PHYSICAL SCIENCE

Name: _______________________________Year & Section__________________

Date: _______________________________ Score: ________________________

LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET

THE EARTH IN THE UNIVERSE

BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR THE LEARNERS (BIL)

Have you ever wondered what the early philosophers thought about the shape of the
Earth? Around 500 B.C., most Greeks believe that the Earth was round, not flat. It was
Pythagoras and his pupils who first propose a spherical Earth. The shape of the earth is
oblate spheroid. It has bulging equator and squeezed poles.

PLATO’S “SAVING APPEARANCES”

Pythagoras, a Greek philosopher viewed heaven as perfect and that a circle is a perfect
polygon. From this, Plato concluded that heaven is circular, and the motion of celestial
bodies is a perfect object must be constant and circular as well. However, it was observed
that some planets move in an uneven path across a pre-set background of stars, doing
asymmetrical and nonrepeating retrograde rings. An observer on Earth sees the path of an
outer planet as moving backward. This apparent backward motion is called retrograde
motion. Faced with the difficulty of explaining the retrograde motion of planets, the followers
of Plato used the allegory of the cave story to save appearances and provide an explanation
without dismissing the present belief.
In 500 to 430 B.C., Anaxagoras further supported Pythagoras’ proposal through his
observations of the shadows that the Earth cast on the Moon during a lunar eclipse. He
observed that during lunar eclipse, the Earth’s shadow was reflected on the Moon’s surface.
The shadow reflected was circular. Around 340 B.C., Aristotle listed several arguments for a
spherical Earth which included the positions of the North Star, the shape of the Moon and the
Sun, and the disappearance of the ships when they sail over the horizon.

NORTH STAR
The North Star was believed to be at a fixed position in the sky. However, when Greeks
travelled to places nearer the equator, like Egypt, they noticed that the North Star is closer to
the horizon.

THE SHAPE OF THE SUN AND THE MOON

Aristotle argued that if the Moon and the Sun were both spherical, then perhaps, the
Earth was also spherical.

DISAPPEARING SHIPS
If the Earth was flat, then a ship travelling away from an observer should become smaller
until it disappeared. However, the Greeks observed that the ship became smaller and then its
hull disappeared first before the sail as if it was being enveloped by the water until it
completely disappeared.

THE SIZE OF THE SPHERICAL EARTH

Ancient scholars tried to provide proof of a spherical Earth and its circumference through
calculations. It was Eratosthenes who gave the most accurate size during their time. While
he was working at the Library of Alexandria in Northern Egypt, he received correspondence
from Southern Egypt, which stated that a vertical object did not cast any shadow at noontime
during the summer solstice. But this was not the case in Alexandria were, at noon time during
the summer solstice, a vertical object still casts a shadow. These observations could only mean
that the Sun, during that time in Alexandria, was not directly overhead.

Eratosthenes then determined the angle the Sun made with the vertical direction by
measuring the shadow that a vertical stick cast. He found out that in Alexandria, the Sun
makes an angle of 7.2⸰ from the vertical while 0 in Syene. To explain the difference, he
hypothesized that the light rays coming from the Sun are parallel, and the Earth is curved.
From his measurements, he computed the circumference of the Earth to be approximately
250, 000 stadia (a stadia is a unit of measurement used to described the size of a typical
stadium at the time), about 40, 000 kilometers.

LEARNING COMPETENCY:
Explain how the Greeks knew that the Earth is spherical (S11/12PS-IVa-38)

ACTIVITY 1: CLIMB A TREE PROCEDURES:

1. If the earth were flat, what would exactly be your observations when standing at the base
and when at the top of the tree? Explain your answer.

2. Can our naked eye see objects that are millions of miles away in space?

ACTIVITY 2: LET’S TEST YOUR UNDERSTANDING

Directions: Read and analyze each item carefully. Encircle the letter of the correct answer.

1. Which of the following is the shape of the Earth according to ancient Greeks?
a. Circle b. Octagon c. Flat disc d. Octagon

2. What is the shape of the earth as described by modern astronomy?

a. Ellipsoid b. Hyperboloid c. Oblate paraboloid d. Oblate spheroid

3. Which of the following ancient Greek philosopher computed for the circumference of the
Earth?
a. Anaxagoras b. Pythagoras c. Eratosthenes d. Aristotle

4. According to Eratosthenes’ computations what is the circumference of the Earth?

a. 250 000 stadia b. 500 stadia c. 7.2 stadia d. 40 000 stadia

5. In which of the following is 250 000 stadia equal to?

a. 40 000 inches b. 40 000 meters c. 40 000 kilometers d. 40 000 miles

PREPARED BY:

MS. JOAN B. DOBLON

ANHS
 PHYSICAL SCIENCE

Name: _______________________________Year & Section__________________

Date: _______________________________ Score: ________________________

LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET

THE EARTH AND BEYOND

BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR THE LEARNERS (BIL)

Even before the invention of the telescope, ancient people have already observed different
astronomical phenomena. The most observable object in the sky are the sun and moon.
Babylonian and Egyptian civilizations used a primitive version of a sundial, called
Gnomon, in systematically observing the motion of the sun.

SOLAR ECLIPSE
Aside from lunar eclipse, the occurrence of a solar eclipse was also observed. Solar eclipse
occurs when the Moon is in between the Sun and the Earth, and the moon is partially or
completely block out the sun.
Another type of eclipse results when Earth comes directly between the Sun and the Moon.
Lunar eclipses happen at full moon about twice a year and are visible over large areas on Earth.
The round shadow of Earth passes over the Moon, giving it a red or copper hue from sunlight
filtered through Earth’s atmosphere.

