EARTH SCIENCE

Six Things That Make Life on Earth Possible

1. Our location is far from many hazards.

The solar system sits far from the galactic core (almost 30,000 light-years), between two major spiral arms. More
so, the solar system's circular orbit helps it avoid that dangerous part of the galaxy. The galactic core likely contains
a massive black hole and releases consistent

bursts of radiation. Also, there are relatively few stars near the sun, reducing risks to Earth from gravitational tugs,
gamma-ray bursts, or collapsing stars called supernovae. The presence of our big brother planet, Jupiter, farther
out in the solar system blocking Earth from much of the incoming debris, has also helped Earth become a safe
haven for life. Jupiter acts like a giant broom, sweeping the solar system of debris rocks as small as cars and as
huge as moons that could snuff out life in one fatal blow.

2. Our sun is a stable and long-lasting star.

Our sun is a yellow dwarf, a relatively rare type of star that is both small and stable. It also has a long life and
probably would not start to fizzle out for another five billion years or so. Stars more massive than the sun burn
hotter and usually do not live long enough for planets to develop life. Less massive, younger stars are often
unstable and are prone to blasting their planets with bursts of radiation.

3. We are at just the right distance from the sun.

Earth is at an average distance of 93 million miles or 150 million kilometers away from the sun. It orbits in the so-
called Goldilocks zone, where the planet receives enough energy to allow water to exist as a liquid on its surface.
Too far, and the vital compound stays locked up as ice. Too close, and the water would rapidly evaporate into the
atmosphere. The Earth is the only planet with huge bodies of water—70% of its surface area consists of oceans,
lakes, and seas surrounding huge bodies of land. Water is unique because it absorbs large amounts of heat without
much alteration in its temperature. Its absorption speed is extremely rapid—about ten times as fast as steel.
During the day, the seas rapidly soak up a great deal of heat, thus the Earth stays fairly cool. At night, the oceans
release the vast amounts of heat that they soaked up during the day, which combined with atmospheric effects,
keeps the surface from getting too cold at night. If it were not for the tremendous amount of water on Earth, there
would be far greater day and night temperature variations. Many parts of the surface would be hot enough to boil
water in the day and the same part would be cold enough to freeze water at night. Water is an excellent
temperature stabilizer. The large oceans on Earth are a vital part of our survival!

4. We have the right stuff to host a dynamic core.

The interstellar cloud of gas and dust that gave rise to Earth contained enough radioactive elements (potassium,
uranium, and thorium) to power a churning core for billions of years. This creates a magnetic field which is crucial
to life on our planet because it protects the planet from dangers like solar flares and solar wind. The Earth's
magnetic field serves to deflect most of the solar wind, whose charged particles would otherwise strip away the
ozone layer that protects the Earth and the life on it from harmful ultraviolet radiation. Other than this, it also
keeps the planet’s atmosphere in place and helps humans and animals to find their way around.

5. We have a big moon to stabilize our axial wobble.

The Earth has a slight tilt and teeters like a top as it spins, which can cause drastic shifts in climate over the course
of thousands of years. But because of the moon's stabilizing effect on our orbit, our climate is a lot steadier. Plus,
the moon causes the tides, so if the Moon were much nearer to the Earth, say 20 times closer, it would exert a
gravitational force 400 times greater than what we are used to. It would result to huge tides which would overflow
onto the lowlands, causing great flooding.

6. We have an ozone layer to block harmful ray.

Ancient plantlike organisms in the oceans added oxygen to the atmosphere and created a high-altitude layer of
ozone that shielded early land species from lethal radiation. Ozone (O3) is a gas in the atmosphere that protects
everything living on the Earth from harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun. Without the layer of ozone in the
atmosphere, it would be very difficult for anything to survive on the surface. Plants cannot live and grow in heavy
ultraviolet radiation, nor can the plankton that serve as food for most of the ocean life. The ozone layer acts as a
shield to absorb the UV rays and keep them from doing damage at the Earth's surface. The mixture of gases found
in the atmosphere, without man's pollution, is perfect for life. Nitrogen accounts for 78% of the atmosphere,
oxygen 21% and argon 0.9%. Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, nitrous oxides, and methane are trace gases
that account for about a tenth of one percent of the atmosphere. These gases trap the sun’s heat to keep the
planet warm. If it were much different, life would cease to exist on Earth. If our atmosphere were thinner, many of
the millions of meteors which now are burned up would reach the Earth's surface, causing death, destruction, and
fires everywhere.

