Cosmology and astronomy
Earth geological and climatic history
What is the Earth made up of and how do we know? What causes the seasons? Are there longer-ranging cycles in Earth's climate?
Plate tectonics
Is it a coincidence that Africa and South America could fit like puzzle pieces? Why do earthquakes happen where they do? What about volcanoes and mountains? Are all of these ideas linked? Yes, they are.
This tutorial on plate-tectonics explains how and why the continents have shifted over time. In the process, we also explore the structure of the Earth, all the way down to the core.
- Plate Tectonics-- Difference between crust and lithosphere
- Structure of the Earth
- Plate Tectonics -- Evidence of plate movement
- Plate Tectonics -- Geological Features of Divergent Plate Boundaries
- Plate Tectonics-- Geological features of Convergent Plate Boundaries
- Plates Moving Due to Convection in Mantle
- Hawaiian Islands Formation
- Pangaea
- Compositional and Mechanical Layers of the Earth
- How we know about the Earth's core
Seismic waves and how we know Earth's structure
How do we know what the Earth is made up of? Has someone dug to the core? No, but we humans have been able to see how earthquake (seismic) waves have been bent and reflected through our planet to get a reasonable idea of what is down there.
Earth's rotation and tilt
What causes the seasons? Even more, can Earth's climate change over long period just to "wobbles" in its orbit? This tutorial explains it all. You'll know more about orbits (and precession and Milankovitch cycles) than you ever thought possible. Have fun!
- Seasons Aren't Dictated by Closeness to Sun
- How Earth's Tilt Causes Seasons
- Are Southern Hemisphere Seasons More Severe?
- Milankovitch Cycles Precession and Obliquity
- Precession Causing Perihelion to Happen Later
- What Causes Precession and Other Orbital Changes
- Apsidal Precession (Perihelion Precession) and Milankovitch Cycles