GENERAL EDUCATION MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE AND

TECHNOLOGY

“ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES”

Prepared by: Mr. Rommeljun Solijon Datiles

A S I E P R L H E D
L E A D E R S H I P
ENVIRONMENTAL
GEOLOGY
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lesson, the student should
be able to:

1. evaluate the importance of the different

elements of the physical components of the
ecosystem through; and

2. explain the importance of renewable energy

source to our environment.
UNDERSTANDING THE EARTH
Earth (or the Earth) is the third planet from the Sun
and the densest and fifth largest of the eight planets in the
Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four
terrestrial planets. It is sometimes referred to as the World,
the Blue Planet, or by its Latin name, Terra.
UNDERSTANDING THE EARTH
The earth is made up of several unique properties,
characteristics, composition and they all affect the processes of
the earth differently. Every of these properties and elements in
Earth’s system are largely categorized into one of the four
major subsystems including water, living things, land, and the
air.

Everything in Earth's system can be placed into one of four

major subsystems: land, water, living things, or air.

These four subsystems are called "spheres." Specifically, they

are the "lithosphere" (land), "hydrosphere" (water),
"biosphere" (living things), and "atmosphere" (air). Each of
these four spheres can be further divided into sub-spheres.
Earth’s Environmental Spheres
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCDVN7DCzYE
Let us take a look at these four spheres of the earth for us to understand how
they help make up the earth as well as how they help sustain life on earth.
Lithosphere (Land)

A lithosphere is the outermost

shell on Earth which is composed of
the crust, the mantle and the core. It
is made up of all the hard and solid
land mass on the earth’s surface, the
semi-solid rocks (molten materials)
underneath the earth’s crust, and the
liquid rocks in the inner core of the
earth.
• The crust together with the upper mantle
constitute the hard rigid layer of the Earth.
The earth’s is consists of different layers of
rocks and several dynamic tectonic plates.
Furthermore, it composed of basalt rich
oceanic crust and granitic rich continental
crust.

• The mantle surrounds the core which has

solid outer layer and liquid inner layer. The
core is located at the Earth’s center which
is responsible for earth’s gravity and
magnetism. The outer core is made up of
liquid (purely molten) rock materials.
• The inner core is the centre of the earth which is
purely made of very hot and liquid iron and nickel.

• The rock materials are divided into three primary

categories based on how they are formed namely
igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks, and
metamorphic rocks.

• The surface of the lithosphere is describe as

uneven and it is characterized by various landform
features. Some of the landforms include
mountains, deep valleys within the mountain
ranges, huge plains, extensive plateaus and hills.
Atmosphere (Air)
The atmosphere is defined as the air
surrounding the earth. The air is the mixture
of different gases that contains life-giving
gases like oxygen and carbon dioxide. It is a
mixture of nitrogen (about 78%), oxygen
(about 21%), and other gasses (about 1%)
such as carbon dioxide (0.039%), argon
(0.93%) and the rest are trace gases
(krypton, neon, helium , and xenon).

The atmosphere helps in stopping the

ultraviolet rays which is harmful to the life and
maintains the suitable temperature necessary
for life. The atmosphere is divided into several
layers and amongst the layers is the
stratosphere that contains the ozone layer
which protects the organisms in the biosphere
from the sun’s harmful radiation.
Earth’s atmosphere is divided into
five layers:

1. Troposphere which contains dust

particle and water vapour; where
most of the weather happens and it
becomes colder with altitude.

2. Stratosphere which contains a

high concentration of ozone;

3. Mesosphere which is the third

layer;

4. Thermosphere which contains

electrically charged particles called
ions; and

5. Exosphere which contains gases

which are very sparse due to lack of
gravitational force.
The air is in constant motion around the
planet and it is normally responsible for
some natural events in the planet such as
local breeze, winds, tornado, and tropical
cyclones.

The atmosphere is always in constant

interaction with the hydrosphere, giving
rise to the planets weather conditions.
Hydrosphere (Water)

Hydrosphere includes all liquid

and frozen surface waters,
groundwater held in soil and rock, and
atmospheric water vapour. Earth’s
waters are not pure water but contain
dissolved and particulate materials.

Water is the most abundant substance

at the surface of Earth. Thus the term
includes the oceans, seas, lakes,
rivers, snow and ice, underground and
Thus the term includes the oceans, seas, lakes,
rivers, snow and ice, underground and
atmospheric water. The masses of water at
Earth’s surface are major receptacles of inorganic
and organic substances, and water movement
plays a dominant role in the transportation of
these substances about the planet’s surface. The
sea waters are more variable in composition than
the atmosphere, including large proportions of
mineral matter as well as water and gases. Sea-
water is a solution of salts.

