EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE
REVIEWER (made by the gorospe
twins mwah mwah <3)
LESSON 1: THE ORIGIN OF THE
UNIVERSE
- approximately 14 billion years ago,
nothing existed
- black void of space
Different Theories;
1) CREATIONISM
- biblical theory
- was created by a “supreme being”
- genesis 1:1 “ In the beginning, God created
the heavens and the earth.”
2) BIG BANG THEORY
- remains to be the top prevailing
cosmological model for the early
development of the universe
- George Lemaitre, 1920s
- astronomers based their findings of the
universe through Cosmic Microwave
Background (CMB)
- contained particles of neutrons, electrons
and protons
CMB
- is a thermal radiation used in the
observational cosmology
- considered the oldest light in the universe
- believed to have been released 380,000
years after the big bang
3) STEADY-STATE THEORY
- James Jean 1920s, Fred Hoyle 1940s
- states that it is always expanding
- density of matter is constant over time;
matter continuously and spontaneously
created
4) ETERNAL INFLATION
- happened after the big bang
- rapid expansion of the universe called
inflation
- has been going on and never stopped
expanding
LESSON 2: ORIGIN OF THE SOLAR
SYSTEM
- composed of several planets, asteroids,
comets, satellites and the sun
- a star system, also called stellar system, is
a small number of stars that orbit each other
1) NEBULAR HYPOTHESIS
- developed by Immanuel Kant and
Pierre-Simon Laplace in the 18th century
- presupposes that around 4.5 billion years
ago, a star system was formed rotating cloud
of gas or nebula or existing hot gas
2) PLANETESIMAL THEORY
- describes the formation of the planets
- proposed by Viktor S. Safronov and
developed by Tomas Chrowder Chamberlin
and Forest Ray Moulton
- states that in the early period of the solar
system, planets were formed from the
accretion of small space bodies
3) TIDAL THEORY
- developed by James Jean and Sir Harold
Jeffreys in 1917
- a star passed close to the sun where the
tidal force of the secondary effect of
gravitational pull between the passing star
and the sun drew large amounts of matter
out of the sun and the passing star
INNER/ROCKY PLANETS
• Mercury
• Venus
• Earth
• Mars
OUTER/GAS PLANETS
• Jupiter
• Saturn
• Uranus
• Neptune
RECOGNIZING THE UNIQUE
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EARTH:
EARTH
- the only planet where life exists
Unique Characteristics of the Earth;
ATMOSPHERE
- unique in composition and structure
- conducive for life existence
- with oxygen and carbon
- OZONE LAYER; protects the earth
from the UV radiation from the sun and
from meteoroids and asteroids
WATER
- allows life to exist
- is renewable and it flows in a natural cycle
LOCATION IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM
- located in the habitable zone
- the distance of the planet from the sun can
define its physical characteristics
- earth is not too close yet not too far from
the sun
MAGNETISM
- MAGNETIC FIELD; provides
protection against solar winds
- solar winds can break the ozone layer
LIFE FORMS
- earth is the only place where life forms
exist
- six different types of life forms:
• bacteria
• archaea
• fungi
• protists
• plants
• animals
LESSON 3: EARTH’S SUBSYSTEMS
- the four subsystems are called “spheres”
1) LITHOSPHERE
- refers to the rocks, minerals and geologic
landforms on earth
- composed of naturally-occurring solid
aggregate of minerals, organic material or
natural glass called rocks and loose particles
- includes geological landforms such as
mountain and hills
2) HYDROSPHERE
- totality of the earth’s water, including the
permanently frozen cryosphere
- water has three phases; solid, liquid, gas
- ranged from 10-20 kilometers in thickness
and extends down from earth’s surface
downward several kilometers into the
lithosphere and upwards about 12 kilometers
into the atmosphere
2.2) CRYOSPHERE
- composed of frozen liquid
3) BIOSPHERE
- contains all the planet’s living things and
even organic matter that has not yet
decomposed
- includes all of the microorganisms, plants
and animals
- living things form ecological communities
(or referred to as biomes) based on the
physical surroundings of an area
- deserts grasslands and tropical rainforest
are three of the many types of biomes that
exist within the biosphere
- life on earth exists within the biosphere
LEVELS OF ORGANIZATION:
4) ATMOSPHERE
- contains all the air in the earth’s system
- a mixture of gasses which are nitrogen,
oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide and water
vapor.
- generally composed of 78% nitrogen, 21%
oxygen, 0.9% argon, and the remaining
0.10% is made up of trace gasses.
- upper portion of the atmosphere protects
organisms of the biosphere from the sun’s
ultraviolet radiation
- absorbs and emits heat
BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES
- the four subsystems closely linked through
the biogeochemical cycles which involve
biological, geological and chemical factors.
LESSON 4: PORTIONS OF THE ● african
EARTH ● antarctica
● Pacific
solid portion of the earth includes: MINOR PLATES:
- landforms ● philippine sea plate
- landmasses ● nazca plate
- plates
- rocks and minerals
- layers

a) LANDFORMS
• mountains
• volcanoes
• islands and archipelagos
• canyons
• peninsula
• hills NOTE: collision can be called
• plateaus CONVERGENT, spreading can be called
• valleys DIVERGENT, and slip can be called
• plains TRANSFORM.

