06101 Introduction to Earth Sciences 1

Credits: 6 intermediate credits in Geology

Prerequisites: none

Authors: Emanuel Mazor, Shlomo Shoval, Nurit Goldman. The materials include a course book, Geology with an Israeli Hammer (updated ed., 2012, in Hebrew), by Emanuel Mazor and Nurit Taitel-Goldman, and a home lab kit with a range of minerals, rocks and fossils found in Israel.

The course acquaints students with the exciting aspects of geology, focusing on phenomena unique to Israel. It opens a window to our dynamic and ever-changing world, and enables the student to understand the forces that cause volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and mountain building, observe a variety of minerals and rocks from Israel and examine their formation, and study processes that shaped the Israeli landscape in light of plate tectonics.

The course includes one mandatory laboratory session to acquaint the student with minerals and rocks of Israel (conducted on the Open University campus), two mandatory one-day field trips to Makhtesh Hatira and the Dead Sea rift valley to observe phenomena discussed in the course, and several tutorial sessions held on the Open University campus.


1There is some overlap in the content of this and other courses. For details, see Overlapping Courses.