NAME: DATE:

SECTION:

Lesson The Planet Earth

1
EXPECTATIONS
You will have to recognize the uniqueness of Earth, being the only planet in
the solar system with properties necessary to support life.

Specifically, this module will help you to:

 recognize the difference in the physical and chemical properties
between the Earth and its neighboring planes; and
 Identify the factors that allow a planet to support life.

PRETEST
Directions: Choose the letter of the correct answer.

1. Earth is found in between planet ___ and ?

A. Mercury and Venus C. Mars and Neptune
B. Venus and Mars D. Mercury and Sun
2. Which of the following is NOT a related study to Earth Science?
A. Geology C. Meteorology
B. Genetics D. Oceanography
3. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of Earth?
A. It is the third planet from the Sun.
B. It is the only known planet that can support life.
C. It has blue waters, rocky and green land masses.
D. It has abundant carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
4. Which of the following is NOT a factor of why Earth is habitable?
A. Abundance of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
B. Presence of liquid water
C. Magnetic Field
D. All of the above.
5. Which of the following BEST describes planet Earth?
A. It is a “Blue Marble” planet as seen from the outer space.
B. It is the only known planet that can support life.
C. It is in the Goldilocks zone.
D. All of the above.

LOOKING BACK TO YOUR LESSON

Since elementary, the study of Earth is part of our Science subjects. To recall some
Earth facts, let’s try this Cryptogram to unlock the following words being described.
1
 Cryptogram : It is a type of puzzle that consists of a short piece of encrypted text.
Each letter is replaced by a number as represented in the box below.
Solve the following encrypted texts to reveal the concepts.
1. It is the only natural satellite of Earth.
13 15 15 14

2. It is known as the twin planet of Earth because of its similarity in size, mass, and
surface material composition.
22 5 14 21 19

3. This gas abundant in Earth allows humans and animals to breath.

15 24 25 7 5 14

4. The shape of Earth’s orbit around the Sun.

5 12 12 9 16 20 9 3 1 12

5. Earth is the densest and largest _ planet in the Solar System.

20 5 18 18 5 19 20 18 9 1 12

2
BRIEF INTRODUCTION
Earth is also often called as the “Blue Marble” because of it
looks like a blue globe encircled by swirling white clouds as seen
from the outer space. As of today, Earth is the only planet in the Solar
System that is habitable or where living things can exist although
scientists are now looking at exoplanets that are potentially flickr.com
habitable.

Are you familiar with the story of Goldilocks and

the three bears?
Scientists coined the term Goldilocks zone
(habitable or life zone) for the regions in the space
where a planet is just in the right distance from its
home star (usually a low-mass star) so that its surface
is neither too hot nor too cold. The term Goldilocks is
related to the story of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.”
It is because of how a little girl named Goldilocks, who
exoplanets.nasa.gov
was lost in the woods and entered the house of the
three bears, liked
everything that is just right. She chose the porridge that is not too hot or too cold,
the bed that is not too hard or too soft, and so on. Just like Goldilocks’ choices, our
planet – Earth has factors necessary for life in just the right amount.

Earth is so terrific that it is the only planet known in the Solar System that
can support life but the question is, “What makes Earth unique among other
planets?” and “What are the factors to consider a habitable planet?” Let us learn
more through the following activities.
Note: You can perform the following activities through collaborating with a partner. You can first
answer the activities individually then just communicate your results after.

ACTIVITIES
Activity 1.1: Compare and Contrast
Here’s our neighbor planets: Venus and Mars. On this activity, you should
compare and contrast the physical and chemical properties of these planets using
the provided factsheet as your guide.

PROPERTIES VENUS EARTH MARS

Mass (1,024 kg) 4.87 5.97 0.642
Diameter (km) 12,104 12,756 6,792
Density (kg/m3) 5,243 5,514 3,933
Gravity (m/s2) 8.9 9.8 3.7
Escape Velocity (km/s) 10.4 11.2 5
Surface Pressure (bars) 92 1 0.01
Composition of Atmosphere 96% CO2 , 3.5% N 77% N, 21% O2, 1% Ar 95 % CO2, 2.7% N, 1.6% Ar
Major Greenhouse Gases (GHG) CO2 CO2 H2 O CO2
Mean Temperature (°C) 464 15 -65
Temperature if no GHG -46 -18 -57
Change in Temperature (°C) due to GHG + 523 + 33 + 10
Distance from Sun (106 km) 108.2 149.6 227.9
Orbital Period (days) 224.7 365.2 687
Orbital Velocity (km/s) 35 29.8 24.1
Length of Day (hours) 2,802 24 24.7
Global Magnetic Field No Yes No

3
 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Planet_size_comparisons_%E2%80%93_Venus,_Earth,_Mars.JPG

Guide Questions:
1. In what properties does Earth is almost similar to Venus? Mars? both planets?

2. What are the notable differences between Earth and Venus? Earth and Mars?

3. Based on the fact sheet above, what do you think are the physical and properties
of Earth makes it unique and habitable compared to Venus and Mars?

Activity 1.2: Crash Landing on You

Scenario:
A meteoroid has hit your spaceship!
Luckily, you are passing through an unknown System, which
consists of a sun-like star surrounded by seven planets, some of
which have moons. Your ship has barely enough fuel and
guidance ability to allow you to select a nearby place to crash-
land. Below are profiles of each of the planets and moons in the
unknown system. The information is sketchy, but it's all your
sensors had time to collect before going off-line due to the
damage caused by the meteoroid. Good luck!

