EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE

Earth and Life Science - presents the history of the Earth through geologic time. It discusses the
Earth’s structure, composition, and processes. Issues, concerns, and problems pertaining to
natural hazards are also included. It also deals with the basic principles and processes in the
study of biology. It covers life processes and interactions at the cellular, organism, population,
and ecosystem levels.

BRANCHES OF EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE

Biology - study of life.

Zoology - study of animals.
Geology - is the science that studies the Earth's physical structure and substances, the history of
rocks, the processes that act on them and the most economic way to use the world's resources.
Oceanography - is the study of all aspects of the ocean. Oceanography covers a wide range of
topics, from marine life and ecosystems to currents and waves.
Meteorology - is the science dealing with the atmosphere and its phenomena, including both
weather and climate.
Astronomy - is the study of everything in the universe beyond Earth's atmosphere. That includes
objects we can see with our naked eyes, like the Sun , the Moon , the planets, and the stars.

Earth and Life Science - is the study of Earth, Earth system, and Earth Structure. An example
of these are geology, oceanography, cosmology.
Geology – science that deals with the history of Earth and life especially as recorded o rocks.
Oceanography – science that deals with the ocean and includes the limits of their extent and
depth, physics and chemistry of their water, marine biology and utilization of their resources.
Cosmology – a branch of astronomy that deals with the origin, structure, and space time
relationship of the universe.
 LESSON 1: THE ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE
INTRODUCTION
Baryonic Matter
> "ordinary" matter consisting of protons,
electrons, and neutrons.
> "only about 10% of baryonic matter is in
the form of stars, and most of the rest
inhabits the space between galaxies in
strands of hot, spread-out matter known as
the Warm-Hot intergalactic Medium, or
WHIM.
Dark Matter
> matter that has gravity but does not emit
light.
> They include objects such as planets,
moons, brown dwarfs, dust clouds, white
dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes. They
are too small to glow brightly, but they can
be detected through their gravitational effect
on light
Dark Matter: Regular Matter:
( - 80% ) ( - 20%)
- Stars
- Galaxies
- Dust and Clouds
Thermonuclear Reaction
> a nuclear fusion reaction responsible for
the energy produced by stars.
Protostar
> an early stage in the formation of a star.
> protostars are also known as Young
Stellar Objects (YSOs). The Orion Nebula
is the brightest part of a huge stellar nursery
where new stars are being born, and it is the
closest site of massive star formation to
Earth.
Dark Energy
> a force that counteracts gravity and causes
the universe to expand.
> one example is called phantom dark
energy, where not only is expansion
accelerating, but the acceleration is also
increasing over time. This leads to a
scenario called the Big Rip, where
expansion becomes infinitely fast, tearing
galaxies, atoms and the fabric of space-time
itself apart.
Dark Energy: Total Matter:
( - 69%) ( - 31%)
Main Sequence Star
> stars that fuse H+ atoms to form He atoms
in their cores.
 THE UNIVERSE

The universe, as we currently know it, What are the 3 most abundant elements in
comprises all space and time, and all matter the universe?
& energy in it.
1. Hydrogen
What are the 3 components of the universe?
2. Helium
1. Dark Energy – 69% 3. Lithium
2. Dark Matter – 24.8%
3. Baryonic Matter – 6.2%

A galaxy is a cluster of billions of stars and The Universe

clusters of galaxies form superclusters.
> 13.8 Billion years old
What composes a galaxy?
> Density:
1. Stars
2. Planets 4.5 x 10-31 g/ cm3
3. Nebulae (clouds, dust, and gas)
> 91 Billion light years in diameter
4. Asteroids
5. Dark Matter (planets, nebulae. asteroids)
 THEORIES OF THE ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE

Creationism Theory
> “All matter in the universe were created in a span of six days.”
> The monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam claim that a supreme being
created the universe.

Hindu Beliefs
> “The universe is oscillating which expands out and will collapse eventually.”
> The Hindu text Rigveda describes the universe as an oscillating universe in which a ‘cosmic
egg’ called Brahmanda expands out of a single concentrated point called Bindu, and will
eventually collapse again.

African Belief
> “All the contents of the universe were vomited by a god.”
> The Kuba people of Central Africa tell the story of a creator god Mbombo (or Bumba) who,
alone in a dark and water-covered Earth, felt an intense stomach pain and then vomited the stars,
sun, and moon.

Leucippus and Democritus

> “The universe was composed of very small, indivisible and indestructible atoms.”
> Leucippus - proposed that matter composed of indivisible particles.
Democritus – coined the term “atoms” (atomos – indestructible)

Nicolaus Copernicus
> Heliocentrism
> The sun is the center of the solar system.

Aristotle and Ptolemy

> Geocentrism
> The Earth is the center of the solar system.

Giordano Bruno
> The Solar System is not the center of the
universe.
Steady State Theory
> “The universe expands but its density does not change.”
> The theory was not scientific at all, but purely philosophical.

