CHAPTER 1: THE ORIGIN AND STRUCTURE OF THE EARTH

Objectives:
1. To state the different hypotheses explaining the origin of the universe
2. To describe the different hypotheses explaining the origin of the solar system
3. To explain the current advancements/ discoveries on the solar system
4. To recognize the uniqueness of the earth, being the only planet in the solar system with
properties necessary to support life
5. To describe the four subsystem of the earth
6. To identify and describe the layers of the earth

Lesson 1.1: UNIVERSE AND SOLAR SYSTEM

Universe is an all space-time, matter and energy including the solar system, all stars
and galaxies and content of intergalactic space, regarded as a whole. There are three
various theories explaining the origin of the universe;

Steady State Theory. It states that the counting of the galaxies in our Universe is constant
and new galaxies which are forming continuously are filling the empty spaces which are
created by those heavenly bodies which have crossed the boundary lines of observable
Universe. This theory proposes that the overall structure of the universe is always the same
at any point in time and space. This structure is maintained even when certain events, such
as birth of new stars, occur. It is balanced by the death of old stars.

Pulsating Theory: In this theory it is assumed that there is continuous expansion and
contraction in universe. It proposes that the universe will keep expanding more and more
then slowly it stop. Then it will start to contract due to gravitation. This contraction will
continue until the universe become more compact and will later explode and expand again.

Big Bang Theory: It proposes that the entire universe was once condensed in a very small
and compact particle called primeval nucleus. It is estimated that about 20 billion years ago,
primeval nucleus suddenly exploded in a big bang. The force of this explosion caused
matter to scatter in any direction forming a universe.

Biblical Belief on the Formation or Creation of the Universe

Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
The very first claim made in the Bible is that there was a beginning. Since Genesis 1
describes how God created the universe, and in a certain sequence, there is no doubt that he
did that exactly. God created the universe.

SOLAR SYSTEM
Just a part of the vast universe is our solar system. It is located somewhere in Milky
Way Galaxy. It consists of the sun being at the center, minor and major planets and other
celestial bodies like satellites, comets, asteroids and meteoroids.

ORIGIN OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM

There are major theories that explain the origin of the solar system.
1. Nebular Hypothesis Theory. According to this theory, the sun and other celestial
bodies orbiting around it where formed from a nebula- a spinning cloud of gases. These
clouds are gravitationally unstable, and matter coalesces within them to smaller denser
clumps, which then rotate, collapse, and form stars.
 2. Accretion Theory. Accretion is the gradual increase in the size of an object by the
buildup of matter due to gravity. The accretion theory says that a protosun passing
through a cloud of interstellar materials pulled this material along causing it to swirl
around the protosun. As the protosun evolved into the sun, the material it accreted
gradually formed the planets and other revolving bodies.
3. Tidal Theory. According to this theory, the time when the sun about to form (protosun),
a large body passing around it may have drawn some gaseous materials from it. The
mass of gaseous materials drawn did not completely escape gravitational pull of the
protosun. It continued to spin around it, eventually becoming more dense and gradually
formed into planetesimals. These planetisimals give rise to the planets and their
satellites.
Space exploration by means of manned and unmanned spacecrafts give us information
about the solar system and beyond. Achieving spaceflight enabled humans to begin to explore
the solar system and the rest of the universe, to understand the many objects and phenomena
that are better observed from a space perspective, and to use for human benefit the resources
and attributes of the space environment.

Study questions:
1. What are the major theories pertaining to the nature of expanding galaxy?
Explain each.
2. Why do some scientists believe that the universe is expanding?
3. What are the major theories about the origin of the solar system? Explain
each.
4. How is space exploration benefits mankind?

Homework: Research on the current information about space exploration.

Lesson 1.2: EARTH AND EARTH SYSTEM

Earth is the only planet in the solar system capable of supporting life. Complex and
brilliant combination of gases, composition and structure of earth are some of the reasons why
it can sustain life.

EARTH SUBSYSTEM
Earth is a very complex place. The earth consists of four distinct yet connected spheres.
All of the processes on Earth are driven by four spheres, which we describe individually,
but are really all connected.

GEOSPHERE
The Geosphere describes all of the rocks, minerals and ground that are found on and in
Earth. This includes all of the mountains on the surface, as well as all of the liquid rock in the
mantle below us and the minerals and metals of the outer and inner cores. The continents, the
ocean floor, all of the rocks on the surface, and all of the sand in the deserts are all considered
part of the geosphere. Basically, if it looks like solid ground, it's part of the 'ground' sphere.
HYDROSPHERE
Planet Earth has been called the "Blue Planet" due to the abundant water on its surface
Over 70 percent of the surface area of the earth is covered by water. All the earths water, solid
or in liquid form, those that are contained in glaciers, rocks, soil and the air, comprise the earths
hydrosphere.

