Course Enduring Understandings

• Solid, liquid, and gaseous earth materials all circulate in large scale systems at a variety of time scales, giving rise to landscapes, the rock cycle, ocean-floor spreading, and erosion/deposition.
• The goal of science is to understand the world around us.
• Scientists use facts as clues to the large mysteries of nature
• Experimental measurements must not only be reliable and accurate but also be easily communicated to others.
• Seismic waves are used to study the structure and composition of Earth's interior.
• Mountains, valleys, domes and other surface features of the Earth are a result of movements in the underground layers.
• The location of the Earth's landmasses affects their climate.
• Plate tectonics helps explain the formation and destruction of the Earth's crust and its movements and collisions.
• The rock cycle involves the constant evolution of rocks between igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic.
• Many of the Earth's minerals are used to meet the everyday needs of people.
• The surface of the Earth is in a constant state of change due to weathering, erosion and deposition.
• Wind, gravity, water and ice actively and collectively contribute to the landscape of our planet.