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7
Learner’s Material
(Second Part)

Grade 7 Science: Learner’s Material (Second Part)

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7
Learner’s Material
(Second Part)

GOVERNMENT PROPERTY
NOT FOR SALE
ALLOTTED TO

District/ School: _________________________________________
Division _________________________________________________
First Year of Use:_________________________________________
Source of Fund (Year included):__________________________

Kagawaran ng Edukasyon
Republika ng Pilipinas

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Science- Grade 7
Learner’s Material: Second Part
First Edition, 2012
ISBN: ___________
Republic Act 8293, section 176 indicates that: No copyright shall subsist in any
work of the Government of the Philippines. However, prior approval of the government
agency or office wherein the work is created shall be necessary for exploitation of such work
for profit. Such agency or office may among other things, impose as a condition the payment
of royalties.
Published by the Department of Education
Secretary: Br. Armin Luistro FSC
Undersecretary: Dr. Yolanda S. Quijano

Development Team of the Learner’s Material
Unit 3: Energy in Motion
Reviewer: Josefina Ll. Pabellon
Coordinator: Merle C. Tan
Authors: Alvie J. Asuncion, Leticia V. Catris, Cerilina M. Maramag,
and Marie Paz E. Morales
Unit 4: Earth and Space
Reviewers: Eligio C. Obille Jr., Risa L. Reyes, and Merle C. Tan
Coordinator: Merle C. Tan
Authors: Ivy P. Mejia, Eligio C. Obille Jr., and Merle C. Tan
Illustrators: Alvin J. Encarnacion, Rizaldo Ramoncito S. Saliva
Layout Artist: Cecile N. Sales

Inilimbag sa Pilipinas ng ____________
Department of Education-Instructional Materials Council Secretariat (DepEd-IMCS)
nd
Office Address:
2 Floor Dorm G, PSC Complex, Meralco Avenue. Pasig
City, Philippines 1600
Telefax:
(02) 634-1054 or 634-1072
E-mail Address:
imcsetd@yahoo.com

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
(2nd Part)
Unit 3: Energy in Motion
Page
Module 1. Describing Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 1: Where is it? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 2: My home to school roadmap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 3: Fun walk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 4: Doing detective work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3
4
9
11
14

Module 2. Waves Around You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 1: Let’s Make Waves! What happens when waves pass by?. . . . . . . .
Activity 2: Anatomy of a Wave: How do you describe waves? . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 3: Mechanical vs. Electromagnetic Waves: How do waves
propagate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

17
18
23

Module 3. Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 1: My own sounding box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 2: Properties and characteristics of sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 3: Big time gig! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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36
40
46

Module 4. Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 1: Light sources: Langis kandila or lampara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 2: My spectrum wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 3: Colors of light – color of life! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 4: Light up straight! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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50
53
57
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Module 5. Heat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 1: Warm me up, cool me down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 2: Which feels colder? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 3: Move me up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 4: Keep it cold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 5: All at once . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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69
72
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Module 6. Electricity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 1: Charged interactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 2: To charge or not to charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 3: Pass the charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 4: When lightning strikes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 5: Let there be light! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Unit 4: Earth and Space
Page
Module 1. The Philippine Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 1: Where in the world is the Philippines (Part I) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 2: Where in the world is the Philippines (Part II) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 3: What are some factors that will affect the amount
of water in the watersheds?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 4: How is soil formed from rocks? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 5: Where are the mineral deposits in the Philippines? . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 6: How do people destroy natural resources? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 7: Are you ready for “Make-a-Difference” Day? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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91
95
100
102
105
116
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Module 2. Solar Energy and the Atmosphere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 1: What is the basis for dividing Earth’s atmosphere into layers? . . .
Activity 2: Does a greenhouse retain or release heat? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 3: What happens when air is heated? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 4: What happens to the air in the surroundings as warm air rises?. .
Activity 5: Which warms up faster? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 6: In what direction do winds blow–from high to low pressure
area or vice versa? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Module 3. Seasons and Eclipses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 1: Why do the seasons change? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 2: How does the length of daytime and nighttime affect
the season? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 3: Are there shadows in space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity 4: Does a Bakunawa causes eclipses? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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128
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136

150
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Suggested time allotment: 8 to 10 hours

MODULE

1

DESCRIBING MOTION

Many of the things around us move. Some move slowly like the turtles
and clouds, others move much more quickly like the satellites. Because
motion is so common, it seems to be very simple. But in science, describing
motion actually entails careful use of some definitions.
This module provides you with scientific knowledge and skills
necessary to describe motion along a straight path. You will learn to
describe the motion of objects in terms of position, distance travelled, and
speed. You will also learn to analyze or represent motion of objects using
charts, diagrams, and graphs. While these all provide the same information
about the motion of objects, you will find out that one may be more helpful
than the other depending on your particular objective.
At the end of this module, you are expected to answer the following
questions:




When can we say that an object is in motion?
How do we describe the motion of an object?

Where?
Before you will be able to describe the motion of an object, you must
first be able to tell exactly where it is positioned. Describing exact position
entails two ideas: describing how far the object is from the point of reference
and describing its direction relative to that point of reference. You will learn
about the importance of point of reference and direction when you perform
Activity 1.

Grade 7 Science: Energy In Motion

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Activity 1
Where is it?
Objective
In this activity, you should be able to describe in words the position of
an object within the room or the school ground.
Procedure
1.

Obtain from your teacher the piece of paper that describes where you
will find the object.
Q1. Were you able to find the object? Was it easy or difficult?
Q2. Is the instruction clear and easy to follow? What made it so?

2.

Put back the object to its place, if you found it. Otherwise, ask your
teacher first where it is located before you move on to the next step.

3.

Revise the instruction to make it more helpful. Write it on a separate
sheet of paper and let another group use it to find the object.
Q3. Were they successful in finding the object? Was it easy for them or
difficult?
Q4. What other details or information included in your instruction that
made it clearer and easier to follow?
Q5. In your own words, what is point of reference and how important it
is?

Describing through visuals
The position of an object can be described in many ways. You can use
words, like what you did in Activity 1. You can also use visuals, like
diagrams or graphs. Use the examples to explore how these help in
providing accurate descriptions of positions of objects.
Using diagrams
Consider the diagram in Figure 1. The positions of the objects are
described in the diagram by their coordinates along the number line.

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-15m

-10m

- 5m

0m

5m

10m

15m

Figure 1

Q6. What is the position of the dog?
Q7. What is the position of the tree?
Q8. What is the position of the dog with respect to the house?
Q9. What is the position of the tree with respect to the dog?
Here is another example. In this diagram, the positions of the ball
rolling are shown at equal intervals of time. You can use the diagram to
describe the position of the ball at any given time.
(Timer)

00 : 00

min

sec

0m

00 : 05

min

sec

5m

00 : 10

min

sec

10m

00 : 15

min

sec

15m

Figure 2

Q10. What is the initial position of the ball? What is its final position?
Q11. What is the position of the ball at 10 seconds?
Q12. At what time is the position of the ball equal to 5 meters?
Using graphs
Another way to describe the motion of the ball is by the use of motion
graphs. Convert the diagram in Figure 2 to graph by following the guide
below.
I. Fill up Table 1 using the data in Figure 2. Note that the positions of the
ball are shown every 5 seconds.

Grade Science: Energy Material
Grade 77Science: Learner’sIn Motion (Second Part)

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5

Table 1: Position of the ball vs time
Time (s)

Position of the ball
(m)
0

0

II. Plot the values in Table 1 as points on the graph in Figure 3. Note that
time is plotted on the X-axis while position is plotted on the Y-axis. An
example is given below.

Position (m)

15

10

5

0

(20s, 5m)

5

10

Figure 3

III.

15

20
Time (s)

Lastly, draw a straight diagonal line through the points in the graph.

The graph that you have just drawn in Figure 3 is called position-time
graph. You can also use this graph to describe the position of the ball at any
given time. For example, if you are asked to find the position of the ball at
10 seconds, all you need to do is to find the point along the diagonal line
where the vertical line at the 10 second-mark intersects (Figure 4). Then find
where the horizontal line from that point of intersection will cross the Y axis,
which is the position axis. This will give you the position of the ball at 10
seconds.

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Position (m)

Point of
intersection

0

10

Time (s)

Figure 4

Now try answering the following questions using your own positiontime graph.
Q13. What is the position of the ball at 7.5 seconds?
Q14. At what time is the position of the ball equal to 12.5 meters?

How Far?
In
science,
motion
is
N
defined as the change in position
W
E
for a particular time interval. You
10m
S
can then start describing motion
5m
with the question, “How far did
10m
the object travel?” There are
actually two ways to answer this
question. First is by getting the
Figure 5
total length of the path travelled
by the object. In Figure 5 for
example, the dog ran 10m to the east, then 5m to the south, and another
10m to the west. So it has travelled a total of 25 meters. The other way is by
measuring the distance between the initial position and final position of the
object. Based again on Figure 5, the dog has travelled 5 meters to the south.
In science, the first measurement gives the distance travelled by the
object (represented by broken lines) while the second measurement gives its
displacement (represented by continuous line).

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Here are more illustrations showing the difference between distance
travelled (represented by broken lines) by an object and its displacement
(represented by continuous lines).

a.
b.

c.
Figure 6

Can you give one difference between distance and displacement based
on the given examples? When can displacement be equal to zero? Is it
possible to get zero displacement? What if the ball, the car, and the dog in
the illustration go back to their starting positions, what will happen to their
respective distances? How about their displacements? If you answered these
questions correctly, then you have most probably understood the difference
between distance and displacement.


Distance refers to the length of the entire path that the object
travelled.



Displacement refers to the shortest distance between the object’s two
positions, like the distance between its point of origin and its point of
destination, no matter what path it took to get to that destination.

When a graph is plotted in terms of the distance travelled by the
object and the time it took to cover such distance, the graph can be called
distance-time graph. If the graph is plotted in terms of displacement and
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90

Displacement (m)

time, it is called displacement-time graph.
What is the displacement of the object
displacement after 6 seconds? How will you
between 0s and 2s, between 2s and 4s, and

Refer to the graph in Figure 7.
after 2 seconds? What is its
describe the motion of the object
between 4s and 6s?

4
3
2
1
0

1

2

3

Figure 7

4

5

6

Time (s)

Activity 2
My home to school roadmap
Objective
In this activity you should be able to make a roadmap that shows how
you get to school from your house.
Procedure
1.

Devise a way to easily measure distance. Let your teacher check your
non-standard measurement for precision.

2.

Using your measuring device, gather the data that you will need for
your roadmap. Make sure that you take down notes of all names of the
roads, landmarks, corners, posts, and establishments you pass by.
Record your data properly.

3.

Using your gathered data, draw your house-school roadmap on a short
bond paper. Decide on the most convenient scale to use when you
draw your roadmap. An example is shown below.


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1 cm

Scale: 1 cm = 1 km
5 km

2 km

3 km
Figure 8

4.

Label your roadmap properly, including names
establishments, etc. Specify also the length of road.

5.

of

the

roads,

Finally, let your teacher check again your work.
Q1. What is the total length of your travel from your house to your
school?
Q2. What is the total displacement of your travel?

How fast?
After determining how far the object moves, the next question will be
“How fast did the object move?” This information can be provided by the
object’s speed or velocity.
Are you familiar with the traffic signs below? These signs tell us the
maximum or minimum speed limits allowed by law for road vehicles. In
general, the minimum speed limit in the Philippines is 60 km/h and the
maximum speed limit is 100 km/h.
What are the units used in the above examples of speed limits? What
quantities do these units represent that are related to speed?

10Grade 7 Science: Energy In Motion

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Activity 3
Fun walk
Objective
In this activity you should be able to gather data to determine who
walks fastest.
Procedure
1.

Start by choosing a spacious place to walk straight.

2.

Half of the group will walk while the other half will observe and record
data.

3.

Mark on the ground the starting line. All participants must start from
the starting line at the same time.

4.

Upon receiving the go signal, all participants must start to walk as fast
as they could. The other members should observe closely as the
participants walk and determine who walks fastest.

5.

Repeat #4 but this time, collect data to support your conclusion.
Discuss within your group how you are going to do this.
Q1. What quantities did you measure for your data?
Q2. How did you combine these quantities to determine how fast each
participant was walking?
Q3. How did you use the result to determine who walked fastest?

Speed
The questions in the above activity are actually referring to speed. If
you know the speed of each participant, you can tell who is the fastest.
Speed is defined as distance travelled divided by the time of travel.

speed 

dis tan ce travelled
time of travel

The units of speed can be miles per hour (mi/h), kilometres per hour
(km/h), or meters per second (m/s).
Q4. At constant distance, how is speed related to the time of travel?

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Q5. At constant time to travel, how is speed related to the distance
travelled?
Q6. Who was travelling faster than the other, a person who covered 10
meters in 5 seconds or the one who took 10 seconds to cover 20
meters?
Speed and direction
In describing the motion of an object, we do not just describe how fast
the object moves. We also consider the direction to where it is going. Speed
with direction is referred to as velocity. The sample weather bulletin below
will show you the importance of knowing not just the speed of the storm but
also its direction.
Table 2: Sample weather bulletin
Weather Bulletin: Tropical Storm "Juaning"
Wednesday, 27 July 2011 at 09:27:14 AM
Location of
Center

90 km East of Infanta,
Quezon

Coordinates

14.8°N, 122.5°E

Strength of the
winds

Max. wind speed of 85 km/hr near the center & gustiness of up to 100
km/hr

Movement

11km/hr going West-Northwest

Forecast

On Wednesday AM: Expected to make landfall over Polillo Island
between 8am to 10am and over Southern Aurora by 1pm to 3pm and
will traverse Central Luzon

Whenever there is a storm coming, we are notified of its impending
danger in terms of its speed and direction. Aside from this, we are also
informed about its strength. Do you know that as the storm moves, its
winds move in circles? The circular speed of the winds of the storm
determines its strength. Different storm signals are given in places
depending on the circular speed of the winds of the storm and the distance
from the center.
Study again the weather bulletin above. Which is the speed for the
circular motion of the typhoon winds? Which is the speed for the motion of
the storm as a whole along the path? How important are speed and direction
in determining the weather forecast for the next hours?

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94

Constant speed vs instantaneous speed
If you solved for the distance travelled by each participant over the
time he took to cover such distance, then you have computed for his
average speed. But why average speed and not just speed? It is considered
average speed because it represents the speed of the participant throughout
his travel. During his travel, there were instants that his speed would vary.
His speed at an instant is called instantaneous speed. Similarly, the velocity
of a moving body at an instant is called instantaneous velocity. The
instantaneous speed may be equal, greater than, or less than the average
speed.
When an object’s instantaneous speed values are always the same, then
it means that the object is moving with constant speed. We refer to this as
constant motion. Where you will be and what time you will reach your
destination is easily predicted when you move at constant speed or velocity.
Are you familiar with the speedometer? Speedometer is a device used to
measure the instantaneous speed of a vehicle. Speedometers are important
to the drivers because they need to know how fast they are going so they
know if they are already driving beyond the speed limit or not.

How fast is the velocity changing?
In reality, objects do not
always move at constant velocity.
Storms like “Juaning” also do
change their speeds, directions, or
both. The next activity will help
you analyze examples of motion
with changing velocities (or with
changing speed, since we are only
trying to analyze examples of
motion in only one direction) using
tape charts and motion graphs.

Source: http://drrm.region4a.dost.gov.ph/

Figure 9. Track of tropical storm “Juaning”


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Activity 4
Doing detective work
Consider this situation below:
Supposed you were having your on-the-job training in a private
investigating company. You were asked to join a team assigned to
investigate a ‘hit and run’ case. The alleged suspect was captured by
the CCTV camera driving down a road leading to the place of incident.
The suspect denied the allegation, saying that he was then driving
very slowly with a constant speed. Because of the short time
difference when he was caught by the camera and when the accident
happened, he insisted that it was impossible that he would already be
at the place when the crime happened. But when you were viewing
the scene again on the camera, you noticed that his car was leaving
oil spots on the road. When you checked these spots on site, you
found out that they are still evident. So you began to wonder if the
spots can be used to investigate the motion of the car of the suspect
and check whether he was telling the truth or not.
Here is an activity that you can do to help you with your investigation.
You will analyze the motion using strips of papers with dots. For this
activity, assume that the dots represent the ‘oil drops’ left by the car down
the road.
Materials




ruler
paper strips with dots
cutter or pair of scissors

Procedure
A. Using tape chart
1. Obtain from your teacher paper strips with dots.
2. Label each dot. Start from 0, then 1, 2, 3, and so on. In this example,
each dot occurred every 1 second.
1 sec

0

1

2

3
Figure 10


96

3. Examine the distances between successive dots.
Q1. How will you compare the distances between successive dots?
4. Cut the strip at each drop, starting
from the first to the last drop, and
paste them side by side on a graph
paper to form a tape chart as
shown in Figure 11.

4
3
2
1

Q2. How do the lengths of the tapes
compare?

Figure 11. Sample tape chart

Q3. If each tape represents the distance travelled by the object for
1 second, then what ‘quantity’ does each piece of tape provide?
Q4. What does the chart tell you about the speed of the car?
The difference in length between two successive tapes provides the object’s
acceleration or its change in speed or velocity for a time interval of
1 second.
Q5. How will you compare the changes in the lengths of two successive
tapes?
Q6. What then can you say about the acceleration of the moving car?
B. Using motion graphs

Table 3
Time of travel (s)

5. Measure the distance travelled
by the car after 1 second, 2
seconds,
and
so
on
by
measuring the distance between
drops 0 and 1, 0 and 2, and so
on. Enter your measurements in
Table 3 on the right.

Q7. How does your
distance-time graph
look like?

1
2
3
4
5

Distance (cm)

6. Plot the values in Table 3
as points on the graph in
Figure 12 on the right.

Distance travelled (m)

0
Time (sec)


Figure 12

15
97

Q8. How does you graph look
like? How is this different
from your graph in Figure
12?
Q9. How will you interpret this
graph in terms of the speed
and acceleration of the
moving car?

4

Speed (cm/s)

7. Join the mid-points of the tops
of the tapes with a line. You
have now converted your tape
chart to a speed-time graph.

3
2
1

1

2

3

4

Time (s)

Figure 13

Q10. If you found out in your investigation that the arrangement of oil
drops left by the car is similar to what you used in this activity, was
the suspect telling the truth when he said that he was driving with
constant speed?
In this module, you have learned how to describe the motion of objects
in terms of position, distance and displacement, speed and velocity, and
acceleration. You have also learned how to represent motion of objects using
diagrams, charts, and graphs.
Let us summarize what you have learned by relating distance,
displacement, speed, velocity, and acceleration.


If an object does not change its position at a given time interval,
then it is at rest or its speed is zero or not accelerating.



If an object covers equal distance at equal intervals of time, then it
is moving at constant speed and still not accelerating.



If an object covers varying distances at equal intervals of time, then
it is moving with changing speed or velocity. It means that the
object is accelerating.

Links and References
Chapter 2: Representing Motion. Retrieved March 14, 2012 from
http://igcse-physics--41-p2-yrh.brentsvillehs.schools.pwcs.edu/modules
Chapter 3: Accelerated Motion. Retrieved March 14, 2012 from http://igcsephysics--41-p2-yrh.brentsvillehs.schools.pwcs.edu/modules
HS Science IV: Physics in your environment. Teacher’s Edition. 1981. Science
Education Center. Quezon City
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MODULE

2

WAVES AROUND YOU

Waves occur all around you in the physical world. When you throw a
stone into a lake, water waves spread out from the splash. When you strum
the strings of a guitar, sound waves carry the noise all around you. When
you switch on a lamp, light waves flood the room. Water, sound, and light
waves differ in important ways but they all share the basic properties of
wave motion. For instance, you can see water waves and surfers would say
that they enjoy riding the waves. On the other hand, you don’t see sound
waves and light waves but you experience them in other ways. Your ears can
detect sound waves and your skin can get burned by ultraviolet waves if you
stay under the sun for too long.
A wave is a periodic disturbance that moves away from a source and
carries energy with it. For example, earthquake waves show us that the
amount of energy carried by a wave can do work on objects by exerting
forces that move objects from their original positions. Have you personally
experience an earthquake? How did it feel? Did you know that you can
understand earthquakes by studying waves?
In this module, you would be doing three activities that would
demonstrate the properties of wave motion. After performing these activities,
you should be able to:
1. explain how waves carry energy from one place to
another;
2. distinguish between transverse and longitudinal waves;
3. distinguish between mechanical and electromagnetic
waves; and
4. create a model to demonstrate the relationship among
frequency, amplitude, wavelength, and wave velocity.


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Warm up. What are Waves?
Activity 1 will introduce you to different types of waves distinguished
according to the direction of vibrations of particles with respect to the
direction in which the waves travel. Activity 2 will give you a background of
the terms and quantities used in describing periodic waves. Finally, Activity
3 will strengthen your understanding of the properties
of waves and how they propagate.
Try to wave at your seatmate and observe the
motion of your hand. Do you make a side-to-side
motion with the palm of your hand? Do you do an upand-down motion with your hand?
1.

Describe your personal hand wave.

The repetitive motion that you do with your
hand while waving is called a vibration. A vibration
causes wave motion. When you observe a wave, the
source is always a vibration.
2.

Waving is a common
gesture that people do
to catch someone’s
attention or to convey
a farewell.

Think of a still lake. How would you generate
water waves on the lake?

Activity 1. Let’s Make Waves!
What happens when waves pass by?
Objective
In this activity, you will observe and draw
different types of waves and describe how they
are produced. You will also describe the different
types of waves.
Time Allotment: 30 minutes

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100

Materials






A
A
A
A
A

rope (at least five meters long)
colored ribbon
coil spring (Slinky™)
basin filled with water
paper boat

Procedure
A.

What are transverse waves?
1.

