A View of Earth
Right Atmospheric Conditions - The earth’s
• Earth is unique. It is a well-equipped planet, and
its location in our solar system and galaxy is ideal
to support life.
• Our planet, the result of 4.6 billion years of cosmic
creation, is teeming with life because of its
favorable conditions. It is known as the "planet of
life," since matter and energy continue to flow
through it.
• The Sun, which is the primary source of energy, is
essential for most of the cell's functions. Energy
goes to all of Earth's living components to keep
various life processes and functions working as a
closed system. Different forms of energy also
allow for the recycling of matter to sustain life.
• Earth orbits in the so-called Goldilocks zone,
where the planet receives enough energy to
allow water to exist as a liquid on its surface. Too
far, and the vital compound stays locked up as
ice. Too close, and the water would rapidly
evaporate into the atmosphere
• Earth is tilted with respect to the sun, and teeters
as it spins. This tiny wobble can shift the climate
from hot to icy every 41,000 years—and might
vary more without the moon’s stabilizing pull.
• Ancient plantlike organisms in the oceans added
oxygen to the atmosphere and created a high-
altitude layer of ozone that shielded early land
species from lethal radiation.
• Earth has enough gravitational force to keep
most gases close to its surface. These gases make
up the atmosphere. The planet’s atmosphere is
approximately 21% oxygen, a gas which is
produced mostly by plants needed in respiration.
Earth’s atmosphere also traps heat and protects
the Earth from the damaging rays of the Sun.
• Earth’s temperatures range from about –88 ̊C to
58 ̊C. All organisms on the planet are adapted to
temperatures within this range.
• The moon, Earth's sole satellite, also plays a
crucial part in life. Tides are caused by the
moon's gravitational pull. The moon also has a
role in the spread of living forms in some cases,
such as in bird migration and navigation. It also
affects the planet's polar shifts.
FACTORS THAT MAKE THE EARTH HABITABLE
The following are the factors that make our planet
capable of sustaining varied life forms which thrive in the
various ecosystems.
1. Temperature – This will influence how quickly
atoms and molecules move. Most living things
are limited to a temperature range of minus 15 ̊C
to 115 ̊C. Given this temperature range, H2O may
Subsystems of the Earth
still exist in liquid form being crucial to life. Among
the other planets, only Earth’s surface has this
1. Hydrosphere
temperature range.
• Ocean is the most prominent feature of the
hydrosphere.
2. Water – This matter dissolves and transports
- Is nearly 71% of Earth's surface
materials in and out of the cell. Only Earth has
- Holds about 97% of Earth's water
the right chemical materials like liquid water that
could support life.
• Also includes fresh water found in streams, lakes, and
glaciers, as well as that found underground
3.
atmosphere is capable of trapping heat and
houses the important atmospheric gases such as
carbon dioxide and oxygen which cause the
earth to warm. It shields the surface from harmful
radiation through the ozone layer and Earth has
the right size to hold a sufficient- sized
atmosphere. Earth’s atmosphere is about 100
miles thick.
4. Energy – Living things use light or chemical
energy to run essential life processes. With the
availability of sufficient energy, organisms can
perform different metabolic reactions through
the cells. The inner planets such as Earth, get too
much sunlight for life. The outer planets get too
little.
5. Right Distance from the Sun – Earth is in the
Goldilocks Zone. A region with the just the right
temperature to sustain life – not too cold not too
hot.
6. Strong magnetic field - It shields us from the
electromagnetic radiation coming from the Sun.
The magnetic field deflects the radiation that
may destroy the ozone layer.
7. Nutrients – These are materials that build and
maintain an organism’s body. The inner planets
including Earth and moons have the same
general chemical components which makes
nutrients easily available in the environment.
There are various biogeochemical cycles and
geologic processes that facilitate the transport
and replenishment of the chemicals and nutrients
required by the biotic factors. Examples include
water cycle and volcanism. The presence of
volcanoes, cycle of water and atmosphere,
contribute to the flow of nutrients within earth’s
systems.
8. Greenhouse Gases - Without the greenhouse
effect, Earth would be frozen, more than 60o F
colder. As mentioned above, the atmosphere is
capable of trapping heat because of
greenhouse gases. Examples of greenhouse
gases are water vapor, methane, and carbon
dioxide.
9. It is protected by the plate tectonics from the
very hot temperature of the core – The earth’s
core causes the convection currents in the
mantle causing the overlaying lithosphere to
move. However, the surface is protected from
heat from the core by the lithospheric plates.
2. Atmosphere
Thin, tenuous blanket of air, one half lies below 5.6
kilometers (3.5 miles)

3. Biosphere
Includes all life concentrated near the surface in a zone
that extends from the ocean floor upward for several
kilometers into the atmosphere

4. Geosphere
The geosphere includes the rocks of the crust and
mantle, the metallic liquid outer core, and the solid
metallic inner core.

• The Plate Tectonics is an important process shaping the

surface of the Earth. The primary driving mechanism is
the Earth's internal heat, such as that in mantle
convection.

• In many places, geosphere develops a layer of soil in

which nutrients become available to living organisms,
and which thus provides an important ecological
habitat and the basis of many forms of life.

• The surface of the geosphere is subject to processes of

erosion, weathering, and transport, as well as to tectonic
forces and volcanic activity, which result
in the formation of landforms such as mountains, hills,
and plateau.

Prepared by: Emman A. Litera