Description: In this course, students will gain an understanding of how our planet works, from its deep interior to the oceans, atmosphere, and life. A central theme of the course is to study how our
planet works as an interconnected system. For example, we will investigate how plate tectonics
makes volcanoes, ocean basins, mountains, continents, and even the atmosphere, and how
all these components of the Earth interact with each other to give us the habitable planet we
live on. We will learn about how life began on Earth and how life evolved with changing
environments. We will also show how the principles of physics, chemistry, biology, and math
become beautiful and easy when applied to our planet. Students will come out of this class with
a greater appreciation of landscapes and the life around us. The course will also prepare
students how to think about societally relevant problems, such as climate change, critical
minerals, and natural disasters.