Republic of the Philippines Southern Leyte State University Tomas Oppus Campus San Isidro, Tomas Oppus, Southern Leyte
Name: Ma. Jasmine M. Aliling
BSED 205
Class Schedule: Monday & Thursday 10:30AM-12:00NN
July 25, 2016
The Story of Earth E arth (National Geographic Channel Film) Summary & Reflection The Earth might seem solid beneath our feet but five billion years ago there was no sign of the planet we call home. Instead there was only a new star and a cloud of dust in our solar system. Over billions of years, a series of violent vi olent changes led to the formation of our world and, eventually, the creation of life. Five billion years ago, the Sun was surrounded by dust and the Earth was not formed yet. Millions of years later, gravity pulled all of the rocks and dust together, creating the newborn Earth. A billion and a half years later, the Earth was filled with carbon dioxide and nitrogen, making it toxic. If we were on the planet at this time, we would suffocate or be burned to death by lava. Later on, a planet crashes into Earth, sending sonic waves around the two planets. Over 1000 years later, gravity pulled the debris back together and formed our moon. Finally, the Earth started to cool and lava hardened. Later on, debris from the solar system attacked Earth. The salts from the meteors began to melt and became water. This water began to create pools which later helped form the crust of the Earth. The moon was so close to the Earth that it moved huge waves, causing a hurricane. A mega storm was caused by the moon's gravitational pull. Eventually, the moon moved away from the Earth, the tides decreased in size and islands emerged from the water. Some of the islands were volcanic and began erupting. CO2 were released along with the eruption and heated h eated up the planet tremendously. Another meteor shower hit Earth, along with more water. The Earth's temperature then cooled a small amount. Some of the water seeps down into the lava and picked up minerals on the way. The water became a chemical soup and created microscopic life. The first life l ife on Earth was a single-celled organism from the water, the cyanobacteria. Ocean plants began to grow out of the sea bed. They begin to turn sunlight into food and produce oxygen, one of the essential elements for life through a process called photosynthesis. Over 2 billion years later, the oxygen level s continued to rise and the days
become longer. The core starts to push the plates around. The temperature became 30 degrees C and the days were 18 hours long. 750 million years ago, the heat from under the crust started to crack the crust, splitting it into several sections. Volcanoes form and carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere, which combines with water to form acid rain. The rain causes the temperature to drop and the Earth becomes a frozen wasteland. The layer of ice reflects the sun and sends the heat back into space. Even though the crust is frozen, the core is still burning. The earth did not have enough carbon dioxide to trap the heat from the Sun. Volcanoes started to pop up and release CO2 into the atmosphere. Because of the CO2, the temperature rose and the ice starts to melt. The oceans returned because of all of the stored water i n the ice. The hydrogen peroxide that was in the ice released rel eased oxygen. A hundred million years later, the Earth was even hotter than it was before. Bacteria was growing in the ocean now because of warmer temperatures. The bacteria have evolved into "prehistoric slugs." Some of the species had a backbone. The ocean was also populated with worms, sponges, plants, and "sea monsters." The Sun had deadly radiation. When the oxygen from our atmosphere and the radiation from the sun met, they form ozone. The Earth's ozone layer accumulated over time and eventually stopped the radiation. Life can now thrive on Earth. Plants and many forms of animals started to pop up. Over time, our atmosphere became rich with oxygen. Fish were in the oceans and were rapidly evolving. Soon they could walk on land and eventually stayed there for good. Dragonflies were the size of eagles, and there were plenty of millipedes, milli pedes, spiders and arthropods. Lizards became the first to lay their eggs outside of the water. The small lizards had become gigantic reptiles. When plants died, they accumulated on the crust. Lava and other forms of rock pil e on top of them and began to form the coal we use today. The Earth was erupting. Ash fell and killed animals all over the world. Acid rain comes again and CO2 levels rise as well. The atmosphere became hotter and water began to evaporate. The animals who depended on the plants died. The ash that fell into the oceans turned them pink, a.k.a. red tide. Algae thrived because of the minerals that were found in the ash. Methane, or Greenhouse gas, was escaping from the crust. Pangea, the super continent, was still in one mass 20 0 million years ago. The temperature was stabilizing, which allowed the plant life to return. Dinosaurs evolved from the small reptiles that survived the disaster in the previ ous years. The Earth's plates begin to move a small amount. But sometime soon, Pangea, the super-continent, broke up. Fish were
returning to the oceans. The dead fish began to l ayer the seafloor and, over time, were we re covered with rock. The pressure from the rock heats and squeezes the fish, which created fossils and oil. 65 million years ago, dinosaurs were thriving without threat on Earth. An asteroid was heading towards them at a very fast speed. The asteroid, with the energy equal to the power of many nuclear weapons, hit the Earth and destroyed everything in its path. The land was completely destroyed. Later, a meteor shower hit and caused much more damage along with earthquakes and tsunamis. The Earth became so hot and the plants died along with the animals who eat them. Mammals survived by living underground and eating almost almost anything. The Earth became a peaceful planet. The mammals' descendants were monkeys and lived near lakes. These lakes released noxious gas that killed them, but preserved the monkeys in the lake. 20 million years ago, this planet was almost as we know it now. It was 24 degrees C and the days are about 24 hours. It was our planet as we know it but there was one thing missing: humans. 1.5 million years ago, the earliest species of humans appeared. They walk on two feet and don't drag their knuckles. Our ape ancestors were forced to walk on two feet instead of four in search of food. Thousand years later, a latter species of humans crosses the Red Sea. Their population increased and they they spread to other parts of the world. 40 thousand years ago, an ice wall was coming and the temperature dropped incredibly. The ice "sculpts" the Earth, forming all sorts of land and water features. 20 thousand years later, a land bridge was formed between Siberia and the Americas. The humans travelled over the bridge and started populating North America. Six thousand years ago, the ice has fully retreated and is now completely in the Arctic and Antarctic. After a four and a half billion years, we’ve made it. The spectacular result of the chain of catastrophes and coincidences. coincidences. Each triumph, each disaster was a step of a trail that l ed to the present. Now, we, the humans, are fully evolved and live in the world as we know it. Our planet has gone through so much, and would go through much more in the future. There are many natural phenomenon and man-made disasters going on in the planet as of now. These may be because the planet is once again, changing. Earth will live for at least another 4.5 billion years. And our species may or may not live to see it.