Factors that make a planet habitable

Temperature- Influence how quickly atoms and molecules move

Not enough of the factor – Low temperature cause chemical to react slowly. Can also cause freezing of water,
making liquid water unavailable.

Just right – Liquid water can still exist under certain conditions.

Too much of the factor – at 126 C protein and carbohydrate molecules and genetic material start to break apart.
High temperature can cause quick evaporation of water.

Atmosphere

Not enough of the factor – small planets and moons have insufficient gravity to hold on an atmosphere.

Just right – Earth and Venus are the right size to hold a sufficient size atmosphere. Keeps the surface warm and
protects it from radiation and small to medium size meteorite.

Too much of the factor – Makes the surface too hot for life.

Energy

Not enough of the factor – When there is too little sunlight or too few of the chemicals that provide energy to cells,
such as iron or sulfur, organisms die.

Just right – Cells van run the chemical reaction necessary for life.

Too much of the factor – Makes the planet too hot where there many harmful rays like ultraviolet.

Nutrients- Used to build and maintain an organisms body.

Not enough of the factor - When nutrients are spread so thin that they are hard to obtain life cannot exist

Too much of the factor – Too active a circulation system.

LESSON 2: SUBSYSTEMS’ INTERACTION

The biological components of the Earth Systems are often referred to spheres and are subdivided into four These
are (1) atmosphere is the layer of gases that surround the earth; (2) biosphere consists of the living organisms on
Earth; (3) geosphere is the physical Earth, the rock magma and soil; and (4) hydrosphere is all the water held on
Earth.

Atmosphere

The atmosphere contains all the air in Earth's system. It extends from less than 1 m below the planet's surface to
more than 10,000 km above the planet's surface. The upper portion of the atmosphere protects the organisms of
the biosphere from the sun's ultraviolet radiation. It also absorbs and emits heat. When air temperature in the
lower portion of this sphere changes, weather occurs. As air in the lower atmosphere is heated or cooled, it moves
around the planet. The result can be as simple as a breeze or as complex as a tornado. The troposphere (0-10 km)
constitutes the climate system that maintains the conditions suitable for life on the planet's surface. The
stratosphere (10 to 50 km), contains ozone that protects life on the planet by filtering harmful ultraviolet radiation
from the Sun. The mesosphere extends 80km high, meteors usually burn up in this region as they approach our
planet. The thermosphere extends up to 600 km above the mesosphere, aurora and satellites are located here.
The exosphere is the upper limit of the atmosphere extends from the top of the thermosphere up to 10,000 km.
The ionosphere extends about 48km above the surface to the edge of space up to 965km, it is the part where
abundant layers of electron, ionized atoms and molecules occur. The mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere
are zones of diffuse atmospheric components in the far reaches of the atmosphere.

Biosphere

The biosphere is made up of the parts of the Earth where life exists. The life zone of the Earth and includes all living
organisms, and all organic matter that has not yet decomposed. The biosphere contains all the planet's living
things. This sphere includes all of the microorganisms, plants, and animals of Earth. Within the biosphere, living
things form ecological communities based on the physical surroundings of an area. These communities are
referred to as biomes. Deserts, grasslands, and tropical rainforests are three of the many types of biomes that exist
within the biosphere.

Lithosphere

The lithosphere is the solid, outer part of the Earth. The lithosphere includes the brittle upper portion of the
mantle and the crust, the outermost layers of Earth’s structure. It is bounded by the atmosphere above and the
asthenosphere (another part of the upper mantle) below.