Straighten the rope and place it above a long table. Hold one end of
the rope and vibrate it up and down. You would be able to observe
a pulse. Draw three sketches of the rope showing the motion of the
pulse at three subsequent instances (snapshots at three different
times). Draw an arrow to represent the direction of the pulse’s
motion.

Time 1

Time 2

Time 3

a.

What is the source of the wave pulse?

b.

Describe the motion of your hand as you create the pulse.

c.

Describe the motion of the pulse with respect to the source.


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101

You will now tag a specific part of the rope while making a
series of pulses. A periodic wave can be regarded as a series
of pulses. One pulse follows another in regular succession.

Figure 1. Periodic wave

Tie one end of the rope on a rigid and fixed object (e.g heavy table,
door knob, etc).

Figure 2. Rope tied to a rigid object

Attach a colored ribbon on one part of the rope. You may use
adhesive tape to fix the ribbon. Make a wave by continuously
vibrating the end of the rope with quick up-and-down movements
of your hand. Draw the waveform or the shape of the wave that
you have created.

Ask a friend to vibrate the rope while you observe the motion of
the colored ribbon. Remember that the colored ribbon serves as a
marker of a chosen segment of the rope.
a.

Does the wave transport the colored ribbon from its original
position to the end of the rope?

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b.

B.

Describe the vibration of the colored ribbon. How does it move
as waves pass by? Does it move in the same direction as the
wave?

What are longitudinal waves?
1.

Connect one end of a long table to a wall. Place coil spring on top of
table. Attach one end of the coil spring to the wall while you hold
the other end.

Figure 3. Coil spring on a flat table with one
end attached to a wall

Do not lift the coil spring. Ask a friend to vibrate the end of the coil
spring by doing a back-and-forth motion parallel to the length of
the spring. Observe the waves along the coil spring. Draw how the
coil spring looks like as you move it back-and-forth.

2.

Attach a colored ribbon on one part of the coil spring. You may use
an adhesive tape to fix the ribbon. Ask a friend to vibrate the coil
spring back-and-forth while you observe the motion of the colored
ribbon. Remember that the colored ribbon serves as a marker of a
chosen segment of the coil spring.
a.

Does the wave transport the colored ribbon from its original
position to the end of the rope?

b.

Describe the vibration of the colored ribbon. How does it move
as waves pass by?


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C.

What are surface waves?
1.

Place a basin filled with water on top of a level table. Wait until the
water becomes still or motionless. Create a wave pulse by tapping
the surface of the water with your index finger and observe the
direction of travel of the wave pulse. Tap the surface of the water at
regular intervals to create periodic waves. View the waves from
above and draw the pattern that you see. In your drawing, mark
the source of the disturbance.

2.

Wait for the water to become still before you place your paper boat
on the surface. Create periodic waves and observe what happens to
your paper boat.
a.

b.

3.

Do the waves set the paper boat into motion? What is required
to set an object into motion?
If you exert more energy in creating periodic waves by tapping
the surface with greater strength, how does this affect the
movement of the paper boat?

If you were somehow able to mark individual water molecules (you
used a colored ribbon to do this earlier) and follow them as waves
pass by, you would find that their paths are like those shown in
the figure below.

Figure 4. Surface waves
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104

a.

b.

D.

As shown in the figure, the passage of a wave across a surface
of a body of water involves the motion of particles following a
___________ pattern about their original positions.
Does the wave transport water molecules from the source of
the vibration? Support your answer using the shown figure.

Summary
1.

Waves can be typified according to the direction of motion of the
vibrating particles with respect to the direction in which the waves
travel.
a.

Waves in a rope are called ____________ waves because the
individual segments of the rope vibrate ____________ to the
direction in which the waves travel.

b.

When each portion of a coil spring is alternatively compressed
and extended, ____________ waves are produced.

c.

Waves on the surface of a body of water are a combination of
transverse and longitudinal waves. Each water molecule
moves in a _______________ pattern as the waves pass by.

2.

How do we know that waves carry energy?

3.


Activity 2. Anatomy of a Wave
How do you describe waves?
Background
You had the experience of creating periodic waves in Activity 1. In a
periodic wave, one pulse follows another in regular succession; a certain
waveform – the shape of individual waves – is repeated at regular intervals.
Most periodic waves have sinusoidal waveforms as shown below. The
highest point and lowest point of a wave are called the crest and the trough
respectively. The amplitude is the maximum displacement of a vibrating
particle on either side of its normal position when the wave passes.

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105

Figure 5. Sinusoidal wave

Objective
In this activity, you will identify the quantities used in describing
periodic waves.
Materials






A
A
A
A
A

ruler
basin filled with water
rope (at least five meters long)
colored ribbon
watch or digital timer

Procedure
A.

How can you measure the wavelength of a
wave?
1.

The wavelength of a wave refers to the distance between any
successive identical parts of the wave. For instance, the distance
from one crest to the next is equal to one full wavelength. In the
following illustration, this is given by the interval B to F. Identify
the other intervals that represent one full wavelength.

_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

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106

2.

Place a basin filled with water on top of a level table. Wait for the
water to become still. Create a vibration by regularly tapping the
surface of the water with your index finger. You would be able to
see the subsequent crest of the water waves.

Figure 6. Crest and trough on a water wave

Draw the water waves as you see them from the top of the basin.
Label one wavelength in your drawing.

3.

Increase the rate of the vibrations you create by tapping the
surface of the water rapidly. What happens to the wavelength of
the waves? _______________________________________________
Draw the water waves as you see them from the top of the basin.
Compare it with your drawing in number 2.

B.

How do you measure the frequency of a wave?
1.

The frequency of a series of periodic waves is the number of waves
that pass a particular point every one second. Just like what you
have done in Activity 1, attach a colored ribbon on a rope to serve


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107

as a tag. Tie one end of the rope on a fixed object and ask a friend
to create periodic waves by regularly vibrating the other end of the
rope.
2.

You will count how many times the colored ribbon reached the
crest in 10 seconds. You will start counting once the ribbon
reaches the crest a second time. It means that one wave has
passed by the ribbon’s position. Ask another friend with a watch or
a digital timer to alert you to start counting and to stop counting
after 10 seconds. Record the results in Table 1.

3.

It is also useful to consider the period of a wave, which is the time
required for one complete wave to pass a given point. The period of
each wave is
1
𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑 =
𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦

From the identified frequency of the observed periodic waves, the
period can be calculated. For example, if two waves per second are
passing by, each wave has a period of ½ seconds.
Table 1. Frequency and period of the wave
Number of waves
(N cycles) that passed by
the ribbon in 10 seconds

Frequency
of the waves
(N cycles/10 seconds)

Period
of the waves (seconds)

The unit of frequency is the hertz (Hz); 1 Hz = 1 cycle/second.
4.

C.

If you increase the frequency of vibration by jerking the end of the
rope at a faster rate, what happens to the wavelength?
__________________________________________________________________

How do you measure the speed of a wave?
1.

Using the rope with ribbon. Create periodic waves and estimate
their wavelength. Count the number of waves that pass by the
ribbon in ten seconds. Compute the frequency of the waves. Record
the results in Table 2.

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2.

The wave speed is the distance traveled by the wave per second.

𝑤𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 = 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 𝑥 𝑤𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ

From the basic formula that applies to all periodic waves, you can
see that wave speed, frequency and wavelength are independent of
the wave’s amplitude.
a.

Using the data from number 1, calculate the wave speed of the
observed periodic waves. Record the result in Table 2.

Table 2. The speed of a wave
Estimated
wavelength
(meters)

Number of waves
(N cycles) that
passed by the
ribbon in 10
seconds

Frequency
of the waves
(N cycles/10
seconds)

Wave speed
(meter/second)

Summary
1.

What is the relationship between wave speed, wavelength and
frequency?

2.

Suppose you observed an anchored boat to rise and fall once every
4.0 seconds as waves whose crests are 25 meters apart pass by it.
a.

What is the frequency of the observed waves?

b.

What is the speed of the waves?

Activity 3. Mechanical vs. Electromagnetic Waves
How do waves propagate?
Objective
In this activity, you will differentiate between mechanical waves and
electromagnetic waves.


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Materials


A.

Findings from Activity 1
Chart of the electromagnetic spectrum
What are mechanical waves?
1.

When you created waves using a rope in Activity 1 Part A, you were
able to observe a moving pattern. In this case, the medium of wave
propagation is the rope.
a.
b.

2.

In Activity 1 Part B, what is the medium of wave propagation?
In Activity 1 Part C, what is the medium of wave propagation?

The waves that you have created in
Activity 1 all require a medium for
wave propagation. They are called
mechanical waves.
a.

3.

How can you generate
mechanical waves?

The medium of propagation for the wave
shown above is the rope.

All three kinds of waves –
transverse, longitudinal, and surface – are sent out by an
earthquake and can be detected many thousands of kilometers
away if the quake is a major one.
a.
b.

B.

What do you think is the source of earthquake waves?
What is the medium of propagation of earthquake waves?

What are electromagnetic waves?
1.

Energy from the sun reaches the earth through electromagnetic
waves. As opposed to mechanical waves, electromagnetic waves
require no material medium for their passage. Thus, they can pass
through empty space. Locate the electromagnetic spectrum chart
in your classroom. A smaller image of the chart is shown below.
Identify the common name of each wave shown in the chart.

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110

1.
2.
3.
4.

2.

______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________

5.
6.
7.

_______________________
_______________________
_______________________

The electromagnetic spectrum shows the various types of
electromagnetic waves, the range of their frequencies and
wavelength. The wave speed of all electromagnetic waves is the
same and equal to the speed of light which is approximately equal
to 300 000 000 m/s.

Figure 7. The electromagnetic spectrum

a.

Examine the electromagnetic spectrum.
1.

Describe the relationship between frequency
wavelength of each electromagnetic wave.

2.

Draw waves to represent each electromagnetic wave.
Your illustrations must represent the wavelength of a
wave relative to the others. For instance, gamma rays
have a very small wavelength compared to the other
waves in the spectrum.


and

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111

1. Gamma Rays
2. __________
3. __________
4. __________
5. __________
6. __________
7. __________

b.

The Sun is an important source of ultraviolet (UV) waves,
which is the main cause of sunburn. Sunscreen lotions are
transparent to visible light but absorb most UV light. The
higher a sunscreen’s solar protection factor (SPF), the greater
the percentage of UV light absorbed. Why are UV rays
harmful to the skin compared to visible light?
Compare the frequency and energy carried by UV waves to
that of visible light.

C.

Summary
1.

Mechanical waves like sound, water waves, earthquake waves,
and waves in a stretched string propagate through a
_______________ while __________________ waves such as radio
waves, visible light, and gamma rays, do not require a material
medium for their passage.

Review. Waves Around You
The activities that you have performed are all about wave motion or
the propagation of a pattern caused by a vibration. Waves transport energy
from one place to another thus they can set objects into motion.

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Activity 1 introduced you to transverse waves, longitudinal waves, and
surface waves. You observed the motion of a segment of the material
through which the wave travels.
1.

Transverse waves occur when the individual particles or
segments of a medium vibrate from side to side perpendicular to
the direction in which the waves travel.

2.

Longitudinal waves occur when the individual particles of a
medium vibrate back and forth in the direction in which the
waves travel.

3.

The motion of water molecules on the surface of deep water in
which a wave is propagating is a combination of transverse and
longitudinal displacements, with the result that molecules at the
surface move in nearly circular paths. Each molecule is displaced
both horizontally and vertically from its normal position.

4.

While energy is transported by virtue of the moving pattern, it is
important to remember that there is not net transport of matter
in wave motion. The particles vibrate about a normal position and
do not undergo a net motion.

How can you describe waves?
In Activity 2, you have encountered the important terms and
quantities used to describe periodic waves.
1.

The crest and trough refer to the highest point and lowest point of
a wave pattern, respectively.

2.

The amplitude of a wave is the maximum displacement of a
particle of the medium on either side of its normal position when
the wave passes.

3.

The frequency of periodic waves is the number of waves that pass
a particular point for every one second while the wavelength is
the distance between adjacent crests or troughs.

4.

The period is the time required for one complete wave to pass a
particular point.


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5.

The speed of the wave refers to the distance the wave travels per
unit time. It is related to the frequency of the wave and
wavelength through the following equation:
𝑤𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 𝑥 𝑤𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ

How do waves propagate?
Finally, Activity 3 prompted you to distinguish between mechanical
and electromagnetic waves.
1.

In mechanical waves, some physical medium is being disturbed
for the wave to propagate. A wave traveling on a string would not
exist without the string. Sound waves could not travel through air
if there were no air molecules. With mechanical waves, what we
interpret as a wave corresponds to the propagation of a
disturbance through a medium.

2.

On the other hand, electromagnetic waves do not require a
medium to propagate; some examples of electromagnetic waves
are visible light, radio waves, television signals, and x-rays.

Up Next. Light
In the next module, you would learn about visible light, the most
familiar form of electromagnetic waves, since it is the part of the
electromagnetic spectrum that the human eye can detect. Through some
interesting activities, you would come across the characteristics of light, how
it is produced and how it propagates. You would need the concepts that you
learned from this module to fully understand and appreciate the occurrence
of light.

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Pre/Post Test
Consider the diagram below to answer questions 1 and 2.

1.

The wavelength of the wave in the diagram above is given by letter
______.

2.

The amplitude of the wave in the diagram above is given by letter _____.

3.

Indicate the interval that represents a half wavelength.

a. A to E
b. B to F

c. A to B
d. C to E

4.

A pulse sent down a long string eventually dies away and disappears.
What happens to its energy?
a. The energy disappears with the wave.
b. The energy is remains along the length of the string.
c. The energy is transferred from the wave to the environment.
d. The pulse does not carry energy.

5.

Mechanical waves transport energy from one place to another through
a. Alternately vibrating particles of the medium
b. Particles traveling with the wave
c. Vibrating particles and traveling particles
d. None of the above

6.

In a transverse wave, the individual particles of the medium
a. move in circles
b. move in ellipses
c. move parallel to the direction of travel
d. move perpendicular to the direction of travel


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7.

The higher the frequency of a wave,
a. the lower its speed
b. the shorter its wavelength

8.

Of the following properties of a wave, the one that is independent of the
others is its
a. amplitude
b. wave speed

9.

c. the greater its amplitude
d. the longer its period

c. wavelength
d. frequency

Waves in a lake are 5.00 m in length and pass an anchored boat 1.25 s
apart. The speed of the waves is
a. 0.25 m/s
b. 4.00 m/s
c. 6.25 m/s
d. impossible to find from the information given

10. Energy from the sun reaches the earth through
a. ultraviolet waves
b. infrared waves

c. mechanical waves
d. electromagnetic waves

References and Web Links
Anatomy of an electromagnetic wave. Available at:
http://missionscience.nasa.gov/ems/02_anatomy.html
Electromagnetic waves. Available at:
http://www.colorado.edu/physics/2000/waves_particles/
[3] Hewitt, P. (2006). Conceptual Physics 10th Ed. USA: Pearson AddisonWesley.
The anatomy of a wave. Available at:
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/waves/u10l2a.cfm
The nature of a wave. Available at:
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/waves/u10l1c.cfm

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MODULE

3

SOUND

Would you like to try placing your palm on your throat while saying –
“What you doin?” What did your palm feel? Were there vibrations in the
throat? Try it again and this time, say – “Mom! Phineas and Ferb are making
a title sequence!”
Terms to Remember

In the previous module you learned
about
wave
properties
and
common
characteristics like pitch and loudness. You
will also learn the 2 kinds of waves according
to propagation. These are the longitudinal and
transverse waves. Sound is an example of a
longitudinal wave. It is also classified as a
mechanical wave. Thus there has to be matter
for which sound should travel and propagate.
This matter is better known as medium.

Longitudinal Wave
- Wave whose motion is parallel
to the motion of the particles of
the medium
Mechanical wave
- Wave that need a medium in
order to propagate

Figure 1. Longitudinal wave

How does sound propagate?

In Activity 1, you will try to explore how sound is produced. You are
going to use local materials available in your community to do this activity.
You can do “Art Attack” and be very creative with your project.


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Activity 1
My own sounding box
Objectives
In this activity, you should be able to construct a sounding box to
1.

demonstrate how sound is produced; and

2.

identify factors that affect the pitch and loudness of the sound
produced.

Materials Needed


shoe box



variety of elastic or rubber bands (thin and thick)



extra cardboard – optional



pair of scissors or cutter



ruler

TAKE
CARE!

Handle all sharp
tools with care.

Procedure
1.

Cut and design your shoe
box as shown in Figure 2.

2.

Put the rubber bands
around the box. Make sure
that the rubber bands are
almost equally spaced and
that the rubber bands are
arranged
according
to
increasing thickness from
the lower end to the other
end of the box.

36

Figure 2. My sounding box

118

3.

Use your finger to pluck each rubber band. Listen to the sound
produced.
Q1.

Q2.

4.

What physical signs did you observe when you plucked each
band. Did you hear any sound? What produced the sound?
How different are the sounds produced by each band with
different thickness?

This time use the fingers of one hand to stretch one of the elastics.
Pluck the elastic with the fingers of the other hand and observe.
Q3.

5.

Are there changes in the note when you plucked the stretched
band?

Repeat step 4 with the other elastic bands.
Q4.

Arrange the elastics in sequence from the highest note to the
lowest note produced.

When we talk or make any sound, our vocal cords vibrate. When there
are no vibrations felt, no sound is produced. This means that sounds are
caused by vibrations. Vibrations of molecules are to the to-and-fro or backand-forth movement of molecules. Vibrations are considered as a
disturbance that travels through a medium. This vibratory motion causes
energy to transfer to our ears and is interpreted by our brain. Sound waves
are examples of longitudinal waves. They are also known as mechanical
waves since sound waves need medium in order to propagate.
In Activity 1, vibrations produced by the elastic band produced sound.
The sounding box amplified (increase in amplitude) this sound.
Sound waves can travel in air. When they come in contact with our
eardrums, the vibrations of the air force our eardrums to vibrate which is
sensed and interpreted by our brain.

Can sound waves also travel in other media like solids
and liquids?


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You can try this one. Place your ear against one end of a tabletop. Ask
a friend to gently tap the other end of the table with a pencil or a ruler. What
happens? Then ask your friend to again gently tap the other end of the table
but this time, make sure that your ear is not touching the table. What
happens? In which situation did you encounter louder and more
pronounced sound? In which situation did you encounter the sound clearly?
Sound is produced by the slight tapping of the table with a pencil or a
ruler. This can be heard clearly at the other end of the table. This shows
that sound waves can also travel through wood or solid. Sound is more
distinct in solids than in air. This also means that sound is heard much
louder when it travels in solids than in air.
What about in liquids?
Can sound travel in liquids
too?

Liquids

are

better

transmitters of sound than
gases.

If

two

bodies

are

struck together underwater,
the sound heard by a person
who is underwater is louder

Figure 3: Molecules of different media

than when heard in air, but
softer than in solids.
As you can see in Figure 3, particles of solids are more closely packed
than particles of liquid and gas. This is why sound produced in solids is
much more distinct and loud than when it is propagated or produced in
liquids and gas. Between liquids and gases, on the other hand, liquid
particles appear more closely spaced than gases. This means that louder
sound will be produced in liquids than in gases.
Spacing of particles of the medium like solid, liquid and gas is an
important factor on how would is transmitted.

Take a look at Figure 3,

liquid particles are closer to each other than the particles in the gas. Sound
waves are transmitted easier in liquids. Between liquids and solids, the
particles of solids are even closer together than the liquid molecules;
therefore, sound travels even faster in solids than in liquids. Since different
media transmit sound differently, sound travels at different speeds in

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different materials. Since solid is the best transmitter of sound, sound
travels fastest in solids and slowest in gases.
The table below shows the speed of sound in different materials.
Table 1: Speed of sound in different materials
Materials
Air (0oC)
He (0oC)
H (20oC)
Water
Seawater
Iron and Steel
Aluminum
Hard wood

Speed of Sound
V (m/s)
331
1005
1300
1440
1560
5000
5100
4000

Sound speed is dependent on several factors such as (1) atmospheric
pressure, (2) relative humidity, and (3) atmospheric temperature. Remember
these weather elements you studied in your earlier grades? High values of
these elements lead to faster moving sound. When you are in the low lands
and the surrounding is hot, sound travels fast. Do you want to know why
sound travels faster in hot air? There are more molecular interactions that
happen in hot air. This is because the hot particles of air gain more kinetic
energy and so there is also an increase in the mean velocity of the
molecules. Since sound is a consequence of energy transfer through
collisions, more collisions and faster collisions means faster sound.
Going a little deeper on this, speed of sound basically depends on the
elastic property and the inertial property of the medium on which it
propagates. The elastic property is concerned with the ability of the material
to retain or maintain its shape and not to deform when a force is applied on
it. Solids as compared to liquids and gases have the highest elastic property.
Consequently, solid is the medium on which sound travels fastest. This
means that the greater the elastic property, the faster the sound waves
travel. The iniertial property, on the other hand, is the tendency of the
material to maintain its state of motion. More inertial property means the
more inert (more massive or greater mass density) the individual particles of
the medium, the less responsive they will be to the interactions between
neighbouring particles and the slower that the wave will be. Within a single
phase medium, like air for example, humid air is more inert than humid air.
This is because water that has changed to vapor is mixed with the air. This
phenomenon increases the mass density of air and so increases the inertial

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property of the medium. This will eventually decrease the speed of sound on
that medium.
Sound cannot travel in a vacuum. Remember that sound is a
mechanical wave which needs medium in order to propagate. If no matter
exists, there will be no sound. In the outer space, sound would not be
transmitted.
Sound waves possess characteristics common to all types of waves.
These are frequency, wavelength, amplitude, speed or velocity, period and
phase. Just like other waves, sound also exhibits wave properties just like
reflection, refraction, diffraction, and interference. More than these
properties are pitch and loudness of sound. Pitch refers to the highness or
lowness of sound. Loudness is how soft or how intense the sound is as
perceived by the ear and interpreted by the brain. Do you want to find out
more characteristics and properties of sound? Activity No. 2 will let your
discover some of these properties using your sounding box.