BIG BANG THEORY

> “The universe began out of a huge explosion which caused its continuous expansion.”

Cosmological Principle
> The universe is homogeneous.
> The universe is isotropic.

What does the universe is isotropic and homogeneous

mean?
> “ The universe looks the same in all direction, and location.”
> Isotropy means that there are no special directions to the universe. Homogeneous means there
are no special places in the universe. Homogeneity, when viewed on the largest scales, means that
the average density of matter is about the same in all places in the universe and the universe is
fairly smooth on large scales.
Misconception Cleared
> The “Bang” should not be taken as an explosion. It is better thought of a simultaneous
appearance of space everywhere.
> 0 to 10-43 sec

Planck Era
> The Planck Era is prior to 10-43 s after the Big Bang, when we believe that the four basic forces
of nature, 1) gravity, 2) nuclear strong force, 3) nuclear weak force, and 4) electromagnetic force
were combined into a single "super" force. With a temperature of 10 32k.
> 0 to 10-43 sec

Inflation Theory
 Grand Unified Theory and Electro Weak Era
> The GUT era began when the super force split into two types of forces – gravity and Gut force.
In the time when the universe cooled to 10 29k . The strong force started to freeze out from the gut
force which was accompanied by a release of huge amount of energy causing space evolution to
grow up into enormous size of our solar system. This expansion of the universe is called inflation.
After the gut era, the electro weak era, our young universe continued expand and cool. Dropping
to a temperature of 1015k when it reach the age of 10 sec. electro weak is the unification of electro
magnetic and weak forces. At this temperature, the electromagnetic force and weak force starts to
freeze out from the electro weak force finally separating.
> 10-32 sec to 10 sec

Plank Era – 4 fundamental forces are formed:

Gravity
Super Force
Nuclear Strong Force

Nuclear Weak Force Grand Unified Theory (GUT)

Electroweak
Force Electromagnetic Force

Particle Era

> When the fundamental forces started to separated

ordinary particle started to form. Throughput the
particle era, there were spontaneous creation and
annihilation of particles. Photons, a particle of light or
other electromagnetic radiation, collided with other
photon to form matter and antimatter. These particles
are electrons neutrinos and quarks. The temperature of
the universe is1012k. At the near end of the particle era
, the temperature of the universe was low enough for
the quarks to combine in groups of three to form
protons and neutrons.
> 0.001 second
Era of Nucleosynthesis
> The end of the particle era marked the beginning of the era of nucleosynthesis. Heavier nuclei
started to form by fusion of proton and neutron left over. However, some of the nuclei broke apart
because of the high temperature of the universe. At the end of the era of nucleosynthesis, the
temperature of the universe dropped to 109k. Which caused the fusion of proton and neutron to
stop. At this stage the universe was about 3 minutes old and contained 75 % hydrogen and 25%
helium with trace amount of deuterium and Lithium.
> 3 to 20 minutes

Post Inflation

> Within 20 minutes, the temperature of the

universe has become too cold to drive the
process, which ceases with the formation of the
nuclei of hydrogen and helium. The temperature
of the universe is about 1 billion degrees Celsius
or 109K.

> 20 minutes

Era of Nuclei
> The expanding universe consisted of plasma hydrogen and helium nuclei and free electrons
throughout this era. The fusion of the nuclei stops, and the Universe continues to expand. The
temperature became too low for fusion to continue. However, the temperature remained high
enough to keep all the particles ionized (electrons free from the nuclei). At the end of the era of
nuclei, the temperature of the universe dropped to 3,000k the hydrogen and helium nuclei starts
to capture electrons to form stable atoms neutral atoms. As a result, the universe became
transparent. These photons today are known as the cosmic microwave background. Later in this
era the 25 elements in the periodic table were created.
> 380, 000 to 500,000 years

Condensation Process

> Through nucleosynthesis in stars, carbon and elements heavier than

carbon were produced.
> 500, 000 to 100 mil years
Era of Atoms and Era of Galaxies
> The Universe consisted of mixture of neutral atoms and plasma, which slowly gathered to form
protogalactic clouds during the era of atoms. The first generation of star was formed within the
clouds, which transformed the clouds into galaxies. However, heavier elements could not be
formed having the amount of energy provided by the stars. The needed energy was derived from
the bursting of the stars known as the supernova. This provides the energy to synthesize the
heavier elements such as copper gold and uranium. The universe was about 1 billion years old
when young galaxies started to form continuous creating and bursting of stars provided the energy
that led to the production of the elements that were used for the formation of the planets
> 500, 000 to 1 billion years

Clustering of Galaxies

What are the major evidences which support the Big Bang theory?

1. Hubble’s Law
>Hubble made observations that he interpreted as showing that
distant stars and galaxies are receding from Earth in every
direction (redshift, 1929).
> Based on Vesto Slipher’s observation (1912)
2. Cosmic Microwave Background
> In 1965, radio astronomers Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson
discovered a 2.725 K cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB)
which pervades the observable universe. This is thought to be the
remnant of energy which scientists were looking for.

