"Habitable zone" is the distance from a star at which liquid water could exist on between day and night.

orbiting planets' surfaces.

 Traps heat, shields the surface from harmful radiation, and provides
Habitable zones are also known as Goldilocks zones, where conditions might be just chemicals needed for life, such as nitrogen and carbon dioxide.
right-neither too hot nor too cold for life.
 Small planets and moons have insufficient gravity to hold an atmosphere.
 The gas molecules escape to space, leaving the planet or moon without an
Characteristics of the Earth necessary to support life insulating blanket or a protective shields.
1. Temperature  Earth's atmosphere is about 100 miles thick.
 Influences how quickly atomsm& molecules move.  It keeps the surface warm & protects it from radiation & small- to medium-
sized meteorites.
 Low temperatures cause chemicals to react slowly, which interferes with the
reactions necessary for life. Also low temperatures freeze water, making 4.Earth's magnetic field
liquid water unavailable.
 Earth's core allow the recycling of materials and generates magnetic that
 At about 125°C, protein and carbohydrate molecules and genetic material protect us from radiation
(e.g., DNA and RNA) start to break apart. Also, high temperatures
quicklyevaporate water.  The sun's gravitational pull keeps our planet orbiting the Sun and the Earth
firmly hold everything from topography to all forms of life to its gravitational
2. Water pull
 Dissolves & transports chemicals within and to and from a cell If the water is  The force of gravity does not just keep us anchored to the ground but also
not enough the chemicals a cell needs for energy & growth are not dissolved our biological system.
or transported to the cell
5. Energy
 Too much water is not a problem, as long as it is not so toxic that it
interferes with the chemistry of life  Organisms use light or chemical energy to run their life processes.
 Water has sole role that takes place inbiological processes A universal  When there is too little sunlight or too few of the chemicals that provide
solvent which are capable. ofdissolving other substances absorbed by living energy to cells, such as iron or sulfur, organisms die.
organism When water freezes, it also floats with other water.
 With a steady input of either light or chemical energy, cells can run the
 If all the Earth's water turns into ice,chemical reactions needed for life would chemical reactions necessary for life.
be impossible Earth is covered by 3/4 or 97.3 % saline or salty water in
oceans and seas, 3% fresh water that consists ice caps, ground water,fresh 6. nutrients
water lakes
 Used to build and maintain an organism's body.
3.Atmosphere
 Insufficience or absence of nutrient can impede synthesis of the different
 The atmosphere is biological molecules
a mixture ofgases
that surrounds the  In our planet there are processes that recycled nutrient
Earth.
 It helps make life
possible by
providing us with air
to breathe,
shielding us from
harmful ultraviolet
(UV) radiation
coming from the
Sun, trapping heat
to warm the planet, and preventing extreme temperature differences
Earth's Subsystems and the Flow of Matter and Energy  Water on Earth is constantly and consistently moving because of
temperature and salinity. It also plays an important role in absorption and
 Earth is a complex system of interrelating physical, chemical, and biological redistribution of solar radiation.
processes. It is a system in which sets of interconnected components are
interacting to form a unified whole. Earth is comprised of four major smaller  The hydrosphere is made up of all the salt water and fresh water on Earth.
systems known as subsystems.
 Salt water in the oceans and seas. Fresh water in the lakes, rivers and
 These are also called as spheres of the Earth. These are the atmosphere, streams and the frozen water on Earth.
geosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere.
 All liquid water runs down hill.
 It starts as fresh water in the high areas and runs down hill until it reaches
Atmosphere the ocean.
 serves as the Earth's blanket. Its name rooted from the Greek word atmos
which means gas and sphaira which means globe or ball. It is composed of
gases in varying amount and its relative abundance is also crucial in Biosphere
different parts of the earth.
 came from the Greek word bios meaning life. It is composed of all living
 The air in the atmosphere is generally composed of 78% nitrogen, 21% things and the areas where they are found.
oxygen, 0.9% argon and the remaining 0.10% is made up of different trace
gases and vapor. It serves as the Earth's protection form harmful UV rays  This includes all the plants, animals, fungus, protists and bacteria on Earth. It
and keeps the planet warm through greenhouse gasses. extends to the upper areas of the atmosphere where insects and birds can
be found.
 Atmosphere is affected by the Earth's gravity, so this is the reason why as
the altitude increases the amount of gases in the atmosphere decreases. It  It also extends to the deep parts of the oceans where marine organisms can
is composed of layers namely: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, still survive. It is also in this zone that the interaction between the different
thermosphere, and exosphere. subsystems is most dynamic.
 In biosphere, each organism plays an important role to the food web. If one
is lost the others will be affected.
Geosphere
Each of these spheres is also considered a system because they are always
 comes from the Greek word geos meaning ground. moving and being recycled.
 It pertains to the solid part of the earth. It is divided in to three layers such as In the biosphere the life forms have a lifespan and when they die they
the crust, mantle, and the core. It is composed of naturally occurring solid provide nourishment for other organisms.
aggregate of minerals, organic material or natural glass called rocks.
In the geosphere, the rocks are endlessly being broken down, then recycled
 It is also composed of loose particles of rocks that enveloped the surface of into new rocks.
Earth called regolith. It contains all the soil, rocks, and minerals present in
the crust to the core of the Earth. In the hydrosphere, the water is endlessly moving, changing states and
becoming refreshed.
 It comprises the geologic landforms such as mountains and hills.
In the atmosphere, the air is continually rising, falling and mixing.
Matter and energy flows and cycle between the four subsystems to sustain
Hydrosphere and make life on Earth possible. Both of it can flow across the boundaries between
each subsystem. The geosphere is where the rocky part of the earth is in contact
 Hydro is a Greek word which means water. Hydrosphere is composed of all with water, air, and life. It is also generally where the spheres intersect and affect
the water on Earth in any form. This includes ice, water vapor and liquid each other.
water.
The processes that move matter and energy from one sphere to another is
 The permanently frozen part of this subsystem is called cryosphere. Earth is called as sphere interactions. Changes in any sphere greatly affect the other spheres
theonly planet in the solar system that are known to contain water in all three as well since all the spheres are interconnected system.
phases.
 The four subsystems are closely linked through the biogeochemical cycles 3. Streak
which involves biological, geochemical, and chemical factors. These cycles are
alleyways by which substances move through biotic which is the biosphere and  the color of the pulverized powder of a mineral.
abiotic which is the geosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere, components of Earth.
 The color could be different from the crystal's color, and is always distinctive
It allows the circulation of important nutrients that form and support life like
carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, and water. It also maintains the 4. Hardness
balance of substances in the different subsystem of the Earth. Any interference and
disturbances in the flow of matter and energy may cause damage to any of the  the scratchability of a mineral, or a mineral's durability
subsystems and its components.
 Uses the Moh's Hardness scale with a rating system of 1-10