Activity 2
Properties and characteristics of sound
Objective
In this activity, you will use your sounding box to describe the
characteristics of sound and compare them with those of sound produced by
a guitar.
Materials Needed





Sounding Box
Wooden rod
Ruler
Guitar

Procedure
Part 1: Sounding the Box...
1.

Label the rubber bands of
your sounding box as S1, S2
and so on. Labeling should start with the thinnest rubber band.

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122

2.

Pluck each rubber band. Listen to the sounds produced.
Q1. What did you observed when you plucked each of the rubber bands
and sound is produced? How then is sound produced?
Q2. Is there a difference in the sound produced by each of the rubber
bands? How do they differ?
Q3. Which band produced a higher sound? Which band produced a
lower sound?
Q4. How can you make a softer sound? How can you make a louder
sound?
Q5. What factors affect the pitch and loudness of the sound produced
by the rubber bands?

3.

Stretch one of the rubber bands and while doing so, pluck it again.
Q6. Is there a change in the sound produced when you pluck the
rubber band while stretching it? How does stretching the rubber
band affect the pitch of the sound produced?

4.

Place a ruler (on its edge) across
the sounding box as shown in
Figure 3. Pluck each rubber band
and observe.
Q7. Is there a difference in the
sound produced when the
ruler is placed across the
box?

5.

ruler

ruler

Figure 3: With stretch rubber
bands

Move the ruler off center to the left or to a
diagonal position so that one side of each
rubber band is shorter than the other side
(Figure 4). Pluck again each rubber band on
each side of the ruler and observe.
Figure 4: Diagonal
Stretching of the bands


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Q8. Which part of the rubber band (shorter side or longer side) provides
higher pitch? Which part provides lower pitch?
Q9. Again, what factors affect the pitch of the sound produced by the
rubber bands?
Part 2: The Guitar...
6.

Strum each guitar string without holding the frets. (String #0 is the
lower most string while string #6 is the uppermost string.)

7.

Record all you observations in the table provided.
String #
0
1
2
3
4
5
6

Pitch (High or Low)

Q10. Which string vibrates fastest when strummed?
Q11. Which string vibrates slowest when strummed?
Q12. Which string has the highest frequency?
Q13. Which string has the highest pitch?
Q14. Which has the lowest frequency?
Q15. Which string has the lowest pitch?
Q16. How would you relate pitch and frequency?

The highness or lowness of sound is known as the pitch of a sound or
a musical note. In Activity No. 2 you were able to relate vibrations, frequency
and pitch using your improvised sounding box and a guitar. The pitch of a
high frequency sound is also high and a low frequency sound is also; lower
in pitch.
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When you were in your
earlier grades you studied about
the human ear. Our ear and that
of animals are the very sensitive
sound detectors. The ear is a part
of the peripheral auditory system.
It is divided into three major parts:
the outer ear, the middle ear and
the inner ear.
The outer ear called the
pinna collects the sound waves
and focuses them into the ear
canal. This canal transmits the
sound waves to the eardrum.

Figure 4: The human ear

The ear canal is the eardrum membrane or the tympanum. It
separates the outer and the middle ears physically. Air vibrations set the
eardrum membrane in motion that causes the three smallest bones
(hammer, anvil and stirrup) to move. These three bones convert the smallamplitude vibration of the eardrum into large-amplitude oscillations. These
oscillations are transferred to the inner ear through the oval window.
Behind the oval window is a snail-shell shaped liquid –filled organ
called the cochlea. The large-amplitude oscillations create waves that travel
in liquid. These sounds are converted into electrical impulses, which are
sent to the brain by the auditory nerve. The brain, interprets these signals
as words, music or noise.
Did you know that we can only sense within the frequency range of
about 20 Hz to about 20000 Hz? Vibrational frequencies beyond 20 000 Hz
is called ultrasonic frequencies while extremely low frequencies are known
as infrasonic frequencies. Our ear cannot detect ultrasonic or infrasonic
waves. But some animals like dogs can hear sounds as high as 50 000 Hz
while bats can detect sounds as high as 100 000 Hz.


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We can see images of your baby
brother or sister when the OB-Gyne
asks your mommy or nanay to
undergo
ultrasound.
Ultrasonic
waves are used to help physicians see
our
internal
organs.
Nowadays,
ultrasonic technology is of three kinds:
2-dimensional, 3-dimensional, and 4dimensional categories. In the 3- and
4-dimensional ultrasonic technologies,
the features of the fetus are very
clearly captured.

Figure 5: Ultrasound

It has also been found that ultrasonic waves can be used as rodent
and insect exterminators. The very loud ultrasonic sources in a building will
usually drive the rodents away or disorient cockroaches causing them to die
from the induced erratic behavior. What other applications of sound do you
have in mind? Do you want to share them too?

Loudness and Intensity
Do you still remember intensity
of light in the previous module? In
sound, intensity refers to the amount
of energy a sound wave. Figure 6
shows varying intensity of sound. High
amplitude sounds usually carry large
energy and have higher intensity while
low amplitude sound carry lesser
amount of energy and have lower
intensity.
Figure 6: Varying sounds

Sound intensity is measured by various instruments like the
oscilloscope. Loudness is a psychological sensation that differs for different
people. Loudness is subjective but is still related to the intensity of sound.
In fact, despite the subjective variations, loudness varies nearly
logarithmically with intensity. A logarithmic scale is used to describe sound
intensity, which roughly corresponds to loudness. The unit of intensity level
for sound is the decibel (dB), which was named after Alexander Graham Bell

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126

who invented the telephone. On the decibel scale, an increase of 1 dB means
that sound intensity is increased by a factor of 10.
Father and son duo
interprets the loudness of a
sound differently. The son
considers the rock music a
soft music while the father
considers it a loud sound. The
father may even interpret the
sound as a distorted sound,
which is known as noise.
Noise is wave that is not
pleasing to the senses.

Figure 7: Father and Son Duo

Table 2. Sound Levels of different sound sources

Source of sound
Jet engine, 30 m away
Threshold of pain
Amplified rock music
Old subway train
Average factory
Busy street traffic
Normal conversation
Library
Close whisper
Normal breathing
Threshold of hearing

Level (dB)
140
120
115
100
90
70
60
40
20
10
0

Let’s see how you interpret sound yourselves. Look for 3 more
classmates and try Activity 3. This will test your ability to design and at the
same time show your talents!


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Activity 3
Big time gig!
Objectives
In this activity, you should be able to:
1.
2.

create musical instruments using indigenous products and
use these instruments to compose tunes and present in a Gig.
Students may also utilize other indigenous musical instruments.

Materials Needed


Indigenous materials such as sticks, bottles or glassware available in
your locality to be used as musical instrument



Localized or improvised stringed instruments



Localized or improvised drum set

Procedure
1.

Form a group of four (4). One can play a stringed instrument, while the
other can play the drum and the 3rd member can use the other
instrument that your group will design or create. The last member will
be your group’s solo performer.

2.

Look for local materials which you can use to create different musical
instruments.

3.

Try to come up with your own composition using the instruments you
have created.

4.

In the class GIG you are to play and sing at least 2 songs (any song of
your choice and your original composition).

5.

Check the Rubric included to become familiar with the criteria for
which you will be rated.

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Big Time Gig!
Task/
Criteria

4


Improvised/
Localized
musical
instruments

Rubric Scoring



Makes use of
local or
indigenous
materials
The improvised
instruments
produce good
quality sound
comparable to
standard
musical
instruments.

The group’s original
composition has
good melody.
Composition
The lyrics provided
are thematic and
meaningful


Performance


Cooperation
and Team
Work

The group was
able to
successfully use
the improvised
musical
instruments in
their GIG.
The group was
able to provide
good quality
rendition or
performance.

Each one of them
completed their task
so as to come up
with the expected
output - GIG

3

2

1

Score






Makes use
of local
materials
only.
The
improvised
instruments
produce
good quality
sound.





Makes use
of local
materials
only.
The
improvised
instruments
produce fair
quality
sound.

The group’s
original
composition
has fair melody
and the lyrics
provided are
thematic and
meaningful

The group’s
original
composition
has fair melody
and the lyrics
provided are
NOT thematic
but meaningful





The group
was able to
successfully
use the
improvised
musical
instruments
in their
GIG.
 The group
was able to
provide fair
rendition.
3 out of 4
members
completed their
task so as to
come up with
the expected
output - GIG



The group
was able to
use the
improvised
musical
instruments
but some
were out of
tune
The group
was able to
provide fair
rendition.

2 out of 4
completed their
task so as to
come up with
the expected
output - GIG

Makes use
of local
materials
only.
 The sound
produced by
the
improvised
instruments
is not clear
and
distinct.
The group’s
original
composition
has fair melody
and the lyrics
provided are
NEITHER
thematic nor
meaningful
 The group
was able to
use the
improvised
musical
instruments
but MOST
were out of
tune
 The group
was able to
provide fair
rendition

Only 1 out of
the 4 members
did his/her job

TOTAL


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How was your GIG? Did you enjoy this activity? Aside from the
concepts and principles in sound you learned and applied for a perfect
performance what other insights can you identify? Can you extend your
designs to come up with quality instruments using indigenous materials?
You can be famous with your artworks...
Sound waves are mechanical waves than need for a medium for sound
to propagate. Vibrations of the medium create a series of compression and
rarefaction which results to longitudinal waves. Sound can travel in all
media but not in vacuum. Sound is fastest in matter that is closely packed
like solid and slowest in gas. Speed of sound is dependent on factors like
temperature, humidity and air pressure. High temperature brings much
faster sound. Increased humidity, on the other hand makes sound travel
slower. As pressure is increased, speed is also increased. Inertial and elastic
properties of the medium also play an important part in the speed of sound.
Solids tend to be highly elastic than gases and thus sound travel fastest in
solids. In a single phase matter however, the inertial property which is the
tendency of the material to maintain its motion also affect speed of sound.
Humid air is more massive and is more inert than dry air. This condition
brings lesser molecular interactions and eventually slower sound. Sound,
just like other waves do have characteristics such as speed, frequency,
wavelength, amplitude, phase and period. Like any other wave, sound
exhibit properties like reflection, refraction, interference and diffraction.
Other properties are loudness and pitch. Pitch is dependent on the
frequency of sound wave. The higher frequency the higher the pitch of the
sound produced.
Organisms like us are capable of sensing sound through our ears.
Just like other organism, our ears do have parts that perform special tasks
until the auditory signals reach and are interpreted by our brain.
Frequencies beyond the audible to human are known as ultrasonic (beyond
the upper limit) and infrasonic (below the lower limit). Intensity and
loudness are quantitative and qualitative descriptions of the energy carried
by the wave. High amplitude waves are intense and are sensed as loud
sound. Low amplitude sound waves are soft sound. Music is a special sound
that forms patterns and are appealing to our sense of hearing.
Reading Materials/Links/Websites
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/sound/u11l2c.cfm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound#Sound_wave_properties_and_characteristics
http://personal.cityu.edu.hk/~bsapplec/characte.htm
http://www.slideshare.net/agatonlydelle/physics-sounds
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MODULE

4

LIGHT

Do you still remember Sir Isaac Newton? What about Christian
Huygens? Did you meet them in your earlier grades? These people were the
first to study about light.
In this module, you will learn about light. You will also find out that
there are different sources of light and that light exhibits different
characteristics and properties. Finally, you will design a simple activity to
test whether light travels in a straight light or not.

What are the common sources of light?
How do these common sources produce light?
What are the common properties and
characteristics of light?

Sir Isaac Newton believed that light behaves like a particle while
Christian Huygens believed that light behaves like a wave. A 3rd scientist,
Max Planck came up with what is now known as the Dual-Nature of Light.
He explained that light can be a particle and can also be a wave. To
complete our knowledge about the nature of light, James Clark Maxwell
proposed the Electromagnetic Theory of Light.
While these scientists dig deep into the nature of light and how light
are propagated, let us be more familiar with ordinary materials we use as
common sources of light. The Sun for example is known as a natural source
of light. Sun is also considered as a luminous body (an object capable of
producing its own light). Other sources are the lamps, bulbs, and candles.
These are the artificial sources.
In your earlier grades you learned about energy transformation.
Energy transformation is needed to convert or transform forms of energy to
light or other forms. In bulbs, electric potential is converted to light. In
lamps, chemical energy is transformed to light.
Grade 7 7 Science:Learner’s In Motion(Second Part)
Grade Science: Energy Material

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In Activity 1, you will try to observe transformation of chemical energy
from chemical substances such as oil to light. Further, you will also gather
data which chemical substance is best by relating it to the brightness of the
light produced. In this activity, you will use the langis kandila or lampara as
we call it in the Philippines or the Diwali lights as it is known in other
countries like India.

Activity 1
Light sources: Langis kandila or lampara
Objectives
In
1.
2.
3.

this activity, you should be able to:
construct a simple photometer;
determine which chemical substance produce the brightest light; and
infer that brightness of light is dependent on the distance of the
source.

Materials Needed









an electric glow lamp (Small lamp is needed)
candle - weighing 75 grams
wedge with sloping surfaces (sharp angle about 60° to 70° that serve
as the photometer (made of white wood or paper)
langis kandila or lampara
variety of vegetable oil (about 5)
aluminum pie containers or small clay pots
cotton string for wick
set of books or tripod that will serve as platform for Diwali lights

Procedure
Part 1: Improvised Photometer
Arrange the
electric glow lamp,
the candle and the
wedge as shown on
the right.
Make
sure that you do
this activity in a
dark room for good
results.
50

2

1
Figure 1. Improvised photometer set up

132

Illuminate the side “A” of the wedge by the lamp and side “B” by the
candle. In general the lamp side will look brighter than the other.
Move the wedge nearer to the candle to a spot at which you as an
observer, looking down on the two surfaces of the wedge (from “C”) cannot
see any difference between them in respect of brightness. (They are then
equally illuminated; that is to say the candle light falling on “B” is equal in
intensity to the electric light falling on “A.”)
Calculate the power of the lamp relative to the candle. (E.g. If both side
of the wedge showed equal illumination when it is about 200 cm from 1, and
50 cm from 2, the distances are as 4 to 1. But as light falls off according to
the square of the distance: (200)2 = 40 000 and (50)2 = 2 500 or 16 to 1.).
Thus the candle-power of the lamp is 16.
Q1. What is the candle power of your set up? (Include your computations.)
Part 2: Langis Kandila or Lampara
1.

Make 5 langis kandila or lampara
using aluminium pie containers
or small clay pots as shown.
Label your langis kandila as DLKL1, DL-KL2 and so on.

Figure 2: Langis kandila or lampara

2.

Pour different variety of vegetable oil in each of the pot.

3.

Use the improvised photometer to determine the brightness of each of
the candle.

4.

Replace the candle you used in the 1st part with the langis kandila.

5.

Compute the candle power of the lamp with respect to the langis
kandila. You may refer to step 4 for the step by step process of
determining the candle power using the improvised photometer. Record
your data on the provided table:
Table 1. Brightness of Vegetable Oil Variety
Diwali Lights/Langis
Kandila
DL-LK 1
DL-LK 2
DL-LK 3
DL-LK 4
DL-LK 5


Vegetable Oil
Variety
Canola Oil
Butter
Margarine
Corn Oil
Olive Oil

Brightness/Luminous
Intensity (Candela)

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Q2. Which among the langis kandila or lampara is the brightest?
Part 3: Intensity vs Distance from light source
1.

Position your brightest Diwali light or langis kandila 20 inches or about
50 cm from the wedge. Compute the brightness of the Diwali light.

2.

Move the langis kandila or Diwali light 10 cm closer then compute the
brightness.

3.

Repeat step 2 and each time move the langis kandila or Diwali light 10
cm closer to the wedge. Compute the corresponding brightness and
record your data on the table below.
Distance from the
Wedge (cm)
50
40
30
20
10

Observation

Brightness
(Candela)

Q3. How would you relate the brightness or intensity of light with the
distance from the source?
Brightness of light depends on the source and the distance from the
source. Brightness however, is qualitative and is dependent of the person’s
perception. Quantitatively, brightness can be expressed as luminous
intensity with a unit known as candela. The unit expression came from the
fact that one candle can approximately represent the amount of visible
radiation emitted by a candle flame. However, this decades-ago assumption
is inaccurate. But we still used this concept in Activity 1 as we are limited to
an improvised photometer. If you are using a real photometer on the other
hand, luminous intensity refers to the amount of light power emanating from a
point source within a solid angle of one steradian.
Further, in Activity 1, varied chemical sources produced different light
intensity. Likewise, different distances from the light source provided varied
intensity.
As mentioned earlier, James Clark Maxwell discovered the
Electromagnetic Theory of Light. He combined the concepts of light,
electricity and magnetism to come up with his theory forming
electromagnetic waves. Since these are waves they also exhibit different
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characteristics of waves such as wavelength, frequency and wave speed
which you have studied in the previous module. There are different forms of
electromagnetic waves arranged according to frequency. This arrangement of
the electromagnetic waves is known as Electromagnetic spectrum. The
visible part of which is known as white light or visible light. The next activity
will lead you to explore the characteristics of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Activity 2
My spectrum wheel
Objectives
In this activity, you should be able to

1. construct a spectrum wheel and
2. explore the characteristics of light such as energy, frequency and
wavelength.
Materials Needed





Spectrum Wheel Pattern
Cardboard or illustration board
Button fastener
Glue or paste

TAKE
CARE!

Handle all sharp
objects with care.

Procedure
Part 1: Spectrum Wheel
Cut the two art files that make up the wheel on the next pages.
Cut along the lines drawn on the top wheel. The small window near the
center of the wheel should be completely cut out and removed.
Punch a whole into the center of the two wheels together. You may use a
button fastener to hold the two wheels securely in place, one on top of the
other, but they should be free to rotate relative to each other.
When you see a region of the EM spectrum show up in the open window and
the "W,F,E" that correspond to that region showing up under the flaps then
you know that you have done it right.


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135

Source: Sonoma State University (http://www.swift.sonoma.edu

54

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55
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Part 2: Characteristics of Light
Try out your Spectrum Wheel by positioning the inner most of the flaps on
EM SPECTRUM. This will simultaneously position the other flaps to
ENERGY, WAVELENGTH & FREQUENCY.
Turn the upper wheel and observe the combinations.
Fill in the table below with the corresponding combinations you have
observed using your Spectrum Wheel.
Table 1. Characteristics of Light
EM Spectrum

Energy

Frequency

Radio
Microwave
Infrared
Visible Light
Ultraviolet
X-Ray
Gamma Ray

Wavelength

Frequency x
wavelength

Q1. How are frequency and wavelength related for a specific region of the
spectrum?
Q2. What can you observe with the values of the product of frequency and
wavelength in the different spectra?
Q3. How is ENERGY related to FREQUENCY?

Now that we are familiar with the electromagnetic spectrum and the
corresponding energies, frequencies and wavelength probably we can see
some applications of these in everyday living. UV rays are highly energetic
than other spectral regions on its left. This could be a possible reason why
we are not advised to stay under the sun after 9:00 in the morning. Prolong
use of mobile phones may cause ear infection. This may be due to a higher
energy emitted by microwaves used in cellular phones than radio waves
commonly used in other communication devices. What about the visible
spectrum? Do you want to know more about this spectral region?

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138

What are the frequencies and
energies of the visible spectrum? This is
the visible light. Sir Isaac Newton used a
prism to show that light which we
ordinarily see as white consists of
different
colors.
Dispersion
is
a
phenomenon in which a prism separates
white light into its component colors.
Activity 3 will provide you more
information about visible light. In this
activity, you will be able to detect
relationships between colors, energy,
frequency, wavelength and intensity.

Figure 3. Color spectrum

Activity 3
Colors of light – color of life!
Objectives
In this activity, you should be able to

1. make a color spectrum wheel;
2. explore the characteristics of color lights; and
3. observe how primary colors combine to form other colors.

Materials Needed


Color Spectrum Wheel Pattern Cardboard or illustration board



white screen



plastic filters (green, blue and red)



3 pieces of high intensity flashlights



button fastener



glue or paste


TAKE
CARE!

Handle all sharp
objects with care

57
139

Procedure
Part 1: Color Wheel
1.

Cut the two art files that make up the wheel on the next pages.

2.

Cut along the lines drawn on the top wheel. Cut the 2 sides as shown.
The small window near the center of the wheel should be completely cut
out and removed.

3.

Punch a hole at the center of the two wheels. You may use a button
fastener to secure the two wheels together one on top of the other, but
they should be free to rotate relative to each other.

4.

When you see a region of the Color spectrum show up in the open
window and the "W,F,E" that correspond to that region showing up
under the flaps then you know that you have done it right.

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140



59

141

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142

Part 2: Characteristics of Light
1.

Try out your Color Spectrum Wheel by positioning the inner most of the
flaps on COLOR SPECTRUM. This will simultaneously position the
other flaps to ENERGY, WAVELENGTH & FREQUENCY.

2.

Turn the upper wheel and observe the combinations.

3.

Fill in the table below with the corresponding combinations you have
observed using your Spectrum Wheel.
Table 1. Characteristics of Color Lights
Color
Spectrum
Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Violet

4.

Energy
(eV)

Frequency Wavelength
(THz)
(nm)

Frequency x wavelength
(m/s)

You will need to convert the equivalents of frequencies to Hz and the
equivalent wavelengths to meters. Note that terra (T) is a prefix for 1014
while nano (n) is a prefix equivalent to 10-9.

Q1. Which color registers the highest frequency? shortest wavelength?
Q2. Which color registers the lowest frequency? longest wavelength?
Q3. What do you observe with the wavelength and frequency of the different
colors?
Q4. What did you observe with the product of wavelength and frequency for
each color? What is the significance of this value?
Q5. What can you say about the speed of the different colors of light in air?
Q6. Give a plausible explanation as to why white light separate into
different colors.
Part 3: Combining Colors
1.

