ESC2000–TheBluePlanet

Spring2015Syllabus

Coursename:TheBluePlanetCoursenumber:ESC2000Credithours:3Sectionnumber:001

Courseformat:Fullyonline Pre-requisites:None PermissionofInstructor:No

IntendedAudience:Bothscienceandnon-sciencemajorsshouldfindthisclassexcitingandinformative. Thiscoursefulfillsthreecreditsofthegeneraleducationrequirementinnaturalscience.

CourseLogistics:Thisisafullyon-linecourseutilizingFAU’sBlackboarddistancelearningsystem ( PearsonPublishing’sMasteringGeologysite ( notnecessarytovisittheFAUcampusto

completethecourse.Computeraccesswitha broadbandInternetconnectionis required forall lectures, supplementallearningmaterialssuchasvideos,homework,andtests.

Instructor:TobinHindle,Ph.D.

Office:ScienceSE462

Officehours:Onlineofficehours-emailforanon-campusappointment

Phone:561-297-2846

Email:

TA:RipuKunwar,,SE404

Officehours:Mon.,Wed.,Fri.,2-4pm(SE404);Tues.,Thurs.,6-7pm(online)

JannaKepley, ,SE475

Officehours:Tues.,Thurs.,(SE404);Mon.,Wed.,6-7pm(online)

Link to onlineofficehours-

Requiredtext: EarthScience14ebyTarbuckandLutgens,DennisTasa,MasteringGeologyaccesscodeandDirePredictionsbyMannandKump.

Purchaseoptions:

1. FAUbookstore -ISBN-9780321994899(includeseTextandMastering Geologyaccesscode)andISBN- 9780136044352DirePredictionspaperback book.OR

2. BuyeTextwithMasteringGeologyaccesscodedirectlyfromMasteringGeology.com (seeBlackboardInstructionsforregisteringon Mastering Geology).YouwillneedtopurchaseISBN-9780136044352DirePredictions paperbackbookattheFAUbookstoreoranonlinebookstore.

CourseDescription:Surveyintroductiontoearthsystemsciencewithanemphasisontheinteractions betweenearth,oceanandatmosphere.Specialattentionwillbepaidtogreenhouseeffect,ozonedepletion, andglobalchange.Courseis orientedtostudentsnotmajoringinscience.Thisis aGeneralEducation course.

Courseandinstructionalobjectives:StudentssuccessfullycompletingTheBluePlanetwillcomprehend thescientificprocessesandargumentsthatlink betweendifferentcomponentsoftheEarthsystem. Developmentof studyskills,timemanagement,andcriticallisteningwillbestressedthroughout.This courseis designedtoofferafoundationinearthscienceforbothscienceandnon-sciencemajors. Aspart oftheIntellectualFoundations,GeneralEducationCurriculum,thiscoursecombineswithothercoursesin theFAUgeneraleducationcurriculumtodevelop:

1.Knowledgeinseveraldifferentdisciplines;

2.Theabilitytothinkcritically;

3.Theabilitytocommunicateeffectively;

4.Anappreciationforhowknowledgeis discovered,challenged,andtransformedasitadvances

5.Anunderstandingofethicsandethicalbehavior.

GeneralEducationCurriculum,Foundationsof ScienceandtheNaturalWorld: Scientificprinciplesare behindwhatwefindinnatureandinnaturaloccurrences.Scientificissues,suchasthosedealingwith stem-cellresearch,cloning,andglobalwarming,arehotlydebatedbypolicymakers.Coursesthatmeetthis requirementsharethegoalofseekingtounderstandpatternsandprinciplesbehindphenomenaand occurrences,bothin the inorganicworldandinthelivingworld.Theytypicallyfallwithineitherthephysical sciences(Astronomy,Physics,Chemistry,andtheEarthSciences)ortheBiologicalsciences.

StudentswhosatisfytheScienceandtheNaturalWorldrequirementwilldemonstrate:

1.Anunderstandingofthenatureofscience,includingimportantprinciplesandparadigms;

2.Anunderstandingofthelimitsof scientificknowledgeandof howscientificknowledgechanges;

3.Anunderstandingofthenatureofscientificinquiryanditsethicalstandards,inparticularhowto posequestionsandhowtodeveloppossibleexplanations;

4.Anabilitytodiscernclaimsbasedonrigorousscientificmethodsfrom thosebasedon illogicalor

incompletescientificmethods.

