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Learn MoreGeology: Earth Science for Everyone
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27,124 students
Geology: Earth Science for Everyone
This is the ultimate geology crash-course, you'll learn about the magic of Earth's inner workings concisely and easily.
Created byDJ Lake
Last updated 8/2015
English
What you'll learn
- Learn about the history and workings of planet Earth.
- Learn about global phenomena, rocks, crystals, plate tectonics, geologic time, and how rocks form.
- Learn how geology influences everything from the shape of the landscape to natural events (often called disasters.)
Explore related topics
Course content
5 sections • 22 lectures • 2h 40m total length
- What the course teaches you…4:46
- Beginnings, Basics & Historical Age of Earth8:34
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SUMMARY
Geology has been studied in a limited manner since antiquity. What are the big questions? Where do we begin?
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Most of the art and imagery in this course is in the public domain, or original work based on academic sources. Please see below for any exceptions in this lesson.
Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons
Music Credit: Kevin MacLeod-Earth Prelude, Finding a Balance, Death of Kings 2
- James Hutton & Unconformities5:06
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SUMMARY
In this lecture we explore the Scottish Enlightenment and how sociopolitical conditions led to immense academic progress in geology. James Hutton, the father of modern geology, is introduced and we discover the importance of the unconformity.
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Most of the art and imagery in this course is in the public domain, or original work based on academic sources. Please see below for any exceptions in this lesson.
Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons, NASA/JPL
Music Credit: Kevin MacLeod-Earth Prelude, Finding a Balance, Death of Kings 2
- Virtual Field Trip: The Unconformity3:54
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SUMMARY
The concept of an unconformity is pivotal to the understanding of geologic time. Join me for a virtual field trip to a really neat unconformity.
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Most of the art and imagery in this course is in the public domain, or original work based on academic sources. Please see below for any exceptions in this lesson.
Music Credit: Kevin MacLeod-Earth Prelude, Finding a Balance, Death of Kings 2
- Kelvin's Heat Death10:08
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SUMMARY
We are still working on that same old problem...How old is the Earth? Lord Kelvin was an interesting figure in 19th century science. We will discuss his contributions, and the various problems encountered by other 19th century earth scientists.
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Most of the art and imagery in this course is in the public domain, or original work based on academic sources. Please see below for any exceptions in this lesson.
Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons
Music Credit: Kevin MacLeod-Earth Prelude, Finding a Balance, Death of Kings 2
- What Is Matter?11:15
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SUMMARY
In geology we study the firmament: rocks. But what are rocks anyway? We need to delve into the atomic structure of matter before we can truly understand the interactions of rocks, crystals, and minerals.
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Most of the art and imagery in this course is in the public domain, or original work based on academic sources. Please see below for any exceptions in this lesson.
Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons, Bohr Atom: fastfission/Wikimedia Commons
Music Credit: Kevin MacLeod-Earth Prelude, Finding a Balance, Death of Kings 2
- Radioactivity 1: History of Chemistry and More!13:31
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SUMMARY
This lesson could alternatively be called: What you may or may not remember from high school chemistry. Radioactivity is an interesting phenomenon in nature. It is also crucial to geologists. Let's delve deep into the history of the sciences!
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Most of the art and imagery in this course is in the public domain, or original work based on academic sources. Please see below for any exceptions in this lesson.
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons, Uraninite: KGUR/Wikimedia Commons, Crookes Tube: D-Kuru/Wikimedia Commons
Music Credit: Kevin MacLeod-Earth Prelude, Finding a Balance, Death of Kings 2
- Dubiously Related Fact of the Day: Crookes Tubes to Televisions1:12
Not strictly to do with geology, but I find this interesting…
- Radioactivity 2: Light, Helium, and Particle Physics13:46
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SUMMARY
Because my lesson on radioactivity turned into a major treatment of the history of chemistry and particle physics, we have to have a second attempt and finish it up!
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Most of the art and imagery in this course is in the public domain, or original work based on academic sources. Please see below for any exceptions in this lesson.
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons; Helium Spectral Bands: Shanepi/Technion Physics Lab/Wikimedia Commons; Double Slit Experiment: Dr. Tonomura/Wikimedia Commons; EM diagram: Inductiveload/NASA/Wikimedia Commons.
Music Credit: Kevin MacLeod-Earth Prelude, Finding a Balance, Death of Kings 2
- Atoms, Radioactivity and Geology10:10
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SUMMARY
We learned all that stuff about radioactivity for good reason. Finally we have the tools to tackle the problem of Earth's age!
