Asian College of Technology

International Educational Foundation

Senior High School Department

EARTH and
LIFE SCIENCE

Prepared by:
Mr. Andrew R. Patigdas
Earth Science Instructor
EARTH AND EARTH SYSTEMS
 Earth's Formation and Layers

Steps in the formation of Earth through

Accretion:
1. Accretion of dust particles
2. Physical collision
3. Gravitational accretion
4. Molten protoplanet due to heat of accretion
final step
- differentiation of the Earth
heavy materials
- sink to the center of the Earth
light materials
- rose to the surface
Earth layers
- made up of different densities
CORE ( inner and outer )
- Earth's center
- innermost
- composed of dense metals (Ni, Fe)
MANTLE ( lower and upper )
- middle layer
- consists of rocks
CRUST
- outermost layer
- made up mostly of light elements
 CORE: INNER AND OUTER

Inge Lehmann
- discovered the Earth has solid inner core
inner core
- radius: 1,250 kilometers
- mainly consists of iron-nickel alloy
- magnetic
- mostly solid
- with great pressure
- temperature: 6,000 °C
- almost as hot as the surface of the
sun
outer core
- made mostly of iron and nickel
- approximately 2, 300 kilometers thick
- temperature: between 4,000 °C and
5,000 °C
- liquid
- because of very high temperature
INNER CORE OUTER CORE

Fe and Ni Fe and Ni

magnetic magnetic

solid liquid

1,250 km 2,300 km

cause of magnetic field

Lehmann discontinuity
- the boundary between the outer and inner
core
molten metallic core
- gave rise to magnetic field
MANTLE: LOWER AND UPPER
mantle
- largest part of Earth
- intermediate layer of the Earth
- subdivided into:
- lower mantle
- upper mantle
- made up of molten rocks
- 2,900 km ( total thickness )
molten rocks
- called magma
- determined by:
- cooling and sinking ( heavier
materials )
- heating and rising ( lighter
materials )
- circulates in currents
- determined by:
- cooling and sinking (heavier metals )
- heating and rising (lighter minerals )
lower mantle
- hot and exhibits plasticity
- higher pressure
- causes formation of minerals
- 2,240 km thick
Gutenberg discontinuity
- boundary between lower mantle and the
outer core
uppermost mantle and Earth's crust
- together form the lithosphere
Moho discontinuity
- separates the upper mantle from the
Earth's crust
- noted by Andrija Mohorovicic ( 1909 )
- 5-10 km below the ocean floor
- 20-90 km beneath typical continents
asthenosphere
- layer that lies after the litosphere
beneath the Earth surface
- 100-250 km
- coined by:
- J. Barrell ( 1914 )
 - rocks easily deformed
- balance between temperature and pressure
- plays a critical role in the movement of plates
( "Plate Tectonic Theory" )

LOWER/MID-MANTLE UPPER MANTLE

asthenosphere lithosphere

soft/magma rigid/solid

exhibits plasticity moho boundary

convection currents 660 km

2,240 km
Its structure is divided in:
 Crust
- makes up the surface of the lithosphere
2 types:
a. oceanic crust
b. continental crust
OCEANIC CRUST CONTINENTAL CRUST
dark-colored light-colored
rock sample: basalt rock sample: granite
more dense less dense
thin layer thick layer
50 km 40-70 km
coarse-textured
Oceanic-continental convergence
 EARTH SUBSYSTEMS
- interacting parts in the Earth's system
1. Lithosphere
- solid section of the Earth
- includes:
- Earth's crust
- upper mantle
- not a continuous layer
- divided into a number of huge plates
- divided into major plate and smaller
plates
- resting upon asthenosphere
Pangaea
- a huge land mass that locked up all the
continents
- proposed by Alfred Wegener
- broke apart and gradually drifted to their
present position
- became plates
- drift sideways
- 12 cm/year
Plate Tectonic Theory
- Earth's outer shell is divided into several
plates that glide over the mantle
- explains the large scale movement of the
Earth's plate
Before After
mechanism of movement
- related to the convection current
15
- major tectonic plates
more than 50 plates
- experts today counted
Philippine plate
- changed to Philippine Sea Plate
boundary
- the border between tectonic plates
- move in different direction
 Types of tectonic plates boundaries
1. divergent
- plates move apart
2. convergent
- plates move into one another
3. transform
- plates move sideways
volcanoes
- formed mostly at converging and diverging
plate boundaries
earthquakes
- occur at 3 types of boundaries
plates
- layers of rigged, solid rocks that are
moving
Asia
- a continent found in Eurasian plate, North
American plate, Arabian plate and Indo-
Australian plate
continents
- have moved by "riding on the tops" of
plates
- millions and millions of years
 7 continents in the world

