Planet Earth

by Farndon, John; Challoner, Jack; Kerrod, Robin; Walshaw, Rodney

• ISBN13: 9780754812074
• ISBN10: 0754812073
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-06-01
• Publisher: Natl Book Network

Summary

Powerful photography and informative text work together to tell the amazing story of our planet. Fact boxes and diagrams highlight important information, and there are fun-to-do educational experiments, such as splitting light into a rainbow, making a volcano eruption or growing crystals.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 6
Planet Earth	p. 8
The unique planet	p. 10
Spinning planet	p. 12
Earth story	p. 14
Magnetic earth	p. 16
Life-support system	p. 18
Stirrings of life	p. 20
Evolution of species	p. 22
Competitive genes	p. 24
Broken earth	p. 26
Building mountains	p. 28
Folding techniques	p. 30
Wearing away	p. 32
Practical erosion	p. 34
Running rivers	p. 36
Laying down deposits	p. 38
Ice sculpting	p. 40
Desert landscapes	p. 42
Sea battles	p. 44
Pulling tides	p. 46
The oceans' hidden depths	p. 48
Oceans on the move	p. 50
The world's weather	p. 52
Climate change	p. 54
Weather record	p. 56
Vegetation zones	p. 58
The balance of life	p. 60
Living together	p. 62
Human impact	p. 64
Dance of the continents	p. 66
Rocks and Minerals	p. 68
Rocks and minerals	p. 70
Looking at rocks	p. 72
What are minerals?	p. 74
Crystals	p. 76
Making crystals	p. 78
Igneous rocks	p. 80
Making igneous rocks	p. 82
Sedimentary rocks	p. 84
Rocks in layers	p. 86
Making sedimentary rocks	p. 88
Metamorphic rocks	p. 90
Geologists at work	p. 92
Identifying minerals	p. 94
Reading the rocks	p. 96
Seeing inside the Earth	p. 98
Finding buried minerals	p. 100
Limestone landscapes	p. 102
Rock, weather and soil	p. 104
What is soil made of?	p. 106
Preserved in stone	p. 108
Making fossils	p. 110
Useful rocks	p. 112
Coal	p. 114
Liquid minerals	p. 116
Metals from rocks	p. 118
Rocks and buildings	p. 120
Rocks in space	p. 122
Stones for decoration	p. 124
Using rocks and minerals	p. 126
Volcanoes and Earthquakes	p. 128
Fire from below	p. 130
The active earth	p. 132
Eruption	p. 134
Spreading seas	p. 136
Moving magma	p. 138
When plates meet	p. 140
Hot spots	p. 142
Cones and shields	p. 144
Flowing lava	p. 146
Vicious volcanoes	p. 148
Dangerous gases	p. 150
Mount St Helens	p. 152
Volcanic rocks	p. 154
Bubbles and intrusions	p. 156
Fiery minerals	p. 158
Volcanic landscapes	p. 160
Letting off steam	p. 162
Geysers and mudlarks	p. 164
Changing climates	p. 166
Out of this world	p. 168
The quaking earth	p. 170
Slips and faults	p. 172
Tremendous tremors	p. 174
Making waves	p. 176
Seismic science	p. 178
Building seismographs	p. 180
Fieldwork	p. 182
Measuring movements	p. 184
To the rescue	p. 186
Wild Weather	p. 189
What is weather?	p. 190
Heat from the Sun	p. 192
Measuring temperature	p. 194
Climates of the world	p. 196
Changing the temperature	p. 198
El Nino and La Nina	p. 200
Beating the heat	p. 202
Where the weather is	p. 204
In the air	p. 206
Air on the move	p. 208
Air pressure	p. 210
Whirlwinds and tornadoes	p. 212
Measuring the wind	p. 214
Hurricanes and cyclones	p. 216
Masses of air	p. 218
The water cycle	p. 220
Humidity	p. 222
Looking at clouds	p. 224
Rain and dew	p. 226
Making rainbows	p. 228
Thunder and lightning	p. 230
Charging up	p. 232
Flood and drought	p. 234
Gauging the rain	p. 236
Snow and ice	p. 238
Coping with cold	p. 240
Ice age or greenhouse?	p. 242
Studying the weather	p. 244
Your weather station	p. 246
Glossary	p. 248
Index	p. 252
Table of Contents provided by Rittenhouse. All Rights Reserved.