Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to: examine the scientific method, Earth's subsystems and the various branches of geological study; compare and contrast the physical properties of metals, minerals and rocks, including sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks and the roles they play in sustaining life on earth; analyze the processes of mechanical and chemical weathering, erosion, along with soil structure and type, the types of stress leading to rock deformation and the causes of various geological folds and faults; explain the water cycle, distribution of water, drainage basins, stream flow, groundwater systems, the effect of erosion and deposition on landforms and how landform diagrams depict a landscape's geological progression; categorize types of glaciers, glacier movement, glacier budget, erosion, deposition, glaciation and causes of glaciation; summarize the structure of the ocean, marine organisms, oceanic ridge systems, basins, as well as active and passive continental margins; identify characteristics of deserts in general and those in the Southwest United States, in particular; and break down the internal and external forces that shape Earth through looking at the four spheres of Earth, the mechanism of plate tectonics and continental drift, and the cause of earthquakes.