GENERAL SCIENCE

MACHINES are tools used by man to aid him in doing work; delivering the same amount of work but expending lesser
energy. It makes the amount of work by changing the amount or direction of an applied force.

TYPES OF MACHINES

Simple Machines – are tools that change the direction or magnitude of a force; it can do work with one
movement.

Compound Machines – two or more simple machines working together such as car engines and sewing
machine.

1. Lever – is a board or bar that rests on a turning point. It involves moving a load around a pivot the easier it is
to move.

CLASSES AND CLASSIFICATIONS OF LEVER

In a Type 1 Lever, the pivot (fulcrum) is between the effort and the load. With this kind of lever, the
direction of the force is changed. Effort applied downward moves the load up. Effort applied upward
moves the load down.

In a Type 2 Lever, the load is between the pivot (fulcrum) and the effort. With this kind of lever, the
direction of force is not changed. Pushing up on the lever arm pushes up the load. Pushing down on the
lever arm pushes down the load.

In a Type 3 Lever, the effort is between the pivot (fulcrum) and the load. With this kind of lever, the
direction of force is not changed. The load moves in the same direction as the effort.

2. Inclined Plane – is a flat surface that is higher on one end and can be used to move an object to a lower or
higher place. It is the simplest machine of all machines. The longer the distance of the ramp, the easier it is
to do the work; however, it will take a much longer time needed to do the work. Examples are ramp, slanted
road, path up a hill slide.
3. Wedge – a simple used to push two objects apart. It is also made up of two inclined planes which meet to
form the sharp edge. It is the active twin of the inclined plane; it does useful work by moving. Examples are
knives, axes, nails.
4. Wheel and Axle – a simple machine made of a large wheel secured to a smaller wheel which is called an
axle. Examples are cars, roller skates, door knob, and bicycles.
5. Screw – is actually an inclined plane that winds around itself. A screw has ridges and it is not smooth like a
nail. Some screws are used to lower and raise things. They are also used to hold objects together. Examples
are bottle caps and light bulbs.
6. Pulley – is made up of a wheel and a rope. If we had to lift a heavy load, pulley makes our work easier. It
changes the direction of the force making it easier to lift things in a higher area. Examples are flagpoles,
sailboats, and blinds.

EFFICIENCY OF THE MACHINE

The efficiency of a machine is the ratio of the input energy to the useful output work. The mechanical efficiency
of a machine is always less than 100%, some energy is being lost as heat in friction.

Switch – only manually opens or closes a circuit and no provision for safety.

Resistor – blocks the current but does not completely shut down the circuit when electrical problems exist.

Capacitor – is the storage for energy.

Fuse – electrical device that cuts the current or electrical flow one a power surge exists that might cause
electrical problems.

THREE WAYS THAT OBJECTS CAN BE GIVEN A NET CHARGE

Charging by friction – one material is rubbed with another (a plastic ruler rubbed with a paper towel). Electrons
have the tendency to be transferred from one material to the other leaving one material with a positive charge
and the other a negative charge.

Charging by conduction – if charged objects touch a conductor, some charge will be transferred between the
object and the conductor, charging the conductor with the same sign as the charge of the object.

Charging by induction – like charging by conduction, a charged object is used. But this time, it is only brought
close to the conductor. A conductor is not made to touch the other object. If the conductor is connected to the
ground, electrons will flow on to it or away from it. When the ground connection is removed, the conductor will
have a charge opposite in sign to that of the charged object.
ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS

Series Circuit – circuit in which current flows along one path. Current is the same in all loads. The sum of the
voltage of each load is equal to the total voltage.

Parallel Circuit – circuit in which the current flows in different paths. Voltage is the same in all loads. The sum of
the current in each load is equal to the total current in the circuit.

COULOMB'S LAW

Any two charged objects will create a force on each other. Opposite charges will produce an attractive force
while similar charges will produce a repulsive force. The greater the charges, the greater the force. The greater the
distance between them, the smaller the force.

ELECTROMAGNETISM

Magnets exert forces to metallic objects or to other magnetic bodies even without contact (non-contact forces).
The two poles of magnets are the North Pole and the South Pole. “Like poles repel and unlike poles attract.”

Basics of Magnetism

The north pole of the magnet points to the geomagnetic North Pole (a south Magnetic pole) located in
Canada above the Arctic Circle.

North poles repel north poles

South poles repel south poles
North poles attract south poles
South poles attract north poles

The force of attraction or repulsion varies inversely proportional with the distance squared.

The strength of a magnet varies at different locations on the magnet. Magnets are strongest at their
poles. Magnets strongly attract steel, iron, nickel, cobalt, and gadolinium. Magnets slightly attract liquid
oxygen and other materials. Magnets slightly repel water, carbon and boron.

BIG BANG THEORY

The Big Bang theory is an effort to explain what happened at the very beginning of our universe. Prior to that
moment there was nothing; during and after that moment there was something: our universe. According to the
standard theory, our universe sprang into existence as "singularity" around 13.7 billion years ago.

Big Bang Theory - Evidence for the Theory

1. The universe had a beginning.

2. Galaxies appear to be moving away from us at speeds proportional to their distance. - This is called "Hubble's
Law," named after Edwin Hubble (1889-1953) who discovered this phenomenon in 1929. This observation
supports the expansion of the universe and suggests that the universe was once compacted.

3. If the universe was initially very, very hot as the Big Bang suggests, we should be able to find some remnant of
this heat. In 1965, Radio astronomers Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson discovered a Cosmic Microwave
Background radiation (CMB) which pervades the observable universe.