SOURCES OF WATER
Ocean. A big portion of earths water is found in ocean. The oceans cover more than 70 percent
of the Earth's surface and contain 97 percent of the Earth's water. If the ocean's total salt
content were dried, it would cover the continents to a depth of 5 feet.
Together with the atmosphere, oceans regulate global temperatures, shape weather and
climate patterns, and cycle elements through the biosphere.

Ocean Structure and Composition

Like the atmosphere, the oceans are not
uniformly mixed but are structured in layers with distinct
properties. Pressure increases with depth as the weight of
the overlying air and water increase. Atmospheric
pressure at sea level is 14.7 pounds per square inch , and
pressure increases by an additional atmosphere for
every 10 meters of descent under water.
Layers of the ocean
The Epipelagic, or sunlight, zone (so called because most visible light in the oceans is
found here) comprises the first 200 meters below the surface, and is warm and mixed by winds
and wave action.
At a depth of about 200 meters, the Continental Shelf (the submerged border of the
continents) begins to slope more sharply downward, marking the start of the Mesopelagic, or
twilight zone. Here water temperature falls rapidly with depth to less than 5C at 1,000 meters.
This sharp transition, which is called the thermocline, inhibits vertical mixing between denser,
colder water at depths and warmer water nearer the surface. About 18 percent of the total
volume of the oceans is within this zone. Below 1,000 meters, in the Bathypelagic, or midnight,
zone, water is almost uniformly cold, approximately 4C. No sunlight penetrates to this level,
and pressure at the bottom of the zone (around 4,000 meters depth) is about 5,880 pounds per
square inch. Little life exists at the Abyssopelagic (abyssal) zone, which reaches to the ocean
floor at a depth of about 6,000 meters. Together, these cold, deep layers contain about 80
percent of the total volume of the ocean. The deepest layer of the ocean is the Hadal Zone or
Trench Zone. The deepest trench on earth is Mariana Trench, also called Marianas
Trench, lies in the floor of the western North Pacific Ocean.

INLAND WATERS
Household, commercial and agricultural water supply mainly come from inland
bodies of water. Two major inland waters are described below.
1. Rivers
A volume of a fresh flowing water across the surface of the land usually to the
sea. Rivers flow in channels.
2. Lakes
A reservoir of relatively still water that is surrounded by land. It is formed
from the accumulation of large amounts of water in natural or artificial
depressions on the surface of the land. Other inland waters include ponds,
spring, stream, wetlands, floodplains and reservoirs.
GROUNDWATER
It is the water found underground in the cracks and spaces in soil, sand and rock. It is
stored in and moves slowly through geologic formations of soil, sand and rocks called aquifers.
It results from the accumulation of water penetrating through small openings called pores in the
rocks or soil. This process is known as percolation.
Groundwater supplies drinking water, used for irrigation to grow crops and an important
component in many industrial processes.

A MASSIVE BODY OF ICE

About 2 percent of earths waters is in a form of solid, a massive bodies of ice called
glaciers. Deposited snow that falls during winter season piles up yearly. This accumulated
snow transforms the lower layers into solid ice.

THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE (WATER CYCLE)

Water on earth is continuously moving. It endlessly
circulating through the hydro- logic cycle. As water goes in a
cycle, it changes its states. From liquid to ice to gas and back
again.

Sun heats water causing the water to evaporate. Rising air currents take the water vapor
up in the atmosphere. The vapor rises into the air where cooler temperatures cause it
to condense into clouds.
Air currents move the cloud. Cloud particles collide, grow, and fall out of the sky
as precipitation. Most of the precipitation return to the oceans.

ATMOSPHERE
A very huge envelope of air that
surrounds the earth and pulled by the
gravitational force of the earth is called
atmosphere. The earths atmosphere is
primarily composed of 78 percent
nitrogen and 21 percent of oxygen.
Other gases like argon, carbon dioxide,
carbon monoxide, ozone, hydrogen,
helium and other inert gases make up the
remaining 1 percent.
The earths atmosphere is made up of different layers as shown in the table below.
BIOSPHERE
The biosphere is where all forms of life exist. Since life exist in the air, in water and on
the ground, its boundaries overlap other sphere because life can be found everywhere on
earth. The biosphere is sometimes thought of as one large ecosystem a complex community
of living and nonliving things functioning as a single unit.

