Geosystems

Bring together math, physics, chemistry, and biology to investigate the phenomena of our planet. This class will be more awesome than The Science of Cooking.

Teacher: Reena Joubert

Ever wondered where Earth’s water came from, and why there isn’t as much on Mars? Interested in investigating what earthquakes can tell us about our planet’s interior, why some streams meander and others braid, or what tiny marine organisms called phytoplankton might have to do with the paths of hurricanes? Do you think physics, chemistry, biology, and math are all so awesome you can’t pick just one?

Geosystems is a multidisciplinary, “systems approach” to earth science, drawing on physics, chemistry, biology, and math to discover and explain the phenomena of the planet we live on. This teamwork-oriented course will give an introduction to the mindset and methods of modern earth systems science at the college level, sampling a wide variety of topics, while looking in-depth at some that particularly illustrate key systems science ideas (such as feedback loops and stability). We will regularly explore unsolved problems and open areas of research.

In addition to hands-on exposure to specimens and data in the classroom, the course will include two off-campus field trips and a couple of visits to MIT labs.

For the application...

Prerequisites

Required: One year each of high school physics and chemistry (honors/AP preferred)
Helpful: Basic knowledge of single-variable calculus (differentiation and integration)

Relevant experience

Please list all high school and higher level courses, activities, programs, etc. in which you have participated in the sciences. Please also list the highest level mathematics course you have taken. (Don't worry if it's not much! This info just helps put your response to the question below in context.)

Application Question (Core-Specific Free Response)

You probably remember news stories about the earthquake that occurred near Santiago, Chile on February 27 last year. This quake ranked a whopping 8.8 on the Richter scale, making it the fifth strongest ever recorded (edit: sixth, since the recent quake in Japan!). If you paid particularly close attention, you may also have heard that this earthquake caused Earth’s day to shorten ever so slightly: by ~ 1.26 microseconds.

The quake occurred along a subduction zone: a location where one (more dense) plate of Earth’s crust dives under a second (less dense) plate, descending into the mantle. The Chile quake involved the thrust of part of the denser Nazca plate several meters downward, beneath the less dense South American plate.

Using ONLY the information given and the physics you already know:
A. Propose a brief explanation for how the Chile quake could have shortened Earth’s day (Hint: it’s similar to how a figure skater’s pirouette quickens when she pulls her arms inward).
B. Can you think of any other natural phenomena that might affect the speed of Earth’s rotation?
C. Suppose every human being between the equator and 20 degrees North latitude decides to travel to the North Pole for a Christmas party. Could this affect the length of a day on Earth? If so, how?