Earth-and-Life-Science-_-Handout-1

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Origin of the 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.

  • Big Bang Theory - Based on this theory, the universe is formed in a massive explosion about 10 to 20 billion years ago.

Model of Universe

  • Geocentric Model - Earth is placed at the center of the solar system. Plato and Aristotle propagated this theory which proposes that all objects or planets encircle the Earth.

  • Heliocentric Model - Nicolaus Copernicus proposed a theory that placed the Sun at the center of the solar system and all planets, stars, and Earth encircling it.

Solar System

  • It is located somewhere in the 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.

Two Solar System Theories

  • Modern Laplacian Theory - which the Sun and the planets formed in a rotating nebula which cooled and collapsed.

  • Modern Nebular Theory - which the planets originate in a dense disk formed from material in the gas and dust cloud that collapses to give us the Sun.

Beginning of the Earth

  • 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 consists of four distinct yet connected spheres.

  • Geosphere - describes all of the rocks, minerals, and ground that are found on and in Earth.

  • Hydrosphere - Planet Earth has been called the "Blue Planet" due to the abundant water on its surface.

  • Atmosphere - huge envelope of air that surrounds the earth and pulled by the gravitational force of the earth is called the atmosphere.

  • Biosphere - where all forms of life exist.

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Layers 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

  • Outermost part of the earth and is very thin compared to the other layers.

  • Continental crust is mostly composed of different types of granites.

  • Oceanic crust is mostly composed of different types of basalts.

Mantle

  • Mostly-solid bulk of Earth’s interior.

  • The mantle lies between Earth’s dense, superheated 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 - an upwelling of superheated rock from the mantle.

Core

  • Dense center and hottest part of the earth.

  • The core is made almost entirely of iron and nickel.

  • Outer Core - borders the mantle.

  • Inner Core - is a hot, dense ball of iron.

Exploring the Solar System

  • Terrestrial Planets - Planets that revolve near the sun, these are the four first planet Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.

  • Jovian Planets - called “gas giants” because they are made primarily of liquid and gases, unlike the terrestrial planets.

  • Sun - The Sun is the center of the Solar System and is composed mostly of hydrogen and helium.

  • The eight planets orbit around the Sun in elliptical orbits.

The 8 Planets

  • Mercury – “The innermost Planet” - the closest planet to the Sun.

  • Venus “the earths Twin” - Venus is the second planet from the Sun.

  • Earth “Home Planet”- Earth is the third planet from the Sun.

  • Mars “Red Planet” - Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun.

  • Jupiter “The Gas Giant” - Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun.

  • Saturn “The Prominent Ring” - Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun.

  • Uranus - Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun.

  • Neptune “Windy Planet” - Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun.

Other Object in Space

  • Asteroids - Asteroids are huge metallic rocks moving around the Sun. They are covered in regolith, which is a layer of fine rock and dust particles.

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Space Objects

  • Craters or holes caused by collision with other space objects

  • Comets

    • Icy, dusty rocks that orbit the Sun along an elongated path

    • When close to the Sun, frozen water and gases heat up, creating a tail of gas and dust particles

  • Meteors

    • Rock pieces from outer space that enter the Earth's atmosphere

    • Burn and glow as they quickly travel through the thick atmosphere

    • Look like streaks of light shooting across the sky

Rocks and Minerals

  • Minerology - Study of Minerals

  • Minerals

    • Building blocks of rocks

    • Geologists define minerals in four ways (represented as N-SOUR)

  • Identifying Minerals

  • Mineral Groups

  • Rock-Forming Minerals

    • Number of minerals that make up most of the rocks in the Earth's surface

  • Economic Minerals

    • Less abundant minerals used extensively in manufacturing products

  • Silicate Minerals

    • Most abundant minerals in Earth's surface

    • Composed of Silicon and Oxygen

    • Have a complex structure because of the silicon and oxygen bond

  • Non-Silicate Minerals

    • Make up only about 8% of Earth's crust

    • Not a very complex structure

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Rocks

  • Naturally occurring solid aggregates of one or more minerals

  • Identified by minerals they contain and texture

  • Materials of geosphere

Rock Cycle

  • Natural processes like erosion change rocks from one type to another

  • Occurs slowly

  • No beginning or end

  • Crystallization

    • Different crystals form at different temperatures as magma cools

  • Erosion & deposition

    • Weathering wears down rocks on Earth's surface into smaller pieces

  • Metamorphism

    • Rock exposed to extreme heat and pressure but does not melt becomes a metamorphic rock

Types of Rocks

  • Igneous Rock

    • Form from the cooling and hardening of molten magma

    • Can form by slowly cooling beneath the surface or more quickly at the surface

    • Extrusive Rocks

      • Molten rocks that solidify at the surface

    • Intrusive Rocks

      • Molten rocks that solidify deep inside the Earth

  • Sedimentary Rocks

    • Form by the compaction and cementing together of sediments

    • Can be formed from erosion and weathering of other rocks

  • Metamorphic Rocks

    • Form when minerals in an existing rock are changed by heat and pressure below the surface

Ways Rocks Change

  • Contact metamorphism

    • Rock altered by heat from nearby magma

  • Regional metamorphism

    • Occurs over a large area when a rock is buried or compressed.