This course introduces basic landforms and geological processes. Topics include rocks, minerals, volcanoes, fluvial processes, geological history, plate tectonics, glaciers, and coastal dynamics. Upon completion, students should be able to describe basic geological processes that shape the earth.
This course has been approved to satisfy the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement general education requirement in natural sciences/mathematics. This course is a Universal General Education Transfer Component (UGETC) course for the AA and AFA degrees. It satisfies other General Education hours for the AS degree.
1. Explain fundamental geologic concepts including earth structure, plate tectonics, rocks and minerals, rock cycle, crustal deformation, surficial processes, earth resources and geohazards.
2. Apply the basic methods of scientific inquiry in the context of geology.
3. Recognize and quantify the operation of Earth system processes over geologic and human timescales and over local, regional and global spatial scales.
4. Manipulate, interpret and construct visualizations of geologic data using maps, graphs, and contemporary technology.
5. Demonstrate an appreciation for the societal relevance of geology and the impact of humans on the earth system.