INNER PART OF THE EARTH

The planet Earth is made up of different layers: the very thin,
brittle crust, the mantle, and the core; the mantle and core are each
divided into two parts. Although the core and mantle are about equal
in thickness, the core actually forms only 15 percent of the
Earth's volume, whereas the mantle occupies 84 percent. The crust
makes up the remaining 1 percent.

Crust
The crust is the outermost part of the earth and is very thin compared to the other layers.
It is a part where the living organisms dwell in. It forms a very thin continuous layer that extends
underneath the ocean and continents.

2 KINDS of CRUST
1. Continental crust is mostly composed of different types of granites. Geologists often refer to
the rocks of the continental crust as sial which stands for silicate and aluminum, the most
abundant minerals in continental crust.
Cratons are the oldest and most stable part of the continental lithosphere and are found
deep in the interior of most continents.
2. Oceanic crust is mostly composed of different types of basalts. Rocks of the oceanic crust
are referred to as sima which stands for silicate and magnesium, the most abundant minerals
in oceanic crust.

The Mantle
It is the mostly-solid bulk of Earths interior. The mantle lies between Earths dense,
super heated core and its thin outer layer, the crust. It is made up of silicates, magnesium oxide,
iron, aluminum, calcium, sodium, and potassium. The mantle is divided into two layers: the
upper mantle and the lower mantle.

Mantle Plumes
A mantle plume is an upwelling of superheated rock from the mantle. Mantle plumes are
the likely cause of hot spots, volcanic regions not created by plate tectonics.

The Core
It is the dense center and hottest part of earth. The core is made almost entirely of iron
and nickel.
The Gutenberg discontinuity is the boundary between the core and the mantle.
The core is made of two layers:
a) Outer Core - borders the mantle. Bullen discontinuity is the hottest part of the
core.
b) Inner Core- is a hot, dense ball of iron. The temperature of the inner core is
far above the melting point of iron.
Bullen discontinuity is the boundary separating these two layers.
Earths Magnetic Field
Earths magnetic field protects the planet from the charged particles of the solar wind.
Without the shield of the magnetic field, the solar wind would strip Earths atmosphere of
the ozone layer that protects life from harmful ultraviolet radiation.

CHAPTER TEST:
Read each questions carefully. Write the letter of the correct answer in the blank.
__1. In what sphere of the earth are the rocks and minerals found?
a. Atmosphere c. Hydrosphere
b. Biosphere d. Geosphere
__2 What parts of the earth make up the hydrosphere?
a. Glaciers c. seawater and inland water
b. Groundwater d. All of the above
__3. What part of Earth's spheres is composed of a mixture of gases?
a. Atmosphere c. Geosphere
b. Biosphere d. Hydrosphere
__4. Why only few lives exist below bathypelagic zone?
a. No sunlight penetrates on this zone
b. Water is very cold
c. Water pressure is very high
d. All of these
__5. When is the accumulated pile of snow become glaciers?
a. When it undergo cementation and compaction
b. Upon reaching a certain mass and acted upon by gravity
c. When it piled up in huge amount and solidify
d. When the temperature dropped very low
__6. Earths atmosphere is consists mostly of what gas?
a. CO2 b. He c. N2 d. O2

__7. In the troposphere, as the altitude rise, what happen to the temperature?
a. decreases b. increases c. constant d. extremely hot
__8. In what layer of the atmosphere, many satellites orbit?
a. exosphere b. troposphere c. mesosphere d. stratosphere
__9. What is the largest part of the earth?
a. Biosphere b. Geosphere c. Atmosphere d. Hydrosphere
__10. What is the importance of magnetic field?
a. It protects the earth from the solar wind.
b. It keeps our planet in orbit.
c. It protects us from harmful UV rays.
d. It gives us many minerals.

CHAPTER 2: EARTHY MATERIALS AND PROCESSES

Lesson 2.1: ROCKS AND MINERALS

Objectives:
 1. To identify common rock-forming minerals using their physical and chemical
properties
2. To classify rocks into igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic
Rocks
Rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of one or more minerals.
The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock.
The types and abundance of minerals in a rock are deter-mined by the manner in which the
rock was formed. Many rocks contain silica (SiO2); a compound of silicon and oxygen that forms
74.3% of the Earth's crust. This material forms crystals with other compounds in the rock.

