EARTH SCIENCE HANDOUT Continental Crust

❖ 10-70 km thick

THE EARTH ❖ Granite-type of rocks

-Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the ❖ 2.7 g/ 𝑐𝑚3
only astronomical object known to harbor life.
❖ About 3.8 billion of years

Mantle
EARTH SYSTEMS
❑ Largest layer of the Earth.
1. Geosphere
❑ made up of Si, O, Fe, Ca
2. Atmosphere
❑ Divided into upper and lower sections.
3. Hydrosphere
❑ 2 885 km thick
4. Biosphere
❑ Upper mantle is mostly solid

❑ Lower mantle is solid but behaves like

Geosphere liquid

Earth is composed of four major layers, namely: Outer Core

❑ Crust ❑ Ball of very hot metals.

❑ Mantle ❑ Is liquid and very dense.

❑ Outer Core ❑ About 2 210 km thick

❑ Inner Core ❑ Made up of Iron and Nickel.

The Crust Inner Core

❑ Thinnest among other layers ❑ Has great temperature and pressure.

❑ Only makes up 1% of the Earth. ❑ 1 216 km thick

❑ Broken into pieces called plates. ❑ Is solid.

❑ 5-100 km thick ❑ Mostly iron and nickel.

Types of Crust

Oceanic Crust EARTH’S PHYSICAL STRUCTURE

❖ 5-10 km thick ❑ Lithosphere

❖ Basaltic rocks ❑ Asthenosphere

❖ 3.0 g/ 𝑐𝑚3 ❑ Mesosphere

❖ Less than 200 million years old

LITOSPHERE
❑ Rocky and solid part of the Earth.
❑ Composed of crust and upper mantle.
❑ Sits on the asthenosphere.
❑ Is the Earth’s plates.
❑ Made up of mostly Silicon and Oxygen.
ASTENOSPHERE
❑ Layer below the Lithosphere.
❑ “plastic-like”.
❑ Somewhat solid and liquid.
MESOSPHERE
❑ Lies above the outer core.
❑ Share the same chemical composition
with asthenosphere but with different
physical property.
SOURCES OF EARTH’S INTERNAL HEAT
• Heat is generated from colliding
particles.
• Heat slowly accumulates from the
radioactive decay of Uranium, Thorium
and other radioactive isotopes in
Earth’s interior.
Mineral and Rocks
Minerals
❑ A naturally occurring inorganic solid
that has a definite chemical
composition, and a crystalline structure.
❑ Building blocks of rocks.
Rocks
❑ Naturally occurring and coherent
aggregate of one or more minerals.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A MINERAL
1. Naturally-occurring- (formed without human
intervention)
2. Inorganic- (formed by inorganic processes; do
not contain organic compounds)
3. Solid- (exhibits stability at room temperature)
4. Crystalline Structure- (arrangement of atoms
is ordered and repetitive)
5. Can be Represented by a Chemical Formula-
(chemical compound with chemical formula)
PROPERTIES OF MINERALS
1. Optical Properties
1.1 Luster
❑ The quality of light that is being reflected
by the surface of the mineral.
❑ Opaque- does not allow light to pass
through.
❑ Translucent- allows some of the light to
pass through.
❑ Transparent- Most of the light
completely pass through.
1.2 Color
❑ Easiest to identify.
❑ Considered to be unreliable as can be
easily affected by impurities.
1.3 Streak
❑ Color of the mineral in its powdered
form.
❑ Obtained by rubbing the mineral across
a streak plate or a piece of unglazed
porcelain.
2. Mineral Strength
2.1 Tenacity ❑ Resulted due to the equally strong
chemical bonds between atoms of the
❑ Minerals resistance to breaking or
minerals.
deforming.
3. Specific Gravity
❑ Minerals can be brittle, malleable,
sectile, or elastic. ❑ Describes the density of the mineral.

2.2 Hardness ❑ Represents the ratio of the mass of the

mineral to the mass of equal volume of
❑ Minerals resistance to abrasion or
water.
scratching.
❑ Most rock-forming minerals have a
❑ Assigned from 1-10 using Moh’s scale of
specific gravity ranging 2-3.
hardness.

Friedrich Mohs
The Rock Cycle
❑ (1973-1989)
❑ The process wherein rocks changes into
❑ Devised a scale to determine the
sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous
hardness of minerals.
rocks.
1.Talc
❑ Igneous – form from the cooling of
2. Gypsum magma deep inside the Earth or lava on
the surface.
3. Calcite
❑ Metamorphic – formed through the
4. Fluorite change (metamorphosis) of igneous and
5. Apatite sedimentary rocks.

6. Orthoclase ❑ Sedimentary – formed through the

solidification of sediments.
7. Quartz

8. Topaz
Processes Aiding in Rock Cycle
9. Corundum
1. Weathering
10. Diamond
❑ The process of disintegration (physical)
2.3 Cleavage and decomposition (chemical) of rocks.
❑ Exhibited when a mineral breaks and ❑ Resulting loose fragments of rocks and
smooth flat surfaces are formed from minerals are collectively called regolith.
the breakage.
- Chemical weathering
2.4 Fracture
❑ Chemical reaction
❑ Exhibited when a mineral does not have
cleavage plane. ❑ Acids