Methodofinstruction:

Allcoursematerial,homeworkandtestscanbeaccessedovertheInternetathomeoratotheraccessible sites,solongasthecomputerhasbroadband/highspeedInternetaccess.Theprimarymethodof instructionis throughtheuseof onlinelecturesthatincludevisualslideswithaudionarration.Online lecturesmustbeviewedon machinesequippedamodernwebbrowser,Flash11.2pluginor newerand sound.Youmightwanttobringalongearphonestothestudentlabsforconvenience.Manyhomework assignmentsrequireusingGoogleEarth,afreedownloadfoundat

OnlinecoursesdeliveredovertheInternetareconvenientformanystudents.Experiencesuggests, however,thatsomestudentsdonotunderstandthat in theabsenceofformalclassmeetings,lectures, discussiongroups,etc.,it’seasytofallbehind.Pleasedon’tletthathappentoyou. IwillpostweeklyworkloadannouncementsinBlackboardandsendfrequentemailreminderstohelpyoustayonschedule.

YouareresponsiblefortakingtheonlineChapterHomeworkandTestsduringthetimestheyare available.TheduedatescanbefoundintheSyllabusschedule,intheBlackboardweeklyAnnouncements and intheLeaningModulefolders.Homeworkdatesarealsolisted intheMasteringGeologyCalendar.

Equallyimportantly,butmuchlessobviouslytosomestudents-you’vegottokeepupwiththereadingsand

lectures.It’snextto impossibletoplaycatchupinanearthsciencecourse.Studentswhostarttofall behinddiscoverthattheybeginfallingbehindatan everfasterrate.Thiscanhappenina traditionallecture formatcourse,too,butsincein thosesettings,wegathertogetherafewtimesa week,it’seasierfor everyoneto realizesomething’sgoingwrong.Notso in acoursedeliveredovertheInternet.

TheFAUBlackboardsiteactsasagatewaytotheonlinelectures,chapterhomeworksandtests.Because thiscourseis deliveredexclusivelyonline,studentsmustsubmittheassignmentsthroughtheBlackboard andMasteringgeologysiteswheretheywillbegradedautomatically. ITISREQUIREDTHATYOUPRINTANDRETAINTHESCORECONFIRMATIONPAGE AFTERSUBMITTINGEACHASSIGNMENT.Ifthere is everaquestionof Blackboardrecordingyourtestgradesproperly, yourprintedconfirmationpageis the onlywaytodocumentyourwork.

CourseAssignments:

Eachweek,anannouncementwillbepostedon Blackboarddetailingthespecificassignmentsforthat week.Ingeneral,youshouldfirst readthechaptersforthe week,thenlistento thecorrespondinglecture, watchanysupplementalvideos,completetheassignedchapterhomeworkandthentaketheModule test.A tableoutliningtheclassscheduleis availableintheSyllabusprovidedonFAU’sBlackboardsite. Pleasenotethattheassignmentdeadlineslistedintheschedulearesubjecttochangesthatwillbe announcedusingBlackboard.Studentsareresponsibleforreadingthese Announcementsona weeklybasis.

 ReadingAssignments:Thereadingassignmentslistedin theclassscheduleshouldbe completedpriorto viewingthelectureduringwhichthematerialwillbediscussed.Trustmeon thisone;thelecturematerialmakesmuchmoresenseifyouhavereadthetextbookfirsttoseta contextforunderstandingwherethelecturematerialfits.

 OnlineLectures:Thiscoursemakesuseofweb-basedlecturestodelivermaterialnormally presentedina traditionalclassroomformat.Theselectureslastapproximately35to40minutes each.Thegoodnewsisyoudon’thaveto viewa wholechapteratonesittingandcanbeviewed at yourownpace.