Cover the lens of the flashlight with blue plastic filter. Do the same with
the 2 other flashlights. The 2nd flashlight with green plastic filter and
the 3rd with red plastic filter.


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143

2.

Ask 2 other groupmates to hold the 2 other flashlight while you hold on
to the 3rd one. Shine these flashlights on the white screen and note the
colors projected on the screen.

3.

Let 2 color lights from the flashlights overlap. Observe what color is
produced and fill in the table below.
Table 2. Color that you see
Color of Plastic Filter
Color that you see projected on the screen
Green
Blue
Red
Table 3. Color Mixing
Color Combination
Green + Blue
Blue + Red
Red + Green
Red + Green + Blue

Resulting Color

Dispersion, a special kind of refraction, provided us color lights. This
phenomenon is observed when white light passes through a triangular
prism. When white light enters a prism and travels slower in speed than in
vacuum, color separation is observed due to variation in the frequencies
(and wavelength) of color lights. Remember the concept of refractive indices
in the previous module? The variations in frequencies (and wavelengths) are
caused by the different refractive indices of the varying color light. Thus,
blue light with greater refractive index refracts more and appears to bend
more than red light. But do you really think that light will bend when
travelling in space? The last activity in this module will test your ability to
design an experiment to test if light travels in a straight line or not.

Activity 4
Light up straight!
Objective
In this activity, you should be able to design an experiment given
several materials to show that light travels in a straight line.
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144

Materials Needed








2 pieces of cardboard
Handle all sharp
objects with care.
cutting tool
TAKE
bright room
Handle all lighting
CARE!
ruler or meter stick
tools with care to
avoid being burnt.
permanent marker
pencil
any object (e.g. medium size Johnson’s face powder box)

General Instructions
1.

Given the materials design a 5-6 step procedure to test that light
follows a straight line or not.

2.

Remember that you are only allowed to use the materials specified in
this particular activity.

3.

Check the rubric scoring for your guide.

Lighting Up Straight!
Rubric Scoring
Task/
Criteria

4




Experiment
Procedure



Steps are
logically
presented.
The procedure
included about
5-6 steps.
All materials
given to the
group are
utilized in the
procedure

3






Steps are
logically
presented.
The
procedure
included
about 3-4
steps.
75% of the
materials
given to the
group are
utilized in the
procedure


2






Steps are
logically
presented.
The
procedure
included
about 3-4
steps.
50% of the
materials
given to the
group are
utilized in
the
procedure

1






Score

Steps are
logically
presented.
The
procedure
included
about 2-3
steps.
25% of the
materials
given to the
group are
utilized in
the
procedure

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Result of
Experiment
Try-out/
Feasibility

Cooperation
and Team
Work

The group has
successfully
attained the object
to prove that light
travels in a
straight line using
their designed
procedure.

Each one of them
completed their
task so as to come
up with the
expected output.

The group has
attained the
object to prove
that light travels
in a straight line
using their
designed
procedure but
there are some
steps that are not
very clear.
About 75% of the
members
completed their
task so as to
come up with the
expected output.

The group has
partially
attained the
object to prove
that light
travels in a
straight line
using their
designed
procedure.

The group had
some effort but
was not able to
attained the
object to prove
that light
travels in a
straight line
using their
designed.

About 50% of
the members
completed their
task so as to
come up with
the expected
output.

About 25% of
the members
did his/her job

TOTAL

Light, accordingly has wavelike nature and particle-like nature. As a
wave, it is part of the electromagnetic waves as the visible spectrum. This
visible spectrum is also known as white light. White light undergoes
dispersion when it passes through a prism. The variations of refractive
indices result to variations in the refraction of color lights dependent on the
frequencies (and wavelength) of the color lights. This brings about blue light
being refracted more than the other color lights and thus appears to be
bent. However, light travels in a straight line path in a particular medium.
Brightness or intensity and colors are special properties of light. These
can be observed in different phenomena such as rainbows, red sunset, and
blue sky. You can identify many other applications of light and colors as you
become keen observers of natural phenomena.

Reading Materials/Links/Websites
http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/resources/explorations/groundup/
lesson/glossary/term-full.php?t=dispersion
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/refrn/u14l4a.cfm

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MODULE

5

HEAT

For sure, you have used the word ‘heat’ many times in your life. You
have experienced it; you have observed its effects. But have you ever
wondered what heat really is?
In your earlier grades, you learned that heat moves from the source to
other objects or places. Example is the kettle with water placed on top of
burning stove. The water gets hot because heat from the burning stove is
transferred to it.
This module aims to reinforce your understanding of heat as an
energy that transfers from one object or place to another. You will determine
the conditions necessary for heat to transfer and the direction by which heat
transfers by examining the changes in the temperature of the objects
involved. You will observe the different methods of heat transfer and
investigate some factors that affect these methods. The results will help you
explain why objects get hot or cold and why some objects are seemingly
colder or warmer than the others even if they are exposed to the same
temperature.

 How is heat transferred between objects or places?
 Do all objects equally conduct, absorb, or emit heat?

What is Heat?
Have you ever heard of the term “thermal energy” before? Any object is
said to possess thermal energy due to the movement of its particles. How is
heat related to thermal energy? Like any other forms of energy, thermal
energy can be transformed into other forms or transferred to other objects or
places. Heat is a form of energy that refers to the thermal energy that is ‘in

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transit’ or in the process of being transferred. It stops to become heat when
the transfer stops. After the energy is transferred, say to another object, it
may again become thermal energy or may be transformed to other forms.
Thermometer
Heat transfer is related to
change in temperature or change in
the relative hotness or coldness of an
object. Most of the activities found in
Figure 1. Thermometer
this module will ask you to collect and
analyze temperature readings to arrive at the desired concepts. To achieve
this, you have to use the laboratory thermometer, which is different from
the clinical thermometer we use to determine our body temperature. The
kind that you most probably have in your school is the glass tube with fluid
inside, usually mercury or alcohol. Always handle the thermometer with
care to avoid breaking the glass. Also, be sure that you know how to read
and use the device properly to get good and accurate results. Inform your
teacher if you are not sure of this so that you will be guided accordingly.

Activity 1
Warm me up, cool me down
Objective
In this activity, you should be able to describe the condition necessary
for heat transfer to take place and trace the direction in which heat is
transferred.
Materials Needed







2 small containers (drinking cups or glasses)
2 big containers (enough to accommodate the small containers)
tap water
hot water
food coloring
laboratory thermometers (with reading up to 100oC)

Procedure
1.

Label the small and big containers as shown
in Figure 2.
Figure 2

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148

2.

Half fill containers 1, 2, and A with tap water. Half fill also container B
with hot water. Be careful when you pour hot water into the container.

3.

Add few drops of food coloring on the larger containers.

4.

Measure the initial temperature of
water in each of the 4 containers, in
degree Celsius (°C). Record your
measurements in Table 1.

5.

Carefully place container 1 inside
container A (Figure 3). This will be
your Setup 1.

6.

Place also container 2 inside container B. This will be your Setup 2.

7.

Measure the temperature of water in all containers 2 minutes after
arranging the setups. Record again your measurements in the table
(after 2 minutes).

8.

Continue to measure and record the temperature of water after 4, 6, 8,
and 10 minutes. Write all your measurements in the table below.

Setup 1

Setup 2

Figure 3

Table 1. Temperature readings for Setup 1 and Setup 2
Temperature (°C) of Water After
Container
Setup
1
Setup
2

0 min
(initial)

2
mins

4
mins

6
mins

8
mins

10
mins

1-Tap water
A-Tap water
2-Tap water
B-Hot water

Q1. In which setup did you find changes in the temperature of water inside
the containers? In which setup did you NOT find changes in the
temperature of water inside the containers?
Q2. In which setup is heat transfer taking place between the containers?
Q3. What then is the condition necessary for heat transfer to take place
between objects?
9.

Refer to the changes in the temperature of water in the setup where
heat transfer is taking place.


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149

Q4. Which container contains water with higher initial temperature? What
happens to its temperature after 2 minutes?
Q5. Which container contains water with lower initial temperature? What
happens to its temperature after 2 minutes?
Q6. If heat is related to temperature, what then is the direction of heat that
transfers between the containers?
Q7. What happens to the temperature of water in each container after 4, 6,
8, and 10 minutes? What does this tell us about the heat transfer
taking place between the containers?
Q8. Until when do you think will heat transfer continue to take place
between the containers?

Temperature (°C)

If your teacher allows it, you may continue to measure the temperature
of the water in both containers for your basis in answering Q8. And if you
plot the temperature vs. time graph of the water in both containers, you will
obtain a graph similar to Figure 4.

Time (s)

Figure 4
10. Analyze the graph and answer the following questions:
Q9.

What does the blue curved line on the graph show? Which container
does this represent?

Q10. What does the red curved line on the graph show? Which container
does this represent?
Q11. What does the orange broken line in the graph show? Is heat transfer
still taking place during this time? If yes, where is heat transfer now
taking place?
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If you do not have laboratory thermometers in your school, you may
still perform the activity above using your sense of touch. You can use your
fingers or hands to feel the objects being observed. But be very careful with
this especially if you are dealing with hot water. You have to take note also
that touching is not always reliable. Try out this simple activity below.
Prepare three containers. Half fill one container with hot water, but not
hot enough to burn your hand. Pour very cold water into the second
container and lukewarm water in the third container. First,
simultaneously place your left hand in the hot water and your right
hand in the cold water. Keep them in for a few minutes. Then take
them out, and place both of them together into the container with
lukewarm water. How do your hands feel? Do they feel equally cold?

If you try out this activity, you will observe that your left hand feels
the water cold while your right hand feels it warm. This is due to the initial
conditions of the hands before they were placed into the container with
lukewarm water. So if you use sensation to determine the relative hotness or
coldness of the objects, make sure to feel the objects with different hands or
fingers.

How Does Heat Transfer?
In the previous activity, you explored the idea that heat transfers
under certain conditions. But how exactly is heat transferred? The next
activities will allow you to explore these different methods by which heat
can be transferred from one object or place to another.

Activity 2
Which feels colder?
Objective
In this activity, you should be able to describe heat transfer by
conduction and compare the heat conductivities of materials based on
their relative coldness.
Materials Needed



small pieces of different objects (copper/silver coin, paper, aluminum
foil, iron nail, etc.)
laboratory thermometer


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Procedure
Part A: To be performed one day ahead.
1.

Place a laboratory thermometer inside the freezer of the refrigerator.

2.

Place also your sample objects inside the freezer at the same time.
Leave them inside the freezer overnight.

Part B: To be performed the next day.
3.

Take the temperature reading from the thermometer inside the freezer.

Q1. What is the temperature reading inside the freezer?
Q2. If ever there is a way to measure also the temperature of the objects
placed inside the freezer, how do you think will their temperature
compare with each other and with the temperature reading from the
thermometer?
4.

Touch one object lightly with your finger and feel it.

Q3. Did heat transfer take place between your finger and the object? If yes,
how and in what direction did heat transfer between them?
Q4. Did you feel the object cold? What made it so? (Relate this to your
answer in Q3.)
5.

Touch the rest of the objects inside the freezer using different fingers,
then observe.

Q5. Did the objects feel equally cold? What does this tell us about the
amount of heat transferred when you touch each object?
Q6. Which among the objects feels ‘coldest’? Which feels ‘warmest’?
Q7. Which among the objects is the best conductor of heat? Which object is
the poorest conductor of heat?
Activity 2 demonstrates heat transfer by conduction, one of the
methods by which heat is transferred. Conduction takes place between
objects that are in contact with each other. The energy from the object of
higher temperature is transferred to the other object through their particles
that are close or in contact with each other. Then the particles receiving the
energy will also transfer the energy to other places within the object through
their neighboring particles. During this process, only the energy moves, not
the matter itself. This can be observed in Activity 1. You have observed that
the hot colored water stayed inside container B and did not mix with the
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water inside container 2. So this shows that only the energy transferred
between the containers.
Here is another example of heat transfer by conduction. Think of a
metal spoon put in a bowl of a hot champorado that you were about to eat
when you suddenly remembered that you had to do first a very important
task. When you came back, you noticed that the handle of the spoon
became really hot! How do you think this happened? The heat from the
champorado is transferred to the part of the spoon that is in direct contact
with the food by conduction. Then it is transferred to the cooler regions of
the spoon through its particles. Why did you feel the spoon hot? When you
touched the spoon, heat is also transferred to your hand by conduction. So
your hand gained heat or thermal energy, and this makes you feel the object
hot.
Can you now explain why your hand that was previously dipped into
hot water felt the lukewarm water cold while the other hand that was
previously dipped into very cold water felt it hot?
Heat Conductivities
In the previous activity, you found out that some objects conduct heat
faster than the others. This explains why we feel some objects colder or
warmer than the others even if they are of the same temperature. Which
usually feels warmer to our feet – the tiled floor or the rug?
More accurate and thorough experiments had been carried out long
before to determine the heat or thermal conductivity of every material. The
approximate values of thermal conductivity for some common materials are
shown below:
Table 2: List of thermal conductivities
Conductivity
Material
W/(m·K)
Silver
429
Copper
401
Gold
318
Aluminum

237

Ice
Glass, ordinary

2
1.7

of common materials
Material
Concrete
Water at 20°C
Rubber
Polypropylene
plastic
Wood
Air at 0°C

Conductivity
W/(m·K)
1.1
0.6
0.16
0.25
0.04 - 0.4
0.025

Solids that conduct heat better are considered good conductors of
heat while those which conduct heat poorly are generally called insulators.

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Metals are mostly good conductors of heat. When we use a pot or pan to
cook our food over a stove, we usually use a pot holder made of fabrics to
grasp the metal handle. In the process, we are using an insulator to prevent
our hand from being burned by the conductor, which is the metal pan or
pot. Why are woven fabrics that are full of trapped air considered good
insulators?

Activity 3
Move me up
You have previously learned that water is a poor conductor of heat, as
shown in Table 2. But why is it that when you heat the bottom of the pan
containing water, the entire water evenly gets hot quickly? Think of the
answer to this question while performing this next activity.
Objective
In this activity, you should be able to observe and describe convection
of heat through liquids.
Materials Needed






2 transparent containers (drinking glass, beaker, bottle)
dropper
hot water
cold water
piece of cardboard

Be careful not to bump the table or shake the container at any time during the
experiment.
Procedure
1.

Fill one of the glass containers with tap water.

2.

While waiting for the water to become still, mix in a separate container
a few drops of food coloring with a small amount of very cold water.
(You may also make the food coloring cold by placing the bottle inside the
refrigerator for at least an hour before you perform the activity.)

3.

Suck a few drops of cold food coloring using the dropper and slowly dip
the end of the medicine dropper into the container with tap water, down

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to the bottom. See to it that the colored water does not come out of the
dropper yet until its end reaches the bottom of the container.
4.

Slowly press the dropper to release a small amount of the liquid at the
bottom of the container. Then slowly remove the dropper from the
container, making sure not to disturb the water. Observe for few
minutes.

Q1. Does the food coloring stay at the bottom of the container or does it mix
with the liquid above it?
5.

Fill the other container with hot water.

6.

Place the cardboard over the top of the
container with hot water. Then carefully place
the container with tap water on top of it. The
cardboard must support the container on top
as shown in Figure 5.

Q2. What happens to the food coloring after
placing the container above the other
container? Why does this happen?

Figure 5

Q3. How is heat transfer taking place in the setup?
Where is heat coming from and where is it going?
Q4. Is there a transfer of matter, the food coloring, involved during the
transfer of heat?
Q5. You have just observed another method of heat transfer, called
convection. In your own words, how does convection take place? How
is this process different from conduction?
Q6. Do you think convection only occurs when the source of heat is at the
bottom of the container? What if the source of heat is near the top of
the container? You may try it by interchanging the containers in your
previous experiment.
What you found out in this experiment is generally true with fluids,
which include liquids and gases. In the next quarter, you will learn about
convection of heat in air when you study about winds.
So what happens in your experiment? When you placed the glass on
top of another glass with hot water, heat transfer takes place from the hot
water to the tap water including the colored water. This makes these liquids
expand and become lighter and float atop the cooler water at the top of the
container. This will then be replaced by the cooler water descending from
above.

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Activity 4
Keep it cold
So far you have learned that heat can be transferred by conduction
and convection. In each method, a material, either a solid or a liquid or gas,
is required. But can heat also transfer even without the material? If we stay
under the sun for a while, do we not feel warm? But how does the heat from
this very distant object reach the surface of the earth? The transfer of energy
from the sun across nearly empty space is made possible by radiation.
Radiation takes place even in the absence of material.
Do you know that all objects, even ordinary ones, give off heat into the
surrounding by radiation? Yes, and that includes us! But why don't we feel
it? We do not feel this radiation because we are normally surrounded by
other objects of the same temperature. We can only feel it if we happen to
stand between objects that have different temperature, for example, if we
stand near a lighted bulb, a burning object, or stay under the Sun.
All objects emit and absorb radiation although some objects are better
at emitting or absorbing radiation than others. Try out this next activity for
you to find out. In this activity, you will determine how different surfaces of
the object affect its ability to absorb heat.
Introduction
One hot sunny day, Cobi and Mumble walked into a tea shop and
each asked for an order of iced milk tea for takeout. The crew told them as
part of their promo, their customers can choose the color of the tumbler
they want to use, pointing to the array of containers made of the same
material but are of different colors and textures. Cobi favored the container
with a dull black surface, saying that the milk tea will stay cooler if it is
placed in a black container. Mumble remarked that the tea would stay even
cooler if it is in a container with bright shiny surface.
Prediction
1.

If you were in their situation, which container do you think will keep
the iced milk tea cooler longer? Explain your choice.

2.

Assuming an initial temperature of 5°C, predict the possible
temperatures of the milk tea in each container after 5, 10, 15, and 20
minutes. Assume that the containers are covered.

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Cup
Dull black
container
Bright shiny
container

0 min

Temperature (°C)
5 min
10 min
15 min

20 min

5°C
5°C

Task:
Design a laboratory activity that will enable you to test your prediction. See
to it that you will conduct a fair investigation. Start by answering the
questions below:


What problem are you going to solve? (Testable Question)
_____________________________________________________________________



What are you going to vary? (Independent variable)
_____________________________________________________________________



What are you not going to vary? (Controlled Variables)
_____________________________________________________________________



What are you going to measure? (Dependent variables)
_____________________________________________________________________

1.

Write down your step by step procedure. Note that you may use the
light from the sun or from the lighted bulb as your source of energy.

2.

Collect your data according to your procedure. Present your data in
tabulated form.

3.

Analyze your data and answer the following questions:

Q1. Which container warmed up faster?
Q2. Which container absorbs heat faster?
Q3. Which container will keep the milk tea cooler longer? Is your prediction
correct?
Q4. Will the same container also keep a hot coffee warmer longer that the
other?


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Activity 5
All at once
So far, you have learned that heat can be transferred in various ways.
You have also learned that different objects absorb, reflect, and transmit
heat differently. In the next activities, you will not perform laboratory
experiments anymore. All you have to do is to use your understanding so far
of the basic concepts of heat transfer to accomplish the given tasks or
answer the questions being asked.
Task 1
Heat transfer is evident everywhere around us. Look at the illustration
below. This illustration depicts several situations that involve heat transfer.
Your task is to identify examples of situations found in the illustration that
involve the different methods of heat transfer.

Figure 6

1.

Encircle three situations in the drawing that involve any method of heat
transfer. Label them 1, 2, and 3.

2.

Note that in your chosen situations, there could be more than one heat
transfer taking place at the same time. Make your choices more specific
by filling up Table 3.

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Table 3: Examples of heat transfer
Which object
Description
gives off heat?

Which object
receives heat?

What is the method of
heat transfer?

1

2

3

Task 2
Below is a diagram showing the basic parts of the thermos bottle.
Examine the parts and the different materials used. Explain how these help
to keep the liquid inside either hot or cold for a longer period of time.
Explain also how the methods of heat transfer are affected by each material.

Stopper made of plastic
or cork

Silvered inner and outer
glass wall
Hot
liquid

Vacuum between inner and
outer wall
Outer casing made of
plastic or metal

Ceramic base


Figure 7: Basic parts of
a thermos bottle

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In the next module, you will learn about another form of energy which
you also encounter in everyday life, electricity. Specifically, you will learn
about the different types of charges and perform activities that will
demonstrate how objects can be charged in different ways. You will also
build simple electric circuits and discuss how energy is transferred and
transformed in the circuit.

Links and References
Sootin, H. (1964). Experiments with heat. W.W. Norton and Company, Inc.
Where is Heat coming from and where is it going? Retrieved March 10, 2012
from http://www.powersleuth.org/docs/EHM%20Lesson%204%20FT.pdf
Conduction, Convection, Radiation: Investigating Heat Transfers. Retrieved
March 10, 2012 from
http://www.powersleuth.org/docs/EHM%20Lesson%205%20FT.pdf

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MODULE

6

ELECTRICITY

In Module 5, you learned about heat as a form of energy that can be
transferred through conduction, convection and radiation. You identified the
conditions that are necessary for these processes to occur and performed
activities that allowed you to investigate the different modes of heat transfer.
Finally, you learned to distinguish between insulators and conductors of
heat and were able to identify the uses of each.
Now you will learn about another form of energy which you encounter
in everyday life, electricity. You must be familiar with this energy since it is
the energy required to operate appliances, gadgets, and machines, to name
a few. Aside from these manmade devices, the ever-present nature of
electricity is demonstrated by lightning and the motion of living organisms
which is made possible by electrical signals sent between cells. However, in
spite of the familiar existence of electricity, many people do not know that it
actually originates from the motion of charges.
In this module, you will learn about the different types of charges and
perform activities that will demonstrate how objects can be charged in
different ways. You will also learn the importance of grounding and the use
of lightning rods. At the end of the module you will do an activity that will
introduce you to simple electric circuits. The key questions that will be
answered in this module are the following:

What are the different types of charges?
How can objects be charged?
What is the purpose of grounding?
How do lighting rods work?
What constitutes a complete electrical circuit?