1. North America
2. South America
3. Europe
4. Asia
5. Africa
6. Antarctica
7. Australia
2. Atmosphere
early Earth
- very different from the Earth today
- very inhospitable
- frequent imparts from asteroids and
meteorites
- frequent volcanic eruption
- temperature very high
- lots of water vapor but no oxygen
 2 component processes
- changed the Earth's atmosphere
1. radiation from the sun
- caused water ( H2O ) to split
- hydrogen escaped to outer space
- oxygen accumulated in the
atmosphere
2. cyanobacteria evolved and began
carrying out photosynthesis
- utilized carbon dioxide and energy
- produced sugar and oxygen
 Composition of the atmosphere/air
% by volume
nitrogen ( N2 ) 78%
oxygen ( O2 ) 20.9%
argon ( Ar ) 0.90%
carbon dioxide ( CO2 ) 0.03%
other gases: 0.17%
neon ( Ne ) TOTAL: 100%
helium ( He )
methane ( CH4 )
krypton ( Kr )
hydrogen ( H2 )
 10,000 km

690 km

85 km

50 km

20 km
 Layers of the atmosphere

1. troposphere
- lowest layer
- contains about 80% of the total mass
( atmosphere )
- most of the water vapor is present
- all weather-associated cloud types are found
- 12 km ( average height )
-temperature decreases as altitude increases
- atmosphere becomes thinner
- absorbs less solar radiation
tropopause
- found at the top of the troposphere
- the temperature stops decreasing
lowest part of the troposphere
- warmest part
2. stratosphere
- above the tropopause
- second lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere
- extends from the top of the troposphere to
the stratopause
- layer where jet planes fly
- almost completely free of clouds
- free from other forms of weather
-temperature increases as altitude increases
- due to the presence of ozone
- absorbs the ultraviolet rays from the sun
- releases some of the energy in the
stratosphere
ozone layer
- protects life on Earth by absorbing the UVR
( ultraviolet radiation )
stratopause
- temperature stops increasing
- found at the top of the stratosphere
The largest ozone hole:24 September 2006 15 November 2012
3. Mesosphere
- third layer of the atmosphere
- extends from the stratopause to the
mesopause
- temperature decreases as altitude
increases
upper mesosphere
- coldest region in the atmosphere
- protects the Earth from the meteoroids
meteoroids
- burn up when enter atmosphere
- due to the intense friction that builds up
between air and the meteoroid
burning meteoroid
- "shooting star" or "burning meteors"
- streak of light
- caused by the hot, glowing gas from a
burning meteoroid
meteorites
- meteoroids that manage to reach Earth
mesopause
- temeperature stops decreasing
4. Thermosphere
- second highest layer of the Earth's
atmosphere
- temperature increases as altitude
increases ( can rise as to high as 1500°C )
- nitrogen ( N2 ) and oxygen ( O2 )
- absorbs a great deal of ultraviolet
radiation
- turns it into heat
ionosphere
- the portion of the thermosphere between
80 and 550 km above the Earth
 - layer consisting of highly ionized gas
- formed when UVR knocked off electron
from nitrogen and oxygen
- help the radio waves pass around the
Earth
Kennely-Heaviside layer
- layer of ionosphere that reflects radio
waves
- where ions interact with air molecules
- form aurora
- colorful display of light
aurora borealis
- "northern lights"
aurora Australis
- "southern lights"
5. Exosphere
- outermost layer of the Earth's
atmosphere
- extends about 700-1000 km above sea
level
- orbiting satellites and low density
elements ( H and He ) can be found on this
layer
3. Hydrosphere
Earth
- consists mostly of water
- " blue planet "
- 71% of its surface
- covered by ocean
4 main ocean basins :
- Pacific ocean
- Atlantic Ocean
- Indian Ocean
- Arctic Ocean
sea
- part of an ocean
- partially surrounded by land
island sea
- if it is totally surrounded by land
ocean
- body of salt water with almost no
boundaries and limitless volume
- ocean water or sea water
- average salinity of 35%
- proportion of dissolved salts and
pure water
 Composition of Saltwater