MINERALS
A. Definition
1. Naturally occurring
2. Inorganic substance (non-living)
3. Crystalline solid
4. Definite chemical composition
There are substances that meet 3 of the 4 criteria, and are called mineralloids
Example: Opal - does not have an orderly arrangement of atoms
How many minerals are there?
 3500 known minerals in the Earth's crust - Minerals combine to form all
rocks on Earth
 Rock type depends on mineral composition 20 minerals combine to form 5. Crystal shape / External Crystal Form/ Crystal Systems
95% of all rocks on Earth.
 a set of faces that have a definite geometric relationship to each other
Physical Properties
 All minerals have at least 9 physical properties that can be used to define,
describe, and identify them as unique minerals. 6. Mineral Cleavage
1. Color  the ability of a mineral to break, when struck along specific planes
 every mineral is some color andnsome are found in multiple colors could be  Based on the bonding between atoms
very helpful and distinctive, or could be very ambiguous
 Where the bonds are weakest = breakage plane
2. Luster
7. Fracture
 the manner in which a mineral -reflects light
 The way a substance breaks where not controlled by cleavage
Glassy - reflects light like a piece of glass does
 Minerals with no cleavage generally break with irregular fracture
Metallic-reflects light like a piece of metal does
 If minerals break with curved fracture surfaces, it is called concoidal fracture
This is seen in glass, the igneous rock Obsidian, and the mineral Quartz
8. Specific Gravity Rocks
 the density of a mineral  Rock is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals sometime with
nonmineral solid particles.
 Density mass of an object/volume of the object -The ratio of the mass of an
object to the mass of an equal volume of water
 The density of pure water = 1 g/mL Classification of Rocks
If the density of the object is < 1 = lighter than water, and will float to some Igneous rocks or magmatic rocks
degree - If the density of the object is > 1= heavier than water, and will sink.
 are formed through the cooling and
- Examples: - solidification of magma or lava.
Igneous rock can be classified into:
Quartz 2.65 g/mL
Intrusive igneous rocks. This type of
Galena 7.5 g/mL igneous rock is formed from
solidification of magma below the
Gold 19.3 g/mL surface They have large crystals of
minerals that formed over time through
the slow process of crystallization in a
magma. Granite, diorite, gabbro,
9. Other Special Properties
pegmatite, and peridotite are examples of
a. Taste a few minerals have a characteristic taste Halite tastes like salt this type of rock.
b. Odor - a few minerals have a characteristic odor Clay minerals have an Extrusive igneous rocks. This type of
"earthy" smell igneous rock is formed through a faster rate
of solidification of lava on the surface of
c. Striations - straight parallel lines on the flat surface of the cleavage Earth. They can become glassy in
directions appearance due to less crystallization or
vesicular like Scoria, due to the air that was
d. Magnetism - some minerals with large amounts of iron oxide are attracted trapped inside when they solidified and
to magnets formed on the surface of the earth. Other
examples of this type of rock are andesite,
e. Double Refraction - a clear mineral placed over an image will show 2 basalt, dacite, obsidian, pumice, rhyolite, and
images by the light being split as it enters some crystalline minerals tuff.
Example - Calcite
f. X-ray fingerprints - when x-rays are directed through minerals, the x-rays
are deflected out at specific angles. Each mineral has a specific pattern Sedimentary rock

