Earthquakes, volcanoes, mountain building, ice ages, landslides, floods, life evolution, plate motions—all of these phenomena have interacted over the vast expanses of deep time to sculpt the dynamic planet that we live on today. Planet Earth presents an overview of several aspects of our home, from a geological perspective. We begin with earthquakes—what they are, what causes them, what effects they have, and what we can do about them. We will emphasize that plate tectonics—the grand unifying theory of geology—explains how the map of our planet's surface has changed radically over geologic time, and why present-day geologic activity—including a variety of devastating natural disasters such as earthquakes—occur where they do. We consider volcanoes, types of eruptions, and typical rocks found there. Finally, we will delve into the processes that produce the energy and mineral resources that modern society depends on, to help understand the context of the environment and sustainability challenges that we will face in the future.
La planète Terre... et vous !
Université de l'Illinois à Urbana-ChampaignÀ propos de ce cours
Offert par
Université de l'Illinois à Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a world leader in research, teaching and public engagement, distinguished by the breadth of its programs, broad academic excellence, and internationally renowned faculty and alumni. Illinois serves the world by creating knowledge, preparing students for lives of impact, and finding solutions to critical societal needs.
Programme du cours : ce que vous apprendrez dans ce cours
Orientation
You will become familiar with the course, your classmates, and our learning environment. The orientation will also help you obtain the technical skills required for the course.
Week 1: Earthquakes!
In the lectures for this week, we will consider what an earthquake is, how it occurs, how we can record and measure its size, and what we can do to mitigate damage. Our first weekly assignment consists of reporting your own experience with earthquakes (if any). The Week 1 Lab gives you a chance to work with seismograms, locate an earthquake epicenter, and determine magnitude. Finally, the Week 1 Discussion addresses the balance between risks from quakes and costs of preventive measures.
Week 2: Plate Tectonics
In the early twentieth century, publication of the hypothesis on continental drift caused an uproar that soon died down. Data collected in mid-century led geologists to reconsider the idea that continents could move. During the 1960s and 1970s, old ideas were reworked into what is now called the theory of plate tectonics. As we will see, this robust theory encompasses many geological phenomena that appear to be unrelated at first glance: earthquakes and volcanoes, but also ice ages, fossils, and mountains. Today, plate tectonics provides an overarching framework for interpreting the Earth. We study its details in Week 2, but we will return to this theory again and again throughout the rest of this course.
Week 3: Volcanoes!
This week, you will learn how and where rocks can melt, and what happens when molten material of various compositions bursts out of the ground. The lecture videos also cover different types of eruptions, as well as the rocks and mountains produced by them. In the lab, you will study details about the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens and the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in the year 79. The discussion forum gives you the opportunity to weigh risks to people living on or near volcanoes and what can be done to minimize damage and loss of life. The weekly assignment provides a place for you to share your own experiences with volcanoes or eruptions or, if you have never been near a volcano, your thoughts about such events.
Week 4: Rocks and Mineral Resources
As part of the Week 4 Assignment, you will take a close look at your daily surroundings to identify Earth resources. The video lectures for the week examine various aspects of finding, extracting, and using resources such as metals and stones. For the lab, you will utilize Google Earth to examine several mining sites around the world. In the discussion, you will weigh the pros and cons of mining operations, as many communities have had to do already. This week also includes peer grading discussions, as explained on the How Graded Discussions Work page. Finally, we provide an optional assignment for those who would like to identify some common minerals.
Avis
Meilleurs avis pour LA PLANÈTE TERRE... ET VOUS !
Excellent course. The content was well delivered. If you are not a geology student and don't intend to be one but wish to find out more about the planet you lived on, this is the course for you.
Best course I have taken out of all the courses. It is presented really well, easy to understand and there is a lot of thought put in the creation of the materials and assignments
The professors make learning fun and fruitful. This course is interesting and provides great insights into Mother Nature and why we should protect the one and only home we have.
This is the second time that I took this course. It was more in depth in topics than the original course, and I enjoyed it. Good presentation. Thank you.
Foire Aux Questions
Quand aurai-je accès aux vidéos de cours et aux devoirs ?
L’accès à des vidéos de cours et des devoirs dépend de votre type d’inscription. Si vous suivez un cours en mode auditeur libre, vous pourrez voir la plupart des contenus de cours gratuitement. Pour accéder aux devoirs notés et obtenir un certificat, vous devrez acheter une expérience de certificat, pendant ou après avoir assister au cours en tant qu’auditeur libre. Si vous ne visualisez pas l’option auditeur libre :
- Il est possible que le cours ne propose pas d’option auditeur libre. Vous pouvez en revanche accéder à un essai gratuit ou faire une demande d'aide financière.
- Le cours propose peut-être « Cours complet, aucun certificat » à la place. Cette option vous permet de voir tous les contenus de cours, de soumettre les évaluations requises et d'obtenir une note finale. Cependant, vous ne pourrez pas acheter une expérience de certificat.
À quoi ai-je droit si j'achète le Certificat ?
Lorsque vous achetez un Certificat, vous bénéficiez d'un accès à tout le contenu du cours, y compris les devoirs notés. Lorsque vous avez terminé et réussi le cours, votre Certificat électronique est ajouté à votre page Accomplissements. À partir de cette page, vous pouvez imprimer votre Certificat ou l'ajouter à votre profil LinkedIn. Si vous souhaitez seulement lire et visualiser le contenu du cours, vous pouvez accéder gratuitement au cours en tant qu'auditeur libre.
Quelle est la politique de remboursement ?
Vous avez droit à un remboursement intégral jusqu'à deux semaines après la date de paiement ou (pour les cours qui viennent d'être lancés) jusqu'à deux semaines après le début de la première session du cours, selon la dernière de ces éventualités. Vous ne pouvez pas bénéficier d'un remboursement une fois votre Certificat de Cours obtenu, même si vous terminez le cours pendant la période de remboursement de deux semaines. Consultez notre Politique de remboursement complète.
Une aide financière est-elle possible ?
Oui, Coursera fournit une Aide Financière aux étudiants n'ayant pas les moyens d'acquitter les frais. Pour en faire la demande, cliquez sur le lien Aide Financière situé sous le bouton S'inscrire ci-contre à gauche. Vous serez invité(e) à déposer une demande et vous serez averti(e) si elle est acceptée. En savoir plus.
Puis-je obtenir des crédits universitaires si je réussis le Cours ?
Ce Cours n'est pas associé à des crédits universitaires, mais certaines universités peuvent décider d'accepter des Certificats de Cours pour des crédits. Vérifiez-le auprès de votre établissement pour en savoir plus. Les Diplômes en ligne et les Certificats Mastertrack™ sur Coursera apportent la possibilité d'obtenir des crédits universitaires.
D'autres questions ? Visitez le Centre d'Aide pour les Etudiants.