Material Property Percentage

Sodium ( Na ) 10.7

Chloride ( Cl ) 19.2

Magnesium ( Mg ) 1.4

Calcium ( Ca ) 0.40

Potassium ( K ) 0.38

Sulfate ( SO4 ) 2.7

Bicarbonate ( HCO3 ) 0.14

Bromide ( Br ) 0.06
 Where do dissolved salts come from?

a. chemical weathering of rocks on land

- carried by streams to the ocean at a rate
of 2-5 billion tons/year
b. Earth's interior
volcanic eruptions
- large quantities of water and gases
are emitted to Earth surface ( volcanic
outgassing )
- largely responsible for the formation
of the present ocean
 Distribution of water on Earth's crust
a. saltwater
- 97.5%
b. freshwater
- 2.5%
oceans
- divided into zones/layers:
- horizontal
- vertical
horizontal zone
- divide the ocean from land to the sea
 - consist of:
1. coastal zone
- region in which sea bottom is
exposed during low tide and is covered during
high tide
- animals adapted to this
environment
- sea stars
- sea urchins
- some species of corals
2. pelagic zone
- located seaward of the coastal
zone's low tide mark
- always covered with water
 2 divisions:
a. neritic zone
- extends from the low tide
mark outward from the seashore
- extends to a depth of 200
meters
- sunlights penetrates the
water
b. oceanic zone
- extends over the ocean floor
- characterized by darkness
vertical zone
- begin at sea level and end at the deepest
point in the ocean
5 zones/vertical layers of the ocean:
1. epipelagic zone ( 0-200 m )
- "sunlight zone"
- gets a lot of sunlight
- abundance of aquatic plants
- commonly found animals:
- seals
- sea turtles
- sea lions
- ray
- sharks
 2. mesopelagic zone ( 200-1000 m)
- "twilight zone"
- characterized by dim light due to the limited
amount of sunlight it receives
- can be found:
- ono plants
- lilly fish
- octopus
- squid
3. bathypelagic zone (1000-4000 m)
- does not receive any sunlight
- animals that live here lack eyes
- animals found:
- viper fish
- angler fish
- stripe eel
- tripod fish
 4. abyssopelagic zone ( 4000-6000m )
- "abyss"
- described as deep sea
- invertebrate
- most animals living in this area
- blind shrimps, small squids, and
hagfish
5. hadalpelagic zone ( 6000-bottom )
- "trenches"
- deepest part of the ocean
- mostly found in deep water trenches
and canyons
- animals that exist:
- sea cucumber
- tube worms
4. Biosphere
- contains all the Earth's living things
( plants and animals )
- referred as "zone of life"
- global ecological system integrating all
living things and their relationship
- coined by Edward Guess
- divided into biomes
- world's major communities
 4 major biomes
a. aquatic
- includes freshwater ( ponds, lakes, rivers )
and marine ( ocean, estuaries )
b. forest
- includes tropical, temperate and boreal
forest as well as taiga
- dominated by grasses, large shrubs or
trees
c. desert
- characterized by low rainfall ( less than
50cm/yr)
- has specialized vegetation and animals
that can adapt to its condition
d. tundra
- coldest of all the biomes
- has low biotic diversity and simple
vegetation structure
MOVEMENT OF MATTER IN THE BIOSPHERE
biogeochemical cycle
- movement on chemicals through the
biosphere
NITROGEN CYCLE
- 78% of the atmosphere
- cannot be used directly
- must first be "fixed" by specialized
organisms or by industrial processes
terrestrial organisms
- single largest source of fixed nitrogen
fixation of nitrogen
- requires energy
- must be activated before it can be fixed
- molecular nitrogen must be split into 2
atoms of free nitrogen
- N2 N + N
actual fixation
- 2 atoms of nitrogen combine with 3
molecules of hydrogen to form 2 molecules of
ammonia
 ammonia ( NH3 ) or ammonium ion ( NH4+ )