LUNAR ECLIPSE
A lunar eclipse happens at Full Moon when the earth casts its shadow on the moon when the
Earth is between the sun and the Moon. A phenomenon such as this is known as lunar eclipse
wherein the moon changes into a dark or blood red color.
At a certain time, an observer on Earth can see only 50 percent of the Moon’s entire surface.
However, an additional 9 percent can be seen from time to time around the edges because the
viewing angle from Earth changes slightly as the Moon moves through its elliptical orbit. This
slight relative motion is called liberation.

THE MOTION OF STARS

It was also observed that the stars appear to be attached to a celestial sphere that rotates
around an axis in one day. This axis intersects the celestial sphere at a point in the northern sky
and it’s presently close to the northern star, Polaris.
About 5,000 stars can be seen with the naked eye, although not all these stars are visible at
any given time or from any given place. With a small telescope, hundreds of thousands of stars can
be seen. The largest telescopes disclose millions of galaxies, which may each contain over 200
billion stars.
All stars are composed of hot glowing gas. The outer layers of some stars are so empty
that they can be described as red-hot vacuums. Other stars are so dense that a teaspoonful of
the material composing the outer layers would weigh several tons. Stars are made chiefly of
hydrogen and a smaller amount of helium. Even the most abundant of the other elements
present in stars—oxygen, carbon, neon, and nitrogen—are generally present in very small
quantities.
 The Sun, our nearest star, is about 150 million km (about 93 million mi) from Earth. It
appears different from the stars visible in the night sky because it is about 250,000 times closer to
Earth than the next closest star. The next nearest star is Proxima Centauri, which is more than
30 trillion km (20 trillion mi) from Earth. While light from the Sun takes only about eight minutes
to reach Earth, the farthest stars are so distant that their light takes billions of years to reach
Earth.

The color of stars—ranging from the deepest red through all intermediate shades of orange
and yellow to an intense white blue— depends directly on their temperature. The coolest stars are
red, and the hottest stars are blue. Most stars make light by several different kinds of
thermonuclear fusion, a process in which the nuclei of atoms combine to form a heavier
element and release energy (see Nuclear Energy). One of the most common thermonuclear fusion
processes occurs in stars when four hydrogen atoms combine into a helium atom, releasing energy
that is transformed into light and heat.

VISIBILITY OF THE PLANETS

In the 4th century BC, the Greek philosopher Aristotle asserted that Earth was the
stationary center of the universe and the heavens revolved around the Earth. Heavenly bodies
such as stars and planets were made of pure ether, a substance totally different from the imperfect
form of matter found on Earth. The stars and planets both shined from their own fiery heat and
had perfect circular motions.

The traditional notion of seven planets lasted until the 16th century when the Polish
astronomer Nicholaus Copernicus proposed that the Sun was at the center of the universe,
not Earth.

The true scientific study of planets began with the Italian astronomer and physicist Galileo in
the early 17th century. Galileo used a telescope to study the surface of the Moon, the phases of
Venus, and the moons of Jupiter. His observations fully confirmed that the Moon and the planets
were worlds like Earth.

As astronomers after Galileo made more discoveries about the solar system, they had to decide
what should be called a planet. The German-born British astronomer William Herschel
discovered the planet Uranus in 1781 but first thought it was a comet. Uranus was not officially
recognized as a planet until more observations showed it had a circular orbit beyond Saturn.

In 1801 Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi found a body orbiting between Mars and
Jupiter. Named Ceres, the body was thought to be the “missing” planet that should exist between
Mars and Jupiter. Other astronomers found additional bodies with similar orbits.

In 1859, an astronomer claimed to find a small body orbiting nearer the Sun than Mercury.
The discovery was hailed as a new planet named Vulcan. Later, more careful searches failed to
find Vulcan again and astronomers decided that the supposed innermost planet never existed. The
existence of a large planet beyond Neptune was proposed by the American astronomer Percival
Lowell to explain slight irregularities apparently detected in Neptune’s orbit. (Lowell’s
calculations contained errors and no irregularities existed.). After Lowell’s death, the Lowell
Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, hired the young amateur astronomer Clyde Tombaugh to
search for Lowell’s so-called Planet X. In 1930, Tombaugh found a small point of light that
moved like a planet only a few degrees away from one of the positions predicted by Lowell. The
object was named Pluto and hailed as the ninth planet in the solar system.
Learning Competency
Cite examples of astronomical phenomena known to astronomers before the advent of
telescopes (S11/12PS-IVa-41)
Activity 1 TRUE or FALSE

Directions: Label the following statements as True or False. If the statement is false,
underline the word/s that make it false and change it to make it true.
_________ 1. Around once a month phases of the Moon cycle repeats.
_________ 2. For a solar eclipse to occur, the alignment must be: Sun, Moon, and Earth.
_________ 3. Lunar eclipse can occur during New Moon.
_________ 4. Venus is known as the Morning star.
_________ 5. Blue is the color are the hottest star.
_________ 6. Constellations were originally named and identified by people or animals they
may resembled.
_________ 7. Liberation is an apparent or real oscillation of the moon, by which parts near
the edge of the disc that are not often visible from the earth sometimes come into view.
_________ 8. 5,000 stars can be seen with the naked eye.
_________ 9. The word planet comes from the Greek word “PLANETES” meaning wonder.
________ 10. All stars are composed of hot glowing magma.