b) LANDMASSES 4) ROCKS AND MINERALS

- earth is composed of several landmasses
called CONTINENTS ROCKS
CONTINENTAL DRIFT THEORY - are solid aggregates of minerals.
BY ALFRED WEGENER
- supercontinent PANGEA, TYPES OF ROCKS:
surrounded by an ocean called • igneous rocks
PANTHALASSA • sedimentary rocks
- two supercontinents: LAURASIA • metamorphic rocks.
and GONDWANALAND
MINERALS
PRESENT DAY CONTINENTS - naturally occurring substances formed in
• asia the earth.
• australia ex: gold, quartz, diamond.
• africa
• north america 5) LAYERS
• south america
• europe LAYERS OF THE EARTH
• crust
• antarctica
• mantle
• core
c) PLATES
- earth’s surface is composed of plates
SOIL
- plates move due to plate tectonics
- topmost layer of the crust
- plates interact with each other
- has organic matter, living orgasms, rocks
MAJOR PLATES:
and minerals.
● north american
● south american
● euroasian
- important medium for life existence, - opaque and very reflective like gold
biogeochemical cycles and natural and silver
phenomena NONMETALLIC LUSTER
- dull, silky, greasy, pearly, like
LESSON 5: IDENTIFYING COMMON silicates
ROCK-FORMING MINERALS USING
THEIR PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL 3) HARDNESS
PROPERTIES - resistance of a smooth surface to abrasion
or scratching
MINERALS - minerals are compared to an object of
- building blocks of rocks known hardness using a scratch test
- composed of one or more chemical FRIEDRICH MOHS
elements - developed a relative hardness scale base on
- with definite chemical composition scratch test
- nature: solid and mostly inorganic
- distinguished based on different physical MOHS’ SCALE OF MINERAL HARDNESS
and chemical properties
MINERAL HARDNESS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
- readily determined TALC 1
• color
GYPSUM 2
• luster
• streak CALCITE 3
• hardness
• cleavage fracture FLUORITE 4
• crystal form APATITE 5

FELDSPAR 6

QUARTZ 7
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
- not readily determined TOPAZ 8
• reaction with acid
CORUNDUM 9
other properties:
• magnetism DIAMOND 10
• special gravity/density
• taste, odor, feel
4) STREAK
- color of the mineral that has been crushed
6 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF MINERALS
to a powder
-streak is obtained by rubbing the mineral on
1) COLOR
a streak plate
- most obvious properties of a mineral but
reliable alone
5) CLEAVAGE AND FRACTURE
ex: quartz can be colorless, white, pink,
- refers to tendency of minerals to break
purple, green, gray, or black
along very smooth, flat, shiny surfaces
- can be described as perfect, poor, and good
2) LUSTER
PERFECT
- describe appearance of a mineral when
- breaks easily along flat surfaces and
light is reflected from its surface
are easy to spot
METALLIC LUSTER
GOOD
 - do not have such well-defined - metals like magnesium are flammable
cleavage planes and reflect less light
POOR EXAMPLES
- toughest to recognize, but can be
spotted by small flashes of light in DIAMOND
certain positions. - hardest naturally-occurring mineral
- facture may break along random, irregular - made up of lattice of carbon molecules
surfaces - excellent insulator of electricity
classified as: - white to blue, pale yellow to colorless
• conchoidal - formed at high pressure
• uneven - not reactive to strong acids and strong
• hackly bases
• splintery
• earthly CALCITE
- calcium carbonate (CaCO3)
6) CRYSTAL FORM - only common non-silicate rock forming
- refers to overall shape or growth of pattern mineral
of the mineral - brittle
1) ACICULAR - found in sedimentary and hydrothermal
- needle-like environments
2) BLADED - white to colorless
- blade-like, slender and flattened - high reactivity with weak acids like
3) BOTRYOIDAL vinegar
- grape-like masses - vigorously reacts when diluted with
4) CUBIC hydrochloric acid
- cube-shape
GYPSUM
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES - water-soluble mineral sediment
- most common sulfate mineral
MAGNETISM - clear, colorless, white, gray
- attracted to a hand magnet - limited durability
- soluble in hydrochloric acid
STRIATIONS
- presence of very thin, parallel grooves CLASSIFICATION OF MINERALS

