Chapter 01:

THE ATMOSPHERE
Content:
 What Is Atmosphere?
 Layers of Atmosphere
 What would happen if the Earth’s Atmosphere
Disappeared?
 Composition of Atmosphere – Gases in the
Atmosphere
 Activity
What is Atmosphere?
An atmosphere is a blanket of gases that surrounds Earth. It is held near the surface of the planet
by Earth’s gravitational attraction. Argon, oxygen and nitrogen from the three main constituents
of the atmosphere.

Definition

“Atmosphere is a protective layer of gases that shelters all life

on Earth, keeping temperatures within a relatively small range and
blocking out harmful rays of sunlight.”

Features of the Atmosphere:

 Helps retain the sun’s heat and prevents it from escaping back into space.
 Protects life from harmful radiation from the sun.
 Plays a major role in Earth’s water cycle.
 Helps keep the climate on Earth moderate.

Layers of Atmosphere
What do you see when you stand outside and look up? A blue sky? A group of clouds? At night
you might see a crescent moon, stars, or a satellite. What you are not seeing, however, is the
complexity of our atmosphere.
Layers of Earth’s atmosphere are divided into five
different layers:

1. Exosphere

2. Thermosphere

3. Mesosphere

4. Stratosphere

5. Troposphere

Figure1: The hierarchical arrangement of various layers of the Earth’s

Troposphere
The troposphere is the lowest layer in the atmosphere. It extends upward to about 10 km above
sea level starting from ground level. The lowest part of the troposphere is called the boundary
layer and the topmost layer is called the tropopause. The troposphere contains 75% of all air in
the atmosphere.

Stratosphere
Above the troposphere lies the stratosphere which extends from the top of the troposphere to
about 50 km (31 miles) above the ground. The ozone layer lies within the stratosphere. Ozone
molecules in this layer absorb high-energy ultraviolet (UV) light from the Sun and convert it into
heat.

Mesosphere
Above the stratosphere is the mesosphere and it extends to a height of about 85 km (53 miles)
from the ground. Here, the temperature grows colder as you rise up through the mesosphere. The
coldest parts of our atmosphere are located in this layer and can reach –90°C.

Thermosphere
Thermosphere lies above the mesosphere and this is a region where the temperature increases as
you go higher up. The temperature increase is caused due to the absorption of energetic
ultraviolet and X-ray radiation from the sun. However, the air in this layer is so thin that it would
feel freezing cold to us! Satellites orbit Earth within the thermosphere.

Exosphere
Exosphere is the final frontier of the Earth’s gaseous envelope. The air in the exosphere is
constantly but gradually leaking out of the Earth’s atmosphere into outer space. There is no clear
cut upper boundary where the exosphere finally fades away into space.

Ionosphere
The ionosphere isn’t a distinct layer unlike other layers in the atmosphere. The ionosphere is a
series of regions in parts of the mesosphere and thermosphere where high-energy radiation from
the Sun has knocked electrons loose from their parent atoms and molecules.
What Would Happen if the Earth’s Atmosphere
Disappeared?
Have you ever wondered what would happen if the Earth lost its atmosphere? Here is a
breakdown of what could happen:

 Birds and planes would fall from the sky. Although we can’t see air, it has a mass that supports flying
objects.
 The sky would turn black. The sky gets its color blue due to the atmosphere. Gases and particles in
Earth’s atmosphere scatter sunlight in all directions. Blue light is scattered more than other colours
because it travels as shorter, smaller waves. This is why we see a blue sky most of the time.
 There would be no sensation of sound. Although you could feel vibrations from the ground you
wouldn’t hear anything. Sound requires a medium to travel.
 All the water bodies such as rivers, lakes and oceans would boil away. Boiling occurs when the
vapour pressure of a liquid exceeds external pressure. In a vacuum, the water readily boils.
 Organisms that breathe air to survive would die.

Composition of Atmosphere – Gases in the Atmosphere

The atmospheric composition of gas on Earth is largely conducted by the by-products of the life
that it nurtures.

Dry air from earth’s atmosphere contains 0.038% of carbon dioxide, 20.95% of oxygen, 78.08%
of nitrogen and 0.93% of argon.

Traces of hydrogen, neon, helium, nitrous oxide, ozone and other “noble” gases, but generally a
variable amount of water vapour is also present, on average about 1% at sea level.
Activity:
Chapter 02
ENERGY RESOURCES

Content:

 What is Energy Resources?

 Sources of Energy
 Difference between renewable and non-
renewable resources of energy
 Natural sources of energy
 Types of Natural resources of energy
 Difference between Conventional and Non-
conventional Sources of Energy
 Activity

What is Energy?
The classical description of energy is the ability of a system to perform work, but as energy
exists in so many forms, it is hard to find one comprehensive definition. It is the property of an
object that can be transferred from one object to another or converted to different forms but
cannot be created or destroyed. There are numerous sources of energy. In the next few sections,
let us discuss the about different sources of energy in detail.

Sources of Energy
Sources of energy can be classified into:

 Renewable Sources

 Non-renewable Sources

Renewable sources of energy are available and plentiful in nature and are sustainable. These
resources of energy can be naturally replenished and are safe for the environment.

Examples of renewable sources of energy are: Solar energy, geothermal energy, wind energy,
biomass, hydropower and tidal energy.

A non-renewable resource is a natural resource that is found underneath the earth. These type of
energy resources do not replenish at the same speed at which it is used. They take millions of
years to replenish. The main examples of non-renewable resources are coal, oil and natural gas.

