LEARNING MODULE

st
1 QUARTER

Prepared by: Meravil L. Maligmat

Subject Teacher

Name:
Strand:
Origin and structures of the Earth

1.1 How Did the universe Come to Be?

 The understanding of the origin, evolution, structure, and fate of the universe is called
cosmology.
 For the ancient Greeks, the cosmos has always been in existence. Neither created nor
perishable. The cosmos for many Greek thinkers was timeless and infinite in extent.
From the Greek thinkers also came the idea of the universe having a center. Philolaus
(470-358 B.C.) was the first to propose that Earth was not the center of universe, but a
central fire, around which other celestial objects, such as the Sun, moon, and other
planets revolved uniformly.
 Einstein's theory of the universe would later lead to the development of the Big Bang
Theory.

 Many hypotheses had been tested to discuss the origin of the universe, but the most
accepted theory today is the Big Bang Theory. Cosmologists that support this theory
claim that our universe is 13.7 billion years old, and they divided the history of the
universe into a series of eras or time periods. Each era is distinguished from the next by
some major changes in the condition of the universe.
The Planck Era
 The first era that marked the beginning of the universe was the Planck era. In this era, the
universe was very tiny-smaller than an atom-and assumed to be made up of condensed
energy and 10-43 second old. During this time, the fundamental forces in nature that we
know today-namely, a) gravity, b) nuclear strong force, c) nuclear weak force, and d)
electromagnetic force-were unified into what is called as "the super force" in quantum
mechanics and general relativity. Matter and energy were equivalent and the universe
was very hot. Later in this era, the first force-that is, gravity-"froze out" from the super
force and became responsible for the shaping of the universe.
The Grand Unified Theory (GUT) Era
 The GUT era began when the "super force" split into two types of forces-gravity and
GUT force. The split lasted only for a fraction of a second. In the time when the early
universe had cooled to 10K, the nuclear strong force started to freeze out from the GUT
force, which was accompanied by a release of huge amount of energy causing space
evolution to grow up into the enormous size of our solar system. This expansion of the
universe is called inflation.
Electroweak Era
 During the electroweak era, the universe continued to expand and cool, dropping to a
temperature of 10'5K when it reached an age of 10 10 second. At this temperature,
electromagnetic and weak forces started to freeze out from electroweak force finally
separating. At the end of the era, all four fundamental forces in the universe were forever
distinct.
Particle Era
 When the fundamental forces were finally separated, ordinary particles started to form.
Throughout the particle era, there were spontaneous creation and annihilation of particles.
Photons, a particle of light or other electromagnetic radiation, collided with another
photon to form matter and antimatter and vice versa. These particles were electrons,
neutrinos, and quarks. Near the end of the particle era, the temperature of the universe
was low enough for the quarks to combine in groups of three to form protons and
neutrons.
 he time when the particle era ended, the temperature of the universe had fallen to 1012K.
The universe reached an age of 1 millisecond when the production of protons, neutrons,
antiprotons, and antineutrons from pure energy had ceased.
The Era of Nucleosynthesis
 The end of the particle era marked the beginning of the era of nucleosynthesis. After the
annihilation of antimatter, heavier nuclei started to form by fusion of proton and neutron
left over. However, most nuclei broke apart because of the high temperature of the
universe.
 At the end of the era of nucleosynthesis, the temperature of the universe dropped to 10°K,
which caused the fusion of proton and neutron to stop. At this stage, the universe was
about three minutes old and contained 75% hydrogen and 25% helium with trace
amounts of deuterium and tritium.
The Era of Atoms and the Era of Galaxies
 The universe consisted of a mixture of neutral atoms and plasma, which slowly gathered
to form protogalactic clouds during the era of atoms. The first generation of stars was
formed within the clouds, which transformed the clouds into galaxies. However, heavier
elements could not be formed having the amount of energy provided by the stars. The
needed energy was derived from the bursting of the stars known as supernova. This
provides the energy to synthesize the heavier elements such as copper, gold, and uranium.
The universe was about one billion years old when young galaxies started to form.
Continuous creating and bursting of stars provided the energy that led to the production
of the elements that were later used for the formation of the planets.
1.2 How Did the Solar System Form?
 Recent advances in science and technology aided us in explaining the origin of the Earth
and other planets. Information derived from optical telescopes, space probes, computer
power, and better techniques for detecting planets serve as considerable pieces of
evidence in testing earlier theories. Some of these important pieces of

