Chapter 1

name for all sciences that collectively seek to understand Earth and its neighbors in space

• "study of earth"
• -physical geology = examines materials composing Earth and seeks to understand the many processes that operate beneath and upon its surface
• -historical geology = understand origin of Earth and development of planet through its 4.5 billion year history

study of oceans in all their aspects and relationships

study of the atmosphere and processes that produce weather and climate

study of the universe

everything that surrounds and influences an organism

encompasses water, air, soil, and rock, as well as conditions such as temperature, humidity, and sunlight

can be replenished over relatively short time spans

continue to form but processes that creat them are so slow that significant deposits take millions of years to accumulate

ex: aluminum, copper, iron, oil, natural gas, coal

tentative/untested explanation

well-tested and widely accepted view that the scientific community agrees best explains certain observable facts

explain a large number of interrelated aspects of the natural world

divides 4.5 billion year history of earth into many different units and provides a meaningful time frame within which the events of the geological past are arranged

bodies of our solar system evolved from an enormous rotating cloud called the solar nebula

dynamic mass of liquid that is continually on the move, evaporating from the oceans to the atmosphere, precipitating to the land, and running back to the ocean again

life-giving gaseous envelope

includes all life on earth

earth's relatively thin, rocky outer skin, is of two different types - continental crust and oceanic crust

a solid, rocky shell that extends to a depth of nearly 2900 km; bountary between the crust and mantle represents a marked change in chemical compoisition

"weak sphere"; stiff layer to a depth of about 350km; top portion of the asthensophere has a temperature/pressure regime that results in a small amount of melting

depth of 2900km, strengthens in depth, very hot and capable of very gradual flow

iron-nickel alloy with minor amounts of oxygen, silicon, and sulfur - elements that readily form compounds with iron

liquid layer 2260km thick; the movement of metallic iron within this zone generates Earth's magnetic field

sphere having a radius of 1216km; the iron in the inner core is solid due to the immense pressure that exist in the center of the planet

first comprehensive model of earth's internal workings

earth's rigid outer shell (litosphere) broken into numerous slabs which are in continual motion