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The Earth
CH 2 Geography | Class 11
Notes + Important Questions
 THE EARTH
* Origin of the Earth

Early Theories Modern Theories

1. Early Theories
-

A large number of HYPOTHESIS were put forth by

different philosophers and scientists regarding the origin of the
earth .

• Nebular Hypothesis :

•
Given by German philosopher Immanuel Kant .

•
Mathematician L'aplace revised it in 1796 .

The hypothesis considered that

•
The planets were formed out of a cloud of
material

with
associated
youthful sun
•
a

•
which was slowly rotating .
•

Initially it was accepted ,

because no other theory existed at
that time .

But there were many unanswered questions !

* Plantetesimal Theory :

→
In 1905 ,
Chamberlain and Moulton gave planetesimal
hypothesis .

The hypothesis considered that -

Wandering star ( intruding star ) approached the sun .

•
As a result ,
a cigar
-

shaped extension of material

was separated from the solar surface .

As the passing star moved

away the material
•

separated from the solar surface continued to

revolve around the sun and it slowly condensed
into planets .
→
Sir James Jeans and later Sir Harold Jaffrey ,

supported this arguments .

→
At a later date ,
the arguments considered of a

companion to the sun to have been

coexisting .

BINARY THEORIES

→
In 1950 ,
Otto Schmidt and Carl Weizascar
'
the nebular hypothesis
'
somewhat revised .

They considered that the sun was surrounded by solar

nebula containing mostly the hydrogen and helium along with
what may be termed as dust .

→
The fiction and collision of particles led to formation of a

disk shaped
-
-

cloud and the planets were formed through the

process of accretion .
& Drawbacks of Early Theories :

•
Talks about earth but not about universe .

•
Many Unanswered Questions
•
These theories are not widely accepted now , hence remained a part
of reference .

O .
Why do we study Early Theories ?
•
They have shaped our thinking about the origin of
planets .

2. Modern Theories

* Origin of Universe

•
Big Bang Theory :

•
It is also expanding universe hypothesis .

•
Edwin Hubble in 1920 , provided evidence

provided evidence that the universe is

expanding .

•
As time passes , galaxies move further and further apart .

Similarly ,
the distance
and
between the galaxies is also
considered
found to
be
increasing thereby the ,
universe is to be

expanding .

•
Scientists believe that
though the space between the galaxies
is
increasing observations,
do not support the expansion of
galaxies .
0 The Big Bang Theory considers the
following stages in
the development of the universe .

In the beginning ,
all matter
forming forming the universe
existed of tiny (singular
"
the
"
in one place in form a ball
atom) with temperature
an
unimaginably small volume , infinite and
infinite density .

At Big exploded
the
Bang the tiny violently
'' "
→
ball .

This led to
huge expansion
-

a .

→
It is now
generally accepted that the event of big bang
took place 13.7 billion
years before the present .

The expansion continues even to the present day

-

→
As it some converted into matter
grew ,
energy was .

There was
particularly rapid expansion within fractions of a

second after the

bang .

Thereafter ,
the expansion has slowed down .

Within first three minutes from the

Big Bang event the
→

first atom
began to form .

→
Within 300,000 years from the Big Bang , temperature
dropped to 4,500k and gave rise to atomic matter .

→ The universe became transparent .

4 The Expansion of Universe means increase in Space
Between the Galaxies .

→ An alternative to this was Hoyle 's concept of steady

state .

•
It considered the universe to be roughly the same at
any
point of time .

•
However ,
with greater evidence becoming available about the

expanding universe scientific

, community at present favours argument
of expanding universe .

÷: ÷: : ÷: : :

Erwin Thang :

→
Density of matter decreases over time .

÷: ÷÷÷÷÷: ÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷
:

Steady ¥ Thay :

→
Density of matter is constant over time .

* The Star Formation

-

Big bang led to explosion (energy and matter ) .

The distribution of matter and energy was not even in

the early universe .