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Activity 1
Charged interactions
Objectives
After performing this activity, you should be able to:
1.
2.
3.
4.

charge a material by friction;
observe the behavior of charged objects;
distinguish between the two types of charges; and
demonstrate how objects can be discharged.

Materials Needed:






Strong adhesive tape (transparent)
Smooth wooden table
Meter stick
Piece of wood (~1 meter long) to hold tape strips
Moistened sponge

Procedure:
1.

2.
3.

Using a meter stick, pull off a 40- to 60- cm piece of adhesive tape and
fold a short section of it (~1 cm) to make a nonsticky "handle" at that
end of the tape.
Lay the tape adhesive side down and slide your finger along the tape to
firmly attach it to a smooth, dry surface of a table.
Peel the tape from the surface vigorously pulling up on the handle you
have made on one end. See figure below. Make sure that the tape does
not curl up around itself or your fingers.

Figure 1. How to peel the tape off the surface

4.

While holding the tape up by the handle and away from other objects,
attach the tape to the horizontal wooden piece or the edge of your table.

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Make sure that the sticky side does not come in contact with other
objects.

Figure 2. Attaching the tape to a holder

5.

Bring your finger near, but not touching, the nonsticky side of the tape.
Is there any sign of interaction between the tape and the finger?
6. Try this with another object. Is there any sign of interaction between
the tape and this object?
7. Prepare another tape as described in steps 1 to 3.
8. Bring the nonsticky side of the two charged tapes you prepared near
each other. Do you observe any interaction?
9.
Drag a moistened sponge across the nonsticky side of the tapes and
repeat steps 5, 6 and 8. Do you still observe any interaction?
10. Record your observations.

Types of Charges
You have learned in previous modules that all matter are made up of
atoms or combinations of atoms called compounds. The varying atomic
composition of different materials gives them different electrical properties.
One of which is the ability of a material to lose or gain electrons when they
come into contact with a different material through friction.
In activity 1, when you pulled the tape vigorously from the table, some
of the electrons from the table’s surface were transferred to the tape. This
means that the table has lost some electrons so it has become positively
charged while the tape has gained electrons which made it negatively
charged. The process involved is usually referred to as charging up the
material, and in this particular activity the process used is charging by
friction.

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It is important to remember that during the charging process, ideally,
the amount of charge lost by the table is equal to the amount of charge
gained by the tape. This is generally true in any charging process. The idea
is known as:
The Law of Conservation of Charge
Charges cannot be created nor destroyed, but can be
transferred from one material to another.
The total charge in a system must remain constant.

Electric Force
When you brought your finger (and the other object) near the charged
tape, you must have observed that the tape was drawn towards your finger
as if being pulled by an invisible force. This force is called electric force
which acts on charges. An uncharged or neutral object that has balanced
positive and negative charges cannot experience this force.
We learned from the previous section that the tape is negatively
charged. The excess negative charge in the tape allowed it to interact with
your finger and the other object. Recall also that when you placed the two
charged tapes near each other they seem to push each other away. These
observations tell us that there are two kinds of electric force which arises
from the fact that there also two kinds of electrical charges. The interactions
between the charges are summarized in the following law:
Electrostatic Law
Like charges repel and unlike charges attract.

But your finger and the other object are neutral, so how did they
interact with the charged tape? Generally, a charged object and an
uncharged object tend to attract each other due to the phenomenon of
electrostatic polarization which can be explained by the electrostatic law.
When a neutral object is placed near a charged object, the charges within
the neutral object are rearranged such that the charged object attracts the
opposite charges within the neutral object. This phenomenon is illustrated
in Figure 3.

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Figure 3. Polarization of a neutral object

Discharging
In Activity 1, after dragging a moistened sponge on the surface of the
tape, you must have noticed that the previous interactions you observed has
ceased to occur. What happened? The lack of interaction indicates that the
electrical force is gone which can only happen when there are no more
excess charges in the tape, that is, it has become neutral.
The process of removing excess charges on an object is called
discharging. When discharging is done by means of providing a path
between the charged object and a ground, the process may be referred to as
grounding. A ground can be any object that can serve as an “unlimited”
source of electrons so that it will be capable of removing or transferring
electrons from or to a charged object in order to neutralize that object.
Grounding is necessary in electrical devices and equipment since it
can prevent the build-up of excess charges where it is not needed. In the
next activity, you will use the idea of grounding to discover another way of
charging a material.

Activity 2
To charge or not to charge
Objective
After performing this activity, you should be able to apply the
phenomenon of polarization and grounding to charge a material by
induction.


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Materials Needed:
 Styrofoam cup
 soft drink can
 balloon
Procedure:
1.

Mount the soft drink can on the Styrofoam cup as
seen in Figure 4.
Figure 4. Mounting of
soft drink can

2.

Charge the balloon by rubbing it off your hair
or your classmate’s hair. Note: This will work
only if the hair is completely dry.

3.

Place the charged balloon as near as possible
to the soft drink can without the two objects
Figure 5. Balloon placed
touching.
near the can

4.

Touch the can with your finger at
the end opposite the balloon.

5.

Remove your hand and observe
how the balloon and the can will
interact.

Figure 6. Touching the can

Q1. What do you think is the charge acquired by the
balloon after rubbing it against your hair?
Q2. In which part of the activity did polarization occur? Explain.
Q3. What is the purpose of touching the can in step #4?
Q4. Were you able to charge the soft drink can? Explain how this happened.
Q5. Based on your answer in Q1, what do you think is the charge of the soft
drink can?

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Conductors vs. Insulators
The behavior of a charged material depends on its ability to allow
charges to flow through it. A material that permits charges to flow freely
within it, is a good electrical conductor. A good conducting material will
allow charges to be distributed evenly on its surface. Metals are usually
good conductors of electricity.
In contrast to conductors, insulators are materials that hinder the
free flow charges within it. If charge is transferred to an insulator, the
excess charge will remain at the original location of charging. This means
that charge is seldom distributed evenly across the surface of an insulator.
Some examples of insulators are glass, porcelain, plastic and rubber.
The observations you made had in Activity 2 depended on the fact
that the balloon and the Styrofoam are good insulators while the soft drink
can and you are good conductors. You have observed that the soft drink can
has become charged after you touched one of its ends. The charging process
used in this activity is called induction charging, where an object can be
charged without actual contact to any other charged object.
In the next activity you will investigate another method of charging
which depends on the conductivity of the materials

Activity 3
Pass the charge
Objective
After performing this activity, you should be able to charge a material
by conduction.
Materials Needed:




2 styrofoam cups
2 softdrink cans
balloon

Procedure:
1.
2.

Repeat all steps of Activity 2.
Let the charged can-cup set-up from
Activity 2 touch a neutral can-cup set-up
as shown in Figure 7.


Figure 7. Putting the two set-ups
into contact.

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3.

Separate the two set-ups then observe how the charged balloon
interacts with the first and second set-up.

Q1. Were you able to charge the can in the second set-up? Explain how this
happened.
Q2. Is it necessary for the two cans to come into contact for charging to
happen? Why or why not?
Q3. From your observation in step 3, infer the charge acquired by the can in
the second set-up.
The charging process you performed in Activity 3 is called charging
by conduction which involves the contact of a charged object to a neutral
object. Now that you have learned the three types of charging processes, we
can discuss a natural phenomenon which is essentially a result of electrical
charging. You will investigate this phenomenon in the following activity.

Activity 4
When lightning strikes
Objectives:
1. explain how lightning occurs;
2. discuss ways of avoiding the dangers associated with lightning; and
3. explain how a lightning rod functions.
Materials Needed:


access to reference books or to the Internet

Procedure:
1.

Learn amazing facts about lightning by researching the answers to the
following questions:
 What is a lightning?
 Where does a lightning originate?
 How ‘powerful’ is a lightning bolt?
 Can lightning’s energy be caught stored, and used?
 How many people are killed by lightning per year?


168







What can you do to prevent yourself from being struck by
lightning?
Some people have been hit by lightning many times. Why have they
survived?
How many bushfires are started by lightning strikes?
‘Lightning never strikes twice in the same place.’ Is this a myth or a
fact?
What are lightning rods? How do they function?

As introduced at the beginning of this module, electrical energy has
numerous applications. However many of this applications will not be
possible unless we know how to control electrical energy or electricity. How
do we control electricity? It starts by providing a path through which
charges can flow. This path is provided by an electric circuit. You will
investigate the necessary conditions for an electric circuit to function in the
following activity.

Activity 5
Let there be light!
Objectives:
1.
2.

identify the appropriate arrangements of wire, bulb and
battery which successfully light a bulb; and
describe the two requirements for an electric circuit to function.

Materials Needed:





3- or 1.5-volt battery
2-meter copper wires/ wires with alligator clips
pliers/ wire cutter
1.5- watt bulb/ LED

Procedure:
1.

Work with a partner and discover the appropriate arrangements of
wires, a battery and a bulb that will make the bulb light.

2.

Once you are successful in the arrangement, draw a diagram
representing your circuit.


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3.

Compare your output with other pairs that are successful in their
arrangement.

Q1. What difficulties did you encounter in performing this activity?
Q2. How does your work compare with other pair’s work?
Q3. What was necessary to make the bulb light?

Energy Transfer in the Circuit
In Activity 5, you have seen that with appropriate materials and
connections, it is possible for the bulb to light. We know that light is one
form of energy. Where did this energy come from? The law of conservation of
energy tells us that energy can neither be created nor destroyed but can be
transformed from one form to another. This tells us that the light energy
observed in the bulb must have come from the electrical energy or electricity
in the circuit. In fact, all electrical equipment and devices are based on this
process of transformation of electrical energy into other forms of energy.
Some examples are:
1. Flat iron – Electrical energy to thermal energy or heat
2. Electric fan – Electrical energy to mechanical energy
3. Washing machine – electrical energy to mechanical energy.
Can you identify other examples?
References
“Instructor Materials: Electricity” by American Association of Physics
Teachers © 2001. Retrieved June 11, 2012 from
https://aapt.org/Publications/pips_samples/2_ELECTRICITY/INSTRUCTO
R/099_e4.pdf
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/estatics/U8L2a.cfm (Date
accessed: June 11, 2012)
http://museumvictoria.com.au/pages/7567/lightning-room-classroomactivities.pdf (Date accessed: June 12, 2012)
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hframe.html (Date accessed:
June 12, 2012)
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Suggested time allotment: 14 hours

MODULE

1

THE
PHILIPPINE ENVIRONMENT

Overview
Everything that we see around us makes up our environment. The
landforms and bodies of water that make up the landscape, the mountains and
valleys, rivers and seas; the climate, the rains brought by the monsoons, the
warm, humid weather that we frequently experience; the natural resources that
we make use of; every plant and animal that live around us. Truly, the
environment is made up of a lot of things.
All these things that we find in our surroundings and all the natural
phenomena that we observe are not due to some random luck or accident.
What makes up our environment is very much related to where our country is
on the globe. Or, to say it in a different way, the characteristics of our
environment are determined by the location of the Philippines on the planet.
Latitude and Longitude
Before we learn about the characteristics of our environment, let us first
talk about the location of the Philippines. Where is the Philippines? The
Philippines is on Earth, of course, but where exactly is it located? To answer
this question, you have to learn a new skill: locating places using latitude and
longitude.

Activity 1
Where in the world is the Philippines? (Part I)

Grade 7 Science: Earth and Space


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Objective
After performing this activity, you should be able to describe the location
of the Philippines using latitude and longitude.
What to use
globes
What to do
1. Study the image of a globe on the right.
Then get a real globe and identify the parts
that are labelled in the image. Be ready to
point them out when your teachers asks
you.
2. After studying the globe and the image on
the right, try to define “equator” in your own
words. Give your own definition when your
teacher asks you.

Figure 1. What does the globe
represent?

3. The “northern hemisphere” is that part of the world between the North Pole
and the equator. Show the northern hemisphere on the globe when your
teacher asks you.
4. Where is the “southern hemisphere”? Show
the southern hemisphere on the globe when
your teacher asks you.
5. Study the drawing on the right. It shows the
lines of latitude.
Q1. Describe the lines of latitude.
Q2. Show the lines of latitude on the globe
when your teacher asks you.

Figure 2. What is the reference
line when determining the
latitude?


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Q3. The starting point for latitude is the equator. The equator is at latitude
0° (0 degree). At the North Pole, the latitude is 90°N (90 degrees north).
At the South Pole, the latitude is 90°S (90 degrees south). Show the
following latitudes when your teacher calls on you: 15°N; 60°N; 30°S;
45°S.
Q4. The globe does not show all lines of latitude. If you wish to find
50°N, where should you look?
6. Study the drawing on the right. It shows the
lines of longitude.
Q5. Describe the lines of longitude.
Q6. Show the lines of longitude on the globe
when your teacher asks you.
Q7. The starting point for longitude is the
Prime Meridian. The Prime Meridian is
at longitude 0°. Show the Prime Figure 3. What is the
Meridian on the globe when your reference line when
teacher asks you.
determining the longitude?
Q8. To the right of the Prime Meridian, the longitude is written this way:
15°E (15 degrees east), 30°E (30 degrees east), and so on. To the left of
the Prime Meridian, the longitude is written as 15°W (15 degrees west),
30°W (30 degrees west), and so on. On your globe, find longitude 180°.
What does this longitude represent?
Q9. Not all lines of longitude are shown on a globe. If you want to find
20°W, where should you look?
Q10. The location of a place may be described by using latitude and
longitude. To the nearest degree, what is the latitude and longitude of
Manila?
Q11. Compared to the size of the world, Manila is just a tiny spot, and its
location may be described using a pair of latitude and longitude. But
how would you describe the location of an “area” such as the whole
Philippines?



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Now you know how to describe the location of a certain place using
latitude and longitude. The lines of latitude are also known as parallels of
latitude. That is because the lines of latitude are parallel to the equator and to
each other. Five lines of latitude have special names. They are listed in the
table below. The latitude values have been rounded off to the nearest halfdegree.
Latitude
0°
23.5°N
23.5°S
66.5°N
66.5°S

Name
Equator
Tropic of Cancer
Tropic of Capricorn
Arctic Circle
Antarctic Circle

Get a globe and find the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.
Trace the two lines of latitude with a red chalk. The part of the world between
the two chalk lines is called the tropics. Countries that are located in this zone
experience a tropical climate where the annual average temperature is above
18°C.
Now, find the Arctic Circle and the Antarctic Circle on the globe. Trace
them with blue chalk. Between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle is the
northern temperate zone; between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic
Circle is the southern temperate zone. Countries in these zones go through
four seasons – winter, spring summer, and autumn.
Finally, the areas within the Arctic Circle and Antarctic Circle are called
the polar regions or frigid zones. People who choose to live in these areas have
to deal with temperatures that never go above 10°C. It is cold all year round
and even during the summer months, it does not feel like summer at all.
To sum up, the closer the latitude is to the equator, the warmer the
climate. The closer it is to the poles, the colder. Thus, it is clear that there is a
relationship between the latitude of a place and the climate it experiences, and
you will find out why in the next module.


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Landmasses and Bodies of Water
Using latitude and longitude is not the only way that you can describe
the location of a certain area. Another way is by identifying the landmasses and
bodies of water that are found in that area. So, what are the landmasses and
bodies of water that surround the Philippines? Do the following activity and get
to know the surrounding geography.

Activity 2
Where in the world is the Philippines? (Part II)
Objective
After performing this activity, you should be able to describe the location
of the Philippines with respect to the surrounding landmasses and
bodies of water.
What to use
globe or world map
What to do
1.
2.

Using a globe or a world map as reference, label the blank map below.
Your labelled map should include the following:
A. Landmasses

B. Bodies of water

Philippine archipelago
Asian continent
Malay peninsula
Isthmus of Kra
Indonesian archipelago
Australian continent

Philippine Sea
South China Sea
Indian Ocean
Pacific Ocean

Q1. Which bodies of water in the list are found to the west of the
Philippines?



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Q2. Which body of water in the list is located to the east of the
Philippines?
Q3. Which large landmass is found to the north of the Philippines?
3.

Be ready to show the map with your labels when your teachers asks you.

Figure 4. Where is the Philippines in the map? Why is the Philippines called an
archipelago?


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By now you can say that you really know where the Philippines is. You
can now describe its location in two ways: by using latitude and longitude, and
by identifying the landmasses and bodies of water that surround it. What then
is the use of knowing where the Philippines is located? You will find out in the
next section and also in the following module.
Are We Lucky in the Philippines?
Planet Earth is made up of different things - air, water, plants, animals,
soil, rocks, minerals, crude oil, and other fossil fuels. These things are called
natural resources because they are not made by people; rather they are
gathered from nature. Sunlight and wind are also natural resources. We use all
these things to survive or satisfy our needs.
The Philippines is considered rich in natural resources. We have fertile,
arable lands, high diversity of plant and animals, extensive coastlines, and rich
mineral deposits. We have natural gas, coal, and geothermal energy. Wind and
water are also harnessed for electricity generation.

Photo: Courtesy of Cecile N. Sales

Photo: Courtesy of Kit Stephen S. Agad

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:POTW_
MichelleELLA01.jpg

Figure 5: What kind of natural resources are shown in the pictures? Do you have
similar resources in your area?

Why do we have rich natural resources? What geologic structures in the
country account for these bounty? Is our location near the equator related to
the presence of these natural resources?
The next lessons will help you find answers to some questions about
natural resources in the country namely, rocks and minerals, water, soil,
varied life forms, and energy.



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





How does our latitude position affect the water, soil resources, and
biodiversity in the country?
What mineral deposits do we have in the country? Where are they
located and why only in those places?
Given our location, what energy resources are available?
Which of our practices in using natural resources are sustainable?
Which are not sustainable?
How can we help conserve natural resources so that future
generations can also enjoy them?

Hopefully, the knowledge and skills acquired in the lessons will help you
value your responsibility as a productive citizen so that you can help prevent
protected and vulnerable places from being mined, forests from being overcut,
and natural resources like metals from ending up in a dumpsite.
Water Resources and Biodiversity
The Philippines boasts of many different kinds of natural water forms,
such as bays, rivers, lakes, falls, gulfs, straits, and swamps. Because it is made
up of islands, the country's coastline (seashore) if laid end-to-end, would
measure around 17.5 thousand kilometers. And you know how we are proud of
our coastlines! The bodies of water and its surrounding environment not only
support the survival of diverse organisms for food but are also used for other
economic activities. All these you learned in Araling Panlipunan.
In the previous activity you identified two big bodies of water on the west
and east side of the country: the Pacific Ocean in the east and south China Sea
in the west (sometimes referred to as the West Philippine Sea). These bodies of
water are the origin of typhoons which on the average, according to Philippine
Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA),
is about 20 a year. Typhoons and the monsoons (amihan and habagat) bring
lots of rain to the Philippines.
What is your association with too much rainfall? For some, rain and
typhoons result in flooding, landslides, and health related-problems. But water
is one of nature’s gifts to us. People need fresh water for many purposes. We
use water for domestic purposes, for irrigation, and for industries. We need
water to generate electricity. We use water for recreation or its aesthetic value.
Many resorts are located near springs, waterfalls or lakes.


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Where does water in your community come from? You collect them when
the rain falls or get them from the river, deep well, or spring. But where does
water from rivers, lakes, and springs originate?
They come from a watershed – an area of land on a slope which drains its
water into a stream and its tributaries (small streams that supply water to a
main stream). This is the reason why a watershed is sometimes called a
catchment area or drainage basin. It includes the surface of the land and the
underground rock formation drained by the stream.
From an aerial view, drainage patterns in a watershed resemble a
network similar to the branching pattern of a tree. Tributaries, similar to twigs
and small branches, flow into streams, the main branch of the tree. Streams
eventually empty into a large river comparable to the trunk.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Maria1637jf.JPG

Figure 6. The network of streams in a watershed area is illustrated on the left and a
photo of a watershed area is on the right. How does the concept “water runs downhill”
apply to a watershed?

Watersheds come in all shapes and sizes. They cross towns and
provinces. In other parts of the world, they may cross national boundaries.
There are many watersheds in the Philippines basically because we have
abundant rainfall. Do you know that Mt. Apo in Davao-Cotabato, MakilingBanahaw in Laguna and Quezon, and Tiwi in Albay are watersheds? You must
have heard about La Mesa Dam in Metro Manila, Pantabangan Dam in
Pampanga, and Angat Dam in Bulacan. These watersheds are sources of water
of many communities in the area. The Maria Cristina Falls in Iligan City is in a
watershed; it is used to generate electricity. Locate these places in your map.
Ask elders where the watershed is in or near your area? Observe it is used in
your community.



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But watersheds are not just about water. A single watershed may include
combination of forest, grassland, marshes, and other habitats. Diverse
organisms in the Philippines are found in these areas! Being a tropical country,
the Philippines has abundant rainfall, many bodies of water, and lots of
sunshine. The right temperature and abundant rainfall explain partly why our
country is considered to be a mega-diverse country. This means that we have
high diversity of plants and animals, both on land and in water (Philippine
Clearing House Mechanism Website, 2012).
Reports show that in many islands of the Philippine archipelago, there is
a high number of endemic plants and animals (endemic means found only in
the Philippines). The country hosts more than 52,177 described species of
which more than half is found nowhere else in the world. They say that on a
per unit area basis, the Philippines shelters more diversity of life than any
other country on the planet.
For now remember that the main function of a watershed is the
production of a continuous water supply that would maintain the lifeforms
within it and in the area fed by its stream. Later you will learn that besides
supporting the survival of varied life forms, abundant water in the country is
important in moderating temperature. This topic will be discussed later.
Have you ever asked yourself the following questions? If we have
abundant rainfall to feed watersheds, why do we experience drought some
parts of the year? What factors affect the health of a watershed? Is there a way
of regulating the flow of water in watershed so that there will be enough for all
throughout the year? What can people do to keep watersheds ‘healthy’? Find
out about these in the next activity.

