Earth as a System

Earth's Place in the Cosmos

    This course is designed to introduce the student to the science of the earth as a part of an integrated system. This geosystem includes dynamic interactions between the lithosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere. The earth will also be viewed as an interactive part of the planetary and galactic systems.

Class Objectives

    Understand that the water of the hydrosphere is continually on the move, from the oceans, to the atmosphere, to the land, and back to the ocean again.

    Understand that the gaseous atmosphere that surrounds the earth continually interacts with the oceans as well as land.

    Understand that changing one part of the system can produce changes in any or all parts of the system.

    Understand that the earth system can vary on spatial scales from fractions of millimeters to thousands of kilometers.

    Understand that the earth system can vary on time scales from milliseconds to billions of years.

    Understand that two sources of energy that power the earth are the sun and heat from the earth's interior.

For more specific class objectives for each chapter, just click on the chapter test tab from the home page.