These initial density differences gave rise to differences in

gravitational forces and it caused the matter to get drawn
together .

These formed the bases for development of galaxies .

*
Galaxy :

→ A galaxy contains a
large number of stars .
→
Galaxies spread over vast distances that are measured in
thousands of light years -

→
The diameters of individual galaxies range from 80,000-1,5-0,000
light years .

→
A galaxy starts to form by accumulation of hydrogen
gas in the form of a very large cloud called nebula .

Eventually , growing nebula develops localised clumps of gas .

→
These dumps continue to grow into even denser gaseous bodies ,

rise to formation of stars

giving .

→
The formation of stars is believed to have taken
place some 5-6 billion years ago .

→
The distance between galaxies is measured in Light years .

* Light Year :

→
A light year is a measure of distance and not of time .

Light travels at a speed of 300,000km /second .

→
Considering this ,
the distances the light will travel in one

year is taken to be one light year .

This equals to 9.461 ✗ 1012km .

→
The mean distance between the sun and the earth is
149,598,000km .

In terms of light years ,

it is 8.311 minutes of a
year .

* Formation of Planets
The to
following are considered be the stages in the
development of planets :

III
•
The stars are localised lumps of gas within a nebula .
•
The gravitational force within the lumps leads to the
to cloud
formation of a core the gas and a
huge
rotating disc of and dust develops around the gas core
gas .

121
•
In the next stage ,
the gas cloud starts getting condensed
and the matter around the core develops into small -

rounded .

objects .

•
These small -
rounded objects by the process of cohesion
develop into what is called planetesimals .

Larger bodies start

forming by collision ,
and
gravitational
attraction causes the material to stick together .

•
Planetesimals are a
large number of smaller bodies .
 131
•
In the final stage ,
these large number of small
accrete
planetesimals to form a
fewer large bodies in the
form of planets .

* Our Solar System

-

The nebula from which our Solar system is supposed to

have been formed ,
started its collapse and core formation some

time 5- 5.6 billion years ago and the planets were formed
about 4.6 billion years ago .

Our solar system consists of the sun (the star) ,

8 planets ,

63 moons , millions of smaller bodies like asteroids and comets

and quantity of dust grains -

and gases .

* Planets

Inner Planets Outer Planets

•

Mercury •

Jupiter
•
Venus •
Saturn
•
Earth •
Uranus
•
Mars •
Neptune
 Terrotrial Planets Jovian od Gas Giant
→
Small in size →

large size

→
between the sun →
thick atmosphere
and the belt of
asteroids

In August 2006 ,
the international Astronomical Union CIAU)
downgraded the status of Pluto to that of
"
dwarf planet !

O .
Why are the inner planets rocky while others are

mostly in gaseous form ?

4 The difference between terrestrial and jovian planets can be

attributed to the conditions
following
:

•
The terrestrial planets were formed in the dose vicinity of
the parent star where it was too warm
for gases to condense
to solid particles .
 -

Jovian planets were formed at a quite a distant location .

•
The solar wind was most intense nearer the sun ; so ,
it
blew off lots of gas and dust from the terrestrial planets .

The solar winds were not all that intense to cause

similar removal of gases from the Jovian planets .

•
The terrestrial planets are smaller and their lower gravity
could not hold the
escaping gases .

* Moon
-

The moon is the only natural satellite of the earth .

-
Like the origin of the earth ,
there have been attempts to
explain how the moon was formed .

In 1838 ,
Sir George Darwin suggested that initially the
,
earth
and the moon formed a single rapidly rotating body .

The whole mass became a dumb -

bell -

shaped body and eventually

it broke .

It was also suggested that the material forming the moon was

separated from what we have at present the depression occupied

by the Pacific Ocean .
* Modern Theory :

•
The present scientists do not accept either of the explanations .

It believed formation
•
is now generally that the of moon , as a
'

satellite of the earth , is outcome of giant impact what

'
an or

Splat !
"
is described as the big
• A body of the size of one to three times that of mars collided
into the earth sometime shortly after the earth was formed .

