BRANCHES OF SCIENCE

Earth Sciences
• Geology - the science of the origin, history, and structure of the Earth,
and the physical, chemical, and biological changes that it has
experienced or is experiencing.
• Oceanography - the exploration and study of the ocean.
• Paleontology - the science of the forms of life that existed in
prehistoric or geologic periods.
• Meteorology - the science that deals with the atmosphere and its
phenomena, such as weather and climate.
 BRANCHES OF SCIENCE

Life Sciences
• Botany - the study of plants
• Zoology - the study that covers animals and animal life.
• Genetics - the study of heredity
• Ecology - the study of how organisms interact with their environment
• 
 BRANCHES OF SCIENCE

Physical Sciences
• Physics - the study of matter and energy and the interactions
between them.
• Chemistry - the science that deals with the composition, properties,
reactions, and the structure of matter.
• Astronomy - the study of the universe beyond the Earth's atmosphere
 GENERAL SCIENCE

• Technology
The application of scientific knowledge to practical purposes. In short, it is an applied
science.

Three Classifications of Technology:  

• Machines - include tools, gadgets or devices that help us do our activities faster and
better. They make life more pleasant to us to do certain things which we normally cannot
do. (Examples: internet, computer, train)
• Products - materials produced or made through artificial or natural means (Examples:
shampoo, pesticides, fertilizers)
• Processes - the means of doing things (Examples: Food preservation, aquaculture,
pasteurization
 THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD

• The logical method used by scientists to acquire

knowledge to explain different phenomena occurring in
nature. Something observed by the senses is called a
phenomenon; a scientifically tested observation is
called a fact.
 Six Basic Steps of Scientific Method
1. Identify and clearly state the problem
2. Gather information pertinent to the problem
• Recalling past experiences concerning the problem
• Interviewing people who are knowledgeable of the problem
• Researching in libraries and research centers
3. Formulate hypothesis (‘educated guess’)
 Six Basic Steps of Scientific Method
1. Identify and clearly state the problem
2. Gather information pertinent to the problem
• Recalling past experiences concerning the problem
• Interviewing people who are knowledgeable of the problem
• Researching in libraries and research centers
3. Formulate hypothesis (‘educated guess’)
 Six Basic Steps of Scientific Method
4. Test the hypothesis (by carrying out experiments)
• Controlled experiment- manipulating one of the conditions or factors
that may affect the result of experiment
• Trials - number of times experiment is repeated.
• Controls - factors that are kept constant throughout the experiment
• Variables - factors that change during the experiment
• Independent or experimental - factors that are changed
 Six Basic Steps of Scientific Method
5. Draw generalization or conclusion
• Conclusion - a statement about the result of the experiment
• Law - a statement which describes what happens but does not
explain the cause of the occurrence
• Theory - hypothesis that can be explained from observations
6. Apply the principle (conclusion) to other situations
 MEASUREMENT
 International System of Units (SI)
The system of units that scientists have agreed upon and is legally
enforced in almost all parts of the world. SI has seven basic quantities
with corresponding units:
Quantity Unit
Length Meters (m)
Mass Kilograms (kg)
Time Seconds (s)
Electric current Amperes (amp)
Temperature Kelvin (K)
Amount of substance Moles
Luminous intensity / Candelas
light
Metric Prefixes
 
 Temperature

• A measurement indicating how hot or cold an object is.

Temperature Scales
• Fahrenheit - freezing point of water: 32; boiling point: 212
• Celsius - freezing point of water: 0; boiling point: 100
• Kelvin - base unit of temperature in the SI System
 Temperature

Temperature Conversion
Measuring Volume
 Regular solids - multiply its length, width
and thickness
 Liquids - using a graduated cylinder. Lower
meniscus is read in clear liquid while the
upper meniscus is read in colored liquids
 Irregular solids - using displacement
method which is done by filling a container
with water and getting the overflow after
putting the object in the container
 Earth and Space

• LAYERS OF THE EARTH

 Earth and Space

• Inner Core - the center of earth - is solid and about 780 miles (1,250
km) thick; the inner core is subjected to great pressure that it cannot
melt, even though temperatures there can reach 6700ºF (3700ºC)
• Outer Core - 1370 miles (2,200 km) thick. The outer core is so hot that
the metal is always molten. Because the earth rotates, the outer core
spins around the inner core and that causes the earth's magnetism
 Earth and Space

• Inner Core - the center of earth - is solid and about 780 miles (1,250
km) thick; the inner core is subjected to great pressure that it cannot
melt, even though temperatures there can reach 6700ºF (3700ºC)
• Outer Core - 1370 miles (2,200 km) thick. The outer core is so hot that
the metal is always molten. Because the earth rotates, the outer core
spins around the inner core and that causes the earth's magnetism
 Earth and Space