BASIC ASTRONOMICAL OBJECTS, UNITS & MOTIONS

Basic Astronomical Objects

• Star • Dwarf Planet

• Planet • Comet
• Satellite • Meteor, Meteoroid, Meteorite
• Asteroid

Collections of Astronomical Objects Terms Relating to Motion

• Star system • Rotation

• Galaxy • Revolution
• Cluster of Galaxy • Expansion
• Supercluster
• Universe
• Observable Universe
• Astronomical Distance Units
• Astronomical unit (AU)
• Light-year (ly)
STAR – our Sun and other ordinary stars are large, glowing balls of gas that generate heat and light through nuclear
fusion in their cores. The term star is also applied to objects that are in the process of becoming true stars, such as
protostars, and to the remains of stars that have died, such as neutron stars.

THE SUN

CHARACTERISTICS

A huge ball of flaming gases consists mainly of hydrogen (71%), helium (27%) and other gases such as O, C, N,
Na, Mg, Fe and Su (1.9%). A medium-sized star, of average brightness and middle-aged: moves through space at about
250 km/s in direction of constellation Lyra.

Rotates on its axis every 25 earth days at its equator and 35 earth days near its poles. Sun exists in a plasma
state; electrons are kept separate from the atomic nucleus by high-speed collisions.

Energy is maintained through nuclear fusion reaction which is almost 4.6 million tons of mass energy per second
(for the last 5 billion years) Mass is 330, 000 times than the mass of Earth. Gravitational pull is 30 times stronger than
Earth.

Layers of the Sun

Core - A diameter of about 400, 000 km. Temperature is estimated to be about 15 million Kelvin (0 K= -273 OC).

Radiation Zone - About 300, 000 km thick above the core and transports solar energy toward the surface by
electromagnetic radiation.

Convection Zone - About 200, 000 km thick above the radiation zone. Transports energy toward the surface by
convection movement of the sun’s materials.

Radiation and convection zones are referred to as Solar Interior.

Photosphere - Sun’s visible surface. About 500 to 800 km thick above the convection zone. Temperature is
about 6, 000 K.

Chromosphere- The sun’s lowest atmosphere extending outward from 10, 000 to 19, 000 km about the
photosphere. Made up primarily of hydrogen Temperature is about 4, 500 K.

Corona - The sun’s upper or outer atmosphere. It can be seen as a white halo during a total solar eclipse. It is
about 706, 000 km in thickness. It extends outward millions of kms without a definite boundary (reaching even
the orbit of the outermost planet). Temperature is about 1 million K.

SOLAR PHENOMENA

Sunspots- These are dark spots on the sun’s surface (because they are in contrast with the brilliant photosphere)
Areas of gas those are relatively cooler than the rest of the sun’s surface. Are usually about 10, 000 km across
(sometimes even bigger than earth) Last only 1 to 100 days.

Solar Prominences - Streams of very hot glowing gases rising high into the outer layer of solar atmosphere.
Extends about 100, 000 km above the sun’s surface.

Solar Flares- Giants jets of gas that shoots up thousands of kilometers from the sun’s surface. These are only
temporary outburst of energy from a small area of the sun’s surface (like a belch). Last only from a few hours to
several weeks. Occur lower in the sun’s atmosphere. Solar Flares cause intense radio and electronic radiation.
Violent as atomic bomb explosion in the solar atmosphere.

PLANET – a moderately large object that orbits a star. Planets may be rocky, icy or gaseous in composition, and they
shine primarily by reflecting light from their star. Astronomers sometimes disagree about what counts as a planet,
because there are no official minimum or maximum sizes. As of August 24, 2006, the International Astronomical Union
(IAU) came up with a new definition of a planet. IAU defined a planet as a celestial body that:

• Is in orbit around the Sun.

• Has sufficient mass for it self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a
hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round shape).

• Has cleared neighborhood around its orbit.

Why Pluto was demoted from a planet into a dwarf planet?

In 2003, an astronomer saw a celestial object (larger than Pluto) in the orbit beyond Pluto). He thought
he saw a new planet. Astronomers met to talk about the definition of a planet. Pluto failed to meet the third
criteria (has cleared neighborhood around its orbit).
 What does “cleared its neighborhood” means?

As planets form, they become the dominant gravitational body in their orbit in the Solar System. As they
interact with other, smaller objects, they either consume them, or sling them away with their gravity. Charon, its
large "moon," is only about half the size of Pluto, while all the true planets are far larger than their moons. Pluto
is one of the Trans-Neptunian Object (orbit closer to Sun from 1979 to 1999).

AN OVERVIEW OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM

The solar system consists of the Sun, the eight official planets, and dwarf planets, more than 130 satellites of
the planets, a large number of small bodies (the comets and asteroids) and interplanetary medium. The first thing to
notice is that the solar system is mostly empty space. The planets are very small compared to the space between them.

The orbits of the planets are ellipses with the Sun at one focus, though all except Mercury are very nearly circular. The
orbits of planets are all more or less in the same plane (ecliptic and defined by the plane of Earth’s orbit). The ecliptic is
inclined only 7 degrees from the plane of the Sun’s equator. Pluto is a special case in that its orbit is the most highly
inclined (18 degrees) and the most highly elliptical of all the planets. Because of this, Pluto is closer to the Sun that is
Neptune.

Patterns of Motion in Solar System

All planetary orbits are nearly circular and lie nearly in the same plane.
All planets orbit the Sun in the same direction – counterclockwise as viewed from high above Earth’s North
Pole.
Most planets rotate in the same direction in which they orbit (counterclockwise as viewed from above the North
Pole), with fairly small axis tilts. The Sun also rotates in this same direction.

Most of the solar system’s large moons exhibit similar properties in their orbits around their planets – for
example, orbiting in their planet’s equatorial plane in the same direction that the planet rotates.

