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Download GEOG 1101 Physical Geography - Normandale Community College
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Common Course Outline GEOG 1101 Physical Geography 4 credits Semesters: Fall and Spring Prequisites: none Catalog Description: A study of the earth's physical environment, its systems and the physical processes that drive them. Interactions of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere with human activity. Laboratory assignments provide application of these concepts. General Course Purpose: The course is intended as an introduction to the earth's environment. The readings, lectures, and assignments are structured to help students understand the basic components of the earth's environmental system (weather, climate, vegetation, soils, hydrology, landforms, and geology), their interrelationships, and their global regional distribution. The lab exercises and in-class assignments will help students gain a stronger working knowledge of key concepts and relationships. Furthermore, the course highlights some of the basic interactions between human activity and the natural environment -- especially the ways in which human activities threaten the integrity of the earth's natural systems. The Physical Geography course is, in fact, one of the few courses in the curriculum that provides a solid scientific foundation for understanding global warming and other critical environmental issues. The course uses this focus on the earth's environment as an introductory experience in the study of natural science -- what science is; how scientists define problems, ask questions about those problems, collect and analyze data to answer those questions, and evaluate the answers; how the scientific perspective helps people understand the earth's environments; and how a scientific understanding of the environment guides (or should guide) decisions made about resource utilization and other human activities. Much of the tangible experience of science is provided by the lab exercises. In these activities, students collect data from field studies, from lab experiments (such as those using the stream table), from maps, and from scientific publications. Students analyze the data as a basis for evaluating alternative hypotheses and summarize the results of their work in both mathematical and narrative formats. Several of the lab exercises may be conducted outside, on or close to campus. Classroom Hours: Three hours of lecture and two hours of lab each week. General Education Competencies – This course applies toward the following MnTC general education goals: Natural Science (Goal Three) and People and the Environment (Goal Ten) Learning Outcomes: Upon completion of the course the student should be able to: Describe and explain the earth's environmental system both verbally and quantitatively, including the various components of the environment, their controls, their interrelationships, and their global regional distribution. (3a, 10a) Articulate and explain the scientific theories that explain the ways that these environmental components function and interact. (3a) Interpret and analyze graphic data bases, including a variety of maps and remote sensing images. (3b) Demonstrate, in lab, the understanding and ability to formulate hypotheses about environmental processes collect and analyze measurements of the processes, and assess the validity of your hypotheses on the basis of your data analysis. (3b) Communicate lab analyses and conclusions both orally, within lab work groups, and in the form of prepared written responses. (3c) Portray the fundamental interrelatedness of bio/physical systems and socio/cultural systems in terms of some of the ways in which people affect the environment and the ways in which humans adapt to natural systems. (3d, 10a and b) Describe the range of responses that have been developed by various political and social institutions to meet the challenges of natural resources management. (10c) Develop a basis for evaluating critical social issues and as a basis for considering alternate solutions to environmental problems from a scientific perspective such problems. (10 d and e) Use that critical perspective to construct and explain appropriate personal responses to a variety of environmental issues. (10 e and f) Assessment of Learning: Individual instructors will develop their own criteria for evaluating student performance. Those criteria will include a minimum of three 50-minute long examinations, each consisting of a combination of objective questions and essay responses; and a complete set of weekly written lab reports. Additional work may also be required. Students should consult their course syllabus for specific grading policies. Major Areas of Course Content: Introduction Earth Systems Energy in the Climate System Earth/Sun Relations The role of the atmosphere Solar Radiation Energy Budget The role of water in the atmosphere Humidity Clouds & Precip. Atmospheric Dynamics Atmospheric Pressure Wind (Atm. Motion) Global Winds Local Winds Climate Climate Patterns Climate Change Vegetation Vegetation Patterns Ecology Soils Soil Types Soil Patterns Landforms Hydrology & Streams Stream Erosion Glaciers Glacial Erosion Glacial Deposits Geology Plate Tectonics Volcanoes