UNIT E: Planet Earth

Unit Checklist

  Unit E: Key Ideas

Focus On: Planet Earth

This unit has four sections dedicated to helping you understand the basics of planet Earth. Each section has a key idea indicated by its title and is divided into lessons. Click each key idea tab below to view the lesson titles and some key questions you will investigate.


Section 1 Key Idea: The Earth's crust is constantly changing.

Lesson E1: Structure of Earth
Key Question – What is inside Earth?

Lesson E2: Earth's Violent Crust: Earthquakes and Landslides
Key Question – How do earthquakes and landslides occur?

Lesson E3: Earth's Violent Crust: Volcanoes
Key Question – What are volcanoes?

Lesson E4: Earth's Violent Crust: Then and Now
Key Question – How do we study earthquakes and volcanoes?

Lesson E5: Earth's Crust: Slow and Steady Change
Key Question – What are weathering, erosion, and deposition?

Section 2 Key Idea: The properties of rocks and minerals tells us much about the Earth's crust.

Lesson E6: Properties of Rocks and Minerals
Key Question – What is the difference between rocks and minerals?

Lesson E7: Alberta's Fossil Fuels
Key Question – How does our knowledge of rocks and minerals help us find Alberta’s oil, gas, and coal?

Lesson E8: Rock Classification
Key Question – What are the differences among igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks?

Lesson E9: The Rock Cycle
Key Question – How do rocks change from one type to another?


Section 3 Key Idea: Continents slowly drift and change the Earth's surface.

Lesson E10: Continental Drift
Key Question – What evidence indicates that Earth’s continents move?

Lesson E11: Plate Tectonics
Key Question – How do sections of Earth’s crust move and change over time?

Lesson E12: What is a Hot Spot?
Key Question – What do the Hawaiian Islands reveal about Earth’s crust?

Lesson E13: The Majestic Rocky Mountains
Key Question – How do mountains and mountain ranges form?

Section 4 Key Idea: Fossil evidence provides many clues about how the Earth has changed.

Lesson E14: Fossil Evidence in the Earth's Crust
Key Question – What is the relationship between fossils and Earth’s crust?

Lesson E15: Figuring Out Fossils
Key Question – How are fossils discovered, collected, and studied?

Lesson E16: Case Study: Amazing Alberta Fossils
Key Question – Where are amazing fossils such as the ankylosaurus found, and what do they tell us about Alberta’s history?

Lesson E17: Geologic Time: The Four Eras
Key Question – When in Earth’s history did various life forms appear?

Lesson E18: How Old Is That?
Key Question – What is the science used to identify and age ancient fossils and rocks?