•
It blasted a large part of the earth into space .

•
This portion of blasted material then countinued to orbit the earth
and eventually formed into the present moon about 4.44 billion years
ago .
* Evaluation of the Earth
-

The planet earth initially was a barren , rocky and hot object
with a thin atmosphere of hydrogen and helium .

There must have been some events -

processes ,
which may have
caused this
change from rocky barren and ,
hot earth to a

beautiful planet with ample amount of water and conducive

atmosphere favouring the existence of life .

The period ,
between the 4,600 million years and the present ,
led to
the evolution of life on the surface of the planet .

•
The earth has a layered structure .

•
From the outermost end of the atmosphere to the centre of
the earth , the material that exists is not uniform .

•
The atmospheric matter has the least density .

•
From the surface to deeper depths ,
the earth 's interior has different
zones and each of these contains materials with different characteristics .
0 How was the layered structure of the earth developed ?

4 Development of Lithosphere :

→
The earth was mostly in a volatile state during its primordial
stage .

→
Due to gradual increase in density the temperature inside has
increased .

→
As a result the material inside started getting separated depending
on their densities .

→
This allowed heavier materials ( like iron) to sink towards the centre

of the earth and the lighter ones to move towards the surface .

With of time it cooled further and solidified and

passage
→

condensed into a smaller size .

→
This later led to the development of the outer surface in
the form of a crust .

→
During the formation of the moon ,
due to the giant impact ,

the earth was

further heated up .

→
It is
through the process of differentiation that the earth

forming material got separated into different layers .

Starting from the surface to the central parts ,

we have layers
like the crust ,
mantle ,
outer core and inner core .

•
From the crust to the core ,
the density of the material
increases .
* Evolution of Atmosphere and Hydrosphere :

•
The present composition of earth 's atmosphere is chiefly contributed
by nitrogen and oxygen .

•
Formation of atmosphere and Hydrosphere are interrelated .

4 There are three stages in the evolution of the present

atmosphere .

→
The first stage is marked by the loss of primordial
atmosphere .

→
In the second stage ,
the hot interior of the earth contributed
to the evolution of the atmosphere .

→
Finally ,
the composition of the atmosphere was modified by the
living world through the process of photosynthesis .

①
•
The early atmosphere ,
with hydrogen and helium ,
is supposed to have
been stripped off as a result of the solar winds .

•
This happened not only in case of the earth , but also in all
the terrestrial planets which ,
were supposed to have lost their
primordial atmosphere through the impact of solar winds .

②
•
During the cooling of the earth , gases and water vapour
were released from the interior solid earth .
• This started the evolution of the present atmosphere .

The early atmosphere largely contained water vapour nitrogen carbon

-

, ,

dioxide , methane ,
ammonia and very little of free oxygen .

→
The process through which the gases were out poured
from interior
the is called
degassing .

•
Continuous volcanic eruptions contributed water vapour and gases
to the atmosphere .

As the earth cooled ,

the water vapour released started
getting condensed .

•
The rainwater falling onto the surface got collected in
the depressions to give rise to oceans .

• The earth 's oceans were formed within 500 million year from
the formation of the earth .

③
8 Sometime around 3,800 million years ago , life began to
evolve .

•
However ,
around 2,500 -

3,000 million years before the

present ,
the process of photosynthesis got evolved .
•
Life was confined to the oceans
for a long time .

•
Oceans began to have the contribution of oxygen through
the process of photosynthesis .

•
Eventually ,
oceans were saturated with oxygen ,
and 2,000 million
years
ago , oxygen began to flood the atmosphere .

* Origin of Life
-

Modern scientists refer to the origin of life as a kind

of chemical reaction ,
which first generated complex organic molecules
and assembled them .

This assemblage was such that they could duplicate themselves

converting inanimate matter into living substance .

The record of life that existed on this planet in different

periods is found in rocks in the form of fossils .