All the water in the hydrosphere is always in

motion just like the atmospheric gases. The
natural earth features depicting the hydrosphere
are the rivers, streams, lakes, seas, oceans and
the water vapor. Glaciers, which are the slowly
moving masses of ice, are also part of the
hydrosphere. 97% of all earth’s water is salty.
Oceans carry most of the salty water while the
majority of lakes and rivers carry fresh water. The
earth’s temperature is highly influenced by the
hydrosphere.
Biosphere (Living things)
Biosphere is a global ecosystem which is
composed of living organism (biotic) and the non-
living organism (abiotic). In this view, the
biosphere includes all of the animals, plants, and
microorganisms of earth. Humans as well belong
to this group. It generally refers to the portion of
the planet Earth that is inhabited by living beings
and is manifestly organized by them. In the
biosphere, ecological communities interact
together with the abiotic factors including
hydrosphere, lithosphere and atmosphere.
Collectively, these ecological communities are
made reference to as biomes. Among the six main
biomes present in the biosphere are the deserts,
forest grassland, aquatic, tundra and chaparral.
Living things also interact with each other which is
elaborated under the trophic level of food cha
The Earth’s biosphere is unique. In the
universe there has been no existence of
life except the planet Earth. Life on
earth mainly depends on the sun.
Energy, provided as sun light, is
captured by plants, some bacteria and
protists, in the marvellous phenomenon
of photosynthesis.

The captured energy transforms carbon

dioxide into organic compounds such as
sugars and produces oxygen. The vast
majority of species of animals, fungi,
parasitic plants and many bacteria
depend directly or indirectly on
photosynthesis.

The Biosphere is of great importance is

of great importance since it provides
food, preserve biological diversity and
prevents contamination.
 In your own idea,
In present days, the world is
why it is very What would happen if Create at least three Make a list on how to suffering from Covid19
important to the Earth’s core dies? Slogan about control devastation of pandemic. What would be
understand our Explain your answer “Understanding the our planet earth. (As the importance of viruses to
the population of all forms
planet? Illucidate exhaustively. Earth”, and elaborate. much as you can) of living organisms?
your answer

What is your stand As a Visayanian, how Do you agree that

Why glaciers are What happens when
about Scientists would you encourage energy play a vital
important and how to keytone species
protest against other students to help role to all living
protect this from extinct? Give best
climate change in and mitigate global organisms? why? give
melting? scenario or example
social media? Explain environmental issues? examples
BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLE

Energy flows directionally through

Earth’s ecosystems, typically entering
in the form of sunlight and exiting in
the form of heat. However, the
chemical components that make up
living organisms are different, instead
absorb they get recycled.
The matter on Earth is conserved and present in the
form of atoms. Since matter can neither be created nor
destroyed, it is recycled in the earth’s system in various
forms. This means that atoms making up the chemical
components has been cycling the biosphere for a long,
long time and they’ve been part of the many organisms
as well as non-living compounds along the way.

There are six common elements in organic molecules

which also take a variety of chemical forms. Theses
includes carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen,
phosphuros, and sulfur. The said elements have been
stored in the atmosphere, on land, water or beneath the
Earth’s surface, as well as in the bodies of living
organisms for long or short periods. Geologic processes
such as weathering of rocks, erosion, water drainage,
and the subduction of continental plates pay an
important role in the process of recycling, as do
interactions among organisms. The ways in which
elements or compound moves between living and non-
living forms are called biogeochemical cycle. This reflects
the importance of chemistry and geology as well as
biology in helping us understand these cycles.
 • Bio-geochemical cycles are pathways that
let elements move through ecosystems.
Because you cannot create or destroy
matter, they help explain how all living
and non-living things cycle through
nature. Biogeochemical cycle includes the
chemical, geological and biological pieces
of this pathway. Understanding these
cycles is crucial because people affect
them. Human activity is disturbing some
of these natural cycles and hurting
different ecosystems. By paying attention
to how these pathways work, humans may
be able to stop the harmful impact.

• The biogeochemical cycles are considered key to life. Water which contains hydrogen
and oxygen, is essential for all the living organisms especially to humans. This is the
very reason why water cycle places on the top of list of biological cycles. Aside from
water, there are some other key elements that keeps our bodies running and are part of
biogeochemical cycles. These includes carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur.
There are many different types of
biogeochemical cycles, but the most
common ones includes: water, carbon,
nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus. All of
these were considered to be important to
living organisms.
Water Cycle
Water is important for living things. Humans, animals and plants
need a reliable supply of fresh water in order to survive. The
supply of water on Earth mainly depend on its renewal through
the hydrological cycle. The water in its various forms interacts
with the surroundings and changes the temperature and pressure
of the atmosphere. The water cycle, also known as the hydrologic
cycle or the hydrological cycle, describes the continuous
movement of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth.
This process answers the question: “Why water supply of the
earth never runs out”. This biogeochemical cycle is responsible for
maintaining weather conditions.
97.5% of water on Earth is salty water. Remaining water is in the
form of underground water or ice. All told, less than 1% of fresh
water is found in lakes, rivers, and other available surface forms.

