SCI 0900: Earth Science

05/01/2025 to 05/30/2026 • Modified 04/28/2025

Course Description

This year-long course allows students to explore the Earth and its place in the universe. Students examine the Earth’s structure, topography, rocks, minerals, weather, natural events, oceans, and climate, and how these have contributed to the planet’s geologic history. Earth’s specific and deliberate position in the universe is examined so that students can analyze the rationale behind the scriptural truth of Creation and the secular explanations of how and when Earth began. Students write a researched essay to contrast a secular view with a biblical view related to the geologic impact of Noah’s Flood. This course requires the purchase of an at-home physical lab kit in order to perform the labs for this course. A lab fee will be assessed automatically during Financial Check-In, and the fee is also listed on the fees page. On the first day of class, the family will receive an email containing a voucher code. A specific lesson will be provided in the first days of the course that includes a link where the unique voucher number must be redeemed, and a valid shipping address must be entered by the student or parent. Typically, the kit will arrive at the designated address approximately two weeks later.

Next Start Date*

Next Monday

Prerequisite

Lab Kit and Fee

This course requires the purchase of an at-home physical lab kit in order to perform the labs for this course. A lab fee will be assessed automatically during Financial Check-In, and the fee is also listed on the fees page. On the first day of class, the family will receive an email containing a voucher code. A specific lesson will be provided in the first days of the course that includes a link where the unique voucher number must be redeemed, and a valid shipping address must be entered by the student or parent. Typically, the kit will arrive at the designated address approximately two weeks later.

Schedule

Module 1: Introduction to Earth Science

Week 1: Worldview & Science
Week 2: The Scientific Method
Week 3: Measurement of the Earth
Week 4: Mapping the Earth

Module 2: Astronomy

Week 5: The Big Picture
Week 6: Our Place in the Solar System
Week 7: The Planets
Week 8: More About the Planets
Week 9: Review & Quarter 1 Exam

Module 3: What’s Going on Inside the Earth?

Week 10: Plate Tectonics
Week 11: Volcanoes & Earthquakes
Week 12: Earthquakes & Mountains
Week 13: Mountains & Rock Layers
Week 14: Fossils & What They Teach Us

Module 4: Let There Be Rocks

Week 15: Minerals & Igneous Rocks
Week 16: Sedimentary & Metamorphic Rocks
Week 17: The Rocks Under Your Feet
Week 18: Rock Identification & Quarter 2 Exam

Module 5: All About Soil

Week 19: Resources, Weathering & Soil
Week 20: Erosion

Module 6: Earth’s Features

Week 21: The Oceans
Week 22: Moving Water
Week 23: Floodplains & Deserts
Week 24: Glaciers – Rivers of Ice

Module 7: The Atmosphere

Week 25: Structure of the Atmosphere
Week 26: Water in the Atmosphere
Week 27: Clouds & Quarter 3 Exam

Module 8: Weather

Week 28: Precipitation & Air Pressure
Week 29: Wind
Week 30: Weather Forecasting

Module 9: Big Weather & Climate

Week 31: Storms
Week 32: Temperature
Week 33: What is Climate?

Module 10: Human Impact on the Earth

Week 34: Is Our Climate Changing?
Week 35: Environmental Issues
Week 36: Review & Quarter 4 Exam

*Course specifics are tentative and subject to change each year. For the most current information, please refer to the Course Registration Tool.