These orderly patterns are no accident. They are consequences of the fact that our solar system formed from
the gravitational collapse of a single cloud gas and dust.

Exceptions to the Rules

While most of the planets rotate in the same direction that they orbit, Uranus and Pluto rotate nearly
on their sides, and Venus rotates backward – clockwise as viewed from high above Earth’s North Pole.

TWO MAJOR GROUPS OF PLANETS

Terrestrial Planets

Terrestrial means “Earth-like”

From the Latin terra which means Earth

The designation of the planets stems from their similarities to Earth. They are the four inner planets –
Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.

Jovian Planets

The word Jovian means “Jupiter-like”

Their designation comes from their similarities to Jupiter. The four outer planets – Jupiter, Saturn,
Uranus and Neptune.

Comparison

Terrestrial Planets Jovian Planets

Smaller size and mass Large size and mass
Higher density Lower density
Made mostly of rock and metal Made mostly of hydrogen, helium and hydrogen compounds
Solid surface No solid surface
Few (if any) moons and no rings Rings and many moons

Groupings of the Eight Planets

• By size

Small Planets with diameter less than 13,000 km.

Giant Planets with diameter more than 48,000 km.
 • By position relative to the Sun

Inner planets
Outer planets
The asteroid belt serves as the boundary between the inner and outer planets

• By position relative to the Earth

Inferior planets – closer to the Sun than Earth. Show phases like moon when viewed from Earth.

Superior Planets – farthest from the Sun than Earth. Always appear or nearly so as viewed from Earth.

Classical Planets – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn – known since prehistoric times. Visible to
the unaided eye.

Modern Planets – Uranus, Neptune – discovered in modern times. Visible with optical aid.

• By history

The IAU recently decided classical should refer to all the eight planets.

THE SUN

The sun is the biggest, brightest, and hottest object in the solar system. 109 Earths would be required to fit
across the Sun’s disk. Its mean surface temperature is 6,000 degrees Celsius. The sun is an ordinary star. The sun is made
of about 70% hydrogen and 28% helium. The Sun’s rotational period is 25 days at the equator and 36 days near the
poles. No part of the Sun is solid. It is about 4.6 years old and has enough fuel to go on with another 5 billion. After a
billion years as a red giant, the Sun will suddenly collapse into a white dwarf – the expected fate of our star.

MERCURY
The Fastest Revolving Planet

• The closest Planet to the Sun.

• Only a little larger than our moon.
• It is covered by dust, rocks, and craters.
• It takes 59 days for it to rotate once around its axis.
• Mercury can reach a high of 800 degrees and a low of about 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Mercury has almost no atmosphere.
• It is the 8th largest planet in the solar system.

VENUS
The Hottest Planet

• It takes longer to rotate once around its axis than to revolve once around the sun.
• On Venus a day is slightly more than a year.
• About the same size as Earth.
• Has mountains, valleys, and plains.
• The heat is about 450 degrees Celsius.
• The atmosphere completely hides the surface and traps the heat.
• Has no water.
• Life as we know it could not survive here.
• Only rocks can handle the high temperature and crushing pressure.
• It is the sixth largest planet in the solar system.

EARTH
Our Mother Planet

• 70% of its surface is water& the other 30% is land.

• It’s tilt causes the seasons on the planet.
• Earth is the only planet in the universe which is known to support life.
• Earth is almost five billion years old.
• The center of the Earth, its core, is molten.
• Earth is the only planet in the Solar System known to be geologically active.
• The 5th largest planet in the solar system.
• It has one satellite – Moon.
MARS
The Angry Red Planet
• The largest volcano in the Solar System is on Mars, called Olympus Mons.
• Mars has seasons like Earth.
• This is caused by the tilt of the planet's axis, at a similar angle to the tilt of Earth's axis
• Rocks from Mars have landed on Earth from meteorite impacts blasting debris through space.
• The average temperature on Mars is about -67 °F.
• Mars is the 7th largest planet.
• It has two small natural satellites, Phobos and Deimos.

JUPITER
The Largest Planet

• Earth could fit into Jupiter over 1300 times!

• Jupiter is made up almost entirely of gas.
• Jupiter's has a famous structure --Red Spot is a great storm that has raged for at least four hundred years.
• Jupiter has a thin set of rings, hardly visible from Earth.
• Jupiter has the strongest pull of gravity in the Solar System.
• If we were able to stand on the surface of Jupiter, we would weigh three times as much as we would on Earth.
• Jupiter does not have a solid surface.
• The planet is a ball of liquid surrounded by gas.

Moons of Jupiter

Jupiter has four large Galilean moons, twelve smaller named moons and twenty-three more recently
discovered but not named moons. The four large Galilean moons were first observed by Galileo in 1610.

 Io is the fifth moon of Jupiter. It’s the third largest of Jupiter’s moons. Io has hundreds of volcanic
calderas. Some of the volcanoes are active.
 Europa is the sixth of Jupiter’s moons and is the fourth largest. It is slightly smaller than the Earth’s
moon. The surface strongly resembles images of sea ice on Earth. There may be a liquid water sea
under the crust. Europa is one of the five known moons in the solar system to have an atmosphere.
 Ganymede is the seventh and largest of Jupiter’s known satellites. Ganymede has extensive
cratering and an icy crust.
 Callisto is the eighth of Jupiter’s known satellites and the second largest. Callisto has the oldest,
most cratered surface of anybody yet observed in the solar system.

SATURN
Rings of Beauty

• Saturn is the second largest planet.

