Class 2: Chapter 1

Ideas needed to understand the

point of the class
 Earth Systems
• Helps organize a set of processes as a
distinct entity
• Isolated: no interaction with other systems
• Closed: exchange of energy only
• Open: exchange of energy and matter
 Complete worksheet #1
• What is Earth system • Geosphere
science? • Atmosphere
• Examining how • Hydrosphere
different groupings of • Biosphere
matter and energy
operate and how
changes in one
system impacts other
systems.
 These systems are open
because there is a transfer of
energy and matter between
systems.
 Explain each of these cycles or
subsystems
The hydrologic cycle The rock cycle
 Today’s class
• Earth systems
• Earth’s surface features
– Features on the map, exercise
• The scientific method
• Geology as a science and evolution of
ideas: uniformitarianism and
catastrophism
• Time and space
Why are these concepts
important to the class?
 Earth Systems
• Understand when
there is a change in
one system, this
impacts other
systems
• If there is a reduction
of precipitation, this
reduces the amount
of erosion and
sediment deposition.
 Earth’s surface
features
• Trends and patterns
of topographic
features are indicative
of what processes are
occurring within the
Earth
• Geographical features
such as mountains
and volcanoes
adjacent to trenches
Use either the physical map at the front of the room or map on
pages 20 and 21 of the book.

COMPLETE WORKSHEET
 Earth’s energy sources
Internal heat Sun
• Remaining from the • Drives the atmosphere,
Earth’s formation hydrosphere, weather
• Decay of radioactive and climate
particles
• Influences movement of
tectonic plates
• Provides energy for
volcanic eruptions and
earthquakes
 The Scientific Method
• How new ideas are developed
• The natural world behaves in a consistent
and predictable manner.
• A hypothesis or multi hypotheses are
proposed, observations or data prove or
disprove
• Ideas evolve with new information
• Most every overview or concept presented in
this class is the result of many scientist’s
work using the scientific method.
History of geology as a science
• New hypothesis and theories alter the
evaluation of data
– Theory of plate tectonics
– Uniformitariansim versus catastrophism
Ideas evolve with new
information
James Hutton: father of geology
• Scottish
engineer/farmer
• 1785
• Observed that Earth’s
processes are slow
• Uniformitarianism:
geologic processes
that occur today also
occurred in the past
• The present is the key
to the past
Who cares? Why the big
deal???
His observations, descriptions,
hypotheses, and theories went
against the accepted philosophies
of the time.
 18th century Europe was strongly
influenced by the Christian Church
• Bishop Usher
• Calculated the Earth’s
age by adding the ages in
the Bible
• Irish Archbishop
• 1654
• 4004 CE
• Catastrophism: Earth
formed by biblical type
events
 William Whewell
• Earth history also
contains catastrophic
events
• 1850
• Catastrophism
Geological ideas were based
on the concept of
uniformitarianism.
 Walter and Luis Alvarez
• Extinction of the dinosaurs
• 1980
• Asteroid impact
• Catastrophism
 Today, uniformitarinism and
catastrophism are accepted ideas

Mississippi River Delta:

slow deposition Volcanic eruption: Mt. Pinatubo,
large event that lowers global
temperatures by .7 degree
Fahrenheit for two years.
 Time
• Understand the enormous amount of time
since the creation of the Universe, solar
system, and Earth
• Humans have not lived on this planet for a
long time compared to the age of the Earth
• Understand that mostly, Earth’s processes
are very slow with an occasional large
event
 Time

Creation of matter: 14 billion

years Tsunami: hours
Change through time
 Geologic time: the most
important contribution to the
world
Complete the 2 page of the
nd

worksheet
 Space
• Features presented in the class vary from
microscopic to enormous
Fossil diatom

Orion
nebula

100 light years in diameter

Scale: 1 x 10-6 meters
1 light year = 6 trillion miles
These concepts will be applied
to most topics discussed in this
class
• Earth systems
• Earth’s surface features
– Features on the map, exercise
• The scientific method
• Uniformitarianism and catastrophism
• Time and space