g. Chemical tests - how do minerals react to specific chemicals. Example:  is formed by the deposition
Carbonate minerals (calcite) will react to weak hydrochloric acid, they will and cementation of
fizz to produce carbon dioxide (CO2) gas. Generally this is the only field mineral or organic
chemical test particles on the floor of
oceans and other bodies of
water at the Earth's
surface. Sedimentary
rocks can be classified
into clastic, chemical, and
organic.
Clastic sedimentary rock.
It is formed from the
mechanical weathering
debris of rocks. Examples
are breccia, conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone, and shale.
Chemical sedimentary rock. It is formed when dissolved materials
precipitate from the solution. Examples of these are rock salt, iron ore, chert,
flint, some dolomites.
Organic sedimentary rock. It is formed from the build-up of plant or animal
debris. Examples of this type are coal and fossiliferous limestone.

Metamorphic rock
 forms from existing rock types
called "parent rock" in the
process called metamorphism,
which means a change in form.
 The original rock which can be
an igneous, sedimentary, or
another metamorphic rock is
subjected to heat and pressure,
causing a profound chemical or
physical change. Metamorphic
rocks can be classified into:
Foliated metamorphic rock. It is formed through pressure due to
compression of rocks that create bands called foliation. Examples are
gneiss. phyllite, schist, and slate.
Non-foliated metamorphic rocks. It has no foliation or bands. Examples
of this type are hornfels, marble, quartzite, and novaculite.