Essentials of Geology, 12th Edition

Book Preface

The 12th edition of Essentials of Geology, like its predecessors, is a college-level text for students taking their first and perhaps only course in geology. The text is intended to be a meaningful, nontechnical survey for people with little background in science. Usually students are taking this class to meet a portion of their college’s or university’s general requirements. In addition to being informative and up-to-date, a major goal of Essentials of Geology is to meet the need of beginning students for a readable and user-friendly text; a text that is a highly usable tool for learning the basic principles and concepts of geology.

New to the This Edition

• New and expanded active learning path. Essentials of Geology, 12th edition, is designed for learning. Every chapter begins with Focus on Concepts. Each numbered learning objective corresponds to a major section in the chapter. The statements identify the knowledge and skills students should master by the end of the chapter, helping students prioritize key concepts.

Concepts in Review. This new end-of-chapter feature is an important part of the book’s revised active learning path. Each review is coordinated with the Focus on Concepts at the beginning of the chapter and with the numbered sections within the chapter. It is a readable and concise overview of key ideas, with photos, diagrams, and questions that also help students focus on important ideas and test their understanding of key concepts

SmartFigures. Essentials of Geology, 12th edition, has more than 100 of these figures distributed through each chapter. Just use your mobile device to scan the Quick Response (QR) code next to a SmartFigure, and the art comes alive. Each 2- to 3-minute feature, prepared and narrated by Professor Callan Bentley, is a mini-lesson that examines and explains the concepts illustrated by the figure. It is truly art that teaches.

Mobile Field Trips. Scattered through this new edition of Essentials of Geology are thirteen video field trips. On each trip, you will accompany geologist–pilot–photographer Michael Collier in the air and on the ground to see and learn about landscapes that relate to discussions in the chapter. These extraordinary field trips are accessed in the same way as SmartFigures: You simply scan a QR code that accompanies a figure in the chapter—usually one of Michael’s outstanding photos.