appears in the soil

absorbed by the roots of the plants

nitrogen incorporated into amino acids then into

proteins

if plants are eaten by animals

nitrogen incorporated into new protein

 proteins returned to the soil when animals die

decomposed through bacterial action into

component of amino acid

amino acids are oxidized back to CO2, H2O, and

NH3 due to the action of certain
microorganisms
nitrogen
- component of chlorophyll, amino acids, and
nucleic acids
ammonia in the presence of oxygen
- oxidized to nitrite ( NO2- )
nitrification
- the process of which ammonia or
ammonium is oxidized to nitrates
nitrate
- utilized by green plants and other
microorganisms as nitrogen source
denitrifying bacteria
- play significant role in the nitrogen cycle
 - attacks nitrate to obtain oxygen as source
of energy and release gaseous nitrogen under
anaerobic conditions ( denitrification )
2 groups of microorganisms responsible for
nitrogen fixation in the soil:
- Acetobacter ( alkaline soil )
- Clostridium pasteranium ( acid soils )
legumes ( in conjunction with the bacteria
Rhizobium )
- Earth's greatest natural source of fixed
nitrogen
Rhizobium
- invades the roots of legumes
human activities
- tip the balance of nitrogen cycle
- nitrogen fertilizers run off to lakes,
streams and rivers
- nitrate in solution becomes nitrite
Effects of nitrite:
a. poisonous and hazardous to health
- changes the normal form of
hemeoglobin
methemoglobinemia
- "blue baby syndrome"
- caused by the inability of the
blood to deliver enough oxygen to the body
 b. depletion of dissolved oxygen in the
water
- leads to eutrophication
- a condition where oxygen content
of water is reduced due to the growth of algae
nitrates
- "enrich" the water causing algae bloom
OXYGEN CYCLE
- not only supports life; it arises from life
- product of the photosynthesis of
plants
- plays a fundamental role as a fundamental
building block of practically all vital molecules
3 non-living sources of oxygen atoms
- carbon dioxide ( CO2 )
- water ( H2O )
- molecular oxygen ( O2 )
common mineral sources of oxygen
- nitrate ( NO3− )
- sulfates ( SO4 −2 )
oxygen
- part of organic molecules in living systems
- leaves the system as a combustion product
( CO2 )
photosynthesis
- converts CO2 and H2O once again into
organic molecules
minor sources of O2 in the atmosphere:
a. dissociation of water by ultraviolet light
in the outer atmosphere
b. dissociation of ozone
Factors affecting oxygen balance:
- increase in industrialization
- human activities
 CARBON CYCLE
animal releases carbon dioxide
↓
plant takes in carbon dioxide

↓
plants use carbon dioxide to make sugar molecules
↓
plant produces oxygen
↓
animal takes in oxygen
↓
animal breaks down sugar molecules
 WATER CYCLE
Ways on how water enters the atmosphere:
EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
- through evaporation of water from seas,
ocean, lakes, rivers, and other water forms
- through transpiration of water from the
leaves of plants

water vapor → rises into the atmosphere →

cools → condenses to form cloud → water
droplet becomes bigger → rain → water falls to
the ground
water that falls to the ground can:
- evaporate
- collect
- produces standing water, puddles,
ponds, or lakes
- runoff
- when rain flows over the ground and
into the body of water
- flows into streams and rivers and
back to the ocean or sea
- infiltrate
- soak into the ground where it can be
stored as groundwater
- if there are pores or spaces in
between the particles of soil, sand and rock
aquifers
- the materials that water can reside or
flow through
one cycle of water is completed
- when water returns to the ocean
MOVEMENT OF ENERGY IN THE
BIOSPHERE
sun
- Earth's major source of energy
happenings when light energy reaches Earth:
- light is reflected back to space
- light is transmitted through an object
- light energy is absorbed and captured in
photosynthesis
energy → captured by autotrophs ( producers )
→ stored energy ( chemical energy ) → can be
transferred from one trophic level to another

trophic level
- represents the feeding positions that a
biotic component occupy in a food chain
Considerations in energy transfer:
- governed by the Laws of thermodynamics
1. Energy can either be created nor
destroyed ( first law )
2. No transfer of energy is 100%
complete ( second law )
- there are losses in energy
total amount of energy is accounted for:
- energy incorporated in tissues
- energy used in metabolism of the
organisms
- energy remaining as organic waste as
utilized by bacteria and fungi ( decomposers )
inefficient
- energy transfer between trophic levels
10% rule of energy transfer
- only 10% of the energy contained in the
organisms of one trophic level are available to
consumers in the next level
arctic region
- trophic level is do not go beyond the
secondary consumer level
polar region
- much less solar energy available
- results in fewer kCal of energy
available for transfer
tropic region
- trophic levels can extend to quaternary
consumer level