Earth and Space

In this course, students study the Earth’s place in the universe, dynamic Earth processes, energy in the Earth system, biogeochemical cycles, and the structure and composition of the atmosphere. Students understand that astronomy and planetary exploration reveal the solar system’s structure, scale, and change over time; plate tectonics operating over geologic time has changed the patterns of land, sea, and mountains on Earth’s surface; energy enters the Earth system primarily as solar radiation and eventually escapes as heat; each element on Earth moves among reservoirs, which exist in the solid earth, in oceans, in the atmosphere, and within and among organisms as part of biogeochemical cycles; and life has changed Earth’s atmosphere, and changes in the atmosphere affect conditions for life.