• The many moons of Saturn are as different as fire and ice. There are at least 24 of them.
• Saturn's rings are believed to be the particles of an old moon orbiting the planet, smashed apart in a collision about 50
million years ago.
• Saturn's rings are believed to be the particles of an old moon orbiting the planet, smashed apart in a collision about 50
million years ago.
• A year on Saturn would take almost thirty Earth years.
• Saturn is twice as far away from the Sun as Jupiter is.
• Saturn is made of materials that are lighter than water.
• If you could fit Saturn in a lake, it would float.

Rings of Saturn

Saturn’s rings are not solid; they are composed of small countless particles. The rings are very thin.
Though they’re 250,000km or more in diameter, they’re less than one kilometer thick.

URANUS
The Sideways Planet

• It takes just over 84 years on Earth for Uranus to orbit the Sun.
• Uranus is the only planet in our solar system to rotate on its side.
• If we were able to see Uranus' moons orbiting the planet, they would go over and under the planet like lights on a
ferris wheel.
• Uranus is pale blue/blue-green color.
• It is caused by the methane in its atmosphere which filters out red light.
• Uranus is the third largest planet in the solar system.
NEPTUNE

• Neptune sometimes orbits the Sun further away than Pluto making it the most distant planet in the Solar System
(1979-1999).
• Since its discovery in 1846, Neptune has not yet completed a full orbit. In fact, it takes 165 years for the planet to go
around the Sun.
• Neptune has the strongest winds in the Solar System, and a dark spot, similar to Jupiter's Great Red Spot
• Neptune is the 4th largest planet.
• Like Uranus, methane gives it color.

KEPLER’S LAW

First Law – Planets orbit the Sun in elliptical paths with the Sun at one focus.

Second Law or Law of Areas – A line connecting the Sun and a planet sweeps out equal areas in equal times.
This means that a planet moves fastest when it is closest to the Sun.

Moon or satellite – an object that orbits a planet. The term satellite is used more generally to refer to any object
orbiting another object.

Asteroid – a relatively small and rocky object that orbits a star. Asteroids are sometimes called minor planets because
they orbit much like planets but are smaller than anything we consider to be a true planet.

Asteroid Location- Asteroid Belt – between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter

Size and Shape – Asteroids shape depends on their size. Most asteroids are not spherical (less than 600 km in
diameter).

Ceres

• Largest Known Asteroid Ceres

• By far, the largest and most massive body in the asteroid belt.
• Discovered on Jan. 1, 1801 by G. Piazzi
• Named after the Roman Goddess of Harvest.

IAU’s Definition of a Dwarf Planet

A celestial body that:

 Is in orbit around the Sun
 Has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic
equilibrium (nearly round) shape.
 Has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit
 Is not a satellite

Dwarf/Minor Planets Location – Kuiper Belt – begins near the orbit of Neptune and continues beyond Pluto.
This is also a region where most comets are found.

ASTEROIDS NAMED AFTER FILIPINOS

6282 Edwelda – named in honor of Edwin L. Aguirre and Imelda B. Joson by IAU in 1995. In recognition of their
accomplishments in the field of astronomy including the book they wrote on Halley’s Comet in 1985.They were also the
editors of the Sky and Telescope magazine.

11697 Estrella – Named after Allan Noriel Estrella, a high school student of Manila Science HS who won the 2002 Intel
International Science and Engineering Fair. Along with his teammates, they won the First Grand Award for Physics that
year.

12088 Macalintal – Named after Jeric Valles Macalintal, a HS student of MaSci. He is a teammate of Estrella. Planet
Macalintal is found in the main asteroid belt between the planets Mars and Jupiter.

12522 Rara – Named af er Prem Vilas Fortran M. Rara of the Integ ated Develo t r pment School, Mindanao State
University-Iligan. Rara won the Second Grand Award Category in Microbiology for his research entitled, “Antibiotic
Substance Obtained from the Parotid Gland Secretion of the Toad (Bufo Marinus)”. He also won in 2002.

13241 Biyo – Named after Dr. Josette T. Biyo, a science teacher in Phil. Science HS in Iloilo. The first Asian to bag the
Intel Excellence Award in Teaching in 2002.

4866 Badillo – Named after a Jesuit and former Director of the Manila Observatory, Fr. Victor L. Badillo in 2005. Due to
his contribution in popularizing astronomy to the Philippines for more than 3 decades. He served as the founder and the
president of Phil. Astronomical Society from 1972 to 1990.

6636 Kintanar – Named after Dr. Roman L. Kintanar, a 77 year old Filipino scientist and former director of PAGASA (Phil.
Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration from 1959-1994.
Soon

An asteroid will be named after DOST scholar Arnold Reyes. Reyes bagged the 2nd Grand award in 2011 International
Science and Engineering Fair held in Los Angeles California.

TNO IN KUIPER BELT (DWARF PLANETS)

Eris – the largest known dwarf planet in the Solar System. Eris is the most distant member of our solar system known at
this time. It is 3 times farther out than Pluto. One trip around the Sun takes 557 Earth years for Eris.

Pluto – The second largest dwarf planet. Its orbit is highly inclined to the ecliptic and highly eccentric. Named after the
God of Underworld. The name was proposed by Venetia Burney, an eleven year-old girl from England suggestions all
over the world. Pluto has three known moons:

Charon – the largest moon of Pluto

Nix
Hydra
Makemake

Initially known as 2005 FY9 and later given the minor planet number 136472. Discovered on March 31, 2005 by Mike
Brown.

Haumea - 2003 EL61

 Named after Hawaiian Goddess of Childbirth

 Discovered on Dec. 28, 2004 by Mike Brown
 Comets are cosmic snowballs of frozen gases, rock and dust roughly the size of a small town.