Examples of non-renewable sources of energy are: Natural gas, coal, petroleum, nuclear
energy and hydrocarbon gas liquids.
Difference between Renewable and Non-renewable Sources
of Energy
Renewable Non-renewable

The resources that can be renewed once they are consumed The resources that cannot be renewed once they are
are called renewable sources of energy. consumed are called non-renewable sources of energy.

These resources do not cause any environmental pollution. These resources cause environmental pollution..

Renewable resources are inexhaustible. Non- Renewable resources are exhaustible.

Non- Renewable resources are affected by human

Renewable resources are not affected by human activities.
activities.

Examples of Renewable resources- Air, water and solar Examples of Non-renewable resources- natural gas, coal
energy. and nuclear energy.

Natural Sources of Energy

During the Stone Age, it was wood. During the Iron Age, we had coal. In the modern age, we
have fossil fuels like petroleum and natural gas. So how do we choose the source of energy?

Good sources of energy should have the following qualities:

 Optimum heat production per unit of volume/mass used

 Easy to transport

 Least Polluting

 Economical
Types of Natural Sources of Energy
There are two types of natural sources of energy classified by their popularity and use,

 Conventional Sources of Energy

 Non-Conventional Sources of Energy

Difference between Conventional and Non-conventional

Sources of Energy
Conventional Non-conventional

These resources are exhaustible. These resources are inexhaustible.

These resources cause pollution as they emit smoke and

These resources are usually pollution-free.
ash.

These resources are very expensive to be maintained, These resources are less expensive for local use and can
stored and transmitted. easily be maintained.

Examples- solar, biomass, wind, biogas, and tidal,

Examples- coal, natural gas, petroleum, and water power.
geothermal.
Activity:
Chapter 03
THE SOLAR SYSTEM

Content:

 What is a solar system?

 The Planets
 Movement of the earth
 Activity

What is Solar System

 The solar system consists of the Sun and everything that orbits, or travels around, the Sun. This
includes the eight planets and their moons, dwarf planets, and countless asteroids, comets, and
other small, icy objects. However, even with all these things, most of the solar system is empty
space.

The solar system itself is only a small part of a huge system of stars and other objects called
the Milky Way galaxy. The solar system orbits around the center of the galaxy about once every
225 million years.

Planets
 Planets are heavenly bodies revolving around the sun in elliptical orbits.
 All planets fall into two groups-

1. Inner Planets

Mercury, Venus, Mars and Earth

2. Outer Planets

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune

 There is a ring of small bodies between the

inner & the outer planets, which are made
up of rocks & metals. These are called Asteroids. They keep moving around the sun and this ring
is called the Asteroid belt.
 The inner planets are also called the rocky planets as they are made up of rocks.

 Mercury – this is the closest planet to the Sun. It is the smallest planet and is made of
rock. It is so close to the Sun that it only takes 88 days for it to complete its orbit and is
much hotter than Earth.

 Venus – Venus is the next planet from the Sun after Mercury. It is also made of rock.
Like Earth, Venus has an atmosphere (air) around it, but it is a lot thicker than Earth’s
and Venus is permanently covered in clouds. Venus is the hottest planet and has an
 average temperature of 460°C. It is about the same size as Earth. It takes 225 days to
travel around the Sun.

 Earth – This is where we live! Earth is made of rock and is the only planet where water
is liquid. The other planets are either too hot or too cold. Earth takes 365 days to travel
around the Sun.

 Mars – Mars is a little smaller than Earth, but a lot further out. It used to have an
atmosphere like Earth and Venus, but it doesn’t have very much anymore. Mars is
reddish in colour and is sometimes called ‘The Red Planet’. Mars takes 687 days to
complete its orbit pf the Sun and the average temperature is -63°C.

 Jupiter – Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar System. You could fit 1,321 Earths
inside Jupiter. It is made of gas and is one of the four ‘gas giants’. Jupiter has 66 moons;
one of them, Ganymede, is bigger than Mercury. Jupiter is five times as far from the Sun
as the Earth is and takes almost 12 years to travel around the Sun.

 Saturn – Saturn is famous for its rings. The rings were first observed (with a telescope)
in 1610 by Galileo and are made up of huge numbers of small lumps of ice and dust
(mostly ice). The pieces in the rings may be as small as a millimetre or as large as a few
metres across. Saturn is the second largest planet in the Solar System and is another one
of the ‘gas giants’ like Jupiter. It takes 29.5 years to travel around the Sun.

 Uranus – Uranus is another of the ‘gas giants’. You could fit 63 planets the size of Earth
inside Uranus. Uranus takes 84 years to orbit the Sun and is the coldest planet, with an
average temperature of -220°C.
  Neptune – Neptune is the farthest planet from the Sun. It is 30 times as far from the sun
as Earth and takes 165 years to travel around the Sun. Neptune is the last of the four ‘gas
giants’ and is 58 times the volume of Earth.

Movement of Earth
The earth moves in 2 ways

Rotation of the Earth

Rotation is the movement of the earth on its axis. Days and Nights take place because of rotation.
So, the days and nights that you see are actually because of this rotation of the earth around its
own axis. The circle that divides the day from night on the globe is called the circle of
illumination.

Revolution of the Earth

Revolution is the second type of motion of the earth. It is the movement of the Earth around the
Sun in a fixed path or orbit. Revolution causes the change of seasons. It takes 365 days and 6
hours (one year) to revolve around the sun.

Trick to remember Planets name in sequence

ACTIVITY