Notes of Chapter 2 The Origin and Evolution of the Earth Class 11th

Geography

#Early Theories

Origin of the Earth

Nebular hypothesis

• Proposed by German philosopher Immanuel Kant.

• Mathematician Laplace revised it in 1796.

• Nebular Hypothesis considered that the planets were formed out of a cloud of material
associated with a youthful sun, which was slowly rotating.

• Later in 1900, Chamberlain and Moulton considered that a wandering star approached the
sun.

• As a result, a cigar-shaped extension of material was separated from the solar surface.
→ As the passing star moved away, the material separated from the solar surface continued
to revolve around the sun and it slowly condensed into planets.

Binary Theories

Later, the arguments considered of a companion to the sun to have been coexisting.

Revised 'Nebular hypothesis'

• Given by Otto Schmidt in Russia and Carl Weizascar in Germany in 1950.

• They considered that the sun was surrounded by solar nebula containing mostly the
hydrogen and helium along with what may be termed as dust.

• The friction and collision of particles led to formation of a disk-shaped cloud and the planets
were formed through the process of accretion.

🌌 Modern Theory of Origin of the Universe (Big Bang Theory)

The Big Bang Theory is the most accepted modern explanation for the origin of the universe.

It says that around 13.7 billion years ago, all the matter and energy of the universe were
concentrated in a tiny, extremely hot and dense point, called a singularity. Suddenly, this
point exploded or expanded rapidly. This event is called the Big Bang.
As the universe expanded, it cooled down. In the early moments, tiny particles like protons,
neutrons, and electrons formed.

Later, they combined to make simple atoms, especially hydrogen and helium.

These gases came together due to gravity and formed clouds, which led to the formation of
stars, galaxies, and planets.

The Big Bang Theory is supported by:

1. Redshift of light from distant galaxies, showing that the universe is still expanding.

2. Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR), which is the leftover heat from the Big
Bang still found across space.

🌟 Star Formation
After the Big Bang, which occurred about 13.7 billion years ago, the universe was filled with
very hot gases, mainly hydrogen and helium.

Over time, this gas began to cool and formed large clouds of gas and dust called nebulae.
These clouds started to contract under the force of gravity.

As the particles in the cloud moved closer together, the temperature and pressure at the
center of the cloud increased.

When the temperature became extremely high, nuclear fusion reactions began in the core.
In this process, hydrogen atoms fused to form helium, and a huge amount of energy was
released.

This energy made the central part of the cloud glow, and a new star was born. This is called
star formation

FORMATION OF PLANETS

After the formation of the Sun, the remaining gas and dust around it began to cool and rotate
in the form of a disc.

Due to gravitational force, the dust particles present in this disc started sticking together.

These tiny particles collided and gradually formed bigger lumps known as planetesimals.

With time, these planetesimals attracted more and more particles, becoming larger in size.
Through this continuous process, the planetesimals developed into planets. This method of
planet formation is called accretion.
The entire process of the formation of planets occurred around 4.6 billion years ago, which is
about the same time when the Sun was formed.

🔹 What is the Moon?

-The Moon is the only natural satellite of the Earth.

-It is the fifth largest moon in the Solar System.

-It has no light of its own – it reflects the sunlight.

-It is the closest celestial body to Earth and affects ocean tides.

-The Moon is about 3,84,000 km away from Earth.

-It takes about 27 days to complete one orbit around the [Link] it has no weather no
atmosphere no sound and extreme temperature.

🕰️ Origin of the Moon

Scientists believe that the Moon was not formed along with the Earth. It came into existence
a little later.

🔸 Giant Impact Theory (Most Accepted)

Around 4.4 billion years ago, a Mars-sized object (called Theia) collided with young Earth.

This powerful impact broke a part of Earth’s outer layer.

That broken part went into space and started revolving around Earth.

Over time, that material came together due to gravity and formed the Moon.

OUR SOLAR SYSTEM

The solar system was formed around 4.6 billion years ago.

The Sun is the largest and central body.

The Solar System is the Sun and everything that moves around it.

🔸 Main Parts:
1. Sun – The center of the solar system; gives light and heat.

2. 8 Planets –
Inner Planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars (rocky)it is called Terrestrial planets

Outer Planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune it is called (gas giantsor jovian planets )

3. Dwarf Planets – Like Pluto, Ceres (small and don’t clear orbit)

4. Satellites – Moons that revolve around planets (e.g., Earth’s Moon)

5. Asteroids – Rocky pieces in the Asteroid Belt (it lies between Mars and Jupiter)

6. Comets – Icy bodies with glowing tails (e.g., Halley’s Comet)

7. Meteoroids – Small rocks; become meteors (shooting stars) when entering Earth’s
atmosphere.

🌍 Why are inner planets rocky and outer planets gaseous?