When a comet's orbit brings it close to the sun, it heats up and spews dust and gases into a giant glowing head larger
than most planets.

The dust and gases form a tail that stretches away from the sun for millions of kilometers.

It has a very eccentric orbit.

Halley’s Comet – Halley’s comet has returned with a 74-79 year period since 240 B.C.

The most recent return of Halley’s was in 1986, and the predicted next appearance will be in 2061.

METEOROIDS, METEOR AND METEORITES

 Meteors, or falling stars, are a common and wonderful sight in the sky.
 Meteors are small objects falling into the Earth's atmosphere from space.
 The objects in space are called meteoroids, before they encounter the Earth.
 They are not a special class of objects, it's just a general term for small objects like bits of dust, small rocks, and
so on.
 A meteorite is a thing, on the other hand. It's what we call the material of the meteoroid that reaches the
surface of the Earth.

Star system – a star (sometimes more than one star) and any planets and other material that orbit it.

Galaxy – the basic unit of the universe. It is a great island of stars in space, containing from a few hundred million to a
trillion or more stars, all held together by gravity and orbiting a common center.

Cluster or group of galaxies – a collection of galaxies bound by gravity. Small collections (up to a few dozen galaxies) are
generally called groups, with the term cluster reserved for larger collection of galaxies.

Supercluster – a gigantic region of space where many individual galaxies and many groups and clusters of galaxies are
packed together than elsewhere in the universe.

• Clusters are bound together in larger structures, called superclusters.

• These superclusters have been mapped, and are grouped into long strings
• 300 million to a billion light-years long
• 100 to 300 million light-years wide
• And only 10 to 30 million light-years thick
• In between these strings are huge voids of galaxies, although some astronomers may have detected hot gas.

UNIVERSE

• Universe or cosmos – the sum total of all matter and energy, that is, everything within and between all galaxies.

• Observable universe – the portion of the entire universe that, at least in principle, can be seen from Earth. The
observable universe is probably only a tiny portion of the entire universe.
 Astronomical Distance Units

• Astronomical Unit (AU) – the average distance between Earth and the Sun, which is about 150 million
kilometers (93 million miles)? More technically, 1 AU is the length of the semimajor axis of Earth’ orbit.
• Light-year- the distance that light can travel in 1 year. Light can travel 3.0 x 106 km/s (300,000), how far would
it move for a year.
• About 9.47 trillion km (6 trillion miles).
• Terms relating to motion

• Rotation – the spinning of an object around its axis.

• Revolution – the orbital motion of one object around another.
• Expansion (of the universe) – we say that the universe is expanding because the average distance between galaxies is
increasing with time. Note that while the universe as a whole is expanding, individual galaxies and their contents are not
expanding.

A MODERN VIEW OF THE UNIVERSE

• The sun, moon, planets and stars appear to circle around the earth.
• We cannot feel the earth move, although it does.
• It seems natural to place the earth at the center of everything (Geocentric model).
• Today, we know that the earth is one of eight planets which orbits the Sun.

Images of Time

• We study the universe by studying light from distant stars and galaxies.
• The speed of light is 300,000 km/s.
• This is fast enough to circle the earth 8 times in 1 second.
• Light from stars can take many years to reach us.
• We measure distances to the stars in Light-Years. (ly)
• 1 ly is the distance light can travel in one year.
• 1 ly = 9.46 x 1012km (9.46 trillion km)
• Why does looking into space mean looking back in time?
• Because it takes time for light to travel through space, the farther away we look in distance, the further back
we look in time. (Look back time)
• This fact allows us to see what parts of the universe looked like in the distant past.
• For example, if we look at a galaxy that is 1 billion ly away, its light has taken 1 billion years to reach us – which
means we are seeing it as it looked 1 billion years ago.
• Assume the universe is 14 billion years old. In that case, if we look at a galaxy that is 7 billion light years away,
how long its light has taken to reach us? What is the age of the universe then?
• 7 billion years, so we are seeing that galaxy as it was 7 billion years ago when the universe was only half of its
current age.
• If we look at a galaxy that is 12 billion light years away, how long its light has taken to reach us? How old is the
universe then?
• We look that galaxy as it was 12 billion years ago, and the universe was 2 billion years old then.
• If the universe is 14 billion years old, can we possibly see anything more than 14 billion light years away? Why?
• No. If the universe is 14 billion years old, we cannot possibly see anything more than 14 billion light years
away, because we’d be trying to look to a time before the universe existed.
• Thus, our observable universe consists only of objects that lie within 14 billion light years of Earth. ly
• Any picture of a distant galaxy is a picture of both space and time.

THE GREAT SPIRAL GALAXY IN ANDROMEDA (AKA M31)

• lies about 2.5 million light-years from the earth.

• A picture of the Galaxy taken now is a picture of how M31 looked about 2.5 million years ago.
• The diameter of M31 is ~ 100,000 ly.
• Light from the far side of the galaxy took 100,000 years longer to reach us than the light from the near side.
• Onward To the Stars
• The nearest star system to our own is called Alpha Centauri. It is approximately 4.4 ly from us.

THE MILKY WAY GALAXY AND BEYOND

• How many stars are there in the visible universe?

• To be more specific...
• There are 10 million superclusters in the visible universe.
• About 25 million galaxy groups in the solar system.
• 357 trillion galaxies in the visible universe
SPACESHIP EARTH

As the Earth rotates, is there any difference in the speed around the Earth’s axis of the people living in the
equator and the people living in the Polar Regions? Why or why not?

• Ecliptic plane is how the Earth’s orbital path is described.