Difficulty of the Big Bang Theory

1. The original cause of the big bang itself is one of the questions left unanswered.

Early Models of the Universe

1. Pythagoreans (500 B.C.)

> Believed the stars, planets, sun, and moon were attached to crystalline spheres which rotated
around the Earth.
> Geocentric – everything moved around the Earth.

2. Aristotle (350 B.C.)

> Believed the Earth is motionless at the center of the universe and all the stars and planets
revolved around it.
> Stars and planets moved in circular paths.
> Geocentric
3. Claudius Ptolemy (140 A.D.)
> Expanded Aristotle’s theories to try to account for “retrograde motion” of the planets
> Planets traveled in smaller circular paths as they traveled around the Earth (epicycles and
deferent) Geocentric
> Popular model of the universe for 1,500 years.

4. Nicolaus Copernicus (1543)

> Sun at the center of universe and the planets orbit the sun. Heliocentric.
> Solved the problem of “retrograde motion”
> Theory did not immediately replace Ptolemy’s theory.

5. Tycho Brahe (1600)

> Favored an Earth-centered universe different from Ptolemy’s theory.
> Thought that other planets revolved around the Sun, and that the sun and moon revolved
around Earth.
> His theory was incorrect, but made many precise observations of planets and stars.
> Geocentric

6. Johannes Kepler (1609)

> Mathematician
> Tycho’s assistant
> Used Tycho’s observational data to develop laws of planetary motion.
> Kepler’s 3 Laws of Planetary Motion
- Law of Ellipses
- Law of Equal Areas
- Law of Periods

7. Galileo Galilei (1609)

> First person to use telescope for astronomical observations
> Discoveries:
- Galilean Satellites (Jupiter’s moons)
 - Craters on the moon
- Sunspots on the Sun
- Phases of Venus
> Favored Copernicus’s theory over Ptolemy’s

8. Historical Astronomy – Newton

> Newton – determines that planets stay in orbit because of Inertia and Gravity
a. Inertia – an object at rest stays at rest, an object in motion stays in a straight line motion,
until acted on by an outside force.
b. Gravity – the attraction of two objects. The strength of gravity depends on the masses each
object possess.

(Theories on the Origin of the Universe)

Steady State Theory

> States that the Universe has always existed, and that the Universe is expanding and constantly
creating matter as the Universe expands. The universe has no beginning or end in time
> Proposed by: James Jeans
> Revised By: Fred Holye, Thomas Gold, and Hermann Bondi,

Steady State Model

The Big Bounce/Oscillating/Pulsating Universe
> States that the expansion of the universe slows and reverses, thereby causing a collapse into a
singularity, which then expands into a new universe, repeating the cycle., so in this way the
universe would last forever, but would pass through phases of expansion (Big Bang) and
contraction (Big Crunch).
> Proposed by Paul Steinhart
> Considered by : Albert Einstein

The Big Bang Theory

> The most commonly accepted theory today of the formation of the universe is the Big Bang
Theory.
> The theory states that the universe originated sometime between 10 billion and 20 billion years
ago from an enormous explosion of a small volume of matter at extremely high density and
temperature.
> The Surroundings were at a temperature of about 10 billion degrees Fahrenheit9 /5.5 billion
degree Celsius.
> Proposed by: Georges Lemaître

Time Begins
> The universe begins ~13.7 Billion years ago.
> The universe begins as the size of a single atom.
> The universe began as a violent expansion.
- All matter and space were created from a single point of pure energy in an instant.
Big Bang Evidence
> Universal expansion and Hubble’s Law
> Cosmic Microwave Background radiation
> Quasar is a bright light 10 billion light years away from earth but reaches the earth and
absorbed by helium from Earth

1. Universal expansion and Hubble’s Law

a. Hubble observed the majority of galaxies are moving away from us and each other
b. The farther, the faster they move

Why the sky is color blue

> Gases and particles in Earth's atmosphere scatter sunlight in all
directions. Blue light is scattered more than other colors because it travels as shorter, smaller
waves. This is why we see a blue sky most of the time.

2. The Cosmic Microwave Background

> The radiation left over from the Big Bang—was detected by Penzias and Wilson in 1965 using
Holmdel Horn Antenna.

3. Quasars - super large (solar system size) galactic cores that put out more light than
whole galaxies.
> Located 10-15 billion light years away
> This light absorbed by the Helium from Earth
> Evidence that there are happenings 10 billion years ago
> (9.46 x 1012 km) one light years

ADDITIONAL INFORMATIONS

1 Astronomical Unit 1 Light Year

> One astronomical unit is the approximate
mean distance between the Earth and sun.
It's about 93 million miles (150 million km),
or 8 light-minutes.
> A light-year is a unit of distance. It is the
distance that light can travel in one year. Light
moves at a velocity of about
300,000 kilometers (km) each second. So in one
year, it can travel about 9.5 trillion km.