You can include common
scenarios at home, in the school or within your barangay. Make sure to include all
the four subsystems.

Example 1: (Earth system interaction at home)

_____________________________________

Example 2: (Earth system interaction in the school)

_____________________________________

Example 3: (Earth system interaction in the community)

_____________________________________

Posttest
1. The Earth system is considered __________________.
a. a closed system
b. an open system
c. an isolated system
d. none of the above

2. Hydrosphere includes all the _________________ on Earth.

a. Landforms
b. Gases
c. Water
d. Living Things

3. Which of the following are included in the geosphere?

a. Lake
b. Mineral
c. Nitrogen gas
d. Water Vapor
4. Which of the following is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere?
a. Argon
b. Carbon dioxide
c. Nitrogen
d. Oxygen

5. Which of the following is not included in Earth’s subsystems?

a. Atmosphere
b. Geosphere
c. Hydrosphere
d. Photosphere

6. When plants draw nutrients from the soil, the interaction is between which two spheres?
a. atmosphere and geosphere
b. biosphere and geosphere
c. geosphere and hydrosphere
d. hydrosphere and atmosphere

7. What main system do you interact with when you are exploring an underwater cave?
a. Biosphere
b. Cryoshpere
c. Geosphere
d. Hydrosphere

8. When volcanoes erupt, dust and ash particles spread through much of the air blocking the
sun. Which two spheres are interacting?
a. Atmosphere and atmosphere
b. Biosphere and atmosphere
c. Geosphere and atmosphere
d. Hydrosphere and atmosphere

9. An example of a connection between hydrosphere and geosphere is:

a. boats transporting goods
b. fish swimming in water
c. water evaporating to make clouds
d. waves eroding rocks on beach

10. When carbon dioxide dissolves from the air into the ocean-the interaction is between
a. atmosphere and atmosphere
b. atmosphere and hydrosphere
c. atmosphere and geosphere
d. atmosphere and biosphere
KEY ANSWERS

10. B 10. B
9.D 9. B
8.C 8. C
7. D 7. D
6. B 6. D
5. D 5. A
4. C 4. B
3. B 3. C
2. C 2. C
1. A 1. D

POSTTEST PRE-TEST

REFERENCES

• https://earthtosky.org/professional-development/climate-change/earth-systems-
module.html
• https://worksheets.edhelper.com/ReadingComprehension_37_34.html
• http://tornado.sfsu.edu/geosciences/classes/m201/Atmosphere/AtmosphericComp
osition.html
• https://scied.ucar.edu/atmosphere-layers
• https://climate.ncsu.edu/edu/Structure
• http://earth.rice.edu/mtpe/geo/geosphere.httml
• https://www.zmescience.com/other/science-abc/layers-earth-structure/
• https://www.dkfindout.com/us/earth/structure-earth/mantle
• https://science.jrank.org/kids/pages/78/EARTH-S-LAYERS.html
• https://www.softschools.com/facts/geology/inner_core_facts/2207/
• https://www.agci.org/earth-systems/hydrosphere
• https://www.softschools.com/science/biomes/what_are_biomes/
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systtem-interaction
• https://www.thatquiz.org/tq/preview?c=1orzu9v2&s=ol4d4b
• Earth and Life Sciences Rex Bookstore 2016, pages 18-35
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• Vengco, L., and Religioso, T. (2016). You and the Natural World Earth
and Life Science.