- Mechanical weathering
 ❑ Frost wedging
❑ Salt crystals precipitate
❑ Fire
❑ Pressure
❑ Plants and animals
2. Erosion
❑ Geological process in which earthen
materials are worn away and
transported.
Causes/Agents of Erosion:
❑ Gravity
❑ Wind
❑ Water
❑ Ice
Mass Wasting
❑ The movement of large slabs or rocks
down due to the force of gravity.
❑ Triggered by earthquakes, volcanic
eruptions, and heavy rainfall.
Falls
❑ Materials located at in a steep slope
move downward without contact with
the ground.
Slides
❑ Move the materials as one following a
nearly straight line down the slope.
Slump
❑ Comparable to slide, but materials
move along a curved surface.
Flows
❑ Moves material when they become
saturated with water
Avalanches
❑ Loose materials move incoherently or in
chaotic fashion.
3. Deposition
❑ Accumulation of sediments in low lying
area.
4. Lithification
❑ The process in which sediments
compact under pressure, expel connate
fluids, and gradually become solid rock.
5. Recrystallization
❑ Mineral grain interlock themselves in
the existing rocks, where they continue
growing.
6. Metamorphism
❑ The alteration of the composition or
structure of minerals/rocks due to heat
and pressure.
Sedimentary Rocks
❑ Classified according to texture, nature
and shape of the sediments, and
presence of cement.
Clastic sedimentary rocks
❑ Formed by accumulation, compaction,
and cementation of different solid
particles that came from mechanical or
chemical weathering.
❑ Contains rock particles of different
shapes and sizes.
Chemical sedimentary rocks
❑ Contained chemicals that are formed by
chemical precipitation of minerals as a
direct result of physical processes or an
indirect result of life processes of water
dwelling animals.
Metamorphic Rocks Foliated metamorphic rocks

❑ Rocks formed after being subjected to – exhibit parallel alignment of minerals

higher pressures and temperature.
Non-foliated metamorphic rocks
❑ The rocks change their mineralogy,
– does not exhibit parallel alignment of
texture, and sometimes their chemical
minerals.
composition without melting.
Igneous Rocks
❑ Rocks undergo the process of
metamorphism. ❑ Formed through the cooling and
solidification of magma or lava.
Contact metamorphism
Requirements in melting - temperature,
❑ Magma intrudes a cooler rock, exposing
pressure, presence of water or water vapor
the rock to a higher temperature but
not to higher pressure. Decompression melting – decrease in pressure
Burial metamorphism Magma Types:
❑ Higher temperature is attained a rock ❑ Basaltic
are buried too deep on the ground.
❑ Andesitic
❑ High temperature and uniform stress.
❑ Rhylotic
Regional metamorphism

❑ Large mass of rock is exposed to

differential stress and to high
temperature.

❑ Differential stress (tensional,

compressional, and shear)

Tensional stress – pulls the rock apart.

Compressional stress – squeezes the rock.

Shear stress – twists/crumples the rock.

Igneous Rocks can be classified based on the
location where it’s formed, its coloration, and
texture.
Brittle deformation
Types of Igneous Rocks Based from Location
– differential stress fracture, grind, and
pulverize the brittle parent rock. Intrusive – Formation occurred beneath the
surface.
Ductile deformation
Extrusive – Formation occurred on the surface
– Parent rock is formed at high
of the Earth.
temperature
- The stress causes the rock to flatten
or elongate without breaking it.
Types of Igneous Rocks Based from Coloration redistributed is through atmospheric
circulation.
Felsic
❑ Hydrogen – most abundant element in
– light coloration indicating high
the universe
concentration of feldspar, rich in aluminum.
❑ Helium – 2nd most abundant element in
- from feldspar and silicon
the universe
Mafic
❑ Nitrogen – most abundant gas in the
– dark coloration indicating high atmosphere
concentration of olivine and pyroxene, rich in
magnesium and iron
Meteorology
- from magnesium and ferric
- Study of atmosphere, weather and climate

Weather Disturbances
Types of Igneous Rocks Based from Texture
▪ Hurricanes- Atlantic
Aphantic – fine -grained texture
▪ Typhoons- Pacific
Phaneritic – coarse grained texture
▪ Cyclones- Indian
Porphyritic – combination of different crystal
sizes

Layers of the Atmosphere

1. Troposphere (weather phenomena)

2. Stratosphere (ozone layer)

3. Mesosphere (meteors burn)

4. Thermosphere (auroras)

5. Exosphere

ATMOSPHERE

❑ It is the thin gaseous layer that

envelopes the lithosphere.

❑ The present atmosphere is composed of

78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, 0.9% Argon
and trace amount of other gases.

❑ One of the most important processes by

which the heat on the Earth’s surface is
HYROSPHERE Community- Composed of several populations

▪ About 70% of the Earth is covered with Population- Similar species/organisms

liquid water and much of it is in the
Organism
form of ocean water.

▪ Only 3% of Earth’s water is fresh: two-

thirds are in the form of ice, and the
remaining one-third is present in
streams, lakes and groundwater

Hydrologic/ Water Cycle

1. Evaporation –liquid to gas

2. Condensation – gas to liquid in the form of

clouds

Clouds are classified based on shape and

altitude.

Cumulonimbus- cloud that bring thunderstorm

3. Precipitation – when heavy clouds pour liquid

water or solid ice.

BIOSPHERE

❑ It is the set of all life forms on Earth.

❑ It covers all ecosystems – from the soil

to the rainforest, from mangroves to
coral reefs, and from the plankton-rich
ocean surface to the deep sea.

❑ For the majority of life on Earth, the

base of the food chain comprises
photosynthetic organisms.

Levels of Organization:

Biosphere- Covers all space with life

Biome- Several ecosystems sharing same

climate

Ecosystem- Interaction between living and non-

living things