Hydrosphere

About 70% of the Earth is covered with liquid water (hydrosphere) and much of it is in the form of ocean water.
Only 3% of earth’s water is fresh: two-thirds are in the form of ice, and the remaining one-third is present in
streams, lakes, and groundwater. Cryosphere is the frozen part of the hydrosphere such as glaciers, ice caps and
icebergs.

LESSON 3: ROCK-FORMING MINERALS

Minerals themselves are made up of one or a number of chemical elements with a definite chemical composition.
Minerals cannot be broken down into smaller units with different chemical compositions in the way that rocks
can.

General Characteristics of Minerals

• It is naturally occurring.
• Minerals are inorganic.

• Minerals are solid.

• It has a definite composition.

• It has ordered internal structure.

Mineral properties – Use to identify a mineral

Physical Properties of Mineral

There are several different mineral properties which must be identified and defined.

1. Luster- refers to how light is reflected from the surface of a mineral. Metallic minerals are generally opaque
and exhibit a resplendent shine similar to a polished metal. While non-metallic are vitreous (glassy),
adamantine brilliant/diamond-like), resinous, silky, pearly, dull (earthy), greasy, etc.

2. Hardness – it is the ability of mineral to resist scratching. Friedrich Mohs, a German

mineralogist, developed a hardness scale over 100 years ago. The hardest mineral known,
diamond, was assigned the number 10. It is called the Mohs Hardness Scale. It ranks the
order of hardness of minerals and some common objects. The Mohs Scale of Hardness
measures the scratch resistance of various minerals from a scale of 1 to 10, based on the
ability of a harder material/mineral to scratch a softer one.
3. Crystal Form Habit – refers to the characteristic shape of a mineral unit
which are visible (either an individual crystal or a group of crystal).
4. Color – one of the most obvious characteristics of a mineral, but generally
not the most useful diagnostic feature. Minerals are colored because
certain wavelengths are absorbed and the color results from the
combination of those wave lengths that reach the

5. Streak – is the mineral’s color in powdered form. It can be useful for

identifying metallic and earthy minerals. Non-metallic minerals usually
give a white streak because are very light colored. Other minerals may
have very distinctive streaks. Hematite- for example, always gives a
reddish-brown streak no matter what type of luster it displays.
6. Cleavage – it is the ability of a mineral to break along preferred planes.
The number of cleavage planes in a mineral may also aid its identification.
Cleavage typically occurs in either one, two, three, four or six dimensions.
The tendency of a Mineral to break evenly along its weakest plane.
7. Fracture - Mineral breaks unevenly or irregularly.

8. Specific Gravity – It is a measure of the density of a mineral.

• The ratio of the density of the mineral to the density of water (1 g/cm3

9.) Special Properties

- Calcite and fluorite show the property of fluorescence. This means that they
glow under ultraviolet light.
- Calcite produces a chemical reaction when a drop of weak acid is placed on it.
It fizzes and produces gas bubbles.

- Some minerals, such as calcite, show optical properties. Images look doubled
when they are viewed through calcite.

- Magnetite shows the property of magnetism. It is a natural magnet.

- Halite has a salty taste.

- Minerals that contain radioactive elements may show the property of

radioactivity.

• Geologists classify minerals based on the elements or compounds in the

minerals

Silicates

◆ Silicates are composed of silicon-oxygen tetrahedrons, an arrangement

which contains four oxygen atoms surrounding a silicon atom (SiO4 -4).

Silicates comprise the majority of minerals in the Earth’s crust and upper
mantle. Over 25% of all minerals are included in this group, with over 40% of
those accounting for the most common and abundant minerals.

◆ Feldspar, Quartz, Biotite, and Amphibole are the most common silicates

Native Elements

◆ Native elements are minerals that are composed of a single element.

