Senior High School

EARTH: THE UNIQUE PLANET

AND ITS SUBSYSTEMS
Earth & Life Science
Quarter I/ Week 1

1
 FOREWORD

This self-learning kit in Earth and Life Science tackles the first three topics of the subject which are
the concepts of Earth as a habitable planet, its components or subsystems: geosphere, hydrosphere,
atmosphere, and biosphere, and some of the rock forming minerals that aid in the formation of Earth’s
surface.

LEARNING COMPETENCY:
The learners shall be able to:
 recognize the uniqueness of Earth, being the only planet in the solar system with properties
necessary to support life. (S11/12ES-Ia-e- 3);
 and explain that the Earth consists of four subsystems, across whose boundaries matter and
energy flow. (S11/12ES-Ia-e- 4)

Life is the condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms, being
manifested by growth through metabolism, reproduction, and the power of adaptation to environment
through
changes originating internally. (Life | Definition of Life at Dictionary.com)

Sometimes, man's failure to protect the environment and LIFE here on EARTH is perhaps due to:

 Inability to recognize the full consequence of his or her actions; and

 Lack of appreciation of how truly unique the Earth is.

The Earth: A unique, habitable planet in the solar system

The solar system is composed of the sun and the eight major planets revolving around it.
Among those eight planets, only one can support life which is the Earth – the planet we live in. But
the question is, how come Earth can support life while the other planets cannot?

There are only two major requirements for a planet to become habitable.

1. The star should survive long enough for its planets to develop life which means a medium-
mass star, such as the sun, can survive long enough for life to develop.

(https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/sun/)

2. The planet must be located in the Goldilocks Zone – a region in the universe where water
could remain liquid.
2
(https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2020/01/13/could-therebe-life-on-the-first-earth-sized-habitable-zone-
planet-found-by-nasastess/#1b52efa27919)

• Different stars have different Goldilocks Zone, or habitable zones. Blue stars tend to have farther
habitable zones since they are relatively hotter and red stars have closer habitable zones since they
are relatively cooler.

Being in the Goldilocks Zone indicates that due to the distance of Earth from the sun, the amount of
heat and solar energy received is just enough to make the temperature of Earth neither too hot nor
too cold. As we all know, water evaporates if it is subjected to a very hot temperature and gets
freezes if subjected to a very cold temperature. The capability of early Earth to sustain liquid water
dramatically increased the possibility of life.

For the inner planets, Mercury and Venus, since they are too close to the sun, the solar energy
received is too much, contributing to the increase in temperature of their surfaces. For the other
planets, such as Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, their distances from the sun are so far
that the energy they receive is very little, making these planets very cold.

Other factors for other planets to be inhabitable:

Mercury, for example, experiences extreme temperatures due to its slow rotation. It also has a very
thin atmosphere that is not capable of capturing and maintaining the right amount of heat.

Venus, on the other hand, is very hot because it has a lot of active volcanoes that produce a very
thick atmosphere. The thick atmosphere contributes to an increased greenhouse effect, making the
surface temperature very high.

In contrast with Venus, the fourth terrestrial planet, Mars, has very little volcanic activity. As a result, it
has a thin atmosphere and cold surface temperature.

The Jovian planets (the four remaining gas giants), are mainly composed of gases. Therefore, there
is no land where organisms can live. With these features, it can be clearly seen how Earth is the only
planet compatible with life.

Scientists also believe that carbon and its unique properties are the basis of all life. Carbon has four
valence atoms, which enables it to easily bond with other carbon atoms and create long complex
molecules and polymers. Thus, the biological macromolecules such as lipids, carbohydrates,
proteins, and nucleic acids all have carbon atoms in their structure.

Knowing the requirements for the existence of life on a planet, scientists tried to determine how life
started on Earth. In 1952, Stanley Miller and Harold Urey conducted an experiment that replicated the
conditions of early Earth. They found out that life started in the oceans. During the extreme conditions
of Earth, the organisms that thrived were called extremophiles. These organisms were able to adapt

3
to extreme environment such as very high or very low temperatures, high acidity, or extreme
pressure.

As seen in the Miller-Urey experiment, the early atmosphere did not contain oxygen gas. The
presence of oxygen first started when cyanobacteria emerged. Cyanobacteria were the first
organisms that could produce oxygen gas through photosynthesis. But the current oxygen levels of
today, were not just due to the cyanobacteria. It was only about 600 million years ago that the oxygen
levels rose to its current levels. Scientists, however, are still unsure as to what caused the oxygen
levels to rise.

