★ LOCATING POINTS ON EARTH ★
Geographic Coordinate System - Universally used system for locating and indicating points on Earth’s surface using a set of numbers or symbols

Latitude and Longitude - Geographic Coordinate Systems that describe a location on the Earth Latitude - Horizontal lines; north and south
Longitude - Vertical lines; east and west

Prime Meridian - Arbitrarily chosen meridian in the Geographic Coordinate System at which longitude is defined to be 0°
Equator - Imaginary line that divides the Earth into Northern and Southern Hemispheres

The Gulf of Guinea - Point where the Prime Meridian and the Equator intersect; located at latitude 0° and longitude 0°

Philippines - Located between 4 ° and 21 ° north latitude and between 115 °and 127 ° east longitude

Philippines Neighboring Countries: Taiwan, Vietnam, Borneo, Malaysia, Indonesia

BODIES OF WATER IN THE PHILIPPINES
Surrounding Bodies of Water:
North – Luzon Strait East – Philippine Sea South – Celebes Sea West – South China Sea

Three Largest Rivers:
Cagayan River – Northern Luzon
Rio Grande de Mindanao – Southern Mindanao
Agusan River – Eastern Mindanao

Five Main Lakes:
Laguna de Bay – Between laguna and Rizal
Taal Lake – Batangas
Sampaloc Lake – Laguna
Bulusan Lake – Sorsogon
Buhi Lake – Camarines Sur

Famous Falls:
Maria Cristina Falls – Lanao del Norte
Pagsanjan Falls – Laguna

LANDFORMS IN THE PHILIPPINES
Highest Mountain: Mount Apo, Davao (2954 meters above sea level)

Two Massive Mountain Ranges:
Sierra Madre – Aurora to Rizal Cordillera Central – Abra to Pangasinan

Three Active Volcanoes:
Mayon Volcano – Albay Bicol
Taal Volcano – Batangas
Mount Kanlaon – Negros

★ NATURAL RESOURCES ★
Natural Resources - Supplied by nature, are on our planet alone and didn't need humans to exist. e.g, water, forests, fossil fuels, plants, animals, minerals, air. (All are important for our survival)

Renewable/Inexhaustible Resources - Resources that have an unlimited supply (Air, sunlight, water), 71% of the water on Earth is polluted, only 2.5% is fresh, and only 0.3% is available on the surface
Non-renewable Resources - Limited quantities/take a long time to return e.g, coal, gas, oil).

An average North American consumes around 90kg of resources a day.
While in Africa people only consume 10kg of resources a day.

★ INTERACTIONS IN THE ATMOSPHERE ★
• Atmosphere - Composed of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.93% Argon, 0.04% carbon dioxide, 0.03% other gases

LAYERS OF THE ATMOSPHERE
1. Exosphere - Space station orbit on this layer
2. Thermosphere - Gas particles move rapidly due to solar radiation
3. Mesosphere - The coldest layer in the atmosphere
4. Stratosphere - Ideal for flight because of good visibility and low air turbulence
5. Troposphere - The formation of clouds and precipitation occur; known as the "weather sphere"

The Greenhouse Effect:
Some of the solar radiation from the sun is reflected by the Earth and its atmosphere. Most radiation is absorbed by the Earth’s surface, warming it. The greenhouse molecules absorb and re-emit Some of the radiation in all directions. This warms the Earth’s surface and the lower atmosphere.

Land Breeze - Wind that blows from the land to the sea; occurs at night and early morning when the land cools down faster than the sea
Sea Breeze - Wind from the sea to the land; occurs at day; occurs due to the difference in density of air; Cold = Denser, Hot = Less dense

Monsoons - Winds that change directions as the seasons change; caused by the difference in the annual temperature trends between overland and sea

Northeast Monsoon (October to early March) - Amihan; starts as a mass of cold, dry air that originates from a pressure-weather system that forms over Siberia and China; widespread cloudiness, moderate rainfall, cool weather, especially in the eastern part of the country

Southwest Monsoon (June to early October) - Habagat; originates from a high-pressure weather system over the Australian continent, and the Indian Ocean, which is southwest of the Philippines; heavy rains to the western portion of the Philippines

Intertropical Convergence Zone - The doldrums or the calms because of its monotonous windless weather; the area where the northeast and the southeast trade winds converge; encircles Earth near the thermal equator though its specific position varies seasonally

Global Warming - Phenomenon of increasing average air temperatures near the surface of Earth; results from an increase in the magnitude of the so-called Greenhouse Effect

★ SEASONS ★
Perihelion - Point where Earth is closest to the sun
Aphelion - Point where Earth is farthest from the sun

Axial tilt of Earth – 23.5 degrees
Orbit around the sun – Elliptical
Orbit speed – 108 000 km/h
Complete revolution around the sun – 365.24 days

North Pole - 90°N
Arctic Circle - 66.5°N
Tropic of Cancer - 23.5°N
Equator - 0° degrees
Tropic of Capricorn - 23.5°S
Antarctic Circle - 66.5°S
South Pole - 90°S

Sun Elevation - Degrees as of the first day of each month

Insolation - Energy received on Earth's surface
Solar Altitude - Amount of Insolation received at any place on Earth depends on the length of daytime and nighttime and the angle of the Sun above the horizon

Winter Solstice - December 21 Summer Solstice - June 21

Equinox - The length of daytime and nighttime are equal
Vernal Equinox - March 21
Autumnal Equinox - September 21

The Earth during Equinox: The Sun's rays: Earth's tilt is perpendicular to the angle of sunlight On the Equinox, sunrise and sunset are roughly 12 hours apart worldwide

Why is there only 2 seasons in the Philippines?
Because the Philippines receives the same amount of sunlight throughout the year.

Dry Season - Caused by Northeast Monsoon (Amihan)
Wet Season - Caused by Southwest Monsoon (Habagat)

★ ECLIPSES ★
Cosmic Rays - Particles from outer space; can be made by the sun, by other stars exploding, and black holes; move extremely fast, nearly the speed of light, but when they hit the Earth they are blocked by our atmosphere and made harmless to humans

Atomic Nuclei - Consists of electrically positive protons and electrically neutral neutrons

Eclipse - Occurs when the sun Earth, and moon are perfectly aligned; only occurs during the full moon.
Solar eclipse - If the moon is between Earth, and the sun, the moon blocks the sun’s rays, and the shadow of the moon is cast on Earth’s surface (Black sun)
Three types of solar eclipses – Total, partial, and annular
Lunar eclipse – The moon moves within the shadow of Earth (Red/blood moon)
Three types of lunar eclipses – Total, partial, and penumbral