Q 1 WEEK 1 MODULE 1- EARTH THE UNIQUE PLANET AND ITS SUB-SYSTEM

OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the lesson, the learners will be able to:
K: Identify the factors that allow a planet to support life;
S: Make a creative drawing showing the interactions of the
Earth’s subsystems; and
A: Reflect on how unique is the planet Earth and the
importance of protecting and preserving its resources.

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)
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.

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 • 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.
(https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2020/01/13/could-therebe-life-
on-the-first-earth-sized-habitable-zone-planet-found-by-
nasastess/#1b52efa27919)

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:

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

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(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.

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 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,

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 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.
 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.

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 (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

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

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

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 PERFORMANCE and WRITTEN TASKS:
Instruction: In one whole short bond paper, make a creative drawing
showing the interactions of the four subsystems of the Earth. Explain your output
in 5 to 10 sentences only. Below is a sample illustration of how these four systems
interact. Think of some phenomena that exist on Earth which are vital for
human life. You will be graded based on the following criteria:
Accuracy=5 points, Organization=5points, and Creativity=5 points. A
total of 15 points for this task.

Carbon Cycle Play - MindFuel STEM Store

II. Essay. 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?

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Grading criteria: Content------------- 5 points
Cohesiveness----- 5 points
Total------------------ 10 points

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