1) What planet will you choose to crash-land? _

2) Why did you choose this planet?

3) What is the difference of the planet you chose compared to Earth?

4
Profile of the Planets
Planet 1 (closest the star)
 Mass: 1.5 (Earth = 1) ; Tectonics: Active volcanoes and seismic activity detected
 Atmosphere: CO2 , N, and H20 ; Average Temperature: 651 °Celsius
 Description: Thick clouds surround the planet. No surface is visible through the clouds.
Planet 2
 Mass: 0.5 ; Tectonics: No activity detected.
 Atmosphere: Thin CO2 atmosphere detected. ; Average Temperature: 10 °Celsius
 Description: Polar ice caps, dry riverbeds, and many craters can be seen from orbit.
Planet 3
 Mass: 1
 Tectonics: Active volcanoes and seismic activity detected.
 Atmosphere: CO2 , H20 ; Temperature: 30 °Celsius
 Description: Liquid water oceans cover much of the surface. Volcanic island chains make up
most of the dry land.
Planet 4
 Mass: 1.5
 Tectonics: Active volcanoes and seismic activity detected.
 Atmosphere: N, O2 , and ozone layer ; Average Temperature: 2 °Celsius
 Description: Cold oceans, covered with ice along much of the globe. Some open water around
equator.
Planet 5

Gas Giant with one large moon. Moon: Sulfur dioxide (SO2 ) atmosphere.

Tectonics: Many volcanoes and hot springs on surface.

Temperatures in hot spots can be up to 600 °C. Other spots away from volcanic heat can get
as low in temperature as 145 °C.
Planet 6
 Gas giant with four large, rocky satellites (moons).
 Moons have no appreciable atmosphere. Ice detectable on one.
Planet 7 (furthest from star)
 Gas giant with two large moons.
 Moon 1: Thick methane atmosphere with high enough pressure to keep a potential methane
ocean liquid underneath. Temperature: -200 °C
 Moon 2: Covered in water ice. Ice appears cracked and re-frozen in parts, indicating a
potential liquid ocean underneath. Surface temperature -100 °C.

REMEMBER
 Earth is:
o the third planet from the Sun and fifth largest planet in the Solar System
o a terrestrial planet located in the Goldilocks zone (habitable zone)
o it has unique physical and chemical characteristics compare to other
neighboring planets
o the only habitable planet known in the Solar System
 Though Earth is the only known planet in the Solar System that is habitable,
scientists are now looking at possible habitable exoplanets (planets outside the
Solar System). A potentially habitable planet implies a terrestrial planet within
the circumstellar habitable zone and with conditions roughly comparable to
those of Earth and thus potentially favorable to Earth-like life.
Factors that Makes the Planet Habitable
The right amount of the following factors makes the planet Habitable like Earth.
1. Temperature - Influences how quickly atoms & molecules move
2. Water - Dissolves & transports chemicals within and to and from a cell
3. Atmosphere - Traps heat, shields the surface from harmful radiation, and
provides chemicals needed for life, such as nitrogen and carbon dioxide.
4. Energy - Organisms use light or chemical energy to run their life processes.
5. Nutrients - Used to build and maintain an organism’s body.
6. Magnetic Field - a planet requires a rapidly rotating magnetic field to protect
it from flares from nearby stars and from harmful radiation

5
CHECKING YOUR UNDERSTANDING
Create a graphic organizer to describe the
characteristics of Earth that makes it habitable. Make
sure to include the factors that makes the Earth
habitable and write a brief description about it. You
can use the sample diagram below as a guide. You can
be creative as you can in making your graphic
organizer.

POSTTEST
Directions: Choose the letter of the correct answer.

1. Earth is found in between planet ___ and ?

A. Venus and Mars C. Mercury and Sun
B. Mercury and Venus D. Mars and Neptune
2. Which of the following is NOT a related study to Earth Science?
A. Geology C. Genetics
B. Meteorology D. Oceanography
3. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of Earth?
A. It has abundant methane gas in the atmosphere.
B. It is the only known planet that can support life.
C. It has blue waters, rocky and green land masses.
D. It is the third planet from the Sun.
4. Which of the following BEST describes planet Earth?
A. It is a “Blue Marble” planet as seen from the outer space.
B. It is the only known planet that can support life.
C. It is in the Goldilocks zone.
D. All of the above.
5. The image below is just some of the currently potentially habitable
exoplanets. The number below the name of each exoplanet is the Earth
Similarity Index or ESI or their degree of similarity to Earth. Which of the
following DOES NOT describe this image?

a. The ESI of exoplanets estimates their similarity to Earth.

b. The size of the exoplanet is not a directly associated to ESI.
c. The most potential habitable exoplanet from the image is Gliese 581-d
d. The exoplanet Gliese 581-g ranks highest in order of similarity among
the other potential habitable exoplanets.
6
REFLECTIVE LEARNING SHEET
Name: _
Grade & Section: __

Wow! Earth-terrific!
REFLECTIVE LEARNING SHEET No. 1

Directions: Write a reflective learning about what you have learned about The
Planet Earth, our home planet, by answering the questions inside the
box. You may express your answers in a more critical and creative
presentation of your great learning. Have fun and enjoy!

The lesson on Planet Earth

guides me to ponder on... What learnings have I found What examples can I explore
from this lesson? and think more?

 What learnings can  What good character

 What is my conclusion
I share with my have I developed from
on the lesson?
family this lesson?
and peers?