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EARTH as a
habitable planet
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II. Water: The Medium of
Life
 Life of Earth is possible because of water.
 Water served as the medium of first lifeforms.

 Water has the right density, transition temperatures, and heat capacity that enable
existence and perpetuation of life.
• Ice floats on the surface of liquid water because of lower density.
• water has high heat capacity, so it can store large amount of heat and serve as
heat engine.
• Water is liquid at room temperature.

 The prevailing hypothesis on the origin of water on

Earth suggests that water came from comets that
collided with Earth.
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 Other studies suggest that water is already present

within Earth since formation as volatiles trapped in
magma, and manifested as liquid water During
degassing after the crust had formed.

 At present, all water on Earth(water vapor, liquid water,

and Ice) comprise the HYDROSPHERE.
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 Hydrosphere is comprised of 97.5% saltwater and

2.5% freshwater.
 Saltwater or saline water comprised the oceans and seas.
 Freshwater accounts for only 2.5% of the total water on Earth.

 In modern civilization, water has a variety of uses.

 Water is commonly used in irrigation of crops in the field of agriculture.
 Waterways provide cheap and easy and transport for both people and
goods.
 The manufacturing and power generation industries rely heavily on
water.
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III. Sun as the main source of energy

 The Distance of Earth from the sun allows the planet to

receive the right amount of solar energy to enable
existence and maintenance of life.
 The sun is the primary source of energy on Earth.
 Solar energy enable photosynthetic organisms such as plants to grow.
 Solar energy warms the earth.

 The sun’s energy is transferred across an empty space or vacuum to Earth’s

surface through radiation.
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Earth’s Energy Budget

 The energy budget is determined by the
characteristics of Earth’s surface.
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 The energy of the sun is released through

ultraviolet, visible, and infrared radiation.
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IV. Earth’s Atmosphere

 The ATMOSPHERE makes up all the gases on

earth. It is composed of 78.1% nitrogen, 20.9%
oxygen, 0.9% argon, 350 ppm carbon dioxide,
and other components. Water vapor is also a
significant component of the Earth’s
atmosphere. Its concentration depends on the
variation in atmospheric pressure and
temperature.
  The atmosphere has different layers- troposphere,
z atmosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and
exosphere.
 The troposphere is the lowest layer that regulates
weather and climate.
 The stratosphere is where the ozone layer that
protects the Earth’s from the Sun harmful UV
radiation is found
 The mesosphere protects the Earth from the
impact of space debris. The debris burns as a
result of the friction force between air and debris
molecules.
 The thermosphere regulates temperature and
filters X-rays and some ultraviolet radiation
emitted by the sun.
 The exosphere is the farthest layer which absorbs
some radiation and protects the layer underneath.
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 The most important layer of the atmosphere is

the boundary layer composed of troposphere
and stratosphere. The boundary layer is just
next to Earth’s surface.
 The atmosphere is crucial in enabling and
maintaining life on Earth.
 The water cycle or hydrological cycle describes
the movement of water from one area to
another by changing states-liquid to vapor to
ice and back again.
  Evaporation is the process of converting liquid
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to gas.
 Cloud formation happens by converting water
vapor to liquid form through a process called
condensation.
 Precipitation is the process of releasing from the
clouds in the form of rain, snow, sleet or hail.