Geological Classification of rocks according to Characteristics such as

1. mineral and chemical composition,
2. permeability,
3. the texture of the constituent particles,
4. and particle size.
These physical properties are the end result of the processes that formed the
rocks. Over the course of time, rocks can transform from one type into another, as des-cribed by
the geological model called the rock cycle. These events produce three general classes of rocks
: igneous , sedimentary, and metamorphic.
1. Igneous:
Igneous rocks form from the cooling of melted rock (either lava or magma) into
solid form.
If the cooling occurs underground, the rock is an intrusive, or plutonic, igneous
rock.
If the cooling occurs on the earth's surface, the rock is an extrusive or
volcanic rock.
Molten material within the Earth is called magma; it is lava once it has erupted
onto the surface.

2. Metamorphic: Metamorphic rocks form when existing rocks are subjected to intense
heat and pressure, usually deep below the earth's surface. These conditions change
the original minerals of the rock into new minerals.

3. Sedimentary:
Sedimentary rocks are either detrital or chemical.
a. Detrital rocks are formed by the compaction of separate particles, or
sediments, into a rock.
b. Chemical sedimentary rocks form from minerals that have been
dissolved in water and precipitate out, forming a solid rock.
Geologists describe sedimentary rocks according to the size and shape of the particles
in them or their mineral composition (in the case of chemical
sedimentary rocks).
Rock Cycle
The rocks of earth's crust are constantly being
recycled and changed into new forms through geologic
processes. This continual transformation of rocks from one
type to another is called the rock cycle.
 Rock Cycle
How rock type can be changed? Oxygen (O) 46.6%
Rock can be changed through the
Silicon (Si) 27.7%
processes of weathering, heating, melting,
cooling, and compaction. Any one rock type can Aluminum (Al) 8.1%
be changed into a different rock type as its Iron (Fe) 5.0%
chemical composition and physical characteristics Calcium (Ca) 3.6%
are transformed. Sodium (Na) 2.8%
The minerals and metals found in rocks Potassium (K) 2.6%
have been essential to human civilization. Magnesium (Mg) 2.1%
Minerals
Minerals are the fundamental components of rocks.
They are naturally occurring inorganic substances with a specific chemical
composition and an orderly repeating atomic structure that defines a crystal
structure.
Silicate minerals are the most abundant components of rocks on the Earth's surface,
making up over 90% by mass of the Earth's crust.
The common non-silicate minerals, which constitute less than 10% of the Earth's
crust, include carbonates, oxides, sulfides, phosphates and salts. A few elements
may occur in pure form. These include gold, silver, copper, bismuth, arsenic, lead,
tellurium and carbon.

Although 92 naturally occurring elements exist in nature, only eight of these are common
in the rocks of the Earth's crust. Together, these eight elements make up more than 98%
of the crust (Table 1).

Table 1. The eight most common

elements in the Earths crust( by mass )

Rock Forming Minerals:

The physical properties of minerals, such as their hardness, lustre, color, cleavage,
fracture, and relative density can be used to identify minerals.
These general characteristics are controlled mainly by their atomic structure (crystal
structure).

Common rock-forming minerals:

These are specimens of minerals from the University of Auckland's collection. Along with
the common rock-forming minerals, including apatite, corundum, diamond, fluorite, topaz and
talc to illustrate minerals used in Moh's Scale of Hardness.
 apatite augite biotite calcite chlorite corundum diamond

fluorite garnet gypsum hornblende ilmenite magnetite muscovite

Classification and Identification of Minerals

Minerals are classified according to their chemical composition.
1. Definite fixed composition,
Quartz is always SiO2, and calcite is always CaCO3.
2. Form both by inorganic and organic processes.
For example, calcite (CaCO3) is a common vein mineral in rocks, and also a shell-
forming material in many life forms. Calcite of organic origin conforms to the above
definition except for the requirement that it be inorganic.
3. "Mineraloids"
While not truly falling into the category of minerals, they are still usually classified
as minerals. Two well-known examples are Mercury, which lacks a crystal
structure due to its liquid state, and Opal, which also lacks a crystal structure as well
as a definitive chemical formula. Despite the fact that these mineraloids lack certain
essential characteristics of minerals, they are classified as minerals in most
reference guides including the acclaimed Dana's System of Mineralogy.
4. Organic minerals is another unique category of minerals.
While this term is technically an oxymoron, since the definition of a mineral
requires it to be inorganic, there are several naturally occurring rare organic
substances with a definitive chemical formula. The best example of this
is Whewellite. Most reference guides and scientific sources make an exception to
these substances and still classify them as minerals.

Study Questions:
1. What are the physical properties of minerals ?
2. How are rocks classified ?
3. Describe how the following rocks are formed.
a. igneous rock
b. sedimentary rock
c. metamorphic rock