◆ Some examples are: Gold (Au), Silver (Ag), Copper (Cu), Iron (Fe), Diamonds
(C), Graphite (C), and Platinum (Pt)

Halides
◆ Halides consist of halogen elements, chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br), fluorine (F), and iodine (I)
forming strong ionic bonds with alkali and alkali earth elements sodium (Na), calcium (Ca) and
potassium (K)

◆ Some examples include Halite (NaCl) and Flourite (CaF2).

Carbonates

◆ Carbonates are anionic groups of carbon and oxygen. Carbonate minerals result from bonds
between these complexes and alkali earth and some transitional metals

◆ Common carbonate minerals include calcite CaCO3 , calcium carbonate, and dolomite
CaMg(CO3 )2 , calcium/magnesium carbonate

Oxides

◆ Oxides are minerals that include one or more metal cations bonded to

oxygen or hydroxyl anions.

◆ Examples of oxide minerals include: Hematite (Fe2O3), Magnetite (Fe3O4),Corundum

(Al2O3), and Ice (H2O)

Sulfates

◆ Sulfates are minerals that include SO4 anionic groups combined with alkali earth and metal
cations.

◆ Anhydrous (no water) and hydrous (water) are the two major groups of Sulfates.

◆ Barite (BaSO4) is an example of a anhydrous sulfate and Gypsum (CaSO4 · 2H2O) is an

example of a sulfate.

Sulfides

◆ Sulfides are minerals composed of one or more metal cations combined with sulfur. Many
sulfides are economically important ores.

◆ Pyrite (FeS2) or “fool’s gold”, Galena (PbS), Cinnabar (HgS) an Molybdenite (MoS2) are a few
commonly occurring sulfide minerals

Uses of Common Minerals

◆ Copper is a native element used for electrical wiring.

◆ Gold, Diamonds, Silver, and Platinum are native elements used for jewelry.

◆ Talc is a silicate mineral used for cosmetics and cat litter.

◆ Quartz is a silicate mineral used to make glass.

◆ Graphite is a native element used for pencil lead.

◆ Halite is a halide mineral used for common table salt.

◆ Kaolin is a silicate mineral used in ceramics, coated paper, and as a

medicine.

◆ Barite is a sulfate mineral used in cement or as an additive to petroleum.

Mineral Resources
- Any material that can be used as a resource.

❖ Mineral Occurrence – concentration of a mineral that is of scientific or technical interest

❖ Mineral Deposit – mineral occurrence of sufficient size and grade or concentration to

enable extraction under the most favorable conditions

❖ Ore Deposit – mineral deposit that has been tested and known to be economically
profitable to mine.

Ore minerals

• Minerals with economic value are ore minerals

• Minerals often associated with ore minerals, but which do not have economic value are
gangue minerals.
Mining Process – Exploration, Operation, Distribution, Reclamation.

Factors which determine if a mineral is of economic value:

➢ interest in the mineral

➢ size of the deposit

➢ mineral concentration

➢ mineral depth below the surface

➢ market value.

Origin of Mineral Deposits

❖ Mineral deposits can be classified on the basis of the mechanism responsible for concentrating the valuable
substance.

Examples Include:

1) Magmatic Mineral Deposits

2) Hydrothermal Mineral Deposits

3) Sedimentary Mineral Deposits

4) Placer Mineral Deposits

5) Metamorphic Deposits

Magmatic Ore Deposits

• Formed during crystallization of a magma.

• Host rock can range from ultramafic to felsic.

• There are three primary means of concentrating minerals:

a. gravitational settling

b. differentiation

c. immiscible separations

a. gravitational settling

➢ As minerals crystallize from a magma body, heavy minerals may sink to the bottom of the magma chamber and
others may form on the sides of the magma chamber.

b. differentiation
• Causes a concentrating effect resulting in a concentration of selected elements in the residual magma. These
elements are the ones which did not fit well inside of common rock forming minerals. Instead they become
included in the final liquid present, which forms pegmatite. Pegmatite is a variety of igneous rock with extremely
large crystals. Individual crystals can be as large as a bathtub. Pegmatites are the last rocks to crystallize from a
solidifying body of magma. The slow rate of cooling and the presence of large amounts of water dissolved in the
magma account for the large size of the crystals. Pegmatites are an important source for rare elements, such as
boron, beryllium, and lithium.

c. immiscible separations
• Physical separation of a portion of a magma.