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Most of the art and imagery in this course is in the public domain, or original work based on academic sources. Please see below for any exceptions in this lesson.
Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons, Uranium Decay Chain: Tosaka/Wikimedia Commons
Music Credit: Kevin MacLeod-Earth Prelude, Finding a Balance, Death of Kings 2
- Chondrites4:19
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SUMMARY
Now we know the age of Earth, but as usual answers lead to more questions. Where are the oldest rocks? What is Earth made of?
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Most of the art and imagery in this course is in the public domain, or original work based on academic sources. Please see below for any exceptions in this lesson.
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons, NASA Johnson Space Center Earth Crew Observations group-Progress 42P Reentering Earth's Atmosphere (ISS029E34031-ISS029E34121), Milky Way and Storms over Africa (ISS030E28525-ISS030E28692).
Music Credit: Kevin MacLeod-Earth Prelude, Finding a Balance, Death of Kings 2
- Blue Earth5:41
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SUMMARY
Although we mainly think of planet "Earth", it would be more aptly called planet "Ocean". Most of the world is covered in water, and 99% of the liveable space is underwater!
What does this mean for earth scientists?-----------------------------------------------------------------
Most of the art and imagery in this course is in the public domain, or original work based on academic sources. Please see below for any exceptions in this lesson.
Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons, Blue Marble: NASA/JPL
Music Credit: Kevin MacLeod-Earth Prelude, Finding a Balance, Death of Kings 2
- The Alps7:00
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SUMMARY
The Swiss Alps are a traditional place of study for geologists. The formations are structurally complex, and a lot of pioneering work in geology was done in the Alps. We'll see what secrets those jagged peaks have reluctantly let slip.
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Most of the art and imagery in this course is in the public domain, or original work based on academic sources. Please see below for any exceptions in this lesson.
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons, Swiss Alps Satellite: NASA/JPL, Thrust Diagram: Mikenorton/Wikimedia Commons, Glarus Thrust: Hans G. Oberlach/Wikimedia Commons, Doldenhorn Nappe Folding: Woudloper/Wikimedia Commons.
Music Credit: Kevin MacLeod-Earth Prelude, Finding a Balance, Death of Kings 2
- Jigsaw Earth7:31
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SUMMARY
Have you ever noticed the nearly jigsaw puzzle fit of the continents? Check it out on a map, it's neat. Lots of scientists through history have picked up on that as well. In this lecture we'll see what the shape of continents implies…
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Most of the art and imagery in this course is in the public domain, or original work based on academic sources. Please see below for any exceptions in this lesson.
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons, Fossil Belts Diagram: USGS
Music Credit: Kevin MacLeod-Earth Prelude, Finding a Balance, Death of Kings 2
- Submarines & Mapping the Deep3:21
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SUMMARY
The ocean deeps are a mysterious place - in some ways more mysterious than space. War and political circumstances have historically provided funding for naval navigation. We'll look at the results, stemming from wartime bathymetric surveys, on the progress of earth science.
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Most of the art and imagery in this course is in the public domain, or original work based on academic sources. Please see below for any exceptions in this lesson.
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons, World Bathymetry Compilation: NASA/JPL
Music Credit: Kevin MacLeod-Earth Prelude, Finding a Balance, Death of Kings 2
- Explosive Seafloor Research9:26
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SUMMARY
In medicine, we use X-rays and any number of other imaging techniques to see inside the body. Earth science has its own toolkit and we use it to look inside the Earth. Imagine doing an "ultrasound" on our planet...We can! What do we find inside the Earth?
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Most of the art and imagery in this course is in the public domain, or original work based on academic sources. Please see below for any exceptions in this lesson.
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons, Example Seismic Profile-USGS
Music Credit: Kevin MacLeod-Earth Prelude, Finding a Balance, Death of Kings 2
- Dredging4:18
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SUMMARY
What is actually out there on the ocean floors, thousands of kilometres from shore? Oceanographers and others have actually dragged seafloor dredges far out at sea to answer that question. They find the occasional rock, but not just any old kind of rock!
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Most of the art and imagery in this course is in the public domain, or original work based on academic sources. Please see below for any exceptions in this lesson.
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons, World Bathymetry Compilation: NASA/JPL, Pillow Lava Image/Video: USGS, NOAA.