The microscopic structures closely related to the present town of

the blue algae have been found in geological formations that
are much older than these were some 3,000 million years ago .

It can be assumed that life began to evolve sometime 3,800

million years ago .
* Summary of the chapter
 The Origin and Evolution of The Earth
IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

❖ Very Short Answer Type:

➢ Question-1:
Who first proposed the Nebular hypothesis?

Answer:
The German philosopher, Immanuel Kant, proposed the Nebular hypothesis in 1755.

➢ Question-2:
How is it known that the moon was born along with the earth?

Answer:
Radiometric dating of the rocks from the moon shows that it was born along with the
earth.

➢ Question-3:
Name the planet with a maximum number of satellites in our solar system.

Answer:
Saturn has the maximum number of satellites (20) in our solar system.

➢ Question-4:
What are the various stages the sun has passed through during its formation?

Answer:
They are Nebula → Supernova → Protostar → Infant Sun → Sun.

➢ Question-5:
What is a meteorite?
 Answer:
A meteorite is a piece of rock or metal from outer space that hits the earth’s surface.

➢ Question-6:
What are planetesimals?

Answer:
Giant tongues of matter broke into small chunks or planetesimals, which went flying
as cold bodies into orbits around the sun.

➢ Question-7:
Why does earth appear as a round ball that shines bright and blue when viewed from
space?

Answer:
Because a large part of the earth’s surface is covered with water, which is blue in
colour.

❖ Multiple Choice Questions Type:

➢ Question-8:
Which one of the following is not related to the formation or modification of the
present atmosphere?
(a) Solar winds
(b) Differentiation
(c) Degassing
(d) Photosynthesis

Answer:(b) Differentiation

➢ Question-9:
Why are the terrestrial planets rocky?
(a) These planets are smaller
 (b) They could not hold the escaping gases
(c) Both a and b
(d) None of these

Answer:(c) Both a and b

➢ Question-10:
The terrestrial planets were formed in the close vicinity of the
(a) Parent star
(b) Asteroids
(c) Escaping gases
(d) Outer planets

Answer:(a) Parent star

➢ Question-11:
Which one of the following has the longest duration?
(a) Eons
(b) Period
(c) Era
(d) Epoch

Answer:(a) Eons

➢ Question-12:
Big-Bang theory was postulated by
(a) Georges Lemaitre
(b) Edwin Hubble
(c) Schmidt
(d) Wegener

Answer: (a)Georges Lemaitre

➢ Question-13:
Who suggested that the earth and the moon formed a single rapidly rotating body?
(a) Sir George
(b) Sir Chamberlain
 (c) Sir Moulton
(d) None of these

Answer:(a) Sir George

➢ Question-14:
Expansion of universe means
(a) increase in the number of stars.
(b) increase in space between the galaxies.
(c) discovery of new celestial bodies.
(d) increase in the speed of rotation of planets.

Answer:(b) increase in space between the galaxies.

Short Answer Type:

➢ Question-15:
What is a protostar?

Answer:
Protostar means original star. It is believed that the gaseous cloud exploded to form a
supernova. The explosion caused shock waves that caused the denser portion of the
cloud to collapse under their own ‘gravity. The dense core grew larger and hotter and
its gravity attracted more material. In this process, the hot core developed into a
protostar. ‘Finally, it became the infant sun.

➢ Question-16:
How did earth develop its different layers?

Answer:
During the formation of the moon, due to the giant impact, the earth was further
heated up. It is through the process of differentiation that the earth forming material
got separated into different layers. Starting from the surface to the central parts, we
have layers like the crust, mantle, outer core and inner core. From the crust to the
core, the density of the material increases.

➢ Question-17:
Inner planets are terrestrial while outer planets are Jovian. Why?
 Answer:
Inner planets are terrestrial while outer planets are Jovian because the terrestrial
planets are smaller and their lower gravity could not hold the escaping gases. Jovian
planets are bigger and have high gravity. Moreover, the solar wind was most intense
nearer the sun, so it blew off lots of gas and dust from the terrestrial planets. The
solar winds were not all that intense to cause similar removal of gases from the
Jovian planets.