• Immiscible melts form irregular shaped segregations or may be injected as a dike into previously crystallized
material.

2) Hydrothermal Mineral Deposits

➢ Minerals are concentrated by hot fluids flowing through fractures and pore spaces in rocks.

➢ Hydrothermal deposits are produced when groundwater circulates down to depths and heats up, either by
coming near a hot igneous body or by circulating to great depths which naturally heat the water.

➢ Such hot water can dissolve valuable minerals as it passes through a large volume of rock.

➢ As the hot water moves into cooler areas of the crust, the dissolved minerals are precipitated and deposited
from the hot water solution.

➢ If the cooling takes place rapidly in open fractures or upon reaching cool surface waters, then precipitation will
take place over a limited area, resulting in a higher concentration of minerals than was originally present in the
rocks.
➢ Example: Vein deposits

3) Placer Deposits
➢ Formed when heavy metals are mechanically concentrated by flowing surface waters depositing high density
minerals either in streams or along coastlines.

➢ When the velocity of the water slows, minerals with a higher density are deposited. Heavy minerals like gold,
diamond, and magnetite will be concentrated in areas where water current velocity is low. The lighter minerals
(quartz) are carried away.

➢ Examples: Gold, Platinum, Diamonds

4) Secondary Enrichment (Sedimentation)

➢ These deposits often form as a result of chemical weathering in warm tropical climates that receive high
temperatures and high amounts of rainfall which produces highly leached soils rich in both iron and aluminium.
Chemical weathering tends to remove the soluble materials, leaving the less soluble residues.

➢ Two common mineral deposits formed in this way are iron-rich Limonite and aluminium-rich Bauxite. Bauxite is
the world’s primary source of aluminium. It forms in rainy tropical climates from chemical weathering.

➢ In addition, an existing mineral deposit can be turned in to a more highly concentrated mineral deposit by
weathering in a process called secondary enrichment.

5) Metamorphic Deposits
➢ Many of the most important metamorphic ore deposits are produced by contact metamorphism.

Mining
• Refers to a set of processes in which useful resources are withdrawn from a stock of any non- renewable
resource.

Two Main Methods of Mining

A.Surface Mining
-Utilized to extract ore minerals that are close to Earth’s surface.

Types:

-open pit mining, quarrying, placer mining, strip mining

A.Underground Mining
- Utilized to extract ore minerals from the ore body is that is deep under the Earth’s surface

The following steps are done during mining:

1. Prospecting or Exploration
• Looking for the ore body
2. Drilling
• Extracting a part of the ore to determine the resulting ore, its quality, and the amount of ore minerals.

3. Modeling
• Determining the ore’s size, shape, and grade distribution throughout the deposit to apply appropriate
mining methods, blast and dig pattern designs, safety precautions, and efficiency and processing
methods.

4. Identifying and assessing the potential impacts

• Considering on the social and environmental aspects and finding ways of mitigating any consequence
of the mining operation, with the purpose of bringing the area back as close to its original state as
possible.

5. Designing and constructing the mine

• Creating the appropriate mine and operational design, and proceeding with the construction once all the
necessary permits are acquired from the government and local communities.

6. Ore extraction
• Separation of high grade ores from the rest of the deposit.

7. Milling
• Crushing and concentration of ores; waste materials are released.

Milling or Recovery Methods/Processes

Heavy media separation
• The crushed rocks are submerged in liquid where the heavier/denser minerals sink thus are separated from
the lighter minerals.

• This is commonly used to separate chalcopyrite from quartz before the refining processes of extracting copper.

Magnetic separation
• If the metal or mineral is magnetic, the crushed ore is separated from the waste materials using a powerful
magnet.

Flotation
• The powdered ore is placed into an agitated and frothy slurry where some minerals and metals based on physical
and chemical properties may either sink to the bottom or may stick to the bubbles and rise to the top thus
separating the minerals and metals from the waste.