• Mantle - about 1,800 miles (2,900 km) thick and makes up nearly 80 percent
of the Earth's total volume. The mantle is divided into two layers:
• Asthenosphere - the bottom layer of the mantle made of plastic like fluid
• Lithosphere - the top part of the mantle made of a cold dense rock
• Crust- lies above the mantle and is the earth's hard outer shell, the surface
on which we are living. It is considerably thinner compared with the other
layers and floats upon the softer, denser mantle. The crust is of two
distinctive types:
• Oceanic crust- about 4-7 miles (6-11 km) thick and consists of heavy rocks, like basalt
• Continental crust- about 19 miles (30 km) thick and mainly made up of light
materials like granite
  
PLATE TECTONIC THEORY

• The theory that Earth's outer shell is divided into several plates that
glide over the mantle. Plate tectonics theory helps to explain
continental drift, the spreading of the sea floor, volcanic eruptions
and formation of mountains.
• Continental drift - theory proposed by Alfred Wegener which
states that continents move around on Earth’s surface and that
they were once joined together as a single supercontinent called
Pangaea, which would later broke up into Laurasia (Asia, Europe,
North America) and Gondwanaland (Africa, Australia, Antarctica,
and South America)

• Seafloor spreading - volcanic activity under the sea causes

magma from beneath the earth’s crust to rise to the surface,
forming a very long ridge along the middle of the oceans that
separate the large continents
SEAFLOOR SPREADING
 Plates’ movement
• Diverging plates – plates move away from each other forming mid-
ocean ridges; new oceanic plates are formed
• Converging plates – plates move toward each other; new mountains
and/or volcanoes are formed
• oceanic-oceanic - creates underwater volcanoes and trenches
• oceanic-continental – creates mountain ranges usually containing volcanoes
• continental-continental – creates mountain ranges with tall mountains
• Transforming plates – plates move side-by-side against each other
causing earthquakes
Ocean-Continent
Ocean-Ocean
When two oceanic plates converge, the older,
denser plate will subduct into the mantle. An ocean
trench marks the location where the plate is pushed
down into the mantle. The line of volcanoes that
grows on the upper oceanic plate is an island arc.
TRANSFORM PLATES
Transform plate boundaries are seen as transform faults, where two
plates move past each other in opposite directions. Transform faults on
continents bring massive earthquakes

California is very geologically active. A transform plate boundary

between the Pacific and North American
plates creates the San Andreas Fault, the world’s most notorious
transform fault.
 EARTHQUAKE
• The sudden shaking of the surface of the Earth, resulting from the
release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves
• Magnitude – the quantitative measure of the size or energy of an
earthquake; measured using Richter scale (1-10, wherein each order of
magnitude is 10x stronger than the last one)
• Intensity – the descriptive measure of the severity of the shaking and
the amount of damage measured using the Mercalli scale (1 to 12)
• Focus – the location of the origin of an earthquake
• Epicenter - the point on the Earth's surface located directly above the
focus
 ROCKS
• Igneous - formed when molten rock from within Earth cools and
solidifies
• Intrusive igneous - solidify beneath Earth's surface; e.g. granite
• Extrusive igneous - solidify at the surface; e.g. basalt
• Sedimentary - formed when sediment (bits of rock plus material such
as shells and sand) gets packed together; most rocks that you see on
the ground are sedimentary; e.g. limestone
• Metamorphic - sedimentary or igneous rocks that have been
transformed by heat, pressure or both; e.g. schist
ROCK CYCLE
The three major types of rocks, igneous, sedimentary, and
metamorphic rocks are interrelated by a series of natural
processes. Igneous rocks undergo weathering and erosion to
form sediments. Sediments are deposited and lithified by
compaction and cementation to form sedimentary rocks.
Sedimentary rocks become buried by additional sedimentary
deposition, and when they are deep within the Earth, they are
subjected to heat and pressure which causes them to become
metamorphic rocks. With further burial and heating, the
metamorphic rocks begin to melt. Partially molten
metamorphic rocks are known as migmatite. As melting
proceeds with increasing temperatures and depths of burial,
eventually the rock becomes molten and becomes magma,
which cools and crystallizes to form plutonic igneous rock, or
 Weathering

The breaking down of rocks brought about by either physical or chemical means
giving rise to sediments or rock fragments.

