lesson 1: Characteristic of earth that are necessary to

support life
EARTH SCIENCE
STEM 11 - ANDROMEDA
EARTH its ability to hold significant
amount of atmosphere.
Earth has been existing 4.543 billion years.
 Earth has a right size and
In its early formation, life was not possible
distance from the sun that
because the environment did not permit it.
permits it to have a right
However, as time went by, life flourished
amount of atmosphere. The
from microorganisms into a more complex
presence of gravity also helps
organism.
in sustaining its atmosphere.
The presence of life on Earth was made
4. Energy. Earth has available energy-
possible due to the following factors:
rich sunlight to support life.
 Living organisms like plants
1. Temperature. It influences how
and photosynthetic bacteria
quickly atoms, molecules or organisms
use light as the source of their
move.
energy.
a. Low temperature slows down
chemical reaction and  Some chemosynthetic
produces ice that makes liquid organisms rely on chemical
water unavailable. energy to support various
b. High temperature can cause biological processes.
breakdown of important  Earth is at right position from
biological molecules. the sun that enables it to
In Earth’s condition, temperature is harness enough amount of
just right to support life. sunlight.

2. Water. It is one of the important 5. Nutrients. It is an essential factor

ingredients in the different biological used to build and maintain organism’s
processes. body structure.
 Absence of this will interfere  Insufficient or absence of
reactions necessary for life. nutrients can impede
However, solid form of this will synthesis of the different
also hinder living organisms to biological molecules.
use it.  In our planet, there are
 Water on Earth has different processes that recycle
forms. It is solid (ice) in the nutrients. Water, carbon and
two poles and liquid along the oxygen, phosphate and
equator which allows living nitrogen cycle are some of the
organisms to consume it. examples.
 Volcanism also helps in
3. Atmosphere. It provides significant cycling the nutrients.
insulation or shielding from the sun
and impact of small to medium size
meteorites.
 Greenhouse gases like carbon
dioxide (CO2) and methane
(CH4) trap heat and protects
our planet from freezing.
Moreover, ozone (03) layer
shields the Earth’s surface
from harmful UV radiation.
 Atmosphere also provides
chemicals needed for life,
such as nitrogen and carbon
dioxide.
 The size of the planet and its
distance from the sun affects