Degrees

ES 101 Earth Science Course Objectives:

1. To define science (and non-science) and review the scientific method from an earth science perspective.
2. To provide an overview of our planetary environment by reviewing earth’s role in the solar system, its geology (past and present), life, and the impacts of human populations.
3. To provide an overview of rocks and minerals emphasizing chemical composition and the rock cycle.
4. To present the principles and evidence of plate tectonics and to discuss its role and impact as a unifying theory in geology.
5. To review the terms and ideas of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and to investigate their causes, properties, hazards, and impacts.
6. To present basic concepts of streams and floods by examining the hydrologic cycle, stream features, development in floodplains, and flood hazards.
7. To investigate coastal zones and processes with an emphasis on coastline properties and types, and erosion, deposition, and transport.
8. To review the various types and properties of mass movements, and their consequences.
9. To discuss the relationships between geology and climate, using examples from glaciation, wind, deserts, and global climate change.
10. To compare surface and groundwater resources, water quantity, and water quality.
11. To compare mineral (ore deposits, metals, nonmetals, mining) and energy resources (fossil fuels, alternative energies).