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COURSE LECTURE NOTES:

| SCIENCE | MATTER | SOLAR SYSTEM | PLANETS | ATMOSPHERE | WIND and TEMPERATURE | HUMIDITY | WEATHERING | SOIL | SEASONS | MASS WASTING | SEASONS and CLIMATE | WIND WORK | STREAMS | LAND FORMS | GROUND WATER | CAVES/KARST | THE OCEAN | TIDES & ESTUARIES | WAVES | GLACIERS | GLACIAL LANDFORMS | VOLCANOES | VOLCANOES | CHON | PLATE TECHTONICS | EARTHQUAKES | ROCKS | CLIMATE CHANGE |

SCIENCE

Science - a way of thinking that evolves as follows:

    Observation
    Guess
    Test
    Analyze
    Discuss

Good science is FECUNDITY – gives rise to more science.
Things such as DNA, genetics, enriched crops, etc were discovered this way.
Science works by disagreeing. It stimulates thought.
Science doesn't prove anything?

Earth Science is a combination of sciences to understand the Earth (we don’t have any other place to live). It consists of:

    Meteorology – study of the atmosphere.
    Oceanography – study of the oceans.
    Geology – study of the Earth
    Planetology – study of the solar system

Energy = ability to perform work.

Energy is conserved; it cannot be made nor destroyed by normal means. It requires atomic fission or fusion. Energy changes form. Heat is common form of energy. Heat is not always good (i.e. auto exhausts)

Work is doing something; the simplest form of work is moving something. Energy is required to do work.

Electromagnetic radiation/spectrum/energy
Light can be considered in two ways; as a very small packet of matter, or as a wave.
It consists of:

    Gamma rays – highest frequency, shortest wave length, most energy.

    X-ray - invisible, highly penetrating electromagnetic radiation of much shorter wavelength (higher frequency) than visible light.

    UV – UV radiation: Ultraviolet radiation. Invisible rays that are part of the energy that comes from the sun, can burn the skin, and cause skin cancer. UV radiation is made up of three types of rays -- ultraviolet A (UVA), ultraviolet B (UVB), and ultraviolet C (UVC).

    Visible light – the light we see

    Infrared – lowest frequency, longest wave length, least energy

Visible light consists of various colors, which when combined from white light.
The various colors have different wave lengths and frequencies.

    Violet
    Blue
    Yellow
    Green
    Orange
    Red

Continuum – a whole without breaks

Bacteria are required to break down nitrogen.

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