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Science Department MISSISSIPPI
GULF COAST COMMUNITY COLLEGE
A combined lecture and laboratory course covering the relevance of ecological principles to environmental problems and the relationship of humans to their environment with emphasis on preservation of environmental quality. Labs associated with this course contain experiments and exercises that reinforce the principles introduced in lecture classes.
CORE OBJECTIVES / TOPICS: Core topics to be covered in all Environmental Science lecture classes: a. relevance of ecological principles to environmental problems b. scientific methods used in environmental science c. current environmental issues d. energy-flow processes e. chemical processes as related to the environment f. species/population/community interactions The following course objectives cover the minimum core topics that are listed above for this course. Additional objectives are taught at the discretion of the instructor.
Course
Objectives/Exit Competencies: The
successful student should be able to: Chapter
1 1.
distinguish between ecology and environmental science. 2.
draw an exponential growth curve. 3. distinguish among renewable resources, potentially renewable
resources,
and nonrenewable resources. 4.
describe the tragedy of the commons. 5. distinguish between point sources and non point sources of
pollution. 6.
distinguish between pollution prevention and pollution cleanup. 7.
summarize the root causes of environmental problems. 8. describe the changes that generally occur during a cultural
revolution. 9.
define environmental worldview. 10. evaluate the sustainability of human societies at this point in
time. Chapter
2 1.
list four typical inappropriate characterizations of science. 2.
distinguish between frontier science and consensus science. 3.
define environmental science. 4.
define model. 5.
draw a simple, generalized system. 6. explain how negative feedback loops and positive feedback
loops can be
coupled to maintain stability. 7.
define the concepts of leverage and synergy. 8.
describe the impact of chaos on a system. 9. describe how delayed effects create difficulties for human
policy makers. Chapter
3 1.
define matter. 2.
describe the structure of the periodic table of the elements. 3.
define chemical formula. 4.
define organic compound. 5.
distinguish between high-quality matter and low-quality matter. 6. describe how the law of conservation of matter governs normal
physical
and chemical changes. 7. describe how the law of conservation of matter and energy is
necessary to
govern nuclear changes. 8.
define energy. 9.
summarize the first and second laws of energy. 10. describe the implications of the law of conservation of matter and the second law of energy for high-waste, matter-recycling,
and low waste societies. Chapter
4 1.
define ecology. 2.
list five characteristics of life. 3. distinguish among lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and
ecosphere. 4.
distinguish between an open system and a closed system. 5.
define abiotic component of an ecosystem. 6.
summarize the law of tolerance. 7.
define biotic component of an ecosystem. 8.
distinguish between food chains and food webs. 9. evaluate which ecosystems show the highest average net primary productivity and which contribute most to global net
primary productivity. 10. describe the historical development and distinguishing features
of three
approaches ecologists use to learn about ecosystems. 11.
define ecosystem service. Chapter
5 1. distinguish among hydrologic, atmospheric, and sedimentary
nutrient
cycles. 2.
summarize the hydrologic cycle. 3.
summarize the carbon cycle. 4.
summarize the nitrogen cycle. 5.
summarize the phosphorus and sulfur cycles. 6.
summarize the rock cycle. 7.
define soil horizon. 8.
distinguish among four soil textures. Chapter
6 1.
distinguish between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. 2.
define species. 3. list major steps which have occurred in Earth's chemical and
biological evolution. 4. compare the gradualism model and punctuated equilibrium
hypothesis. 5. describe connections among mutations, adaptations,
differential
reproduction, and biological evolution. 6.
list 4 limits of adaptation to change. 7.
describe biodiversity in terms of speciation and extinction. 8. summarize how humans have tinkered with evolutionary
processes. Chapter
7 1.
distinguish between weather and climate. 2. describe at least 5 different factors which contribute to global
air-circulation patterns. 3.
describe an upwelling. 4.
define greenhouse effect. 5. describe the general effects of the following microclimates:
windward and
leeward sides of a mountain, forests, cities. 6. describe how climate affects the distribution of plant life
on Earth. 7. compare the climate and adaptations of plants and animals in
deserts,
grasslands, and forests. 8. compare the biodiversity and stratification in the three major
kinds of
forests. 9. describe how a mountain ecosystem is like an "island of
biodiversity". Chapter
8 1. summarize the distribution of light, salt, and temperature in
different
aquatic life zones. 2. evaluate the significance of the ecological contributions of the
oceans. 3. describe the characteristics and ecological significance of coral
reefs. 4.
distinguish between coastal and inland wetlands. 5.
list and compare the four zones of a lake. 6.
define watershed. Chapter
9 1.
define ecological niche. 2.
distinguish between a specialist and a generalist. 3. distinguish among the following roles played by species and give on example of each: native species, nonnative species,
indicator species, keystone species. 4. distinguish among the following species interactions and give one example of each: interspecific competition, predation,
and symbiosis. 5.