SPECIFIC GRAVITY
- is the weight of the mineral divided by
weight of an equal volume of water

TASTE, ODOR, FEEL

- (self-explanatory)

- minerals are identified by how they react to

substances
- carbonate minerals react to acid
- metallic sulfide minerals form into sulfuric
acid when exposed to air and water
- uranium and thorium contains minerals
like autunite
- thorianate are radioactive
 a) INTRUSIVE - formed deep within
the earth, characterized by large
crystals
- example: granite, diorite
b) EXTRUSIVE - formed at the surface
of the earth, characterized by
fine-grained crystals
- examples: obsidian, basalt

SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
- formed from sediments, deposition of
eroded particles of other rocks and
precipitation of minerals from water
- types of sedimentary rocks
a) CLASTIC - debris formed from
mechanical weathering
- conglomerate
- contains chemical cements which
bind pebbles and rocks together
- products of strong water current

b) CHEMICAL - precipitate dissolved

minerals from a solution
- rock salt
- product of evaporation of seawater
or saline lakes
- also known as halite

c) ORGANIC - aggregates of plants or

animal debris
- limestone (can also be chemical)
- composed mainly of calcium
carbonate
LESSON 6: CLASSIFYING ROCKS
- organic accumulation of shells and
INTO IGNEOUS, SEDIMENTARY AND
corals while chemical is precipitation
METAMORPHIC
of calcium from ocean
- coal
ROCKS
- from plant debris
- naturally occurring aggregates or
- combustible rock
conglomerates of minerals
- often uses as fossil fuel for electricity
- petrology: branch of science that studies
generation
rocks
METAMORPHIC ROCKS
TYPES OF ROCKS:
- heat, pressure or chemically rocks
IGNEOUS ROCKS
- modification happens deep below the
- rocks that cooled and crystallized from
earth’s surface
molten magma
- affects texture, mineral and chemical
- may form beneath on or above the surface
compositions
of the earth
 a) FOLIATED - show layer or bands
due to heat and exposure and direct
pressure
- examples: gneiss and schist
b) NON-FOLIATED - shows no layers
or bands
- examples: quartzite and marble
LESSON 7: MINERALS THAT ARE
IMPORTANT TO SOCIETY
1) COPPER
- good conductor of electricity and is very
ductile
- easily drawn into thin wires
- used for electrical machinery such as
electromagnets and generators
- black, opaque, magnetic mineral and
contains both forms of iron in its crystal
structure
- produces magnetized iron with massive
magnetite
- used for compass production
8) IRON AND CHROMIUM
- stainless kitchen wares that are less
reactive to food
- durable and non-corrosive
9) TITANIUM
- strong but very light metal
- used in making medical and dental tools
- important in prosthetic and in dental
implants

2) QUARTZ 10) URANIUM

- well-known mineral
- crush-resistant and has high heat resistance
- manufacturing glasses or as sand slurries to
fracture reservoir of rocks in the petroleum
industry
- used in nuclear power plants
- source of heat to run nuclear reactor and
generate electricity

3) OLIVINE
- has high crystallization temperatures
- used in gemstone peridot which is the
birthstone for the month of august
- uses as refractory material and slag
conditioner

4) GYPSUM
- soft material that is soluble in water
- functions as plaster in cement production

5) HALITE
- natural form of salt
- chemical composition of NaCl
- used as table salt and preservation of meat LESSON 8: DESCRIBING HOW ORES
AND MINERALS ARE FOUND
6) CALCITE
- leaves white streak when rubbed on Difference Between Ore and Mineral;
surface
MINERAL ORE
- composes shells of microscopic planktons
which are used as chalk - naturally - ores are usually
occurring used to extract
7) MAGNETITE substances that are metals
present in the economically
earth’s crust
 - all minerals are - all ores are - removes the overburden from the
not ores minerals sides of any land formations forming
long narrow strips and dumps them
- minerals are - ores are mineral back into strips
native forms in deposits
which metals exist
c) dredging
- Mining from the bottom of a body of
ORES AND ORE MINERALS: water, including rivers, lakes and
- special rocks (ores) with large amount of oceans
minerals (ore minerals)
- are then extracted and processed for human 2) Subsurface Mining
use - extracts the rocks and minerals that
can be found beneath the earth’s
Types of Ore: surface
• Volcanic: can be found in volcanic rocks - need to create a tunnel so they can
- formed from magma and lava reach the ore minerals
solidification - more expensive and dangerous
- gold and diamond are also found in
these ore minerals a) longwall mining
- found in deeply weathered rocks - Large conveyor belt removes coal
especially volcanic rocks from underground mines