Music Credit: Kevin MacLeod-Earth Prelude, Finding a Balance, Death of Kings 2
- Paleomagicians (Vine, Matthews, Morley, Raff, Mason)7:18
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SUMMARY
In the 1950's a group of Stanford scientists made a discovery that changed Earth science forever. The studies used paleomagnetic data, and so fantastic were they, that some have called it "paleomagic"
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Most of the art and imagery in this course is in the public domain, or original work based on academic sources. Please see below for any exceptions in this lesson.
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons
World Bathymetry Compilation: NASA/JPL
Vine, F.J., 1966. Spreading of the ocean floor: New evidence. Science, 154: 1405-1415.
Vine, F.J., 1968. Magnetic anomalies associated with mid-ocean ridges. (in Phinney, R.A.)
Music Credit: Kevin MacLeod-Earth Prelude, Finding a Balance, Death of Kings 2
- The Unifying Theory2:22
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SUMMARY
The Unifying Theory. Plate Tectonics. A deceivingly simple concept that has deep implications for every facet of geology. Here is an introduction…
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Most of the art and imagery in this course is in the public domain, or original work based on academic sources. Please see below for any exceptions in this lesson.
Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons, Tectonic Plates Map: USGS
Music Credit: Kevin MacLeod-Earth Prelude, Finding a Balance, Death of Kings 2
- Convergent Margins5:29
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SUMMARY
Let's discuss convergent, or destructive plate margins. We'll talk about two kinds of subduction, then I'll explain the concept of continental collisions.
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Most of the art and imagery in this course is in the public domain, or original work based on academic sources. Please see below for any exceptions in this lesson.
Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons, Diagrams based on USGS artwork, Himalayas: NASA/JPL
Music Credit: Kevin MacLeod-Earth Prelude, Finding a Balance, Death of Kings 2
- Divergent Margins9:38
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SUMMARY
Here we'll discuss the divergent, or constructive margins. These include seafloor spreading, and continental rifting. What drives these processes? How do they manifest themselves today?
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Most of the art and imagery in this course is in the public domain, or original work based on academic sources. Please see below for any exceptions in this lesson.
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons
Blue Marble Project imagery for Iceland, Africa: NASA/JPL
World Bathymetry Compilation: NASA/JPL
NASA Johnson Space Center Earth Crew Observations (ISS timelapse with ISS034E15609-ISS034E16607)
Music Credit: Kevin MacLeod-Earth Prelude, Finding a Balance, Death of Kings 2
- Putting It All Together: The Rocky Mountains11:24
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SUMMARY
Let's put together some of the things we've learned and apply ourselves to a real problem. How did the Rocky Mountains form? We can't hope to answer that question fully in an 11 minute lesson, but let's at least cover the main thrust of the concept and see how geologists might approach such a question!
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Most of the art and imagery in this course is in the public domain, or original work based on academic sources. Please see below for any exceptions in this lesson.
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons
Topographic Map of North America (Shuttle Topography Mission Data): NASA/JPL
North American Tapestry of Time and Terrain: USGS (in collaboration with Canada, Mexico)-This is a phenomenal, inspiring map. You should consider buying one or downloading it from the USGS website.
Historical Topographic Map of North America: USGS
Other diagram inspiration: Various USGS artwork
Music Credit: Kevin MacLeod-Earth Prelude, Finding a Balance, Death of Kings 2
Requirements
- Curiosity.
Description
This ambitious course in Earth Science is the first of its kind. DJ Lake inspires wonder, explaining challenging scientific concepts clearly and easily.
Starting billions of years ago at the beginning of time, we bring you right to the present day. The veil is lifted on why the Earth works as it does, how we know what we know about our planet, and how all this affects your daily experience of the world.
This course is an introduction to Earth Science topics through the history of geology and chemistry. It is aimed at giving the student knowledge of why and how we know what we know in Earth Science. If you are looking for a course that will teach you identification of common rocks & minerals, you might find another course more appropriate because the focus here is big-picture ideas.
We'll answer the fundamental questions...
- How are mountains made?
- Why do oceans exist?
- What is a crystal?
- How old is the Earth?
- and many more…
Who this course is for:
- Beginners: You are curious about rocks and geology, but aren't sure where to begin…Look no further!
- Intermediate Students: You have some previous geological knowledge but you will certainly benefit from the higher level content included in this course.
- Earth Scientists: You already know the science, but think of this course as "all the interesting history they left out of First-Year Geology." I explore some interesting, offbeat avenues. Chances are, you'll learn something tangential!