Types of Weathering
• Physical/Mechanical - process of rocks breaking apart without changing their
chemical composition
• Frost wedging - caused by the repeated freeze-thaw cycle of water in the joints/cracks of
rocks
• Exfoliation - rock breaks off into sheets along joints parallel the ground surface; caused
by expansion of rock due to uplift and erosion
• Thermal expansion - different minerals expand and contract at different rates causing
stresses along mineral boundaries
 Weathering

• Chemical - happens when rocks are broken down and chemically altered
• Dissolution/Solution - removal of rock in solution by acidic rainwater. In
particular, limestone is weathered by rainwater containing dissolved CO2, (this
process is sometimes called carbonation)
• Oxidation - the breakdown of rock by oxygen and water, often giving iron-rich
rocks a rusty-colored weathered surface
• Hydrolysis - the breakdown of rock by acidic water to produce clay and soluble
salts

• Biological - caused by the actions of plants and animals as they grow,

nest, and burrow
 CLIMATE AND WEATHER

Weather describes the condition of the atmosphere in a particular time (cool and dry,
humid, windy, rainy, or stormy). Climate describes average weather in a region over a
number of years or usually decades (tropical).

• Clouds – tiny water droplets and ice crystals that are so small they can float in the air
• Cloud types
• Cirrus – thin, feathery
• Cirrocumulus – small patches of white
• Cirrostratus – thin, white sheets
• Stratus – low, gray blanket
• Cumulus – flat-bottomed, white puffy
• Cumulonimbus – mountains of heavy, dark clouds
 Wind
flow of gases on a large scale; bilk movement of air

• Wind Systems in the Philippines

• Northeast Trade Winds – from north, north east and east
• Southwest Monsoon (Habagat) – originates from Southeast Trade
winds south of the equator; this wind brings humid air, thick clouds,
and heavy rains to the country from mid-June to mid-September
• Northeast monsoon (Amihan) - season where trade winds from the
northeast dominate; amihan is experienced during mid-November
until mid-February
 Storms
violent disturbance of the atmosphere with strong winds and usually rain, and thunder

• Types of Storms
• Tropical depression - with wind speed of less than 63 kph
• Tropical storm - with wind speed of 63-118 kph
• Typhoon – with wind speed of more than 118 kph in the Pacific ocean
region
• Hurricane – with wind speed of more than 118 kph in the Atlantic
ocean region
• Cyclone – with wind speed of more than 118 kph in the Indian Ocean
region
Sea Breeze and Land Breeze
 Sea Breeze and Land Breeze

• Breezes are caused by a temperature difference causing a pressure

difference between the ocean and land. In the day, the sun heats up
the land faster, and so the air above the land has a lower pressure
than the air over the ocean. This causes a breeze from the higher
pressure air over the ocean towards the lower pressure air over the
land. This is a sea breeze. At night time, the air above the land cools
down faster than the air above the ocean. This means that the air
above the land now has a higher pressure because cold air sinks. So
the wind will blow from the high pressure air above the land to the
low pressure air above the ocean. This is a land breeze.
 ATMOSPHERE
The layer of gases surrounding the Earth. Without this atmosphere, life on earth isn't possible. It
gives us air, water, heat, and protects us against harmful rays of the sun and against meteorites

• Layers of the Atmosphere

• Troposphere - starts at the Earth's surface and extends 8 to 14.5 kilometers high (5 to 9 miles);
densest part of the atmosphere; weather happens on this layer
• Stratosphere - starts just above the troposphere and extends to 50 kilometers (31 miles) high; the
ozone layer, which absorbs and scatters the solar ultraviolet radiation, is in this layer.
• Mesosphere - starts just above the stratosphere and extends to 85 kilometers (53 miles) high;
meteors burn up in this layer
• Thermosphere – starts just above the mesosphere and extends to 600 kilometers (372 miles) high;
aurora and satellites occur in this layer
• Ionosphere - an abundant layer of electrons and ionized atoms and molecules that stretches from
about 48 kilometers (30 miles) above the surface to the edge of space at about 965 km (600 mi),
overlapping into the mesosphere and thermosphere
• Exosphere - extends from the top of the thermosphere up to 10,000 km (6,200 mi); upper limit of our
atmosphere
Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming
A natural process by which heat is trapped by greenhouse gases
in the atmosphere, keeping the earth warm. Excessive build-up
greenhouse gases due to human activity heats up the earth’s
surface above normal temperatures causing global warming

Greenhouse Gases
Water vapor (H2O)
Carbon dioxide (CO2)
Methane (CH4)
Nitrous oxide (N2O)
Ozone (O3)
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
Hydrofluorocarbons (incl. HCFCs and HFCs)
  
THE SOLAR SYSTEM

• The gravitationally bound system comprising the Sun and the objects
that orbit it, either directly or indirectly.

