| Topic | Text Reference |
|---|---|
| Geology | eight weeks |
| Scientific Method: Hypothesis, Theory, Law, Inductive and Deductive Reasoning | Chapter 1 |
| Minerals: Definition, Atomic Structure, Properties, Abundance, Mining | Chapter 2 |
| Rocks: The Rock Cycle, Igneous, Metamorphic, Sedimentary, Ores | Chapter 3 |
| Weathering, Soil and Mass Wasting: Weathering, Soil Formation, Types of Mass Wasting | Chapter 4 |
| Running Water and Groundwater: The Hydrologic Cycle, River Systems, Work From Running Water, Erosion, Deposition, Floods, Storage and Movement of Groundwater, Springs and Wells, Contamination | Chapter 5 |
| Glaciers, Deserts and Wind: Gacial Erosion, Landforms, Glacial Deposits, Ice Ages, Evolution of a Desert, Dunes | Chapter 6 |
| Exam One: March 1st | |
| Earthquakes and Earth's Interior: Faults, Foreshocks and Aftershocks, Seismology, Scales, Tsunamis, Subsidence, Earth's Layers | Chapter 7 |
| Plate Tectonics: Continental Drift, Plate Boundaries, Hot Spots, Mechnisms | Chapter 8 |
| Volcanoes: Flows, Gases and Pyroclastics, Types of Volcanoes, Volcanic Landforms, Plate Tectonics and Vulcanism | Chapter 9 |
| Mountain Building: Folds, Faults, Types of Mountain Ranges, Isostasy, Joints | Chapter 10 |
| Geological Time: Relative Dating, Law of Superposition, Cross-Cutting Relationships, Inclusions, Principle of Original Horizontality, Unconformities, Disconformity, Fossils, Radiometric Dating, The Geologic Timescale | Chapter 11 |
| Exam Two: March 22nd | |
| Exit Exam Part One: Geology March 24th | |
| Meteorology | five weeks |
| The Atmosphere: Composition, Structure and Temperature Weather and Climate, Height and Structure of the Atmosphere, Earth-Sun Relationships, Mechanisms of Heat Transfer, The Greenhouse Effect, Cloud Cover and Albedo, World Distribution of Temperature | Chapter 16 |
| Moisture, Clouds and Precipitation: Phase Changes of Water, Relative and Absolute Humidity, Dew Point, Stability and Instabilty of Air Masses, Classification of Cloud Types, Precipitation, | Chapter 17 |
| Air Pressure and Wind: Measuring Air Pressure, Idealized Global Circulation, Local Winds, Land and Sea Breezes | Chapter 18 |
| Weather Patterns and Severe Storms: Types of Air Masses, Fronts, Cyclones and Anti-cyclones, Thunderstorms, Tornados, Hurricanes | Chapter 19 |
| Climate | Chapter 20 |
| Exam Three: April 28th | |
| Astronomy | three weeks |
| Origin of Modern Astronomy: Early Greeks, Ptolemaic System, Copernican System, Kepler's Laws, Galileo, Constellations, Rotation, Revolution, Precession, Phases of the Moon | Chapter 21 |
| Touring Our Solar System: Terrestrial Planets, Jovian Planets, The Moon, Asteroids, Comets, Meteoroids | Chapter 22 |
| Light and the Sun: Nature of Light, Spectroscopy, Doppler Effect, Telescopes, Structure and Composition of the Sun | Chapter 23 |
| Beyond the Solar System: Stellar Brightness, Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram, Variable Stars, Interstellar Matter, Stellar Evolution | Chapter 24 |
| Exam Four: May 10th | Chapters 21 to 24 |
| Exit Exam Part Two: Meteorology and Astronomy May 12th |
| Date | Laboratory Exercise |
|---|---|
| 01-25 | Identification of Minerals |
| 02-01 | Identification of Rocks |
| 02-17 | Map Reading |
| 02-24 | Geological Models: Models 4 and 6 - Glaciers |
| 03-03 | Earthquake Data (Computer Simulation) |
| 03-10 | Geological Models - Volcanoes and Mountains |
| Simulation of Radioactive Decay | |
| 03-17 | Clay Models |
| 03-24 | Air and Air Pressure |
| Cloud Journal | |
| Using the NOAA Website | |
| Weather Map | |
| 05-05 | Night Vision |
Laboratories: All laboratory exercises are provided as handouts. There is no lab manual for this course.