Intro to Geology
Chapter 1
➔ Geology:
◆ The science that pursues an understanding of planet Earth.
➔ Physical Geology:
◆ Examines the materials composing Earth and seeks to understand the many that
operate beneath and upon its surface.
➔ Historical geology:
◆ To understand Earth’s origins and its development through time.
➔ Catastrophism:
◆ The concept that catastrophic events of a short-term nature shaped Earth.
➔ Uniformitarianism:
◆ The processes that have shaped Earth in the geologic past are essentially the same
as those operating today.
➔ Hypothesis:
◆ A tentative explanation is then tested to determine if it is valid.
➔ Theory:
◆ A well-tested and widely accepted view that explains certain observable facts.
➔ Scientific method:
, ◆ The process by which researchers raise questions, gather data, and formulate and
test scientific hypotheses.
➔ Hydrosphere:
◆ The water portion of our planet.
➔ Atmosphere:
◆ The gaseous portion of a planet is the planet’s envelope of air.
➔ Biosphere:
◆ The totality of life forms on Earth.
➔ Geosphere:
◆ The solid of Earth.
➔ Earth system science:
◆ An interdisciplinary study that seeks to examine Earth as a system composed of
numerous interacting parts or subsystems.
➔ System:
◆ A group of interacting or independent parts that form a complex whole.
➔ Nebular theory:
◆ A model for the origin of the solar system that supposes a rotating nebula of dust
and gases.
➔ Solar nebula:
◆ The cloud of interstellar gas and/or dust from which the bodies of our solar
system formed.
➔ Crust
◆ The very thin, outermost layer of Earth.
Chapter 1
➔ Geology:
◆ The science that pursues an understanding of planet Earth.
➔ Physical Geology:
◆ Examines the materials composing Earth and seeks to understand the many that
operate beneath and upon its surface.
➔ Historical geology:
◆ To understand Earth’s origins and its development through time.
➔ Catastrophism:
◆ The concept that catastrophic events of a short-term nature shaped Earth.
➔ Uniformitarianism:
◆ The processes that have shaped Earth in the geologic past are essentially the same
as those operating today.
➔ Hypothesis:
◆ A tentative explanation is then tested to determine if it is valid.
➔ Theory:
◆ A well-tested and widely accepted view that explains certain observable facts.
➔ Scientific method:
, ◆ The process by which researchers raise questions, gather data, and formulate and
test scientific hypotheses.
➔ Hydrosphere:
◆ The water portion of our planet.
➔ Atmosphere:
◆ The gaseous portion of a planet is the planet’s envelope of air.
➔ Biosphere:
◆ The totality of life forms on Earth.
➔ Geosphere:
◆ The solid of Earth.
➔ Earth system science:
◆ An interdisciplinary study that seeks to examine Earth as a system composed of
numerous interacting parts or subsystems.
➔ System:
◆ A group of interacting or independent parts that form a complex whole.
➔ Nebular theory:
◆ A model for the origin of the solar system that supposes a rotating nebula of dust
and gases.
➔ Solar nebula:
◆ The cloud of interstellar gas and/or dust from which the bodies of our solar
system formed.
➔ Crust
◆ The very thin, outermost layer of Earth.