The Earth’s subsystems

1. Definition of a system:
 A set of interconnected components that are interacting to form a unified whole.

2. Components or subsystems of the Earth System:

 The arrows in the diagram below indicate the interaction among the components or
subsystems of the Earth System.

3. The Earth System is essentially a closed system. It receives energy from the sun and returns
some of this energy to space.
 A closed system is a system in which there is only an exchange of heat or energy and
no exchange of matter.

(https://www.slideshare.net/maleigh/grade-11-earth-life-science-earthsystems-subsystems)
A. The Atmosphere
▪ The atmosphere is the thin gaseous layer that envelopes the geosphere.
▪ The present atmosphere is composed of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.9% argon, and small
amount of other gases.
▪ One of the most important processes by which the heat on the Earth’s surface is redistributed
is through atmospheric circulation.
▪ There is also constant exchange of heat and moisture between the atmosphere and the
hydrosphere through the hydrologic cycle or the water cycle which you just had encountered when
you had labelling activity a while ago.

4
 http://ete.cet.edu/gcc/?/volcanoes_layers/

B. The Geosphere (some references used the term Lithosphere)

▪ Beneath the atmosphere is the solid region of the Earth called geosphere.
▪ It does not only comprise the visible layer, it also extends to the center of the Earth.
▪ It has a depth of 6400 km, making it the largest sphere of Earth.
▪ It is divided into different layers: crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core.
▪ Misconception alert:
✓ The geosphere is a major sphere of earth that deals with the solid components, such as
landforms, rocks, and layers of Earth. It is not lithosphere. Lithosphere refers only to the crust and top
portion of the upper mantle.

(http://antioceanacidification.weebly.com/affects-on-geosphere.html)

C. The Hydrosphere
▪ About 78% of the Earth is covered with liquid water (hydrosphere) and much of it is in the form
of ocean water.
5
▪ Only 3% of Earth’s water is fresh: 2/3 are in the form of ice, and the remaining 1/3 is present in
streams, lakes, and groundwater.
▪ The oceans are important sinks for carbon dioxide through direct exchange with the
atmosphere and indirectly through the weathering (physical or chemical breakdown) of rocks.
▪ Heat is absorbed and redistributed on the surface of the Earth through ocean circulation.

(https://428213922994289719.weebly.com/hydrosphere.html)
D. The Biosphere
▪ The biosphere is the set of all life forms on Earth.
▪ It includes all of the microbes, plants, and animals that can be found 1 km above sea level
down to the deepest parts of the oceans.
▪ It extends to any place where life of any kind might exist.
▪ For the majority of life on Earth, the base of food chain comprises photosynthetic organisms.
During photosynthesis, carbon dioxide is withdrawn from the atmosphere, while oxygen is released
as a byproduct.
▪ The biosphere is a carbon dioxide sink, and therefore, an important part of the carbon cycle.

(https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/biosphere-vector-illustration-labeled-all-natural1520499716)

6
✓ Carbon cycle = is the process by which carbon is transferred among the atmosphere, oceans,
soil, and living organisms.

Carbon Cycle Play - MindFuel STEM Store

PERFORMANCE TASK

Write a short essay on why Earth is unique from the other planets in the solar system and why is it
important to protect and preserve its resources?
Grading criteria: Content------------- 5 points
Cohesiveness----- 5 points
Total------------------ 10 points

ASSESSMENT

Directions:
I. True or False. Write TRUE if the statement is correct and False if the statement is wrong. Write
your answer on the separate ACTIVITY SHEET.
1. Our sun is an example of a massive star which survives long enough for its planet to develop life.
2. Being in a Goldilocks Zone means that the Earth has the right distance from the other planets
which makes the water remain liquid.
3. Mercury experiences extreme temperatures due to a fast rotation which makes this planet
inhabitable.
4. Venus is very hot because it has a lot of active volcanoes that produce a very thin atmosphere that
contributes to an increased greenhouse effect, making the surface temperature very high.
5. Mars has very little volcanic activity which results to a thin atmosphere and cold surface
temperature.
6. The atmosphere is the thin gaseous layer that envelopes the geosphere.
7. Atmosphere is divided into different layers: crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core.
8. The water cycle is the process by which carbon is transferred among the atmosphere, oceans, soil,
and living organisms.
9. The Goldilocks Zone – a region in the universe where water could remain liquid.
10. The biosphere it has a depth of 6400 km, making it the largest sphere of Earth.