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These four short online lessons cover the following:

• What is the sun?
• Interior of the sun
• Outer layers of the sun
• Surface features of the sun

This online resource investigates the internal structure, outer layers and surface features of the sun.

This online resource explores the terrestrial, or inner, planets - the planets closest to the sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.

This online tutorial will provide you with some guidelines on how to interpret both topographic and geologic maps.

This online resource investigates the features and topology of the ocean floor, the effects of wave erosion and the landforms created by coastal depositions.

This YouTube video elaborates on what weather is and what causes changes in the weather.

This short online resource elaborates on the difference between climate and weather and why understanding the climate is important.

This short online tutorial highlights the difference between weather and climate.

This section introduces you to the realm of physics, and discusses applications of physics in other disciplines of study. It also describes the methods by which science is done, and how scientists communicate their results to each other.

Physics is a branch of science. The word science comes from a Latin word that means having knowledge, and refers the knowledge of how the physical world operates, based on objective evidence determined through observation and experimentation. A key requirement of any scientific explanation of a natural phenomenon is that it must be testable; one must be able to devise and conduct an experimental investigation that either supports or refutes the explanation. It is important to note that some questions fall outside the realm of science precisely because they deal with phenomena that are not scientifically testable. This need for objective evidence helps define the investigative process scientists follow, which will be described later in this chapter.