GRADE 11 SHS CORE SUBJECT EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE

1. What is the Earth
system?

2. Scientists increasingly
view Earth as a dynamic
system – a combination of
interrelated, interdependent
or interacting parts forming a
collective whole or entity.

4. Hydrosphere

5. The hydrosphere is com-
posed of all of the water on or
near the planet's surface. This
includes oceans, rivers, and
lakes, as well as underground
aquifers and the moisture in
the atmosphere.

6. The ocean has 5 different
and distinct layers that each
have their own unique
characteristics.

7. •Zone 1 – Epipelagic
•Distance: Up to 200 meters
from the surface
•Pressure: 1 – 20 atm
Temperature: 36 °C to -2 °C
(depending on the sun)
•How to get there?: diving

9. The epipelagic or euphoric
area is known as the area of
sunlight as it is the layer with
more visible light. Here is
where most of the marine life
occurs.

10. Life can be microscopic, such
as plankton using the
abundant sunlight for photo-
synthesis, to the great blue
whale using baleen instead
of teeth to feed on plankton.

12. •Zone 2 – Mesopelagic
•Distance: Up to 200 meters
to 1000 meters from the
surface
•Pressure: 20 – 100
atmospheres

13. •Temperature: 14 ° C to 8 ° C
•How to get there?: Only
experienced divers with the
proper equipment

15. The mesopelagic layer is
also known as the penumbra
or the nebulous world
because at these depths it is
difficult to see the sun clearly.

16. Due to the lack of light, it is in
this area where we begin to
see the bioluminescent
creatures. This area is
characteristic is commonly
navigated by submarines.

19. •Zone 3 – Bathypelagic
•Distance: Up to 1000
meters to 4000 meters
from the surface
•Pressure: 100-400
atmospheres

20. •Temperature: 4 ° C (usually
constant)
•How to get there?: With an
underwater vehicle. In 1930
explorers made their way
through the Bathysphere

23. The bathypelagic zone is
sometimes referred to as the
midnight zone due to the
constant darkness. It has
great depth so the light does
not reach that far.

24. Some animals, like sperm
whales, can live in the
epipelagic, dive through
mesopelagic, and find food in
the bathypelagic area.

26. •Zone 4 – Abyssopelagic
•Distance: Up to 4000
meters to 6000 meters
from the surface
•Pressure: 400-600
atmospheres

27. •Temperature: Near 0 C
•How to get there?: The
explorers reached
Abyssopelagic layer in 1995
with unmanned autonomous
vehicle ABE.

29. The abyssopelagic zone got
its name from a Greek word
with meaning bottomless.
The water temperature is so
cold, close to zero, and
there is no light at all.

30. Very few creatures that can
be found at these depths.
Most of them are
invertebrates, animals
without backbones, such as
squids.

32. •Zone 5 – Hadalpelagic
•Distance: Up to 6000
meters to 10,911 meters
•Pressure: 600 – 1091.1
atmospheres

33. •Temperature: Around 0
•How to get there?: In 1960
the vehicle Trieste and in
2009 with the autonomous
vehicle Nereus reached
these depths

36. The hadalpelagic zone is in
the deepest layer of the
ocean where the pits and
canyons were formed by
collisions between tectonic
plates.

37. There are creatures in this
environment, mainly
scavengers that feed on
organic material that sinks
below the previous ocean
layers.

41. The atmosphere is the body
of gasses that surrounds our
planet, held in place by
earth's gravity. Most of our
atmosphere is located close
to the earth's surface where it
is most dense.

42. Troposphere. The layer of
the atmosphere closest to the
Earth is the troposphere. It
begins at the surface of the
Earth and extends out to
about 6 to 20 km.

43. This layer is known as the
lower atmosphere. It's
where weather happens and
contains the air humans
breathe.

44. Stratosphere. Above the
troposphere is the
stratosphere, which extends
to about 50 km above the
Earth's surface.

45. This layer is where
the ozone layer exists and
scientists send weather
balloons. Jets fly in the lower
stratosphere to avoid turbu-
lence in the troposphere.

46. Temperature rises within the
stratosphere but still remains
well below freezing.

47. Mesosphere. From about
50-85 km above the surface
of the Earth lies the meso-
sphere, where the air is
especially thin & molecules
are great distances apart.

48. Temperatures in the meso-
sphere reach a low of 90 ºC.
This layer is difficult to study
directly; weather balloons
can't reach it, and weather
satellites orbit above it.

49. Thermosphere. The thermo-
sphere rises several hundred
miles above the Earth's
surface, from 90 km up to
500–1,000 km. Temperature
is very much affected by the
sun here; it can be 500 °C.

50. This layer is known as the
upper atmosphere, and it is
where the auroras occur
(northern and southern
lights).

51. Exosphere. Extending from
the top of the thermosphere
to 10,000 km above Earth is
the exosphere, where
weather satellites are.