➢ Question-18:
Explain Heterogenous Accretion Hypothesis.

Answer:
According to Heterogeneous Accretion Hypothesis, the composition of the material
from which the earth accreted changed r with time giving rise to the layered
structure of the earth. According to this model, the earth formed ‘inside out’ with an,
oxidised and volatile-rich nucleus and a more metal-rich and depolarised outer rings.

➢ Question-19:
What do you mean by plate tectonics?

Answer:
Plate tectonics is a theory. According to it, the crust and mantle (lithosphere) are
divided into plates and blocks. Different tectonic movements take place along their
edges. These plates drift due to convection currents. Continents also drift along with
these plates, known as tectonic plates.

➢ Question-20:
The moon was born along with the earth. How?

Answer:
Regarding the birth of the moon, there are many hypotheses. Radiometric dating of
the rocks from the moon shows that it was born along with the earth. It either came
out of the sun in a gaseous form but being too small was attracted by the earth, or it
flew out of the earth due to a huge meteorite falling on the earth.

➢ Question-21:
 Why are inner planets heavier than the outer ones?

Answer:
Initially, the nebula was revolving in the form of a flat disc. Due to high temperature,
the heavy materials of the flat disc condensed in the inner part of the disc. These
include iron and aluminium. Thus, inner planets Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars
were formed.

➢ Question-22:
What is Collision hypothesis?

Answer:
This hypothesis was proposed by Sir James Jeans and Sir Harold Jeffreys, a
mathematician in England. According to this hypothesis, gaseous material was pulled
away from the pre-existing sun by the gravitational force of a passing star.

➢ Question-23:
Name the three layers of the earth’s interior.
Answer:

1. The Earth’s crust (lithosphere)

2. The intermediate layer (mantle)
3. The inner core (metallic core)

➢ Question-24:
What do you understand by a light-year?

Answer:
A light-year is a measure of distance and not of time. Light travels at a speed of
300,000 km/second. The distance that the light travels in one year is taken to be one
light year. This is equal to 9.461 xlO12 km. The mean distance between the sun and
the earth is Y ‘149,598,000 km. In terms of light-years, it is 8,3 31 minutes.

➢ Question-25:
Write a note on Heterogenous Accretion Hypothesis.

Answer:
 This hypothesis explains the layered structure of the earth. According to this theory,
the earth is formed by the accretion of different ‘types of materials. The materials
changed with time. The earth formed from inside out due to the change of materials.
It had an oxidised and hot, nucleus and more metal-rich rings.

Long Answer Type:

➢ Question-26:
Write short notes on:
1. Collision Hypothesis
2. Homogeneous Accretion Hypothesis
3. Origin of the Moon

Answer:
1. Collision Hypothesis – Sir James Jeans and Sir Harold Jeffreys gave this hypothesis.
According to this hypothesis, gaseous material was pulled away from the pre-existing
sun by the gravitational force of a passing star. By collision and gravitational attraction,
the larger planetesimals swept up the smaller pieces and thus were formed the planets.

2. Homogenous Accretion Hypothesis – This hypothesis maintains that the earth

accreted from an intermate mixture of silicate particles and metal particles. The material
was assumed to have been formed in the solar nebula by a complex series of chemical
and physical processes, which had occurred prior to the accretion of planets. According
to a hypothesis, accretion of the earth occurred over a sufficiently long period (10—10s
years) so that its gravitational potential energy was efficiently radiated away and it
formed in an initially ‘cool’ and unmelted condition.

3. Origin of the moon – Radiometric dating of the rocks from the moon shows that it was
born along with the earth. Apparently, there are two possibilities. It either came out of
the sun in a gaseous form but being too small was attracted by the earth, or it flew out
of the earth due to a huge meteorite falling on the earth. The area where the meteorite
fell, a huge hollow was created, which is now filled up by an ocean and the landmass
plunged to outer space to create the moon.