During the process of hydrologic cycle, water changes its state

from one phase to another, but the total number of water particles
remains the same. Water changes its state through a variety of
processes from evaporation, melting and freezing, to sublimation,
condensation, and deposition. All these changes require the
application of energy.
 Rain clouds
Condensation

Transpiration Evaporation
Precipitation Transpiration
to land from plants
Precipitation Precipitation
Evaporation
Surface runoff from land Evaporation
Runoff from ocean Precipitation
(rapid)
to ocean

Infiltration and Surface

Percolation runoff
(rapid)
Groundwater movement (slow)
Ocean storage

Fig. 3-26, p. 72
Carbon Cycle
Carbon cycle is the process which involves the interchanged of
carbon compounds among biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere and
atmosphere of the earth. Carbon dioxide is one of the important
materials for green plants to perform photosynthesis. The green
plants once buried under the soil will be converted into fossil fuel
made from carbon. These fossil fuels when burnt, release carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere. Animals which consumed plants
obtained carbon stored in plants. This carbon will return to the
atmosphere once the animals die through decomposition. Carbon
also return to the environment through cellular respiration by
animals. In some of the industries like factories carbon will be
release back to the atmosphere during combustion as it uses fossil
fuels.

During the process of carbon cycle, carbon present in the

atmosphere will be absorbed by plant for photosynthesis. Plants
will be consumed by the animals and these two will eventually die,
decomposed thus releasing carbon to the atmosphere. Carbon that
are not released will eventually become fossil fuels where it is
used for man-made activities thus pumps more carbon back to the
atmosphere.
Nitrogen Cycle
Nitrogen cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by which nitrogen
is converted into several forms as it circulates through the
atmosphere, terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Nitrogen is
an essential element of life. In the atmosphere, nitrogen
present is fixed by the nitrogen-fixing bacteria normally
present in the root nodules of leguminous plants and made
available to the soil and plants. The bacteria present in the
roots of the plants convert this nitrogen gas into a usable
compound called ammonia. Ammonia is also supplied to
plants in the form of fertilizers. This ammonia is converted
into nitrites and nitrates. The denitrifying bacteria reduce the
nitrates into nitrogen and return it into the atmosphere.

The process of Nitrogen Cycle includes the following steps –

Nitrogen fixation, Nitrification, Assimilation, Ammonification,
and Denitrification. These processes take place in several
stages
Phosphorous Cycle
Phosphorus is an important element in all living
organism. It has a significant part as a structural
framework of DNA and RNA, component of ATP and
makes up 80% of human teeth and bones. Phosphorus
cycle is a biogeochemical process that involves the
movement of phosphorus through the lithosphere,
hydrosphere and biosphere. The process is very slow.

Phosphorus cycle starts through the process of

weathering phosphorus present in the rocks is washed
into the soil. It is then absorbed by the organic matter in
the soil which is used for various biological processes.
Due to rains and erosion phosphorus is washed away in
the soil and water bodies. Plants and animals obtain this
phosphorus through the soil and water and grow.
Microorganisms also require phosphorus for their growth.
When the plants and animals die they decompose, and
the stored phosphorus is returned to the soil and water
bodies which is again consumed by plants and animals
and the cycle continues.
 mining Fertilizer
excretion Guano
agriculture
uptake by weathering uptake by
autotrophs autotrophs
Marine Dissolved leaching, runoff Dissolved Land
Food in Ocean in Soil Water, Food
Webs Water Lakes, Rivers Webs
death, death,
decomposition decomposition
sedimentation settling out weathering
uplifting over
geologic time
Marine Sediments Rocks

Fig. 3-31, p. 77
Sulfur Cycle
Sulfur is one of the abundant elements on the
earth. It is present in all kinds of protein which is
yellowish, brittle, tasteless, odourless metal.
Sulfur cycle is a biogeochemical cycle which moves
through the rocks, water bodies and living
systems.

Sulfur is released into the atmosphere by the

weathering of rocks where it is converted into
sulphates. After which, sulphates are taken up by
the microorganisms and plants and converted into
organic forms. Animals consumed organic sulfur
through the food they eat. When animals die and
decompose, sulfur is returned to the soil. Plant
and microbes again obtain sulfur and the cycle
continues. Sulphur is released into the atmosphere
by the burning of fossil fuels, volcanic activities,
and decomposition of organic molecules.
 Sulfur Water Acidic fog and
Sulfuric acid precipitation
trioxide
Ammonia Ammonium
Oxygen sulfate
Sulfur dioxide Hydrogen sulfide

Plants

Dimethyl Volcano
sulfide Industries
Animals

Ocean

Sulfate salts

Metallic Decaying matter Sulfur

sulfide
deposits
Hydrogen sulfide

Fig. 3-32, p. 78