Cerritos College Earth Science Department On-Line Tutorial Center

Taking a science class for the first time is like learning a new language.  Methods of scientific inquiry can be considered the grammar of science, while each discipline has its own specific technical vocabulary (a geologist, an engineer and a sociologist will each mean something fundamentally different when using the word "dike," for example).

Mathematics is really just one more of the languages scientists use for describing the world around them.  Mathematics allows a precise description of phenomena so that results can be tested and expanded on by other scientists.   Occasionally math can provide insights that are truly surprising.  Did you know that tsunami (seismic sea waves) can travel through the ocean at more than 400 miles per hour, or that some some ancient volcanic eruptions ejected more than 1000 times as much material as the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens?

Earth science courses at Cerritos College do not require a sophisticated level of mathematics.  For our Earthquakes and Volcanoes course, you should be comfortable with (or taking) introductory algebra (which is taught in 9th grade).   For our other courses which count for physical science general education credit (including Geography 1, physical geography) you should be competent with junior high school math (our Math 40 at Cerritos College).

Although you will not be asked to apply advanced mathematics to problems in your earth science course, you should be able to use basic math with precision.   Click on an item from the list below to review some of the things you should be able to apply to problems in earth science.

• The metric system
• Units of measurement
• Exponents and scientific notation
• Example problems using math from various earth science courses

Return to the Earth Science On-Line Tutorial Center

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06/25/0313 Oct 2009 09:18:26 -0700