50
Have you ever wondered how scientists analyse the environment?
FREE
This course includes
Hours of videos
12 hours, 34 minutes
Units & Quizzes
38
Unlimited Lifetime access
Access on mobile app
Certificate of Completion
This course, Practising science: Reading the rocks and ecology, introduces you to the techniques used by science students at residential schools. You will learn how to determine where rocks have come from and how they were made. You will also examine the processes involved in determining the ecology of a particular area.
Course learning outcomes
After studying this course, you should be able to:
- Explain the difference between a mineral and a rock
- Describe the textural differences between igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks
- Account for these differences in terms of the processes that produce these rocks
- Classify igneous rocks according to their grain size and mineralogical composition
- Recognise the difference between a body fossil and a trace fossil.
Course Currilcum
- Introduction 00:15:00
- Learning outcomes 00:07:00
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- Earth Sciences: reading the rocks 00:05:00
- The Earth’s crust 00:15:00
- Minerals and rocks 00:02:00
- Minerals 00:15:00
- Rocks 00:25:00
- The formation of igneous rocks 00:02:00
- Igneous rocks in the landscape 00:10:00
- Texture of igneous rocks 00:30:00
- Chemical and mineral composition of igneous rocks 00:20:00
- Classifying igneous rocks 01:00:00
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- Sedimentary material 00:10:00
- Sedimentary processes 00:30:00
- Sedimentary strata 00:10:00
- Stratigraphy and geological time 00:15:00
- Fossils and ancient environments 00:20:00
- Sedimentary structures 00:15:00
- The formation of metamorphic rocks 00:07:00
- Causes of metamorphism 00:15:00
- Metamorphic recrystallisation 00:40:00
- Interlude 00:10:00
- Geological fieldwork 00:10:00
- Making and using field sketches 00:25:00
- Interpretation of a geological exposure 00:25:00
- Explaining the observations 00:25:00
- The rock cycle 00:07:00
- Moving around the rock cycle 00:20:00
- Changing sea-level 00:20:00
- Summary 00:20:00
- What is ecology? 00:07:00
- Why study ecology? 00:45:00
- Two factors affecting the distribution of organisms 00:02:00
- Soil pH 00:40:00
- Salinity, desiccation and biotic interactions on seashores 00:30:00
- Starting a field study 01:00:00
- Collecting quantitative data 00:30:00
- Conclusion 00:10:00