Activity 3
What are some factors that will affect the amount of
water in watersheds?
Objective
You will design a procedure to show how a certain factor affects the
amount of water that can be stored underground or released by a
watershed to rivers, lakes and other bodies of water.


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What to do
1.

In your group, choose one factor that you want to investigate.
a.

Vegetation cover

b.

Slope of the area

c.

Kind of soil

d.

Amount of rainfall

2.

Identify the variables that you need to control and the variable that you
will change.

3.

Design a procedure to determine the effect of the factor you chose on
watersheds.

4.

Be ready to present your design in the class and to defend why you
designed it that way.

Soil Resources, Rainfall and Temperature
Recall in elementary school science that soil is formed when rocks and
other materials near the Earth’s surface are broken down by a number of
processes collectively called weathering. You learned two types of weathering:
the mechanical breaking of rocks or physical weathering, and the chemical
decay of rocks or chemical weathering.
Let us review what happens to a piece of rock when left under the Sun
and rain for a long time. Do the next activity.



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Activity 4
How are soils formed from rocks?
Objectives
1.

Using the information in the table, trace the formation of soil from
rocks.

2.

Identify the factors acting together on rocks to form soil.

What to use
Drawing pens
What to do
1. Processes involved in soil formation are listed in the table below. Read the
descriptions of the processes and make your own illustrations of the
different processes. Draw in the designated spaces.
2. Use the descriptions and your drawings to answer the following questions.
Q1. What are the factors that act together on rocks to form soil?
Q2. What does the following sentence mean, “Soils were once rocks”?
Processes of soil formation

Illustrations of processes

When a piece of rock is exposed to the Sun,
its outer part expands (becomes bigger)
because it heats up faster than the inner part
(Drawing A).

Drawing A

On cooling, at night time, the outer part of
the rock contracts or shrinks because the
outer part of the rock cools faster than the
inner portion (Drawing B). The process of
expansion and contraction are repeated over
the years and produce cracks in the rock
causing the outer surface to break off.

Drawing B


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Processes of soil formation

Illustrations of processes

Once broken, water enters the cracks causing
some minerals to dissolve. The rock breaks
apart further. (Drawing C).

Drawing C

Air also enters the cracks, and oxygen in the
air combines with some elements such as
iron to produce iron oxide (rust or kalawang)
which is brittle and will easily peel off. In a
similar way, carbon dioxide from the air
reacts with water to form an acid causing the
rock to soften further. Once soft and broken,
bacteria and small plants start to grow in the
cracks of the rock (Drawing D).

Drawing D

After some time, the dead plants and
animals die and decay causing the formation
of more acidic substances which further
breaks the rocks. The dead bodies of plants
and animals are acted upon by
microorganism and breakdown into smaller
compounds while the minerals from the rock
return to the soil.

Soil covers the entire Earth. Temperature, rainfall, chemical changes,
and biological action act together to continuously form soil. Climate, expressed
as both temperature and rainfall effects, is often considered the most powerful
soil-forming factor.
Temperature controls how fast chemical reactions occur. Many reactions
proceed more quickly as temperature increases. Warm-region soils are
normally more developed or more mature than cold-region soils. Mature soils
have more silt and clay on or near the surface. Thus, soils in the tropical areas
are observed to sustain various farming activities and account for why the
primary source of livelihood in the Philippines and other countries in the


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tropical region is their fertile land. What is the effect of very little rainfall on
food production?
Climate (temperature and rainfall) is a significant factor not only in soil
formation but also in sustaining diversity of plants and animals in the country.
On the other hand, water also directly affects the movement of soluble soil
nutrients from the top soil to deep under the ground (leaching). These
nutrients may no longer be available to shallow rooted plants. Acidic rainwater
may also contribute to the loss of minerals in soil resulting in low yield. So
rainfall determines the kind of vegetation in an area. In turn, the degree of
vegetation cover, especially in sloping areas, determines how much soil is
removed. Are there ways to protect soil resources?
Rocks and Mineral Resources
History tells us that rocks have been used by humans for more than two
million years. Our ancestors lived in caves; they carved rocks and stones to
make tools for hunting animals, cultivating crops, or weapons for protection.
Rocks, stones, gravel, and sand were and are still used to make roads,
buildings, monuments, and art objects.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DirkvdM_rocks.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pana_Banaue_Rice_Terraces.jpg

Figure 7. What are the features of the
rocks? What environmental factors
may have caused such features?

Figure 8. What kind of tools do you think
were used to build the Rice Terraces?
Why are terraces useful?

The mining of rocks for their metal content has been considered one of
the most important factors of human progress. The mining industry has raised
levels of economy in some regions, in part because of the kind of metals
available from the rocks in those areas.


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Activity 5
Where are the minerals deposits in the Philippines?
Mineral deposits can be classified into two types: metallic and nonmetalllic. You have already learned the symbols of some metals and nonmetals.
Review them before you do the activity.
Objectives
After performing this activity, you will be able to
1.
2.
3.
4.

locate the metallic mineral deposits across the country;
find out what geologic features are common in areas where the deposits
are found;
give a possible reason/s for the association between metallic mineral
deposits and geologic features in the country; and
infer why your area or region is rich or not rich in metallic mineral
deposits.

What to use
Figure 9: Metallic Deposits Map of the Philippines
Figure 10: Map of Trenches and Faults in the Philippines
Figure 11: Map of Volcanoes in the Philippines
2 pieces of plastic sheet used for book cover, same size as a book page
Marking pens (two colors, if possible)
What to do
Part I
1.

Familiarize yourself with the physical map of the Philippines. Identify
specific places of interest to you in the different regions.

2.

In your notebook, make a four-column table with headings similar to
Table 1.



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Table 1: Metallic Minerals in the Philippines and Their Location
Metal, in
Symbols
(Example:
Au)
(1)

Metal, in
Words

Province/Region
Where the Metals are
Found

(2)

(3)

Geologic Structure
Near the Location
of the Metallic
Deposits
(4)

3.

As a group, study the Metallic Deposits Map of the Philippines. See Figure
9. In the map you will see symbols of metals. Fill in the information
needed in Columns 1 and 2 of your own table.

4.

Check with each other if you have correctly written the correct words for
the symbol of the metals. Add as many rows as there are kinds of metals
in the map.

5.

Analyze the data in Table 1.
Q1. Identify five metals which are most abundant across the country. Put
a number on this metal (1 for most abundant, 2 next abundant, and
so on).
Q2. Record in Column 3 where the five most abundant metals are located.


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Figure 9. Metallic Deposits in the Philippines



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Figure 10. Trenches and Faults in the Philippines


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Figure 11. Volcanoes in the Philippines


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Part II
1.

Get two plastic sheets. On one sheet, trace the outlines of the trenches
and faults from Figure 10. On the other sheet, trace the location of
volcanoes from Figure 11.

2.

Place the Trench and Fault plastic sheet over the Metallic Deposits map.

3.

Place the Volcanoes plastic sheet over the two maps.
Q3. What geologic structures are found near the location of the metallic
deposits? Write trenches, faults or volcanoes in column 4 of Table 1.
Q4. Write a statement to connect the presence of metallic deposits with
trenches or volcanic areas.
Q5. Why do you think are metallic deposits abundant in places where
there are trenches or volcanoes?

4.

Look for your province in the map.
Q6. Are there metallic deposits in your area?
Q7. What could be reason for the presence or absence of metallic deposits
in your area? You can download the detailed map of Trenches, Faults
and volcanoes in the Philippines from the website of Phivolcs.
Q8. If there are metallic deposits, what activities tell you that there are
indeed deposits in or near your area/province?

The important metallic minerals found in various parts of the Philippines
include gold, copper, iron, chromite (made up of chromium, iron, and other
metals), nickel, cobalt, and platinum. The most productive copper and gold
producers in the Philippines are found in Baguio, the province of Benguet, and
in Surigao-Davao areas. Major producers of nickel are in Palawan and Surigao
(DENR Website, 2012).
Metals are important. The properties of metals make them useful for
specific purposes. You learned these in Quarter 1. Iron is the main material for
steel bars used in buildings and road construction. Copper is used in making
electrical wires. Tin is the material for milk cans and other preserved food
products. Nickel is mixed with copper or other metals to form stainless cooking
wares. Gold is important in making jewelry.


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What other metals are you familiar with? What are the uses of
aluminum? What metal is used to make GI sheets for roofing? What metals are
used to make artificial arms or legs? Are metals used in chairs and other
furniture? Do you know that some dentists use gold for filling teeth cavities?
Look around and find how versatile metals are.
The Philippines has also varied nonmetallic resources including sand
and gravel, limestone, marble, clay, and other quarry materials. Your teacher
will show you a map of the nometallic deposits in the Philippines. Locate your
area and determine what nonmetallic deposits are found there. How are these
deposits recovered? How are they used in your community? For example: What
are the uses of sand, gravel, or clay? How are marble stones used? Think of
other nonmetals and their uses!

Copper –iron ore

Iron filings

Quartz

Copper ore

Figure 12. From the drawing, what are ores? Have you noticed that a piece of ore can
have more than one kind of mineral in it?

Do you know that the Philippines is listed as the 5th mineral country in
the world, 3rd in gold reserves, 4th in copper, and 5th in nickel! The ores
(mineral-bearing rocks) are processed out of the country to recover the pure
metal. We buy the pure metal. Is this practice advantageous to the Philippines?
Why or why not?
The richness of the Philippines
in terms of mineral resources is being
attributed to its location in the socalled Pacific Ring of Fire. See Figure
13. This area is associated with over
450 volcanoes (small triangles in the
map) and is home to approximately
75% of the world's active volcanoes.
Why are there minerals where there Figure 13. Besides the Philippines, what
other countries are in the Ring of Fire? Do
are volcanoes?
you think they are also rich in mineral
resources?



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Geologists (scientists who study the Earth and the processes that occur
in and on it) explain that there is a continuous source of heat deep under the
Earth; this melts rocks and other materials (link to usgs website) The mixture
of molten or semi-molten materials is called magma. Because magma is hotter
and lighter than the surrounding rocks, it rises, melting some of the rocks it
passes on the way. If the magma finds a way to the surface, it will erupt as
lava. Lava flow is observed in erupting volcanoes.
But the rising magma does not always reach the surface to erupt.
Instead, it may slowly cool and harden beneath the volcano and form different
kinds of igneous rocks. Under favourable temperature and pressure conditions,
the metal-containing rocks continuously melt and redeposit, eventually forming
rich-mineral veins.
Though originally scattered in very small amounts in magma, the metals
are concentrated when magma convectively moves and circulates ore-bearing
liquids and gases. This is the reason why metallic minerals deposits such as
copper, gold, silver, lead, and zinc are associated with magmas found deep
within the roots of extinct volcanoes. And as you saw in the maps, volcanoes
are always near trenches and faults! You will learn more of this later.
For now you must have realized that the presence of mineral deposits in
the Philippines is not by accident. It is nature’s gift. If before, your association
with volcanoes and trenches is danger and risk to life and property, now you
know that the presence of volcanoes, trenches and other geological structures
is the reason for the rich mineral deposits in the country.
The existence of volcanoes also explains why the Philippines is rich in
geothermal energy (heat from the Earth). Energy resources will be discussed in
the next section.
Energy Resources
The abundance of some metal resources in the Philippines is related to
geologic structures, specifically the presence of volcanoes and trenches in the
country. The year-round warm temperature and availability of water are effects
of our geographic location.
The tropical climate and the geological conditions also provide several
possibilities to get clean and cheap energy. Do you know which energy

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resources are due to these factors? Were the following included in your listsolar energy, heat from the ground (geothermal energy), hydrothermal energy
from falling water), wind energy, and natural gas?
Solar energy is free and inexhaustible.
This energy source will be discussed in a later
science subject.
Geothermal energy was briefly introduced
in the lesson on mineral resources and their
location. The Philippines ranked second to the
United States in terms of geothermal energy
deposits. Geothermal power plants are located
in Banahaw-Makiling, Laguna, Tiwi in Albay,
Bacman in Sorsogon, Palimpinon in Negros
Occidental, Tongonan in Leyte, and Mt. Apo
side of Cotabato.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hot_Spring.jpg

Figure 14. Do you know that heat
from the Earth may escape as
steam in a hot spring?

Try to locate places with geothermal power plants in your map? Does
your area have geothermal energy deposits? How do you know?
Hydrothermal or hydroelectric
power plants use water to generate
electricity. They provide for 27% of
total electricity production in the
country. Ambuklao in Benguet, Mt
Province, Agus in Lanao del Sur and
Agus in Lanao del Norte are large
hydrothermal power plants. Small
hydroelectric power plants are in
Caliraya, Laguna, Magat in Isabela,
Photograph courtesy of National Power Corporation, retrieved
Loboc in Bohol, and other places. Used from http://www.industcards.com/hydro-philippines.htm
water from hydropower plants flows
Figure 15. How is water used to
through irrigation systems. Many of the
generate electricity?
reservoir areas are used for sport
activities.



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Again, locate places with hydroelectric power plants in your map? Does
your area have hydroelectric power plants? What other uses do you have for
water in these areas?
Natural gas is a form of fossil fuel, so are coal and crude oil (sometimes
called petroleum). Fossil fuels were formed from plants and animals that lived
on Earth millions of years ago. They are buried deep in the Earth. Natural gas
and oil are taken from the deep through oil rigs while coal is extracted through
mining. Fossil fuels are used to produce electricity and run vehicles and factory
machines. Did you know that petroleum is the raw material for making
plastics?
In the Philippines, we have coal
and natural gas deposits. Coal is a
black or brownish black, solid rock
that can be burned. It contains about
40% non-combustible components,
thus a source of air pollution when
used as fuel. Coal deposits are
scattered over the Philippines but the
largest deposit is located in Semirara
Island, Antique. Coal mines are also
located
in
Cebu,
Zamboanga
Sibuguey,
Albay,
Surigao,
and
Negros Provinces.

Figure 16. The black bands in the picture
are coal deposits. Coal is not like the
charcoal you use for broiling fish or
barbecue.
What do you think is the
difference?

Our natural gas deposits are found offshore of Palawan. Do you know
where this place is? The Malampaya Deepwater Gas-to-Power Project employs
‘state-of-the-art deepwater technology’ to draw natural gas from deep beneath
Philippine waters. The gas fuels three natural gas-fired power stations to
provide 40-45% of Luzon's power generation requirements. The Department of
Energy reports that since October 2001, the Philippines has been importing
less petroleum for electricity generation, providing the country foreignexchange savings and energy security from this clean fuel.
Natural gas is considered clean fuel because when burned, it produces
the least carbon dioxide, among fossil fuels. CO2 is naturally present in air in
small amounts. However, studies show that increase in carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere results in increase in atmospheric temperature, globally. You will
learn about global warming in the next module.

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Did you know that in Ilocos Province, giant wind mills as shown in
Figure 5 of this module are used to generate electricity. In Quirino, Ilocos Sur
the electricity generated from wind mills runs a motorized sugarcane press for
the community's muscovado sugar production? This project is a joint effort
between the local farmers and local organizations with support from Japan. In
Bangui, Ilocos Norte, the windmills as high as 50 meters not only help
improve the tourism in Ilocos but it also provides 40% of the energy
requirements for electricity in the entire province. This proves that we do not
have to be dependent on fossil fuel in our country.
What do you think are the environmental conditions in Ilocos Sur and
Ilocos Norte that allow them to use wind power for electricity? Do you think
there are places that have these conditions? Support your answers.
Conserving and Protecting Natural Resources
There are two types of natural resources on Earth - renewable and
nonrenewable. What is the difference between these two kinds of resources?
The food people eat comes from plants and animals. Plants are replaced
by new ones after each harvest. People also eat animals. Animals have the
capacity to reproduce and are replaced when young animals are born. Water in
a river or in a well may dry up. But when the rain comes the water is replaced.
Plants, animals, and water are resources that can be replaced. They are
renewable resources.
Most plants grow in top soil. Rain and floods wash away top soil. Can top
soil be replaced easily? Soil comes from rocks and materials from dead plants
and animals. It takes thousands of years for soil to form. Soil cannot be
replaced easily, or it takes a very long time to replace. It is a nonrenewable
resource.
Metals like copper, iron, and aluminum are abundant on Earth. But
people are using them up fast. They have to dig deeper into the ground to get
what they need. Coal, oil and natural gas (fossil fuels) were formed from plants
and animals that lived on Earth millions of years ago. It takes millions of years
for dead plants and animals to turn into fossil fuels. Soil, coal, oil and natural
gas are nonrenewable resources.



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Before you do Activity 6, think of these sentences: “Too much is taken
from Earth!" and "Too much is put into Earth." You may write up a short essay
about your understanding of the sentences.

Activity 6
How do people destroy natural resources?
Objectives
1.
2.

Identify the effects of some human activities on natural resources.
Suggest ways to reduce the effects.

What to Do
1.

Study Table 2 and tell if you have observed the activities listed in your
locality.

Table 2. Ways People Destroy Natural Resources
Activities
(1)
When roads are built, mountains are
blown off using dynamite.
Rice fields are turned into residential or
commercial centers.
People cut too many trees for lumber or
paper or building houses.
More factories are being built to keep up
with the demands of a fast growing
population and industrialization.
Too much mining and quarrying for the
purpose of getting precious metals and
stones and gravel.
Some farmers use too much chemical
fertilizers to replenish soil fertility.
Plastics and other garbage are burned.

Effects on Natural Resources
(2)
Damage natural habitats
plants and animals.

and/or

kill

Too much fertilizer destroys the quality of
the soil and is harmful to both human
and animals.

Cars, trucks, and tricycles that emit dark
smoke (smoke belchers) are allowed to
travel.
Other activities


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2.

Discuss the effects of these activities on natural resources.

3.

Write the effects on the column opposite the activities. An activity may
have more than one effect. Some of the effects have already been listed in
the table.

4.

Do you know of other activities that destroy or cause the depletion of
natural resources? Add them to the list and fill the corresponding effect in
column 2.

5.

What can you do to conserve resources?

Protecting Resources in Your Own Way
All resources used by humans, including fuels, metals, and building
materials, come from the Earth. Many of these resources are not in endless
supply. It has taken many thousands and millions of years to develop and
accumulate these resources.
To conserve natural resources is to protect or use them wisely without
wasting them or using them up completely. Conserving natural resources can
make them last and be available for future generations. This is what
sustainability of natural resources means. Each one of us should think about
how to make things sustainable. Remember: The lives of future generations
depend on how we use natural resources today.

Activity 7
Are you ready for “Make-a-Difference” Day?
This activity involves you in hands-on activities that help you learn more
about reducing waste, reusing materials instead of throwing them away,
recycling, composting, and conserving natural resources and energy. There are
many activities that you can include: conducting a "waste-free lunch" or
building art materials out of cans, bottles, and other recyclable trash.
Depending on the location and nature of your school, you might want to
include river cleanup, trail maintenance, or tree planting. Or, you can mix
these activities with a poster making contest for use in the campaign on nonuse of plastic bags for shopping and/or marketing.



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What to do
1.

In your group, make a list of what is done in your school that help
conserve natural resources. Discuss your list before finalizing the report.

2.

Make another list of what is done in your school that do not help conserve
natural resources. For example, do you still have lots of things in the trash
can or on the ground? What are they? What is being done with them?

3.

Come up with a one-day plan on what else can be done in school to
conserve natural resources. Present your plan to the class.

4.

Based on the group presentation, decide which part in the plans will be
adopted or adapted to make a class plan. The plan should consider the
following:
 Easy to follow
 Who will be responsible for making the plan happen
 What should be done if the people responsible for making the plan
happen will not or cannot do it
 What natural resources will be conserved
 Schedule of activities to include monitoring
 Why you think this plan is the best idea

5.

With your teacher’s permission, make an appointment with your principal
to present your plan and to solicit support. Maybe she might recommend
the “Make-a-Difference” Day for the whole school!

Hopefully, the “Make-a-Difference” Day will engage you in a variety of
environmental activities that help foster not only an appreciation for the
environment and the resources it provides but also develop a life-long
environmental stewardship among your age group.
Links and Other Reading Materials
gdis.denr.gov.ph (Geohazard Map)
http://www.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph
http://www.jcmiras.net/surge/p124.htm (Geothermal power plants in the
Philippines)
http://www.industcards.com/hydro-philippines.htm (Hydroelectric power
plants in the Philippines)


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MODULE

2

SOLAR ENERGY AND THE
ATMOSPHERE

In the previous module, you learned that the presence of different
natural resources in the Philippines is related to the country’s location. It
was also mentioned that the climate in a certain area depends on its
latitude. In this module, you are going to learn more about how the location
of the Philippines influences its climate and weather. To prepare you for this
lesson, you must first learn about the envelope of air that surrounds the
Earth where all weather events happen – the atmosphere.

Activity 1
What is the basis for dividing
Earth’s atmosphere into
layers?
Earth’s atmosphere is divided into five
layers. What is the basis for subdividing the
atmosphere?
Objectives
You will be able to gather information
about Earth’s atmosphere based on a graph.
Specifically, you will:
1.
2.
3.

describe the features of each of the five
layers;
compare the features of the five layers;
and
explain the basis for the division of the
layers of the atmosphere.


Figure 1. What are the layers of the
atmosphere?

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What to use



Graph in Figure 1
A ruler, if available

What to do
1.

Study the graph.
Q1.
Q2.
Q3.
Q4.
Q5.

What are the five layers? Estimate the height of each layer.
Describe the graph for each layer.
In which layer is temperature increasing with increasing altitude?
In which layer is temperature decreasing with increasing altitude?
What is the relationship between temperature and height in the
- troposphere?
- stratosphere?
- mesosphere?
- thermosphere?
- exosphere?