Cyanide heap leaching

• This method used for low-grade gold ore where the crushed rock is placed on a “leach pile” where cyanide
solution is sprayed or dripped on top of the pile. As the leach solution percolates down through the rocks, the gold
is dissolved into the solution. The solution is processed further to extract the gold.

8.) Mine site decommissioning

• Closure of the depleted mine; the mine site is cleaned up and reclaimed or rehabilitated for other
purposes.

Types of Rocks
What are Rocks?
• A rock is a naturally occurring solid mixture of one or more minerals, or organic matter

• Rocks are classified by how they are formed, their composition, and texture

• Rocks change over time through the rock Cycle

IGNEOUS ROCKS
• Rocks that are formed from the solidification of molten rock material (magma or lava).

1. Intrusive Igneous Rocks

• Formed from solidified magma underneath the earth.

• The gradual lowering of the temperature gradient at depth towards the surface would cause slow
cooling/crystallization

• Phaneritic texture

2. Extrusive Igneous Rocks

• Formed from solidified lava at or near the surface of the earth.

• The fast rate of cooling/crystallization due to huge variance in the temperature between Earth’s surface and
underneath

• common textures: aphanitic, porphyritic and vesicular

SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
• These are rocks that formed through the accumulation, compaction, and cementation of sediments.

• Sedimentary processes at or near the surface of the Earth include weathering of rocks, sediment transport and
deposition, compaction and cementation.

Types of Sedimentary Rocks

1. Clastic Sedimentary Rocks

• Formed from the accumulation and lithification of sediments derived from the breakdown of pre-existing rocks.

• They are further classified according to dominant grain size.

Types of Sedimentary Rocks

2. Non-Clastic Sedimentary Rocks

• Derived from sediments that precipitated from concentrated solutions (e.g., seawater) or from the accumulation
of biologic or organic material (e.g., shells, plant material).

• They are further classified based on chemical composition.

Chemical Sedimentary – minerals crystallize out of solution to become rock

Organic sedimentary – remains of plants and animals

METAMORPHIC ROCKS

• Rocks that are formed from the transformation of pre-existing rocks (igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic
rocks) through the process of metamorphism.

• Metamorphism can involve changes in the physical and chemical properties of rocks in response to heat,
pressure, and chemically active fluids.

• They are commonly formed underneath the earth through metamorphism

Contact Metamorphism
• Heat as the main factor: occurs when a pre-existing rocks get in contact with a heat source (magma)

• Occurs on a relatively small scale: around the vicinity of intruding magma

• Creates non-foliated metamorphic rocks (e.g. hornfels)

Regional Metamorphism
• Pressure as main factor, it occurs in areas that have undergone deformation during orogenic event resulting in
mountain belts

• Occurs in a regional/large scale

• Creates foliated metamorphic rocks such as schist and gneiss

Energy Resources
• It refers to any material that can be used as a basis or source of energy.

• Energy resources can be classified into two groups.

Renewable Energy Resources

• energy resources that can be replaced or regenerated and will never run out (at least not for a very long time)

Non-renewable Energy Resources

• energy resources that will eventually run out – once used they cannot be used again

Fossil Fuels
• Fossil fuels are source of energy derived from the fossilized remains of once living plants and animals million
years ago.

• is a chemical and biological form of energy. The word fossil refers to the remains or traces of living things from
previous geologic eras. An era is a unit of geologic time that lasted for hundreds of millions of years. Fossil fuels
developed from the remains of ancient living things, mostly plants. There are three main categories of fossil fuels:
coal oil, and natural gas. These fossil fuels are burned to produce heat, light, electricity, and other forms of energy.

•Fossil fuels had their origin during the Carboniferous Period of the Paleozoic Era of the Earth’s geologic time,
“Carboniferous” means coal-bearing while “Paleozoic” refers to ancient life.

Coal
• Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock with a high amount of carbon and hydrocarbon.

