*Earth Science, Twelfth Edition*, consists of seven units that emphasize broad and up-to-date coverage of basic topics and principles in geology, oceanography, meteorology, and astronomy. The book is intended to be a meaningful, nontechnical survey for students with little background in science. In addition to being informative and up-to-date, a major goal of *Earth Science* is to meet the need of beginning students for a readable and user-friendly text, a book that is a highly usable "tool" for learning basic Earth science principles and concepts.