1. It was too hot near the Sun, so gases could not condense — only rocks remained → inner
planets became rocky.

2. Strong solar winds blew away gases from inner planets, but they were weaker farther out,
so outer planets kept their gases.

3. Inner planets are small with weak gravity, so they couldn’t hold gases.
Outer planets are big with strong gravity, so they held onto gases → became gaseous.

🌍 Evolution of the Earth

The evolution of the Earth means how the Earth changed and developed after its formation
about 4.6 billion years ago. It went through many changes in shape, size, structure, and
internal condition. These changes happened in a step-by-step process:

🔹 Formation from Nebula

The Earth formed about 4.6 billion years ago from a nebula — a large cloud of gas and dust
left after the formation of the Sun. Due to gravity, tiny particles in the nebula began to stick
together and form bigger objects. These gradually combined to form a large spherical body
— the early Earth.

🔹 Early Hot and Molten Earth

In its early stage, the Earth was extremely hot and molten. This heat was generated by three
main factors: continuous collisions with other bodies, decay of radioactive elements, and
compression of materials under gravity. Because of this intense heat, the Earth remained in
a liquid/molten state for a long time.

🔹 Differentiation into Layers

As the Earth remained molten, a process called differentiation began. Heavier elements like
iron and nickel moved towards the center due to gravity, while lighter materials like silicates
rose to the surface. This process led to the formation of different layers inside the Earth —
the core at the center, the mantle in the middle, and the crust on the outer part.

🔹 Cooling and Solidification

Over time, the Earth began to cool down, especially on the surface. A solid crust gradually
formed, though the interior remained hot. This solid outer layer made the planet more stable.
The cooling Earth eventually allowed for the development of other systems like the
atmosphere, oceans, and life, which are discussed in other topics.

Evolution of the Lithosphere

[Link] the formation of the lithosphere, it was initially a single, continuous solid layer
covering the Earth. However, the interior of the Earth was still extremely hot.

[Link] the lithosphere lies a partially molten, soft layer called the asthenosphere. Due to
the continuous flow of heat from the Earth's interior, convection currents developed in the
asthenosphere.

[Link] currents created pressure from below, which the solid lithosphere could not bear for
long. As a result, the lithosphere did not remain a single solid shell.

[Link] time, it broke into several large and small pieces, called tectonic plates. These rigid
plates float over the soft asthenosphere and are constantly in slow motion.

[Link] movement of these plates is known as plate tectonics, which plays a major role in
shaping the Earth’s surface.

[Link] movement is responsible for the formation of mountains, volcanoes, earthquakes,

continental drift, and sea-floor spreading. Therefore, the lithosphere is not a fixed layer,
but a dynamic system that is always changing due to internal Earth processes.

EVOLUTION OF THE Atmosphere

The atmosphere is the blanket of gases that surrounds the Earth. In the early stage, the
Earth had no atmosphere. Due to the intense heat and solar winds from the young Sun, any
early gases were blown away.

As the Earth cooled, gases began to come out from inside the Earth through volcanic
eruptions — a process called degassing.

These volcanic eruptions released gases like hydrogen, helium, water vapour, methane,
ammonia, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen. This formed the first atmosphere, but it had no free
oxygen, so it was not suitable for life.

Later, as the Earth cooled and oceans formed, blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) appeared in
the oceans. These organisms performed photosynthesis and started releasing oxygen into
the atmosphere.

Over millions of years, oxygen levels increased and carbon dioxide levels decreased,
leading to the formation of the modern atmosphere.

Today’s atmosphere is mainly made up of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), and small amounts
of other gases like argon and carbon dioxide. This development of the atmosphere made life
on Earth possible.

EVOLUTION OF THE Hydrosphere

Initially, there was no liquid water on Earth. However, the interior of the Earth released large
amounts of water vapour during volcanic eruptions.

As the Earth’s surface began to cool, the water vapour in the atmosphere started to
condense and fell as rain.

This rainfall continued for a very long time — possibly millions of years — and gradually the
water began to collect in the low-lying areas of the Earth's surface. These depressions
became the first oceans and seas.

Over time, this process led to the formation of the hydrosphere, which includes all the water
present on Earth today — oceans, rivers, lakes, glaciers, groundwater, and water vapour in
the air.

The presence of liquid water also made Earth suitable for the origin and survival of life.