• It is used in electricity generation, metal production, cement production, gasification and liquefaction, chemical
production and used by other industries such as paper, textile and glass industries.

• Coal is formed from the remains of plants that once grew in swamp and adjacent forests millions of years ago.
These organisms were then buried under oxygen-poor or anoxic conditions.

Four Types of Coal

• Peat- It has a carbon content of less than 60% and is composed entirely of volatile matter.

o is considered the precursor form of coal, contains less than 60% carbon and composed wholly of volatile matter.

o Left to itself, it burns like wood, gives less heat, emits more smoke and leaves a lot of ash.

• Lignite- It has a 65 to 70% carbon and 63 to 53% volatile matter.

o It undergoes spontaneous combustion

• Bituminous coal- contains 70 to 86% carbon and 46 to 31% volatile matter.

o Is a sedimentary rock composed of 70-86% carbon and 31-46% volatile matter.

o Calorific value is very high due to high proportion of carbon and low moisture.

• Anthracite- is 86 to 98% pure carbon and 8 to 3% volatile matter.

o is deemed the highest form of coal due to its carbon content ranging from 86-98% with 3-8% volatile matter.

o Ignites slowly and burns with a nice short blue flame.

Petroleum
• It comes from the Latin word petra which means “rock” and oleum which means “oil”.

• It is a fossil fuel derived from large quantities of microscopic aquatic organisms such as algae and planktons.

• Petroleum is generally used for the following: gasoline, heating oil and diesel fuels, other products (such as
plastics), jet fuel, propane, residential fuel oil, asphalt.

Natural Gas
• It is a hydrocarbon mostly made up of methane.
• Natural gas is used for electrical power generation, residential heating, commercial heating and industrial
production.

•This gas is lighter than air and is highly flammable.

Fossil Fuels and the Carbon Cycle

Deposits of fossil fuels are carbon storage areas. Carbon that is locked in the fossil fuels does not cycle through
Earth. However, when fossil fuels are burned, the stored carbon is released into the atmosphere as carbon
dioxide. The carbon is then free to cycle though Earth and affects the natural balance of the carbon, as well as the
process associated with it.

Geothermal Energy
• came from the Greek word “geo” means earth and “therme” means heat

• energy from the heat within the earth.

Why is the Earth’s Interior Hot?

• heat from when the planet formed and accreted, which has not yet been lost

• frictional heating, caused by denser core material sinking to the center of the planet

• heat from the decay of radioactive elements.

Types of Geothermal Power Plant

• Dry Steam Plants- use steam directly from a geothermal reservoir to turn generator turbines.
- Oldest, This is the type of power plant in areas where the temperature in the reservoir is very high that
water is turned to steam.

• Flash Steam Plants- take high-pressure hot water from deep inside the earth and convert it to steam to drive
generator turbines. Hot water from the reservoir rises to the surface and is “flashed” or turned into steam
because of the rapid drop in pressure. This is the most common type of geothermal power plant.

• Binary Cycle Power Plants - transfer the heat from geothermal hot water to another liquid. The heat causes
the second liquid to turn to steam, which is used to drive a generator turbine. Binary fluids are fluids that are of
lower boiling point than water.

Hydropower
•It is the power generated by the energy from falling water or fast running water.

•Hydroelectric Power Plants convert the mechanical energy of flowing water to electrical energy. Commonly, this
is done by constructing a dam over a naturally flowing water like a river or falls. A dam is a structure that holds
back the water and stores it making its level higher than the other side of the dam, the higher-level water is
referred as the reservoir. This elevated water stores potential energy.

Types of Hydropower Plant

• Impoundment/Storage Hydropower Plant - typically a large hydropower system which uses a dam to store
river water in a reservoir.
• Diversion/Run-Of River- channels a portion of a river through a canal and/or a penstock to utilize the natural
decline of the riverbed elevation to produce energy.

• Pump Storage-store energy by pumping water from a reservoir at a lower elevation to a reservoir at a higher
elevation.