• Earth’s axis is tilted 23.5 degree from a line perpendicular to the ecliptic plane.
• The notion of the tilt makes sense only in relation to the ecliptic plane that is the idea of tilt by itself has no
meaning in space where there is no absolute up and down.
• Features of Earth’ rotation and orbit
• Earth’s axis remains pointed in the same direction in space at all times throughout each year. (Polaris)
• Earth orbits the Sun in the same
• Earth’s orbit is not a perfect circle.

SEASONS

The combination of Earth’s axial tilt, axial rotation and its revolution around the Sun explains why we have seasons.

Spring (Vernal) Equinox

• On about March 21 each year.

• Both hemispheres receive equal amounts of sunlight. Beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere.
Beginning of fall in the Southern Hemisphere.

Summer Solstice

• On around June 21, the northern hemisphere receives its most direct sunlight.
• The northern hemisphere has the longest period of daylight of any day of the year.
• This is usually considered the first day of summer in the northern hemisphere.
• The Southern Hemisphere receives its least direct sunlight and has its shortest period of daylight of any day of
the year
• This is the first day of winter in the Southern Hemisphere.

Fall (Autumnal) Equinox

• Occurs around September 21.

• Both hemispheres receive the same amount of sunlight. But now the seasons are the reverse of the spring
(Vernal) equinox.
• In the Northern Hemisphere we have the beginning of fall.
• In the Southern Hemisphere we have the beginning of spring.

Winter Solstice

• Around December 21.

• We have the reverse situation to that of the summer solstice.
• It is usually considered the first day of winter for the northern hemisphere and the first day of summer for the
southern hemisphere.

Precession

• The axis of the Earth will remain pointed toward Polaris throughout our lifetimes.
• However, this has not always been the case and on the direction will change again in the distant future.
• The reason is that the rotation axis of the Earth precesses - like a spinning top.

TRAVELING IN THE MILKY WAY GALAXY

• The local solar neighborhood is only a tiny portion of the Milky Way Galaxy.
• The stars in the local solar neighborhood move quite fast relative to our solar system.
• We are moving relative to nearby stars at an average speed of about 70,000 km per hour, about three times as
fast as the Space Station orbits Earth.
• If the local solar neighborhood travels in high speeds, why don’t we see nearby stars racing around our sky?
• Because of their vast distance from us.
• Stellar high speed motions would be noticeable to the naked eye only if we watched them for thousand years.
• That is also the reason why the patterns of constellations seem to remain fixed.

THE ENTIRE MILKY WAY GALAXY ROTATES

• Our Sun and solar system are located about 28,000 ly from the galactic center.
• At this distance, each orbit around the galactic center takes about 230 million years.
• The speed of our solar system as we orbit the center of the galaxy is approximately 800,000 km/hr.
Edge-On View of the Milky Way Galaxy.

• Most visible stars reside within the galaxy’s thin disk.

• Careful study of galactic rotation shows that most of the mass lies in the galactic halo.
• Because this mass emits no light that we have detected, we call it dark matter.

The Expanding Universe

• When we look outside the local group of galaxies (remember, this is the group to which the Milky Way
belongs.) we find two astonishing facts.
• Virtually every galaxy outside the Local Group is moving away from us.
• The more distant the galaxy, the faster it appears to be moving away from us.
• The entire universe is expanding

Summary of the Motions of Spaceship Earth

• Rotation – 1000 km/hr or more around axis, within one rotation taking 1 day
• Orbit of Sun – 100,000 km/hr around Sun, with one orbit taking 1 year
• Motion within local solar neighborhood – 70,000 km/hr relative to nearby stars
• Rotation of the Milky Way Galaxy – 800,000 km/hr around a galactic center, with one galactic rotation taking
about 230 million years
• Motion within Local Group – 300,000 km/hr toward Andromeda Galaxy
• Universal expansion – more distant galaxies moving away faster, with the most distant moving at speeds close
to the speed of light
• Constellations- The patterns of stars seen in the sky.
• Astronomers, however, use the term constellation to refer to a specific region of the sky.
• Any place in the sky belongs to some constellation, and familiar patterns of stars merely help locate particular
constellations.
• The constellation Orion includes all the stars in the familiar pattern of the hunter plus the region of the sky in
which these stars are found.
• The official boarders of the constellations were set in 1928 by members of the International Astronomical
Union (IAU), an association of astronomers from around the world.
• The IAU divided the sky into 88 constellations whose correspond roughly to the star patterns recognized by
Europeans.

THE ZODIAC FAMILY

• 12 constellations are star groupings that lie along the ecliptic (the plane in which most of our Solar System
lies).
• 12 constellations are star groupings that lie along the ecliptic (the plane in which most of our Solar System
lies).
• Usually, 12 constellations are listed in the Zodiac, but there is actually a thirteenth constellation that crosses
the ecliptic.

CONSTELLATION FACTS

• The smallest constellation- Crux or the Southern Cross

• The location of Sirius, the brightest star is in the Canis Major or The Great Dog
• The only visible constellation throughout the year - Draco or The Dragon
• The largest constellation – Hydra
• Canopus, the second brightest star is located in which constellation – Carina
• The only geometric shape among the constellations - Triangulum or the Triangle.
• The constellation where Polaris and Little Dipper are found. - Ursa Minor
• The constellation of Vega, the other northern star the fifth brightest star - Lyra or the Lyre.
• The dimmest or faintest constellation- Mensa
• The constellation of Alpha Centauri, the nearest star in Solar System- Centaurus.
• The center of the Milky Way galaxy is toward this constellation – Sagittarius.
• How many constellations did Ptolemy list? 48
• The second largest constellation and the second among the zodiac – Virgo.
• The only constellation which represents biblical figure - Columba or the Dove.

