Introduction to our home planet Earth Mars Highest T about 35 F 2 C Winter T about 200 F 125 C cold enough to freeze carbon dioxide CO2 Venus 30 closer to the Sun than Earth Atmosphere 96 CO2 Clouds of sulfuric acid T 900 F 480 C Earth atmosphere 0 04 CO2 liquid water solid water ice water vapor a reasonable climate recognizable form of life T 59 F or 15 C Life exists by water s consent How we manage rivers affects not only our own well being but also the health of other species The Scientific Method Provides a systematic way to Find answers to questions Solutions to problems Evidence to support or refute ideas Scientific Method Steps 1 OBSERVATION of a problem question to be answered 2 FORMULATE A HYPOTHESIS Hypothesis should explain observations data Multiple working hypotheses 3 TEST the hypothesis FOUR RULES for testing a hypothesis 1 Results must be reproducible 2 Explains all related observations 3 No contradictions to other observations and scientific principles 4 The Scientific Method Once a hypothesis has passed many tests it may become a theory A theory is a scientific idea capable of explaining a broad range of observations and is supported by abundant evidence South America and Africa were once Internally consistent part of the same continent Theory of Plate Tectonics Geology involves the use of the scientific method to understand how the Earth works Within the Earth System chemical elements cycle between different types of rock and sea between sea and air and between all these entities and life Geology is the study of Earth and the other planets Earth is 4 57 billion yrs old The planet has changed profoundly during its existence Rocks and sediments are pages in the book of Earth history The planet is a unique evolving system Humans are powerful agents of change Geologic phenomena and issues affect our lives
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