Q6. Observe the whole graph. What is the basis for the division of
Earth’s atmosphere?
Q7. From the graph, can you generalize that the higher the layer of the
atmosphere (that is closer to the Sun), the hotter the temperature?
Why or why not?
Q8. What other information about Earth’s atmosphere can you derive
from the graph?
2.

Read the succeeding paragraphs and think of a way to organize and
summarize the data about the atmosphere from the graph and the
information in the discussion that follows.

The troposphere is the layer closest to Earth’s surface. The
temperature just above the ground is hotter than the temperature high
above. Weather occurs in the troposphere because this layer contains most
of the water vapor. Remember the water cycle? Without water, there would
be no clouds, rain, snow or other weather features. Air in the troposphere is
constantly moving. As a result, aircraft flying through the troposphere may
have a very bumpy ride – what we know as turbulence. People who have
used the airplane for travelling have experienced this especially when there
is a typhoon in areas where the plane passes through.
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The stratosphere is the layer of air that extends to about 50 km from
Earth’s surface. Many jet aircraft fly in the stratosphere because it is very
stable. It is in the stratosphere that we find the ozone layer. The ozone layer
absorbs much of the Sun’s harmful radiation that would otherwise be
dangerous to plant and animal life.
The layer between 50 km and 80 km above the Earth’s surface is
called the mesosphere. Air in this layer is very thin and cold. Meteors or rock
fragments burn up in the mesosphere.
The thermosphere is between 80 km and 110 km above the Earth.
Space shuttles fly in this area and it is also where the auroras are found.
Auroras are caused when the solar wind strikes gases in the atmosphere
above the Poles. Why can we not see auroras in the Philippines?
The upper limit of our atmosphere is the exosphere. This layer of the
atmosphere merges into space. Satellites are stationed in this area, 500 km
to 1000 km from Earth.
To summarize what has been discussed: More than three quarters of
Earth’s atmosphere is made up of nitrogen while one fifth is oxygen. The
remaining 1% is a mixture of carbon dioxide, water vapour, and ozone.
These gases not only produce important weather features such as cloud and
rain, but also have considerable influence on the overall climate of the
Earth, through the greenhouse effect and global warming.
What is the Greenhouse Effect?
In order to understand the greenhouse effect, you need to first
understand how a real greenhouse works.
In temperate countries, a greenhouse is used to grow seedlings in the
late winter and early spring and later, planted in the open field when the
weather is warmer. Greenhouses also protect plants from weather
phenomena such snowstorm or dust storms. In tropical countries,
greenhouses are used by commercial plant growers to protect flowering and
ornamental plants from harsh weather conditions and insect attack.
Greenhouses range in size from small sheds to very large buildings.
They also vary in terms of types of covering materials. Some are made of
glass while others are made of plastic.


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http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gartengew%C3%A4chshaus.JPG

Figure 2. Different sizes of greenhouses. How does a greenhouse work?

Activity 2
Does a greenhouse retain or release heat?
Objectives
The activity will enable you to
1.
2.
3.

construct a model greenhouse.
find out if your model greenhouse retains heat
relate the concept of greenhouse to the increasing temperature of
Earth’s atmosphere.

What to use







2-liter plastic soft drink bottle
2-plastic containers to serve as base of the bottles
knife or scissors
transparent tape
Be careful when
two alcohol thermometers
handling sharp
CAUTION
one reading lamp (if
objects like knife or
available), otherwise bring
scissors and
breakable equipment
the setups under the Sun
like thermometer.

What to do
Constructing the model greenhouse
For each model greenhouse you will need a two-liter plastic soft drink
container (with cap) and a shallow plastic container for the base.

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1.

Remove the label of the soft drink bottle but keep the cap attached.

2.

Cut off carefully, the end of the bottle approximately 5-6 cm from the
bottom. Dispose of the bottom piece.

3.

Place the bottle with cap in the plastic base. This is your model
greenhouse. Label it Bottle A.

4.

Use scissors or knife to cut several elongated openings or vents (1.5 x
5.0 cm) on the sides of Bottle B. Leave Bottle A intact.

5.

Tape a thermometer onto a piece of cardboard. Make sure that the
cardboard is longer than the thermometer so that the bulb will not
touch the plastic base. Make two thermometer setups, one for Bottle A
and another for Bottle B. Place one thermometer setup in each bottle.

Figure 3. How to construct a model greenhouse

6.

Place both bottles approximately 10 cm away
from the lamp. DO NOT turn on the lamp yet.
Q1.

Predict which bottle will get hotter when
you turn on the light or when they are
exposed to the Sun. How will you know
that one bottle is hotter than the other?

Q2.

Write down your prediction and the
reason why you predicted that way.


NOTE:
If you have no lamp,
bring the setups
outside the classroom
under the Sun where
they will not be
disturbed.

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7.

Turn on the light and begin collecting data every five minutes for 25
minutes. (Note: But if you have no lamp, place the setups under the
Sun. Read the temperature every 20 minutes for over two hours.)

8.

Record the temperature readings of Bottle A and Bottle B in your
notebook.

9.

Graph your data separately for Bottles A and B.
Q3.

What variable did you put in the x-axis? In the y-axis?

Q4.

Why did you put these data in the x and y axes, respectively?

Q5.

Describe the graph resulting from observations in Bottle A.

Q6.

Describe the graph resulting from observations in Bottle B.

Q7.

Explain the similarities in the graphs of Bottles A and B.

Q8.

Explain the differences in the graphs of Bottles A and B.

Q9.

Does this activity help you answer the question in the activity
title: Do greenhouses retain heat? What is the evidence?

Greenhouses allow sunlight to enter but prevent heat from escaping.
The transparent covering of the greenhouse allows visible light to enter
without obstruction. It warms the inside of the greenhouse as energy is
absorbed by the plants, soil, and other things inside the building. Air
warmed by the heat inside is retained in the building by the roof and wall.
The transparent covering also prevents the heat from leaving by reflecting
the energy back into the walls and preventing outside winds from carrying it
away.
The Earth’s atmosphere is compared to a greenhouse. You know that
besides nitrogen and oxygen, Earth’s atmosphere contains trace gases such
as carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, and ozone. Like the glass in a
greenhouse, the trace gases have a similar effect on the Sun’s rays. They
allow sunlight to pass through, resulting in the warming up of the Earth’s
surface. But they absorb the energy coming from the Earth’s surface,
keeping the Earth’s temperature suitable for life on Earth. The process by
which the Earth’s atmosphere warms up is called ‘greenhouse effect,’ and
the trace gases are referred to as ‘greenhouse gases.’

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https://sites.google.com/site/glowar88/all-about-global-warming/1-what-is-global-warming

Figure 4. Why are greenhouse gases like the glass in
the greenhouse?

The ‘greenhouse effect’ is a natural process and it warms the Earth.
Without the greenhouse effect, Earth would be very cold, too cold for living
things, such as plants and animals.
To further understand the
effect of greenhouse gases look at
Figure 5. It contains some data
about Venus and Earth, planets
that are almost of the same size
and
if
you
remember
from
elementary school science, are near
each other, so they are called twin
planets.
The
composition
of
atmosphere
and
the
average
surface temperature of the two
planets are also given. Why is the
average temperature of Venus very
much higher than that of Earth?
What could have caused this
phenomenon?

Figure 5. What gas is present in the
atmosphere of Venus that explains its
high surface temperature?

Both Earth and Venus have carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, in their
atmospheres. The small amount of carbon dioxide on Earth’s gives the right
temperature for living things to survive. With the high surface temperature


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of Venus due to its high carbon dioxide concentration, do you think life
forms like those we know of could exist there? Why or why not?
Is Earth Getting Warmer? What is the Evidence?
Studies have shown that before 1750 (called the pre-industrialization
years), carbon dioxide concentration was about 0.028 percent or 280 parts
per million (ppm) by volume. The graph below shows the concentration of
carbon dioxide from 1958 to
2003. What information can you
derive from the graph?
Recent studies report that
in 2000-2009, carbon dioxide
rose by 2.0 ppm per year. In
2011, the level is higher than at
any time during the last 800
thousand
years.
Local
temperatures
fluctuate
naturally, over the past 50 years
but
the
average
global
temperature has increased at
the fastest rate in recorded
history.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mauna_Loa_Carbon_Dioxi
de-en.svg#file

Figure 6. Carbon dioxide measurements in
Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii

So what if there is increasing emission of greenhouse gases like
carbon dioxide into the atmosphere? What is the problem with a small
increase in carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere?
More carbon dioxide means that more heat is trapped in Earth’s
atmosphere. More heat cannot return back into space. More heat trapped by
the carbon dioxide means a warmer Earth.
The increasing temperature phenomenon is known as ‘global
warming’. Global means that all countries and people around the world are
affected even if that country is not a major contributor of greenhouse gases.
Many scientists now agree that many human activities emit more
greenhouses gases into the atmosphere, making the natural greenhouse
effect stronger. Scientists are also saying that if we carry on polluting the
atmosphere with greenhouse gases, it will have a dangerous effect on the
Earth.
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Sources of Greenhouse Gases
Carbon dioxide is naturally produced when people and animals
breathe. Plants and trees take in and use carbon dioxide to produce their
own food. Volcanoes also produce carbon dioxide. Methane comes from
grazing animals as they digest their food and from decaying matter in wet
rice fields. Ozone is also naturally present in the stratosphere.
But human activities emit a lot of greenhouse gases into the
atmosphere.
Study Figure 7.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Global_Carbon_Emission_by_Type
.png

Figure 7. Does burning of fossil fuels raise the
carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere?

Which fossil fuel has the highest contribution to carbon dioxide
concentration in the atmosphere?
What human activities use this fuel? List at least three.
Recall Module 1. What kind of fossil fuels are used in the Philippines?
Are we also contributing to the increase
concentration in the atmosphere? Why or why not?

in

carbon

dioxide

Carbon dioxide comes from the burning of fossil fuel such as coal,
crude oil and natural gas. Cutting down and burning of trees releases
carbon dioxide. Methane can also be released from buried waste. For
example, the left-over food, garden wastes, and animal wastes collected from
our homes are thrown into dumpsites. When lots of wastes are compressed

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and packed together, they produce methane. Coal mining also produces
methane.
Another group of greenhouse gases includes the chlorofluorocarbons
or CFCs for short. CFCs have been used in spray cans as propellants, in
refrigerators as refrigerants, and in making foam plastics as foaming agents.
They become dangerous when released into the atmosphere, depleting the
ozone layer. For this reason, their use has been banned around the world.
What have you learned about the atmosphere? There are natural
processes in the atmosphere that protect and sustain life on Earth. For
example, the greenhouse effect keeps temperature on Earth just right for
living things. For as long as the concentration of greenhouse gases are
controlled, we will have no problem.
But human beings activities have emitted greenhouse gases into the
atmosphere, increasing their levels to quantities that have adverse effects on
people, plants, animals and the physical environment. Burning of fossil
fuels, for example, has increased levels of carbon dioxide thus trapping more
heat, increasing air temperature, and causing global warming. Such global
phenomenon is feared to melt polar ice caps and cause flooding to low-lying
areas that will result to reduction in biodiversity. It is even feared that global
warming is already changing climates around the globe, causing stronger
typhoons, and creating many health-related problems. You will learn more
about climate change later.
Common Atmospheric Phenomena
In the next section, you will learn two concepts that will help you
understand common atmospheric phenomena: why the wind blows, why
monsoons occur, and what is the so-called intertropical convergence zone.
All of these are driven by the same thing: the heat of the Sun or solar
energy. Thus, we begin by asking, what happens when air is heated?

Activity 3
What happens when air is heated?
Objective
After this activity, you should be able to explain what happens when air
is heated.

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What to use
two paper bags
candle
long straight stick
match
masking tape
chair

Figure 8. Setup for Activity 3

What to do
1. Attach a paper bag to each end of the stick (see drawing above). The
open end of each bag should be facing down.
2. Balance the stick with the paper bags on the chair (see drawing below.)
3. Make a prediction: what do you
think will happen if you place a
lighted candle under the open end
of one of the bags?
4. Now, light the candle and place it
below one of the bags. Caution: Do
not place the candle too close to
the paper bag. It may catch fire. Be
ready with a pail of water or wet
rag just in case.
Figure 9. Balance the stick with paper
bags on a chair.

Q1. Was your prediction accurate?
Describe what happened.

Q2. Can you explain why?

Figure 10. What will happen when a
lighted candle is placed under one of
the bags?


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This is the first concept that you need to know: Warm air rises. Now,
try to answer the following question. When warm air is rising, what is its
effect on the air in the surroundings? Will the air in the surroundings stay
in place? Or will it be affected in some way by the rising air? Do the
following activity and find out.

Activity 4
What happens to the air in the surroundings as warm
air rises?
Objective
After performing this activity, you should be
able to explain what happens to the air in the
surroundings as warm air rises.
What to use
box
scissors
cardboard tube
clear plastic

What to do

candle
match
smoke source
(ex. mosquito coil)
Figure 11.
Setup for Activity 4

Pre-activity
Make two holes in the box: one hole on one side and another hole on
top (see drawing). Place the cardboard tube over the hole on top and tape it
in place. Make a window at the front side of the box so you can see inside.
Cover the window with clear plastic to make the box airtight.
Activity proper
1.

Open the box and place the candle directly below the hole on top. Light
up the candle and close the box.

2.

Make a prediction: What do you think will happen if you place a smoke
source near the hole?

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3.

Now, place the smoke source near
the hole.

Q1. Was your prediction accurate?
Q2. What happened?
Q3. Can you explain why?
Figure 12. What happens to the
smoke when the source is
placed near the hole?

What Makes the Air Move?
As you have seen in the activity, air in the surroundings can be
affected by rising warm air. The drawing below shows how this happens.
First, the air above the candle becomes warm because of the flame. What
happens to this warm air? It rises. As warm air rises, what happens to the
air in the surroundings? It will move toward the place where warm air is
rising. But you cannot see air, how can you tell that it is moving? Did you
see smoke from the mosquito coil? The movement of the smoke shows the
movement of the air.

Figure 13. Air in the surroundings move
toward the place where warm air is rising.

Let us now relate what happened in the activity to what happens in
nature. During the day, the surface of the Earth becomes warm because of
the Sun. Some parts of the Earth will warm up more quickly than others.
Naturally, the air above the warmer surfaces will also become warm. What
happens to the warm air? Just like in the activity, it will rise. How is the air
in the surroundings affected? It will move toward the place where warm air

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is rising. This is the other concept that you need to know: Air moves toward
the place where warm air is rising.
Whenever we feel the air moving, that means that somewhere, warm
air is rising. And the air around us moves toward the place where warm air
is rising. Do you remember that ‘moving air’ is called wind? Every time you
feel the wind, it means that air is moving toward the place where warm air is
rising. Strictly speaking, wind is air that is moving horizontally.
Let us use now the two concepts you have learned to explain other
things. You know that the surface of the Earth is made basically of two
things: land and water. When the Sun’s rays strike land and water, do they
heat up as fast as each other? Do land and water absorb heat from the Sun
in the same way? Or is there a difference? Perform the next activity and find
out.

Activity 5
Which warms up faster?
Objectives
After performing this activity, you should be able to
1.
2.
3.

compare which warms up faster: sand or water
compare which cools faster: sand or water
use the results of the activity to explain sea breeze and land breeze

What to use
2 identical plastic containers
2 thermometers
2 iron stands with clamps

string
water
sand

What to do
1.

In the shade, set up everything as shown below. The bulbs of the
thermometer should be 2 cm below the surface of the water and sand.

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Figure 14. Setup for Activity 5

2.

Wait for 5 minutes, then read the initial temperature of the water and
sand. Record the temperature readings below.
Initial temperature reading for water: __________
Initial temperature reading for sand: __________

3.

Now, place the setup under the Sun. Read the thermometers again and
record the temperature readings in Table 1. Read every 5 minutes for
25 minutes.
Table 1. In the Sun
Observation
time (minutes)
0
5
10
15
20
25

4.

Water

Sand

After 25 minutes, bring the setup back to the shade. Read the
thermometers and record the temperature readings in Table 2. Read
every 5 minutes for 25 minutes.


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Table 2. In the shade
Observation
Water
time (minutes)
0
5
10
15
20
25
5.

Sand

Study the data in the tables and answer the following questions.
Q1. Which has a higher temperature after 25 minutes in the Sun,
water or sand?
Q2. After 25 minutes, how many Celsius degrees was the increase in
the temperature of the water? Of the sand?

6.

Make a line graph using the temperature readings taken while the
setup was in the Sun.
Q3. Based on the graph, which became hot faster, water or sand?
Q4. What happened to the temperature of the water and sand when
brought to the shade?
Q5. How many Celsius degrees was the decrease in temperature of the
water after 25 minutes? Of the sand?

7.

Make a line graph using the temperature readings taken when the
setup was in the shade.
Q6. Based on the graph, which cooled down faster, water or sand?

Sea Breeze and Land Breeze
The sand and water in the previous activity stand for land and water
in real life. From the activity, you have learned that sand heats up faster
than water, and that sand cools down faster than water. In the same way,
when land surfaces are exposed to the Sun during the day, they heat up
faster than bodies of water. At night, when the Sun has set, the land loses
heat faster than bodies of water. How does this affect the air in the
surroundings?

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Imagine that you are standing by the sea, along the shore. During the
day, the land heats up faster than the water in the sea. The air above land
will then become warm ahead of the air above the sea. You know what
happens to warm air: it rises. So the warmer air above the land will rise. The
air above the sea will then move in to replace the rising warm air. (See
drawing below.) You will then feel this moving air as a light wind—a sea
breeze.

Figure 15. When does sea breeze occur?

What will happen at night, when the Sun is gone? The land and sea
will both cool down. But the land will lose heat faster than the water in the
sea. In other words, the sea will stay warm longer. This time the air above
the sea will be warmer than that above land. The warm air above the sea will
then rise. Air from land will move out to replace the rising warm air. (See
drawing below.) This moving air or wind from land is called a land breeze.

Figure 16. When does land breeze occur?


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In the illustration above, you can see an arrow pointing upward. This
represents rising warm air. The place where warm air rises is a place where
air pressure is low. In other words, the place where warm air is rising is a
low-pressure area. In contrast, cold air is dense and tends to sink. The place
where cold air is sinking is a high-pressure area. Based on what you learned
so far, in what direction does air move, from a low-pressure area to a highpressure area or the other way around? You probably know the answer
already. But the next section will make it clearer for you.
Monsoons
Do you know what monsoons are? Many people think that monsoons
are rains. They are not. Monsoons are wind systems. But these winds
usually bring abundant rainfall to the country and this is probably the
reason why they have been mistaken for rains. In Filipino, the monsoons are
called amihan or habagat, depending on where the winds come from. Find
out which is which in the following activity.

Activity 6
In what direction do winds blow–from high to low
pressure area or vice versa?
Objectives
1.
2.
3.
4.

Interpret a map to determine direction of wind movement
Explain why it is cold around in December to February and warm
around July.
Illustrate why habagat brings lots of rain
Give examples how the monsoons (amihan and habagat) affect
people.

What to use
Figure 17: Pressure and Winds in January
Figure 18: Pressure and Winds in July
pencil

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What to do
Part I.
Study Figure 17. It shows the air pressure and direction of winds in different
parts of the world in January. Low-pressure areas are marked by L and
high-pressure areas are marked by H. Broken lines with arrowheads show
the direction of the wind.
Q1. Choose a low-pressure area and study the direction of the winds
around it. Do the winds move toward the low-pressure area or away
from it?
Q2. Choose a high-pressure area and study the direction of the winds
around it. Do the winds move toward the high-pressure area or away
from it?
Q3. In what direction do winds blow? Do winds blow from high-pressure
areas to low-pressure areas? Or, from low-pressure areas to highpressure areas?
Q4. Where is North in the map? South? West? East? Write the directions on
the map.
Q5. Where is the Philippines on the map? Encircle it.
Q6. Study the wind direction near the Philippine area. From what direction
does the wind blow near the Philippines in January?


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Figure 17. Pressure and Winds in January

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139


Figure 18. Pressure and Winds in July

223

Part II.
Study Figure 18. It shows the air pressure and direction of winds in different
parts of the world in July.
Q7.

Study the wind direction near the Philippine area. From what direction
does the wind blow in the vicinity of the Philippines in July?

Figure 17 shows what happens during the colder months. The wind
blows from the high-pressure area in the Asian continent toward the lowpressure area south of the Philippines. The cold air that we experience from
December to February is part of this wind system. This monsoon wind is locally
known as amihan. As you can see from Figure 17, the wind passes over some
bodies of water before it reaches the Philippines. The wind picks up moisture
along the way and brings rain to the eastern part of the Philippines.
Now, what happens during the warmer months? Study Figure 18
carefully. What do you observe about the low-pressure area and high-pressure
area near the Philippines? They have changed places. (You will learn why in the
next module.) As a result, the direction of the wind also changes. This time the
wind will move from the high-pressure area in Australia to the low-pressure
area in the Asian continent. This monsoon wind is locally called habagat. Trace
the path of the habagat before it reaches the Philippines. Can you explain why
the habagat brings so much rain? Which part of the Philippines does the
habagat affect the most?
The monsoons, habagat and amihan, affect people in different ways. Try
to explain the following. Why do farmers welcome the monsoons? Why are
fisherfolk not so happy about the monsoons? Why do energy providers
appreciate the monsoons? Why are fishpen owners worried about the
monsoons? How do the monsoons affect your own town?
In the next section, you will apply the two concepts once more to explain
another weather event.


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The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)
Many people who listen to weather forecasts are confused about the
intertropical convergence zone. But it is easy to understand it once you know
that warm air rises, and air moves toward the place where warm air is rising.
Take a look at the drawing below.

