Alan Lester with a group of students, Colorado National Monument (near Grand Junction, CO).
Geology faculty and geology students certainly spend a lot of time in classrooms and labs; but quite of bit of learning happens in the outdoors!

Defining geology as a discipline that utilizes the basic methods of science.

Introduction

Geology is, of course, the study of the earth, its surface, interior, and processes.  The word is derived from the Greek root, ge or geo, meaning earth.
Study of the earth– that’s a big task.

Geology does help us answer a lot of very basic questions like:

1. Where do our energy resources come from—not just the gas in car, but the electricity in our homes, or the the components in cell phones and computers as well?
2. Why do places like Japan have so many active volcanoes?
3. Why are soils (and crops) different from place to place?
4. Where does our water come from?
5. Why is Colorado somewhat immune to big earthquakes?

Throughout this course, we’ll get answers to these sort of questions and others like them, but more importantly we’ll see that geology is not just about rocks but is in fact far more encompassing.
Maybe at some point, you’ll even agree that (at times) GEOLOGY ROCKS!

Learning Outcomes

• Define the science of geology.
• Identify and use scientific processes and the scientific methods as used by geologists and with other related scientific disciplines.
• List tools and concepts commonly used by geologists.

In this section, you learned the following:

1. The extensive definition of geology
2. The various fields within geology and what they study
3. How scientists use the scientific method to answer questions

Synthesis and Big Ideas

While we have not thoroughly answered our questions from the beginning of the outcome, we should be able to understand the connection these questions have to geology. We now know that geology is more than rocks—it deals with the resources we use in our everyday life, and it explains why some areas are more tectonically active than others. As we move through the course, keep these questions in mind.

Two Huge Contributions from Geology for Understanding of Nature

Geology presents a rational, logical, and well tested understanding of earth processes.  Geology explains how the earths “works” from mountains to oceans to the origin of rocks and fossils.

Geology demonstrates the earth to have enormous antiquity.  The earth is billions of years old and geology provides a means to study and learn about the physical and biological evolution of our planet

So let’s get started on this course and see why geology rocks.