• Metamorphic and Sedimentary: can be b) solution mining

found in continental and marine sediments;
bed rocks
- Contains lead, zinc, platinum and
even diamond
• Hydrothermal: can be found in hot springs
or other hydrothermal solution
- hot water and interconnected
openings of rocks are some
necessary conditions
MINING:
TYPES OF MINING;
1) Surface Mining
- extract ore or minerals near the
surface of the earth, soil and rocks
that covered the ores are removed
through blasting, blasting is a control
use of explosives and gas exposure
to break rocks
a) open-pit mining
- big hole in the ground which is
created by blasting with explosives
and drilling
b) strip mining
- Is introduced in underground mine
dissolving ores and bringing them up
into the surface
MINERAL PROCESSING;
SAMPLING - removal of a portion of
which represents a whole needed for the
analysis
ANALYSIS - evaluate the valuable
components in an ore
COMMUNICATION - value components
of the ore are separated through crushing
and grinding
CONCENTRATION - separation of the
valuable minerals from the raw materials
DEWATERING - uses the concentration to
convert it into usable minerals
EXTRACTING COPPER FROM SULFIDE
ORES;
1. Crushing - into small pieces for the
next stage
 2. Milling - ore is placed into drums - high heating value
called mills and breaks it into finer - most common type of coal used in
particles electricity generation
3. Flotation - separates mineral from 3. subbituminous coal
the ore particles coats - has higher heating value than lignite
4. Smelting - heating them beyond 4. lignite
melting point - brown coal
5. Electro-refining - lowest grade coal with the least
concentration of carbon
LESSON 9: FORMATION OF FOSSIL
FUEL PEATS
- composed of dead plant matter, decaying
FOSSIL FUELS organic matters, or sometimes charcoal
- naturally occurring carbon compounds - usually formed in moist, watery terrestrial
found in the earth’s crust areas like peat bogs and peat swamps
- non-renewable
- world’s primary energy source that 1. the peat is buried with sediments
provides most of the energy support in 2. the burial process makes the peat compact
transportation, electricity and industries 3. the burial stage continues with heat, time
and pressure
TYPES OF FOSSIL FUELS 4. then the peat is developed into lignite
• coal
• oil
• natural gas

COAL
- solid fossil fuel that is hard, dark colored
and rock-like in appearance
- readily combustible
- used to heat up homes and power trains
and factories
- used to generate electricity and to make
steels and other metals
- are found where forest trees, plants, and
marshes existed before being buried and
compressed millions of years ago
OIL (PETROLEUM)
COAL FORMATION
- liquid fossil fuel that is black, thick, and
- started during the carboniferous period
highly viscous
- takes a million years to produce a coal
- highly flammable
- coals are formed through the process of
- can be found in layers of rocks or in tar
coalification
sands
- formed from peats
- used in producing kerosene, diesel, jet fuel
and other petroleum products and generating
4 MAJOR RANKS OF COAL
electricity
1. anthracite
- hard coal
NATURAL GAS
- high percentage of fixed carbon and low
- gaseous fossil fuel that is odorless,
percentage of volatile matter
colorless, and highly flammable
2. bituminous coal
- composed mainly of methane gas
- used in generating electricity and in
supplying energy for cooking and
transportation
OIL AND NATURAL GAS
FORMATION
- occurred mostly during the mesozoic and
cenozoic era
- during those times, they are often made
from diatoms and planktons
1. they form from organic matters of dead
marine organisms (plankton, fishes, and
algae) that settle at the bottom of the ocean
or sea
2. sediments, mud and silt buried these
matters and makes them compact
3. with high temperature and pressure, the
organic matter is developed into oil and
eventually natural gas
- they move up through the porous part of
the ground creating reservoir of oil or
natural gas
- usually, they are extracted along shorelines
and coastal areas
ADDITIONAL NOTES
The difference between absolute dating
and relative dating.
- an absolute date refers to a year or a
range of years while a relative date
indicates a chronological order. o
The best indication of the relative
age of rock layer is it’s position
compared to other layers.
What makes the magma come out of the
chamber and how does magma form?
- magma forms from partial melting of
mantle rocks. As the rocks move
upward (or have water added to
them), they start to melt a little bit.
What happens during Metamorphism?
- when pressure and temperature
change, chemical reactions occur to
cause the minerals in the rock to
change to an assemblage that is
stable at the new pressure and
temperature conditions.
Coastal processes result in erosion,
submersion, and saltwater intrusion
through:
o elevated salinity levels cause crop
yield declines, coastal forest loss, increases
in salt-tolerant invasive species,
eutrophication and marsh migration.
o coastal submergence causes intrusion
of salt-water into coastal aquifers and into
the rivers that empty into the estuaries.
o In coastal erosion, local sea level
rise, strong wave action, and coastal
flooding wear down or carry away rocks,
soils, and/or sands along the coast.
The correct order of the processes
responsible for the formation of
sedimentary rocks.
- weathering, erosion, deposition,
compaction, and cementation.