list two strategies that predators use to capture prey. 6. distinguish among three forms of symbiotic relationships and give one example of each: parasitism, mutualism and
commensalism. 7.
define succession. 8. summarize contributions of disturbances (such as fire) to your
understanding of succession. 9. distinguish among the following types of stability and give an example of an ecosystem which exemplifies each: inertia,
constancy, resilience. 10.
summarize the theory of island biogeography. Chapter
10 1. list and define four variables which determine population
dynamics. 2.
define zero population growth. 3.
define carrying capacity. 4. distinguish between density-dependent and density-independent checks of population growth, and list 3
examples of each. 5. list three types of population curves found in nature, and
identify one
organism which exemplifies each. 6. distinguish between r-strategists and K-strategists, and give
two
examples of each. 7.
distinguish conservation biology from wildlife management. 8.
list 7 ways humans have modified natural ecosystems. 9.
describe the new discipline restoration ecology. Chapter
11 1. define birth rate, death rate, emigration rate, and immigration
rate. 2. distinguish between replacement-level fertility and total fertility
rate. 3. summarize changes over time in the U. S. population growth
rate. 4.
define infant mortality rate. 5. compare rates of population growth in developed countries and
developing
countries. 6. explain how the age structure of a country creates population
growth
momentum using age structure diagrams. 7. summarize key government factors used to influence
population growth
size. 8. summarize key findings of the new Limits to Growth computer
model. 9.
list the four stages of the demographic transition. 10. compare and evaluate the population policies of India and
China. Chapter
12 1.
list 4 major types of agriculture. 2.
evaluate the green revolution. 3.
define interplanting and explain its advantages. 4.
summarize the state of global food production. 5.
summarize environmental impacts from agriculture. 6.
summarize food distribution problems. 7.
describe trends in the world fish catch since 1950. 8. assess the pros and cons of agricultural subsidies and
international food
relief. 9.
define sustainable agriculture. Chapter
13 1.
describe Earth's water supply. 2.
summarize water use in the US and the world. 3.
list four causes of water scarcity. 4.
list 5 ways to increase the water supply. 5.
describe the role of groundwater in supplying fresh water. 6.
state the percentage of water wasted throughout the world. 7. describe the history of the development of the Columbia River
Basin. 8.
list three ways that humans contribute to flooding. 9.
list and describe four ways humans use to control flooding. 10. describe the pieces that contribute to a picture of sustainable
water
use. Chapter
14 1.
make a simple drawing of Earth's three major zones. 2. list three types of mineral resources, and give one example of
each. 3.
distinguish between subsurface and surface mining. 4.
draw a hypothetical depletion curve. 5.
illustrate distribution of the world's non fuel mineral resources. 6. list environmental impacts of extracting, processing, and using
mineral
resources. 7. assess the possibility of increasing mineral resource supplies through finding new deposits, improving technology of mining low-grade ore, getting minerals from the ocean, and finding
substitutes. 8.
describe the problem of soil erosion. 9.
define desertification. 10. distinguish between conventional-tillage farming and
conservation-tillage farming. Chapter
15 1.
evaluate the most important lesson of Chernobyl. 2.
specify the fraction of the total energy used to heat the earth that
comes from commercial sources. 3.
distinguish among primary, secondary, and tertiary oil recovery. 4.
distinguish among natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, liquefied natural
gas and synthetic natural gas. 5.
list and describe three types of coal. 6.
describe the components of a conventional nuclear reactor. 7.
summarize disposal of low-level and high-level radioactive wastes. 8.
list and describe three ways to decommission a nuclear power plant. 9.
describe the potential use of breeder nuclear fission and nuclear fusion
as energy sources. Chapter
16 1. list the advantages and disadvantages of improving energy
efficiency. 2. list the advantages and disadvantages of using direct solar
energy to heat air and water for buildings. 3. list the advantages and disadvantages of using water in the forms of hydropower, tidal power, wave power, ocean thermal
currents, and solar ponds to produce electricity. 4. list the advantages and disadvantages of using wind to produce
electricity. 5. list the advantages and disadvantages of using biomass to heat
space and
water, produce electricity, and propel vehicles. 6. list the advantages and disadvantages of using hydrogen gas to
heat space
and water, produce electricity, and propel vehicles. 7. distinguish among dry steam, wet steam, and hot water
sources of
geothermal energy. 8. analyze the interactions of economic policy and energy
resources. 9. design an energy strategy for the US for the short term,
intermediate
term, and long term. 10. list four ways that the US could build a more sustainable
energy future. Chapter
17 1.
define risk and risk assessment. 2. list 5 principal types of chemical hazards and give two
examples of each. 3. |