Figure 19. Sun’s rays at the equator and
at a higher latitude

Figure 19 shows the rays of the Sun at two different places at noon.
Study the drawing carefully. Where would you observe the Sun directly above
you? When you are at the equator? Or when you are at a higher latitude?
As you can see, the position of the Sun at midday depends on where you
are. At the equator, the Sun will be directly overhead and the rays of the Sun
will hit the ground directly. At a higher latitude, the Sun will be lower in the
sky and the Sun’s rays will strike the ground at a lower angle. Where do you
think will it be warmer?
It is clear that it is warmer at the equator than anywhere else. Because of
that, the air over the equator will be warmer than the air over other parts of the
Earth. And you already know what happens to warm air. It rises. And when
warm air rises, air in the surroundings will then move as a result.



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Figure 20. How does the air move at the equator?

As you can see from Figure 20, air from north of the equator and air from
south of the equator will move toward the place where warm air is rising. Thus,
the intertropical convergence zone is the place where winds in the tropics meet
or converge. (Recall that the area near the equator is called the tropics.) In time
the rising warm air will form clouds, which may lead to thunderstorms. Now
you know why weather forecasters often blame the ITCZ for some heavy
afternoon rains. The band of white clouds in the following picture shows the
location of the ITCZ.

Figure 21. Satellite photo showing the location of ITCZ


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Summary
This module discussed global atmospheric phenomena like the
greenhouse effect and global warming (including ozone depletion) that affect
people, plants, animals and the physical environment around the world. And
though the greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon, there is a growing
concern that human activities have emitted substances into the atmosphere
that are causing changes in weather patterns at the local level.
Highlighted in this module are concepts used to explain common
atmospheric phenomena: why the wind blows, why monsoons occur, and what
is the so-called inter tropical convergence zone.
It is important for everyone to understand the varied atmospheric
phenomena so that we can all prepare for whatever changes that occur in the
environment and cope with these changes.
There are still many things to learn about the atmosphere, specifically on
weather and climate. You have just been provided with the basic concepts. You
will learn more as you move to Grade 8 and onwards.



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MODULE

3

SEASONS AND ECLIPSES

Overview
In Grade 6, you have learned about the major members of our solar
system. Like the other planets, the Earth moves mainly in two ways: it spins
on its axis and it goes around the Sun. And as the Earth revolves around
the Sun, the Moon is also revolving around the Earth. Can you imagine all
these “motions” happening at the same time? The amazing thing is we do
not feel that the Earth is moving. In reality, the planet is speeding around
the Sun at 30 kilometers each second. (The solar system is also moving
around the center of the Milky Way!)
But even if we do not actually see the Earth or Moon moving, we can
observe the effects of their motion. For example, because the Earth rotates,
we experience day and night. As the Moon goes around the Earth, we see
changes in the Moon‘s appearance.
In this module you will learn that the motions of the Earth and Moon
have other effects. Read on and find out why.
Seasons
In Grade 6, you tracked the weather for the whole school year. You
found out that there are two seasons in the Philippines: rainy and dry. You
might have noticed too that there are months of the year when it is cold and
months when it is hot. The seasons follow each other regularly and you can
tell in advance when it is going to be warm or cold and when it is going to be
rainy or not. But can you explain why there are seasons at all? Do you know
why the seasons change? The following activity will help you understand
why.


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Activity 1
Why do the seasons change?
Objective
After performing this activity, you should be able to give one reason why
the seasons change.
What to use
Figures 1 to 5
What to do
1.

Study Figure 1 carefully. It shows the Earth at different locations along
its orbit around the Sun. Note that the axis of Earth is not
perpendicular to its plane of orbit; it is tilted. The letter “N” refers to the
North Pole while “S” refers to the South Pole.

Figure 1. The drawing shows the location of the Earth at
different times of the year. Note that the axis of Earth is not
vertical; it is tilted. (Not drawn to scale)

Q1. In which month is the North Pole tilted toward the Sun– in June or
December?
Q2. In which month is the North Pole tilted away from the Sun– in June
or December?

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2.

Study Figure 2 carefully. The drawing shows how the Earth is oriented
with respect to the Sun during the month of June.

Figure 2. Where do direct rays from the Sun fall in June?

Q3. In June, which hemisphere receives direct rays from the Sun– the
Northern Hemisphere or Southern Hemisphere?
3.

Study Figure 3 carefully. The drawing shows how the Earth is oriented
with respect to the Sun during the month of December.


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Figure 3. Where do direct rays from the Sun fall in December?

Q4. In December, which hemisphere receives direct rays from the Sunthe Northern Hemisphere or Southern Hemisphere?

Look at Figure 1 again. Note that the axis of the Earth is not
perpendicular to the plane of its orbit; it is tilted from the vertical by 23.5
degrees. What is the effect of this tilt?
In June, the North Pole is tilted toward the Sun. Naturally, the
Northern Hemisphere will also be tilted toward the Sun. The Northern
Hemisphere will then receive direct rays from the Sun (Fig. 2). When the
Sun’s rays hit the ground directly, the place will become warmer than when
the rays are oblique (Figures 4 and 5). This is why it is summer in the
Northern Hemisphere at this time.
But the Earth is not stationary. The Earth goes around the Sun. What
happens when the Earth has moved to the other side of the Sun?
After six months, in December, the North Pole will be pointing away
from the Sun (Figure 1). The Northern Hemisphere will no longer receive
direct rays from the Sun. The Northern Hemisphere will then experience a
time of cold. For temperate countries in the Northern Hemisphere, it will be
winter. In tropical Philippines, it is simply the cold season.
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What’s the angle got to do
with it?
“Direct rays” means that the
rays of the Sun hit the
ground at 90°. The rays are
vertical or perpendicular to
the ground. When the Sun’s
rays strike the ground at a
high angle, each square
meter of the ground receives
a greater amount of solar
energy than when the rays
are inclined. The result is
greater
warming.
(See
Figure 4.)
Figure 4. In the tropics, the warm season is due
to the Sun’s rays hitting the ground directly. To
an observer, the position of the Sun at noon will
be exactly overhead.

Which part of the Earth receives the
direct rays of the Sun in December? As you
can see in Figure 3, it is the South Pole that
is tilted toward the Sun. This time the Sun’s
direct rays will fall on the Southern
Hemisphere. It will then be summer in the
Southern Hemisphere. Thus, when it is cold
in the Northern Hemisphere, it is warm in the
Southern Hemisphere.

On the other hand, when the
Sun’s rays come in at an
oblique angle, each square
meter of the ground will
receive a lesser amount of
solar energy. That’s because
at lower angles, solar energy
will be distributed over a
wider area. The place will
then experience less heating
up. (See Figure 5.)

After another six months, in June of the following year, the Earth will
have made one full trip around the Sun. The Sun’s direct rays will fall on the
Northern Hemisphere once more. It will be warm in the Northern
Hemisphere and cold in the Southern Hemisphere all over again. Thus, the
seasons change because the direct rays of the Sun shift from one
hemisphere to the other as the Earth goes around the Sun.


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Figure 5. The cold season is the result of the
Sun’s rays striking the ground at a lower angle.
To an observer, the Sun at midday will not be
directly above; it will be lower in the sky.

Now you know one of the reasons why the seasons change. Sometimes
the Sun’s direct rays fall on the Northern Hemisphere and sometimes they
fall on the Southern Hemisphere. And that is because the Earth is tilted and
it goes around the Sun. There is another reason why the seasons change.
Find out in the next activity.

Activity 2
How does the length of daytime and nighttime affect
the season?
Objectives
1. Interpret data about sunrise and sunset to tell when daytime is long
and when daytime is short;
2. Infer the effect of length of daytime and nighttime on seasons;

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3. Summarize the reasons why seasons change based on Activity 1 and
Activity 2.
What to use
Table 1
What to do
1.

Study the table below. It shows the times of sunrise and sunset on one
day of each month.
Table 1: Sunrise and sunset in Manila on selected days of 2011
Day

Sunrise

Sunset

Length of daytime

Jan 22, 2011

6:25 AM

5:50 PM

11h 25m

Feb 22, 2011

6:17 AM

6:02 PM

11h 45m

Mar 22, 2011

5:59 AM

6:07 PM

12h 08m

Apr 22, 2011

5:38 AM

6:11 PM

12h 33m

May 22, 2011

5:27 AM

6:19 PM

12h 52m

Jun 22, 2011

5:28 AM

6:28 PM

13h 00m

Jul 22, 2011

5:36 AM

6:28 PM

12h 52m

Aug 22, 2011

5:43 AM

6:15 PM

12h 32m

Sep 22, 2011

5:45 AM

5:53 PM

12h 08m

Oct 22, 2011

5:49 AM

5:33 PM

11h 44m

Nov 22, 2011

6:00 AM

5:24 PM

11h 24m

Dec 22, 2011

6:16 AM

5:32 PM

11h 16m

Q1. Compare the times of sunrise from January, 2011 to December,
2011. What do you notice?
Q2. Compare the times of sunset during the same period. What do you
notice?
Q3. Compare the time of sunrise on June 22, 2011 with that on
December 22, 2011. On which day did the Sun rise earlier?

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Q4. Compare the time of sunset on June 22, 2011 with that on
December 22, 2011. On which day did the Sun set later?
Q5. When was daytime the longest?
Q6. When was daytime the shortest?

You know that there are 24 hours in a day. You probably think that
daytime and nighttime are always equal. But you can infer from the activity
that the length of daytime changes from month to month. When the North
Pole is tilted toward the Sun, daytime will be longer than nighttime in the
Northern Hemisphere.
What happens when daytime is longer than nighttime? The time
heating up during the day will be longer than the time of cooling down
night. The Northern Hemisphere steadily warms up and the result
summer. At the same time, in the Southern Hemisphere, the opposite
happening. Nights are longer than daytime. It is winter there.

of
at
is
is

But when the Earth has moved farther along its orbit, the North Pole
will then be tilted away from the Sun. Nighttime will then be longer than
daytime in the Northern Hemisphere. There would be a shorter time for
heating up and longer time to cool down. The result is winter in the
Northern Hemisphere. In tropical Philippines, it is the cold season.
Meanwhile, it will be summer in the Southern Hemisphere.
At this point, you should now be able to explain why the seasons
change. Your explanation should include the following things: the tilt of the
Earth; its revolution around the Sun; the direct rays of the Sun, and the
length of daytime. There are other factors that affect the seasons but these
are the most important.
After discussing the motions of the Earth, let us now focus on the
motions of another celestial object, the Moon. You have seen that the shape
of the Moon appears to change from night to night. You have learned in
Grade 5 that the changing phases of the Moon are due to the revolution of
the Moon. The movement of the Moon also produces other phenomena
which you will learn in the next section.

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Shadows and Eclipses
Do you know how shadows are formed? How
about eclipses? Do you know why they occur? Do
you think that shadows and eclipses are related in
any way?
In this section, you will review what you know
about shadows and later on perform an activity on
eclipses. Afterwards, you will look at some common
beliefs about eclipses and figure out if they have any
scientific bases at all.
Using a shadow-play activity, your teacher will demonstrate how
shadows are formed and how shadows affect the surroundings. The
demonstrations should lead you to the following ideas:


When a light source is blocked by an object, a shadow of that
object is cast. The shadow will darken the object on which it falls.



The distance of the object from the light source affects the size of
its shadow. When an object is closer to the light source, its shadow
will appear big. But when it is farther from the light source, its
shadow is smaller.



The occurrence of shadows is an ordinary phenomenon that you
experience every day. Shadows can be seen anywhere. Sometimes,
the shadow appears bigger than the original object, other times
smaller.

How about in outer space? Are shadows formed there, too? How can
you tell when you are here on Earth?
The next activity will help you answer these questions. The materials
that you will use in the activity represent some astronomical objects in
space. You will need to simulate space by making the activity area dark.
Cover the windows with dark materials such as black garbage bag or dark
cloth.


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Activity 3
Are there shadows in space?
Objective
After performing this activity, you should be able to explain how
shadows are formed in space.
What to use







1 big ball (plastic or Styrofoam ball)
1 small ball (diameter must be about ¼ of the big ball)
flashlight or other light source
2 pieces barbecue stick (about one ruler long)
any white paper or cardboard larger than the big ball
Styrofoam block or block of wood as a base

What to do
Note: All throughout the activity, stay at the back or at the side of the
flashlight as much as possible. None of your members should stay at
the back of the big ball, unless specified.
1.

Pierce the small ball in the middle with the barbecue
stick. Then push the stick into a Styrofoam block to make
it stand (see drawing on the right). The small ball
represents the Moon. Do the same to the big ball. The big
ball represents the Earth.

2.

Hold the flashlight and shine it on the small ball (see drawing below).
The distance between the flashlight and the ball is one footstep.
Observe the small ball as you shine light on it. The flashlight represents
the Sun.
Sun

Moon

1 footstep

Q1. What is formed on the other side of the Moon?
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3.

Place the Earth one footstep away from the Moon (see drawing below).
Make sure that the Sun, Moon, and Earth are along a straight line.
Turn on the flashlight and observe.
Moon

Sun

1 footstep

Earth

1 footstep

Q2. What is formed on the surface of the Earth?
4.

Place the white paper one footstep away from the Earth (see drawing
below). The white paper must be facing the Earth. Observe what is
formed on the white paper.
Sun

Moon

1 footstep

Earth

1 footstep

1 footstep

Q3. What is formed on the white paper?
5.

Ask a group mate to move the Moon along a circular path as shown
below.

X

Circular path
Q4. What happens to the shadow of the Moon as you move the Moon
around the Earth?
Q5. Observe the appearance of the Moon. What is the effect of the
shadow of the Earth on the Moon as the Moon reaches position X
(see drawing above)?

Grade 77 Science:Learner’s Material (Second Part)
Grade Science: Earth and Space

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You have just simulated the formation of shadows of astronomical
objects in space. The formation and darkening is exactly the same as the
formation of shadows commonly seen around you. When shadows are
formed on astronomical objects, a darkening effect is observed. This
phenomenon is called an eclipse.
How Do Eclipses Happen?
In the earlier grades, you learned about the members of the solar
system. You know that the Sun gives off light. As the different members of
the solar system move around the Sun, they block the light from the Sun
and form shadows. What this means is that planets have shadows, and even
their moons have shadows, too. But we cannot see the shadows that they
form because we are far from them. The only shadows that we can observe
are the shadows of the Moon and Earth.

Figure 6. Look at the shadows of the Moon and Earth. Where does the shadow
of the Moon fall? Where does the shadow of the Earth fall?

Look at Figure 6. (Note that the objects are not drawn to scale.) In the
drawing, there are two Moons. Of course, you know that we only have one
Moon. The figure is just showing you the Moon at two different locations as
it goes around the Earth.
The figure shows where the shadows of the Moon and Earth are as
viewed in space. But here on Earth, you cannot observe these shadows.
Why? Look at the shadow of the Moon in positions A and B. In position A,
the Moon is too high; its shadow does not fall on Earth. In position B, the
Moon is too low; the shadow of the Earth does not fall on the Moon. The
shadows of the Earth and Moon are cast in space. So, when can we observe
these shadows? In what positions can we see these shadows? Let us look at
another arrangement.
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Figure 7. When does the shadow of the Moon fall on Earth? When does Earth
cast a shadow on the Moon?

In Figure 7, the Earth has moved along its orbit, taking the Moon
along. The Moon is shown in two different locations once more. Note that at
these positions, the Moon is neither too high nor too low. In fact, the Moon
is in a straight line between the Sun and the Earth. You can say that the
three objects are perfectly aligned.
At position A, where does the shadow of the Moon fall? As you can
see, the shadow of the Moon now falls on the Earth. When you are within
this shadow, you will experience a solar eclipse. A solar eclipse occurs
when the Moon comes directly between the Sun and Earth (Figure 7,
position A). You have simulated this solar eclipse in Activity 3.

Figure 8. Where is the Moon in relation to the Sun and Earth during a solar
eclipse?

Let us look at the Sun, Moon, and Earth in Figure 8. Look at the tip of
the shadow of the Moon as it falls on Earth. Is the entire shadow of the
Moon completely dark? Do you notice the unequal shading of the shadow?
Actually this unequal shading is comparable to what you have observed in
your simulation activity.


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Remember the shadow of the
small ball (Moon) on the big ball
(Earth) in your activity? It has a gray
outer part and a darker inner part
(Figure 9). In the case of the Moon’s
shadow, this gray outer region is the
penumbra while the darker inner
region is the umbra.
If you are standing within the
umbra of the Moon’s shadow, you will
Figure 9. Is the shadow of the small
see the Sun disappear from your view.
ball uniformly dark?
The surroundings appear like it is
early evening. In this case, you are
witnessing a total solar eclipse. In comparison, if you are in the penumbra,
you will see the Sun partially covered by the Moon. There are no dramatic
changes in the surroundings; there is no noticeable dimming of sunlight. In
this case, you are observing a partial solar eclipse.
Let us go back to Figure 7. Look at the Moon in position B. Do you
notice that at this position the Moon is also aligned with the Sun and Earth?
At this position, a different type of eclipse occurs. This time, the Moon is in
the shadow of the Earth. In this case, you will observe a lunar eclipse. A
lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon is directly on the opposite side of the
Earth as the Sun.
The occurrence of a lunar eclipse was simulated in the activity. Do
you remember the small ball (Moon) in position X? You noticed that the
shadow of the big ball (Earth) darkened the whole surface of the small ball.
In a lunar eclipse, the shadow of the Earth also darkens the Moon (Figure
10).

Figure 10. Where is the Earth in relation to the Sun and Moon during a
lunar eclipse?
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Focus your attention on the shadow of the Earth in Figure 10. The
shadow is wider than that of the Moon. It also has an umbra and a
penumbra. Which part of the Earth’s shadow falls on the Moon? Is the Moon
always found within the umbra?
The appearance of the Moon is dependent on its location in the
Earth’s shadow. When the entire Moon is within the umbra, it will look
totally dark. At this time you will observe a total lunar eclipse. But when the
Moon passes only through a part of the umbra, a partial lunar eclipse will
be observed. A part of the Moon will look dark while the rest will be lighter.
In earlier grades, you learned that it takes about one month for the
Moon to complete its trip around the Earth. If that is the case, then we
should be observing monthly eclipses. In reality, eclipses do not occur every
month. There are only about three solar eclipses and three lunar eclipses in
a year. What could be the reason for this?
The answer lies in the orbit of the Moon. Look at the orbit of the Earth
and the Moon in Figures 6 and 7. Do their orbits have the same
orientations? As you can see the Moon’s orbit is slightly inclined. The orbit
is tilted by 50 from the plane of the orbit of the Earth. As the moon moves
around the Earth, it is sometimes higher or lower than the Earth. In these
situations, the shadow of the Moon does not hit the surface of the Earth.
Thus, no eclipses will occur. Eclipses only happen when the Moon aligns
with the Sun and Earth.
Facts, Myths, and Superstitions
Some people believe that a sudden darkening during the day (solar
eclipse) brings bad luck. Others say that it is also bad luck when the Moon
turns dark during a Full Moon (lunar eclipse).
Do you think these beliefs regarding eclipses are true? Let us find that
out in the next activity.

Activity 4
Does a Bakunawa cause eclipses?
Objective
When you finish this activity, you should be able to evaluate some
beliefs about eclipses.

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What to do
1. Collect some beliefs about eclipses. You
may ask older people in your family or in
the community Or, you may read on some
of these beliefs.
Table 2. Beliefs related to eclipses and its
scientific bases
Beliefs
Scientific explanations

Ancient Tagalogs call eclipses as
laho. Others call it as eklepse
(pronounced as written). Old
people would tell you that
during laho or eklepse, the Sun
and the Moon are eaten by a big
snake called Bakunawa. The
only way to bring them back is
to create a very loud noise. The
Bakunawa gets irritated with
the noise and spews out the Sun
and the Moon back to the
people.

Q1. Which beliefs and practices have
scientific bases? Why do you say so?
Q2. Which beliefs and practices have no scientific bases? Support your
answer.

Which among the beliefs you have collected do you consider true? Do
all the beliefs you have collected have scientific bases? Are the explanations
of the occurrences of eclipses related to these beliefs? Are there any proofs
that tell you they are true?
In science, explanations are supported with evidence. Beliefs related
to eclipses, such as the Sun being swallowed by Bakunawa (a large animal),
or the increase of harmful microorganisms during an eclipse, are passed on
by adults to young children. But until now, no proof has been offered to
show that they are true.
However, there are beliefs that have scientific bases. For example, it is
bad to look directly at the Sun during a solar eclipse. Doing so will damage
your eyes. This is true. Even if only a thin crescent of the Sun is left
uncovered by the Moon, it will still be too bright for you to observe. In fact, it
is 10,000 times brighter than the Full Moon and it will certainly harm your
retina. So if you ever observe a solar eclipse, be ready with a solar filter or
welder’s goggles to protect your eyes.

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Now you are an informed student on the occurrence of eclipses. The
next time an eclipse occurs, your task is to explain to your family or the
community the factors that cause eclipse.
Summary
You may still be wondering why the topics Seasons and Eclipses were
discussed together in a single module. The reason is that these phenomena
are mainly the result of the motions of the Earth and Moon through space.
As the Earth goes around the Sun, the northern and southern hemispheres
are alternately exposed to the direct rays of the Sun, leading to the annual
changes in seasons. And as the Moon goes around the Earth, it sometimes
forms a straight line with the Sun and Earth, leading to the occurrence of
eclipses. We do not directly see nor observe the motions of the Earth and
Moon, but we can observe the phenomena that arise because of them.


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For inquiries or feedback, please write or call:
DepEd-Bureau of Secondary Education, Curriculum
Development Division
3/F Bonifacio Bldg., DepEd Complex
Meralco Avenue, Pasig City, Philippines 1600
Telefax: (632) 632-7746 or 633-7242
E-mail Address: lolitaandrada@yahoo.com

ISBN: ___________

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