52. This layer has very few
atmospheric molecules,
which can escape into
space.

53. •Pauses
•Between each layer of the
atmosphere is a boundary.
At these "pauses,"
maximum change between
the "spheres" occur.

55. The lithosphere, sometimes
called the geosphere, refers
to all of the rocks of the
earth. It includes the planet's
mantle and crust, the two
outermost layers.

56. The four main layers of the
Earth are the crust, mantle,
outer core, and the inner
core. The planet Earth was
formed about 4.5 billion years
ago,

57. after the collapse of the
supermassive gaseous body.
As time moved on, the Earth
cooled down and is still
cooling, as of today.

58. As a result of the cooling
process, denser materials
like iron & sulfur sank to the
inside of the Earth; whereas,
lighter materials like silicates
and water came the surface.

59. The crust is the outermost
layer of the Earth made up of
silicate rock materials. It
makes up only about one
percent of the Earth.

60. Most earthquakes occur in
the crust. The temperature of
this layer can reach up to
871.11 °C at considerable
depths.

63. The mantle, the largest layer
of the Earth, is made up of
Fe, Al, Ca, Mg, Si, and O. In
fact, most of the Earth's
mass (about 80%) lies in the
mantle.

64. The temperature in this layer
is estimated to be about
871.11 - 2204.44 °C. It is in
this layer that volcano mag-
ma is present. The overall
thickness of the mantle layer
is 2900.04 km.

65. The outer core is liquid and
made up of Fe and Ni. The
recorded density is very high,
but less than pure molten
iron.

66. The outer core measures
2253.08 km in thickness and
4426.66 - 6093.33 °C in
temperature.

67. As the Earth rotates, the
outer core (consisting of iron)
spins over the inner core and
generates the Earth's
magnetic field.

68. The inner core, as the
name suggests, is the inner-
most layer of the Earth, and
is characterized by
extremely high temperature
(4982.22 - 7204.44°C)

69. The intense heat reflected
from the inner core
mobilizes the materials of
the outer core and the
mantle.

70. The thickness of the inner
core is believed to be about
1287.48 miles.

74. The biosphere, is the
worldwide sum of all
ecosystems. It can also be
termed the zone of life on
Earth, a closed system, and
largely self-regulating.

75. The biosphere is the global
ecological system integrating
all living beings and their
relationships, including their
interaction with the elements
of the lithosphere, hydro-
sphere, & atmosphere.

76. FLORA-
pertaining to
all plants
FAUNA-
pertaining to
all animals

77. The anthroposphere is that
part of the environment that
is made or modified by
humans for use in human
activities and human
habitats.

78. Earth System Science (ESS)
is the study of the Earth as a
system. It considers
interactions between the
Earth’s “spheres”.

79. It is a relatively new field
whose foundations are
established long ago by
scientists in other fields.

80. ESS is an integration of
chemistry, physics, biology,
and mathematics. It seeks
to understand the past,
current, and future states of
the Earth.

81. James Hutton, the father of
modern geology, was a
Scottish farmer & naturalist.
It was in farming that he
observed how land was
shaped by destructive forces
of wind & weather systems.

82. He also introduced the
concept of uniformitarianism,
implying that the geological
forces (such as those that
trigger erosion and volcanic
activities)…

83. …in the past are the same
as those in the present,
making it possible to
determine the Earth's history
by studying rocks.

84. Alexander von Humboldt
travelled to America;
collected botanical,
zoological, and geological
specimens; recorded the
location of the specimens..

85. From his records, he recog-
nized patterns that reveal un-
derlying processes, such as
the transport of heat in ocean
currents and the influence of
temperature on plants.

86. From his records, he recog-
nized patterns that reveal un-
derlying processes, such as
the transport of heat in ocean
currents and the influence of
temperature on plants.

87. James Lovelock used the
“Daisy World Model” to
illustrate how the biosphere
is capable of regulating its
environment.

89. Albedo is a measure of how
much light is reflected back
from a body. It usually refers
to planetary bodies like Earth
and the amount of sunlight
that’s reflected back into
space.

90. Albedo is a measure of how
much light is reflected back
from a body. It usually refers
to planetary bodies like Earth
and the amount of sunlight
that’s reflected back into
space.

92. Earth’s average albedo is 0.3
to 0.35 , which means 30%
to 35% of sunlight is reflected
back into space.

93. Vladimir Vernadsky, one of
the founders of
geochemistry, popularized
the term noosphere. In

94. Gaia hypothesis the theory,
put forward by Lovelock &,
Margulis, that living matter on
the earth collectively defines
and regulates the material
conditions necessary for the
continuance of life.

95. The planet, or rather the
biosphere, is thus likened to
a vast self-regulating
organism.

96. Today, the study of human
impact on the biosphere led
to the concept of
sustainability, which is the
capacity of the Earth to con-
tinue to support human life.