1 Introduction to Earth’s Changing Environment

• Observations
• Density
• The Changing Environment
• Human Interaction with the Environment

2 Measuring Earth

• Size and Shape of Earth
• Spheres of Earth
• Locating Positions on Earth
• Fields
• Mapping Earth’s Surface

3 Earth in the Universe

• Origin and Age of the Universe
• Structure of the Universe
• Solar System

4 Motions of Earth, Moon, and Sun

• Apparent Motions of Celestial Objects
• Models That Help Explain Apparent Celestial Motions
• Actual Earth Motions
• Earth and Moon Motions and Time
• Actual Motions of Earth’s Moon

5 Energy in Earth Processes

• Electromagnetic Energy
• Transfer of Energy
• Transformation of Energy
• Temperature and Heat
• Heat Energy and Changes of State
• Earth’s Energy Supply

6 Insolation and the Seasons

• Solar Radiation and Insolation
• Variation of Insolation
• Heat Budget and Climate Change
• Seasons

7 Weather

• Atmospheric Temperature
• Atmospheric Pressure and Density
• Wind
• General Circulation of the Air in the Troposphere
• Atmospheric Moisture
• Air Masses and Fronts
• Storms and Severe Weather
• Weather Prediction and Probability

8 Water and Climate

• The Water Cycle
• Climate

9 Weathering and Erosion

• Weathering
• Erosion

10 Deposition

• Factors Causing Deposition
• Sorting of Sediments and Deposition
• A Model of an Erosional-Depositional System
• Characteristic Features of the Chief Depositional Agents

11 Earth Materials—Minerals, Rocks, and Mineral Resources

• Minerals
• Rocks
• Mineral Resource

12 Earth’s Dynamic Crust and Interior

• Small Scale Crustal Changes
• Earthquakes and Igneous Activity, Including Volcanoes
• A Model of Earth’s Interior
• Plate Tectonics

13 Interpreting Geologic History

• Relative Dating of Rocks and Events
• Correlation
• Geologic History From the Rock Record
• Absolute Dating of Rocks Using Radioactive Decay
• Evolution of Earth and Life

14 Landscape Development and Environmental Change

• Measuring Landscape Characteristics
• Landscape Regions
• Factors of Landscape Development
• Bedrock
• People, Environmental Change, and Landscapes