• Sun
• The star at the center of our solar system. The sun is estimated to be
4.6 billion years old and mostly composed of hydrogen (70%) and
helium (28%).
• 
 READING ASSIGNMENT
• Anatomy of the Sun
• Core - the place where the nuclear fusion that generates massive amounts of energy takes place
• Radiative Zone - the section of the solar interior between the innermost core and the outer convective
zone. In the radiative zone, energy generated by nuclear fusion in the core moves outward as
electromagnetic radiation.
• Convection Zone - a turbulent mass of material through which the radiation cannot pass as the
temperature is too low.
• Photosphere - the deepest layer of the Sun that we can observe directly, and it is here that we can see
the granulation caused by the bubbling gas in the convection layer and the sunspots caused by strong
magnetic fields.
• Chromosphere - only seen during total solar eclipses, or with sophisticated telescopes, and its red and
pinkish color gives the blackened moon a thin halo of color against the greyish corona further out,
hence its name ‘chromo’ sphere
• Corona - the outer layer of the sun and is the whitish halo seen around the disc in a total solar eclipse
 READING ASSIGNMENT

• Solar Phenomena
• Solar Flares - magnetic storm on the Sun's surface which shows up as a sudden increase in
brightness
• Solar Prominences - gases trapped at the edge of the Sun which appear to shoot outward
from the Sun's surface
• Solar wind - a continuous stream of charged particles which are released from the Sun and
hurled outward into space at speeds up to 800 kilometers per second. Solar winds are very
prominent after solar flare activity; causes the light displays aurora borealis and aurora
australis.
• Sunspot - a magnetic storm on the Sun's surface which appears as a dark area. A sunspot is
approximately 1500 degrees Celsius cooler than its surrounding material. The number of
sunspots we see on the Sun at any given time appears to cycle every 11 years.
READING ASSIGNMENT
 The Planets
• Mercury – smallest planet; has almost no atmosphere; dusty surface of
craters resembles the Moon; named after the Roman god Mercury, the
winged messenger; travels around the Sun faster than any other planet
• Venus - is often called Earth's twin because the two planets are close in
size; thick clouds that cover Venus create a greenhouse effect that
keeps it sizzling at 864°F; named after the Roman goddess of love and
beauty, is also known as the “morning star” and “evening star” since it
is visible at these times to the unaided eye
• Earth - not perfectly round; it bulges at the equator and is flatter at the
poles
 The Planets
• Earth Profile
• Size: Four planets in our solar system are larger and four are smaller than Earth
• Diameter: 7,926.2 miles (12,756 km)
• Surface: Earth is made up of water (70%), air, and solid ground. It appears to be
the only planet with water
• Atmosphere: Nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), other gases
• Rotation of its axis: 23 hours, 56 minutes, 4 seconds
• Revolution around the Sun: 365.2 days
• Mean Distance from Sun: 92.9 million miles (149.6 million km)
• Satellites: 1
 The Planets
• Mars - named after the Roman god of war because of its blood-red
color (which comes from iron-rich dust); three-quarters red, Mars also
has dark blotches on it and white areas at the poles—these are white
polar ice caps
• Jupiter - the largest planet in our solar system; most distinguishing
feature is “the Great Red Spot,” an intense windstorm larger in size
than Earth, which has continued for centuries without any signs of
dying down; has 63 moons and 4 rings
 The Planets
• Saturn - the second-largest planet; has seven majestic rings
surrounding it that are flat and lie inside one another made of billions
of ice particles; has 31 moons and about 1000 rings
• Uranus - is a greenish-blue planet; wasn't discovered until 1781; has 27
moons and 11 rings; coldest planet
• Neptune- a stormy blue planet about 30 times farther from the Sun
than Earth; discovered when astronomers realized that something was
exerting a gravitational pull on Uranus; has 13 satellites and 4 rings
 The Planets
• Planet Trivia
• Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are the inner planets.
• Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are the outer planets.
• Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune have rings.
• Is there life on other planets? Not that has been encountered so far!
 The Moon
• The brightest and largest object in our night sky. The moon makes
Earth a more livable planet by moderating our home planet's wobble
on its axis, leading to a relatively stable climate. It also causes tides,
creating a rhythm that has guided humans for thousands of years. The
Moon travels around Earth in an oval orbit at 36,800 kilometers per
hour. The Moon does not have an atmosphere, so temperatures range
from -184 degrees Celsius during its night to 214 degrees Celsius
during its day except at the poles where the temperature is a constant
-96 degrees Celsius.
Moon phases
 TIDES

The rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the
gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun and the rotation
of Earth
 TIDES

• spring tides – Sun, Earth, Moon fall in a straight line; sun’s and moon’s
gravitational force add up creating the strongest tides
• neap tides - Sun, Earth, Moon form a right angle; sun’s and moon’s
gravitational force cancel out creating the weakest tides
A lunar eclipse occurs when the
Earth passes between the Moon
and the Sun, and the Earth's
shadow obscures the moon or a
portion of it. A solar
eclipse occurs when the Moon
passes between the Earth and the
Sun, blocking all or a portion of the
Sun. An eclipse can be total,
partial, or annular.
  
SEASONS
A division of the year marked by changes in weather, ecology, and amount of daylight. Seasons result from Earth's orbit around the Sun and Earth's axial tilt relative to the ecliptic plane .
 THE UNIVERSE

• 13.7 billion years: Age of the universe

• 200 million years: Interval between the Big Bang and the appearance
of the first stars
• 4%: Proportion of the universe that is ordinary matter
• 23%: Proportion that is dark matter
• 73%: Proportion that is dark energy
  
Space Glossary

• Galaxies - Immense systems containing billions of stars. Astronomers have

estimated that the universe could contain 40 to 50 billion galaxies.
Galaxies have different shapes: some are spiral, others are elliptical, or
oval- shaped, and some are irregular.
• Milky Way - our own galaxy. Just about all that you can see in the sky
belongs to our galaxy—a system of roughly 200 billion stars. The Milky
Way is a spiral-shaped galaxy about 100,000 light-years in diameter and
about 10,000 light-years in thickness.
• Solar system- made up of the Sun (solar means sun) at its center, the eight
planets that orbit it, and the various satellites, asteroids, comets, and
meteorites that are also controlled by the Sun's gravitational pull.
  
Space Glossary

• Planet- term used for a body in orbit around the Sun. The word comes from the
Greek planetes, and means “wanderers.” Our solar system has eight planets:
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
• Satellite- is the term for a body in orbit around a planet. The moon is Earth’s sole
satellite.
• Orbit- the term for the path traveled by a body in space. It comes from the Latin
orbis, which means circle. Some orbits are nearly circular, but the orbits of most
planets are ellipses—shaped like ovals.
• Asteroids- also known as the minor planets, are small bodies orbiting the Sun that
resemble planets. Usually having an irregular shape, asteroids—at least those
discovered thus far—can range in size from 580 miles (940 km) in diameter, which
is the size of the asteroid Ceres, to just 33 ft. (10 m) in diameter.
  
Space Glossary

• Comets- made up of frozen dust and gases, and have been described as
large, dirty snowballs with icy centers. They often travel on extremely
elongated orbits around the Sun.
• Meteors- fragments of comets, planets, moons, or asteroids that have
broken off. Contact with our atmosphere causes most to disintegrate
before reaching Earth. Those that do not disintegrate completely but
fall to Earth are called meteorites.
• Meteoroids – Little chunks of rock and debris in space
• Stars- composed of intensely hot gasses, deriving their energy from
nuclear reactions going on in their interiors. Our Sun is the nearest star.
  
Space Glossary

• White dwarfs- occur when a star runs out of energy and shuts down. The force
of gravity at its center pulls the mass of the star in on itself, forcing it to collapse.
• Brown dwarfs- also called failed stars. They lack enough energy to be true stars
but are also too massive and hot to be planets.
• Supernova- an extremely large exploding star. Just before the star dies, it
releases huge amounts of energy, briefly becoming millions of times brighter
than it was. Then it immediately shrinks.
• Neutron stars- are formed after a supernova explodes and shrinks.
• Pulsars- believed to be rapidly spinning neutron stars that give off bursts of radio
waves at regular intervals. Pulsar is a shortened version of Pulsating star.
  
Space Glossary

• White dwarfs- occur when a star runs out of energy and shuts down. The force
of gravity at its center pulls the mass of the star in on itself, forcing it to collapse.
• Brown dwarfs- also called failed stars. They lack enough energy to be true stars
but are also too massive and hot to be planets.
• Supernova- an extremely large exploding star. Just before the star dies, it
releases huge amounts of energy, briefly becoming millions of times brighter
than it was. Then it immediately shrinks.
• Neutron stars- are formed after a supernova explodes and shrinks.
• Pulsars- believed to be rapidly spinning neutron stars that give off bursts of radio
waves at regular intervals. Pulsar is a shortened version of Pulsating star.
  
Space Glossary