Asterisms -recognizable patterns of stars that are not one of the constellations.

• Sub or supersets of constellations which build a constellation itself, or a group of stars, physically related or not.

• Big Dipper, Little Dipper, Summer Triangle

CLASSIFICATION

Species of Organisms

• There are 13 billion known species of organisms.

• This is only 5% of all organisms that ever lived!!!!!

• New organisms are still being found and identified

What is Classification?

Classification is the arrangement of organisms into orderly groups based on their similarities. classification is
also known as taxonomy. Taxonomists are scientists that identify & name organisms.

Benefits of Classifying

• Accurately & uniformly names organisms

• Prevents misnomers such as starfish & jellyfish that aren't really fish

• Uses same language (Latin or some Greek) for all names

Carolus Linnaeus

• 18th century taxonomist

• Classified organisms by their structure
• Developed naming system still used today
• Called the “Father of Taxonomy”
• Developed the modern system of naming know n as binomial nomenclature
• Two-word name (Genus & species)
• Standardized Naming -Binomial nomenclature used Genus species.

Latin or Greek

• Italicized in print

• Capitalize genus, but NOT

• Underline when writing

Classification Groups

• Taxon (taxa-plural) is a category into which related organisms a

• There is a hierarchy of groups (taxa) from broadest to most spec

• Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, species

Hierarchy-Taxonomic Groups

Domain
Kingdom
Phylum (Division – used for plants)
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species

Genus and species are the two names used to identify specific organisms in the binomial system of classification.
Division is used for plants.

DOMAINS

• Broadest, most inclusive taxon

• Three domains

• Archaea and Bacteria are unicellular prokaryotes (no nucleus or membrane-bound organelles).

• Eukarya is more complex and has a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles

ARCHAEA

• Kingdom - ARHAEBACTERIA

• Probably the 1st cells to evolve

• Live in HARSH environments

• Found in:

Sewage Treatment Plants (Methanogens)

Thermal or Volcanic Vents (Thermophiles)

Very salty water (Dead Sea; Great Salt Lake) Halophiles

BACTERIA

• Kingdom - EUBACTERIA

• Some may cause DISEASE

• Found in ALL HABITATS except harsh ones

• Important decomposers for environment

• Commercially important in making cottage cheese, yogurt, buttermilk, etc.

Domain EUKARYA is divided into Kingdoms

• Protista (protozoans, algae...)

• Fungi (mushrooms, yeasts ...)

• Plantae (multicellular plants)

• Animalia (multicellular animals)

PROTISTA

• Most are unicellular

• Some are multicellular

• Some are autotrophic, while others are heterotrophic

• Aquatic

FUNGI

• Multicellular, except yeast

• Absorptive heterotrophs (digest food outside their body & then absorb it)

• Cell walls made of chitin.

PLANTAE

• Multicellular

• Autotrophic

• Absorb sunlight to make glucose – Photosynthesis

• Cell walls made of cellulose

• Growth, with increases in size and number of cells, is part of development

• Development involves many stages from conception until death.

ANIMALIA

• Multicellular

• Ingestive heterotrophs (consume food & digest it inside their bodies)

• Feed on plants or animals

TAXONS

• Most genera contain a number of similar species

• The genus Homo is an exception (only contains modern humans)

• Classification is based on evolutionary relationships.

BASIS FOR MODERN TAXONOMY

• Homologous structures (same structure, different function)

• Similar embryo development

• Molecular Similarity in DNA, RNA, or amino acid sequence of Proteins

Cladogram

Diagram showing how organisms are related based on shared, derived characteristics such as feathers,
hair, or scales.

PLANT CLASSIFICATION
CLASSIFICATION OF PLANTS BASED ON VASCULAR TISSUE AND REPRODUCTIVE TISSUE

NON-VASCULAR PLANTS

Have small reduced leaves, no vascular tissue (veins) no true roots, and reproduce by spores or flagellated cells
that travel through water.

• Bryophytes

• They lack true roots, stem and leave due to the absence of vascular tissues;

• Stems are rarely longer than eight (8) cm

• Have leaf-like, stem-like and root-like structures

• Their water and dissolved substances move simply through diffusion from cell to cell.

EXAMPLES:

• Moss (Bryophyta)

• Liverwort (Hepatophyta)

• Hornwort (Anthocerophyta)

Simplest of all living plants - Liverworts (Hepatophyta). The name “liverwort” derives from the Anglo-axon word
“lifer” meaning liver and “wyrt” meaning plant.

• Approximately 8,500 species

• Widely distributed, occurring from the arctic to the tropics.

Hornworts (Anthocerophyta)

• A small group of plants that may be the most alga-like of all land plants.

• The main genus is anthoceros.

• About 100 species

VASCULAR PLANTS

• Vascualar Plants- have true roots, stems, and leaves with vascular tissue.

• Xylem – transports water and minerals.

• Phloem – transports carbohydrates.

Tracheophytes

• Have vascular tissues for the transport of food and water.

• Tracheophytes (vascular plants) can be subdivided into seedless and seed vascular plants.
Seedless Vascular Plants

• Lycophyta (Club Mosses)

• Pteriodophyta (Ferns)
• Psilotophyta(Whisk Ferns)
• Equisetophyta (Horsetails)
• Club Mosses
• Spike Mosses
• Quillworts

Pteriodophyta

• Pteriodophyta (Ferns)

• Ancient groups of plants, their precursor probably existing about 340 mya.

• Over 11,000 species in three extant major groups.

Psilotophyta (Whisk Fern)

• A small group of plants with the simplest tissue organization among the vascular plants.

Equisetophyta (Horsetails)

• Ancient group, with only one genus surviving today (Equisetum), which is small and
herbaceous.