1. Mass distribution - The mass of the system is not evenly distributed. Most of the mass
is concentrated in the sun.
2. Angular momentum distribution - Like mass distribution, the angular momentum
(tendency to rotate) is concentrated more among the planets in comparison to the sun.
3. Shape and alignment of orbits - The planets move in nearly circular orbits that nearly
align with the equator of the sun in the same direction.
4. Chemical compositions - The planets and the sun have similar chemical compositions,
although in varying proportions. Planets in the solar system are subdivided into two
groups: the small, heavy, and nonvolatile planets; and the large, light, and volatile
planets.
 From these scientific data, various models had been created to explain the origin of the
Earth, such as the random capture model, the close-approach model, and the star
formation model. The latter was generally favored today and accepted as explanation for
the origin of the planets. It was later called the nebula theory.
The Nebula Theory
 As stars were being created and bursting into supernovas, the solar system began to form,
although it took millions of years in order to produce elements needed to form the solar
system. About 4.6 billion years ago, a supernova occurred and shocked a nearby
interstellar space and triggered the solar nebula to collapse. As the solar nebula collapsed,
its core temperature increased and released thermal energy.
 As the temperature of the core reached 10 million Kelvin, hydrogen atoms began to fuse
together, forming helium atoms. At this point, the center of the solar nebula became a
protosun. Random motions in the cloud were then cancelled, leaving only movement and
rotation. The rotation highly magnified as the collapse continued. This eventually
produced a pancake-shaped circumstellar disk of dust and gas known as the
protoplanetary disk. It was from this disk where the planets eventually formed. The
flattening of the protoplanetary disk now explains the alignment of the planet orbits
coinciding with the equator of the sun.
1.3.1 The Composition of Earth

The Crust
 The crust of the Earth is composed of a great variety of igneous, metamorphic, and
sedimentary rocks. The rocks found in the crust consist mostly of lighter elements such as
silicon, potassium, and sodium. The density of these rocks is about three times that of
water. Difference in chemical composition resulted into two types of crust: oceanic and
continental crust. The oceanic crust, which is 5 km to 10 km thick, is composed primarily
of basalt, diabase, and gabbro. The continental crust, which is 30 km to 50 km thick, is
mostly composed of less dense rocks than the oceanic crust. Some of these less dense
rocks, such as granite, are common in the continental crust, but rare in the oceanic crust.
These two types of crust explain the formation of various landforms through plate
movements.
The Mantle
 Earth's mantle is a 2 885-km thick shell of rock surrounding the planet's outer core, lying
directly beneath the thin crust, roughly between 30 and 2 900 km below the surface. It
occupies about 84% of Earth's volume. The term "mantle" is also applied to the rock shell
surrounding the core of the other planets. In the solar system, the Earth's mantle is the
only one that is continually active.
 The mantle differs substantially from the crust in terms of mechanical characteristics and
chemical compositions. The crust is, in fact, primarily a product of mantle melting.
Mantle rocks consist of olivine’s, different pyroxenes, and other mafic minerals. Mantle
rocks also possess a higher portion of iron and magnesium and a smaller portion of
silicon and aluminum than the crust. The mantle temperature ranges between 1 000°C at
the upper boundary near the crust-which extends from the crust to a depth of about 410
km-to over 4 000°C at the lower boundary near the outer core-which extends from about
660 km to about 2 700 km beneath the crust. Between the upper and lower mantle is the
transition zone where rocks undergo radical transformations.
The Core
 With a thickness of 1 216 km, the inner core of the Earth is mostly composed of solid
iron and nickel; surrounded by the liquid iron outer core with a thickness of 2 270 km.
The core is believed to have a maximum relative density of 13 and has a maximum
temperature of 6 400°C. The flowing iron and nickel in the outer core resulted to the
formation of the magnetic field that further protects the Earth.
1.3.2 Earth: A Habitable Planet