➢ Question-27:

Discuss the various hypotheses for the evolution of the planets.

Answer:
There are two hypotheses:
 1. Nebula hypothesis
2. Collision hypothesis

1. Nebula hypothesis – In 1755, German philosopher Immanuel Kant, hypothesised that

slowly rotating cloud of gas, called Nebula, in some unspecified manner, condensed into a
number of discrete and globular bodies. The great French mathematician Laplace also
proposed, more or less, the same theory in 1796.

According to Kant and Laplace, the original mass of gas-cooled and began to contract. The
rotational speed increased as a consequence of the law of conservation of angular
momentum. Then, successive rings of gaseous material were spun off from the central
mass by centrifugal force. In the final stage, the rings condensed into planets.

2.Collision hypothesis – Sir James Jeans and Sir Harold Jeffreys gave this hypothesis.
According to this hypothesis, gaseous material was pulled away from the pre-existing sun
by the gravitational force of a passing star. By collision and gravitational attraction, the
larger planetesimals swept up the smaller pieces and thus were formed the planets.

➢ Question-28:
Describe the evolution of the Solar system.

Answer:
The entire solar system consists of the sun, the nine planets and their various satellites.
The sun is a large brilliant star in the centre of the solar system. It is thought to be about
5 billion years old. The pressure and temperature at the centre of the Nebula (cloud of
gas) that produced the solar system became so great that it triggered a nuclear reaction.
Some of the hydrogen in the cloud fused into helium, releasing a great amount of
energy.
The gaseous cloud exploded to form a supernova. The explosion caused shock waves
that pushed the denser portion of the cloud to collapse under its own gravity. The dense
core grew larger and hotter as its gravity attracted more material. In the process, the
hot core developed into a protostar, that finally became the sun.

➢ Question-29:
Describe the origin of life and die cause for its origin.

Answer:
Modern scientists refer to the origin of life as a kind of chemical reaction, which first
generated complex organic molecules and then assembled them. This assemblage was
such that they could duplicate themselves converting inanimate matter into living
substance. The record of life that existed on this planet in different periods is found in
rocks in the form of fossils. The microscopic structures closely related to the present
 form of blue algae have been found in geological formations that are much older than
some 3000 million years. It can be assumed that simpler forms precede these. Scientists
consider that life began to evolve sometime 3800 million years ago.
The last phase in the evolution of the earth relates to the origin and evolution of life.
The initial or even the early atmosphere of the earth was not conducive for the
development of life.

➢ Question-30:
Describe in short, the evolution of atmosphere and hydrosphere (oceans).

Answer:
There are three stages in the evolution of the present atmosphere. The first stage is the
loss of the primordial atmosphere. In the second stage, the hot interior of the earth
contributed to the evolution of the atmosphere. The third stage in the composition of
the atmosphere was modified by the living world through the process of photosynthesis.
The early atmosphere, with hydrogen and helium, has been stripped off as a result of
the solar winds. All the terrestrial planets are supposed to have lost their primordial
atmosphere through the impact of solar winds. During the differentiation and cooling of
the earth, gases and water vapour were released from the interior solid earth. This
started the evolution of the present atmosphere. The early atmosphere largely
contained water vapour, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia and very little of
free oxygen.
The process through which the gases were outpoured from the interior is called
degassing. Continuous volcanic eruptions contributed water vapour and gases to the
atmosphere. As the earth cooled, the water vapour released started getting condensed.
The carbon dioxide in the atmosphere got dissolved in rainwater and the temperature
further decreased causing more condensation and more rains, The rainwater falling on
the surface got collected in the depressions to give rise to oceans. The earth’s oceans
were formed within 500 million years from the formation of the earth. Oceans began to
have the contribution of oxygen through the process of photosynthesis.