Seed Vascular Plants or Spermatophytes

• Gymnosperm
• Angiosperm
• Monocots
• Dicots

Spermatophytes

• Contains flowering or seed-bearing plants

• Two subdivisions are:

Gymnosperms: Seeds are not in an ovary they are in a cone.

Angiosperms: Seeds are enclosed in an ovary (fruit), therefore flowering plants

GYMNOSPERM

• The first seed plant

• Bear their ovules and seeds exposed on the plant surface.
• The name gymnosperm literally means naked seed.
• The gymnosperms include the oldest and largest trees known
Bristle Cone Pines – the oldest pla ( nts known 4000 years old)
Giant Redwoods – the tallest plants known (100 m tall)
• This group is often referred to as softwoods.
• Gymnosperms usually have needles that stay green throughout the year.

Classification of Gymnosperm

• Cycadophyta (cycads)

Cycads are an ancient group of seed plants which are

characterized by a large crown of compound leaves and a stout
trunk. They are evergreen, gymnosperm us, dioecious plants
having large pinnately compound leaves and belong to the
division Cycadophyta.

• Ginkophyta (maidenhair or Ginko)

Phylum of seed plants represented by one living species, Ginkgo

biloba. This species is restricted to China where it may be
extinct in the wild.The group was well represented during the
Mesozoic with worldwide distribution. Today, Ginkgo biloba is
widely planted as an ornamental.
 • Coniferophyta or Pinophyta (conifers)

Conifers are one of the most economically important groups of

plants. They supply building materials and paper pulp.

• Gnetophyta (gnetophytes)

Seed-bearing plants that can grow as shrubs, trees, or vines.

Share similarities with both gymnosperms and angiosperms.

ANGIOSPERMS

• Angeion- vessel + spermae- seed

• Most successful

• Sexual reproduction: flowers

• Most widespread

• Protective wall: fruit

Also called Division Anthophyta

Some notable characteristics of the group:

- the largest division of photosynthetic organisms

-the dominant plants in most terrestrial ecosystems

-most of our crop and ornamental plants

2 major groups:

Monocots
Dicots

MONOCOTS VS DICOTS

MONOCOTS DICOTS
One seed leaf (cotyledon) Two seed leaves (cotyledons)
Leaves have parallel veins Leaves are net veined
Vascular bundles in stems scattered Vascular bundles in stems are arranged in circle
Flower parts in threes or multiples Flower parts in fours or fives or multiples
Seed chambers in fruit in threes or multiples Seed chambers in fruit in four or five multiples
Fibrous root system Tap root system

REPRODUCTIVE STRUCTURE

FLOWER

Sepals – bud-photosynthetic-calyx
Petals-pollination
Stamen- pollen
Carpel- ovary-ovule

Individual Plant Sexuality

Hermaphrodite - plants whose flowers have both male and female parts.

Monoecious - plants have separate male and female flowers on the same plant. A plant population where the
male and female organs are found in different flowers on the same plant.

Dioecious - all plants are either female or male.

Warm Blooded versus Cold Blooded

With a few exceptions, all mammals and birds are warm-blooded, and all reptiles, insects, arachnids,
amphibians and fish are cold-blooded.

What does it mean to be warm-blooded or cold-blooded? The temperature of an animal's blood is related to its body
temperature.

Warm-blooded animals try to keep the inside of their bodies at a constant temperature. They do this by generating their
own heat when they are in a cooler environment, and by cooling themselves when they are in a hotter environment. To
generate heat, warm-blooded animals convert the food that they eat into energy.
Warm-blooded animals have to eat a lot of food, compared with cold-blooded animals, to maintain a constant body
temperature. Only a small amount of the food that a warm-blooded animal eats is converted into body mass. The rest is
used to fuel a constant body temperature.

Cold-blooded creatures take on the temperature of their surroundings. They are hot when their environment is hot and
cold when their environment is cold. In hot environments, cold-blooded animals can have blood that is much warmer
than warm-blooded animals.

Cold-blooded animals are much more active in warm environments and are very sluggish in cold environments. This is
because their muscle activity depends on chemical reactions which run quickly when it is hot and slowly when it is cold.
A cold-blooded animal can convert much more of its food into body mass compared with a warm-blooded animal.

Dinoflagellates – are unicellular Protists which exhibit a great diversity of form; some are autotropic and
bioluminescent. The most dramatic effect of dinoflagellates on life around them comes from the coastal marine species
which "bloom" during the warm months of summer. These species reproduce in such great numbers that the water may
appear golden or red, producing a "red tide". When this happens many kinds of marine life suffer, for the dinoflagellates
produce a neurotoxin which affects muscle function in susceptible organisms. Humans may also be affected by eating
fish or shellfish containing the toxins. The resulting diseases include ciguatera (from eating affected fish) and paralytic
shellfish poisoning, or PSP (from eating affected shellfish, such as clams, mussels, and oysters); they can be serious but
are not usually fatal.

Metamorphosis – is the process wherein some invertebrates follow definite stages in their life cycle. This is the change
in structure from egg, larva, pupa an adult and it is common to invertebrates. Examples are insects (butterfly, mosquito,
fly) frog and most amphibians.

Asexual Reproduction – is the process of producing new organism without the use of sex cells or gametes.

Budding is the formation of budlike cell from a parent (sponges, hydra)

Fragmentation is the process whereby a part of an organism breaks off or a detached piece.

Regeneration is the process by which an organism when cut into two or more pieces, each piece grows the lacking parts
and develop into new individuals.

CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS BASED ON THE MODE OF REPRODUCTION

Oviparous – those that are hatched out of eggs.

Viviparous – those that give birth to young ones