 For 4.6 billion years, Earth's structure has undergone and is continuously undergoing
grand changes. In fact, in its primitive form, Earth did not look like how it looks today: a
beautiful blue marble. Between 4.35 and 3.8 billion years ago, Earth experienced heavy
bombardment, making Earth a dangerous place for any living thing. After the
bombardment period, about 3.8 to 3 million years ago, land and bodies of water have
begun to form. In addition, gaseous materials formed the atmosphere that was finally able
to support life on the surface.
 Scientists view Earth as a system that is composed of different parts that are independent
from one another but are interrelated and interact with one another, These parts are
known to be components of Earth but can be viewed as subsystems of the Earth. These
subsystems are the geosphere, the hydrosphere, the atmosphere, the cryosphere, and the
biosphere. Cryosphere, the layer pertaining to ice, is usually considered as part of the
hydrosphere, thus limiting the subsystems into four. The geosphere comprises the solid
layer of Earth, that is, rocks and minerals that
 provide nutrients to plants and animals. The hydrosphere comprises the 70% of the
Earth's surface that is water. The atmosphere comprises the air that we breathe. This is
made up of many layers that protect us from the outer space. Biosphere pertains to every
life form, which includes us humans.
Name_____________________________ Date_______
Strand____________________________

A. Choose the correct answer. Write the letter of your answer on the blank.
1. Inflation of the universe began during the.
a. early period of Electroweak Era
b. latter period of Electroweak Era
c. early period of the GUT Era d. latter period of the GUT Era
2. Cosmic microwave background began to stream across the universe during the
a. Electroweak Era c. Era of Nucleosynthesis
b. Era of Nuclei d. Particle Era
3. How old is the universe?
a. 2015 years b. 2016 years
c. 4.6 billion years d. 13.7 billion of years
4. During the Era of Nucleosynthesis, particles combined to form the first hydrogen nuclei and
these hydrogen atoms continued to combine to form
a. carbon b. deuterium
c. helium d. sodium
5. Which among these is not a Jovian planet?
a. Neptune b. Saturn
c. Venus d. Uranus
6. Which is not a characteristic of the terrestrial planets?
a. they are closer to the Sun b. they are light
c. they are volatile d. they are small
7. Most of the mass of the solar system are concentrated in the
a. Jovian planets c. Sun
b. moons d. terrestrial planets
8. The process by which the rocky planetesimals stuck together to form the larger planets is
called.
a. accretion c. electron capture
d. hydrogen capture b. nebular capture
9. Today, Pluto is classified as
a. an asteroid c. a satellite
d. a star b. a dwarf planet
10. The crust is subdivided into two crusts: the oceanic crust and the continental crust. The
oceanic crust is made primarily of basalt, while the continental crust is made of
a. gneiss c. limestones
b. granite d. marble
11. The core is believed to be made of
a. gold c. molten carbon
b. iron and nickel d. silicon and oxygen
12. Which of the following makes up most of the Earth?
c. mantle d. water
a. core b. crust
13. The flowing molten material in the outer core resulted into the formation of
a. crust c. magnetic field
b. electric field d. the moon
14. The boundary between the crust and the mantle is known as the
a. asthenosphere b. bedrock
c. Conrad discontinuity d. Mohorovicic discontinuity
15. Where did abiogenesis take place?
a. atmosphere c. hydrosphere
b. cryosphere d. lithosphere
B. Answer the following questions briefly.
1. What is anti-matter? How were the particle-antiparticle pairs created and destroyed in the
early universe?

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2. Enumerate the different forces operating in our universe nowadays.

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3. Differentiate the Jovian planets from the terrestrial planets.

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4. Is there a chance that there could be another solar system in our universe? Explain your
answer.
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5. Scientists are now trying to explore the nearby planet Mars for its possibility to become our
second home. What are the things needed in order for a planet to support life?
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6. An illustration of the interaction of the Earth's systems is the biogeochemical cycle. Cite an
example of a biogeochemical cycle (aside from the carbon cycle).
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