 ChapterHomework:Afterviewinganonlinelecture,studentsmustthencompletetheChapter Homeworklocatedon theMasteringgeologysite, . Thechaptersareorganizedsothateachcontainsroughlythesameamountofmaterialasa traditionalclassroomlecturesession. YoucanattempteachHomeworkquestion4times,butyouarededucted15%for eachincorrectmultiplechoiceanswer,5%forallothertypesofanswers.Mostquestionshavea "hint"buttonavailablethatyoucanusewithNOanswerpenaltyanda 5%bonusfornotusinganyhints.After4 incorrectanswers,thecorrectanswerwillbedisplayedfor you.

 SupplementalMaterial:Somelearningmodulescontainrequiredvideostowatchin additionto thelectures.

 Studyaids:MasteringGeologycontainsnon-gradedReviewQuestionsandaStudyAreawith studyaidsthatshouldbereviewedaspartofpreparingforeachmoduletest.

 Examinations:TestswillbegivenasindicatedonthescheduleandintheBlackboard Announcements.EachcoversoneLearningModule(generallyone textbookunit)and is not cumulative.Theseon-lineTestsaretimed(50minutes),mustbecompletedinone,continuoussitting,andcanbetakenonly1time.EachTestis comprisedof40 multiple-choiceand true/falsequestions.Althoughtestsare inherently“open-book”examinations,their limitedtime allotmentrequirestrongpreparationfrom students(i.e.,studentswon’thaveenoughtimeto “open”thebookforeveryquestion).Therefore,you shouldstudyforthe Moduletestas you wouldforatraditionalclassroombased,closedbookexam.Inthecasethatastudent submitsamoduletestexceedingtheallottedtimeperiod,upto10 pointswillbe deductedforeach5 minutesthatthetestislate.

 ExtraCredit:Upto30extracreditpointscanbeearnedbyparticipatingin theBlackboard

DiscussionForum.DetailsoftheextracreditrequirementsareprovidedinBlackboard.

CourseEvaluation:Thecoursefinalgradeis composedofthefollowingcomponents:

Syllabusconfirmation / 10pts
Module1Test / 100pts
Module2Test / 100pts
Module3Test / 100pts
Module4Test / 100pts
Module5Test / 100pts
Module6Test / 100pts
ChapterHomework(total) / 420pts
Total / 1030pts

Gradingcriteria:Thiscourseis gradedontheA-Fscale.Thereisnocurveappliedtofinalscoresin thiscourse.Thegradescaleis setasbelow,withscoresroundedtothenearestwholepercent:

PercentAvg / Grade / PercentAvg / Grade
93 / - / 100 / A / 73 / - / 76 / C
90 / - / 92 / A- / 70 / - / 72 / C-
87 / - / 89 / B+ / 67 / - / 69 / D+
83 / - / 86 / B / 63 / - / 66 / D+
80 / - / 82 / B- / 60 / - / 62 / D-
77 / - / 79 / C+ / 0 / - / 59 / F

Gradepostings:Scoresarelistedin BlackboardunderMyGrades. Youcanseeyourcurrentaverage andcorrespondinglettergradeforallworksubmittedatthebottomofMyGrades. YOUMUSTALWAYSVERIFYYOURGRADESAREBEINGPOSTEDPROPERLYBYCHECKINGMYGRADESAFTERCOMPLETINGEACHMODULEANDKEEPINGAPRINTEDCOPYOFTHESCORECONFIRMATION

PAGEDISPLAYEDAFTERSUBMITTINGALLASSIGNMENTS.

Policyonmake-ups:Becausea generousblockoftime is providedforcompletingallhomeworkandtests, itis thestudent’sresponsibilitytoensurethattheyarecompletedPRIORtotheduedate.Makeupswithwrittendocumentationofamedicalorfamilyemergencymustberequestedassoonasfeasible. Ifyoumissatestforunexcusedreasons, youlosecreditforit unless youcontacttheinstructorwithintwodaysoftheduedate.Unexcusedtestmakeups(homeworkwillnotbere-openedforunexcusedreasons)maybe grantedwitha10%orgreaterlatepenaltyatthediscretionof the instructor.Ifyouknowthatyoucan’t takeanassignmentbeforehand,be suretocontacttheinstructortoseeifitcanbeadministeredat a differenttimeordate.Additionally,sinceitis alwayspossibletohavea computerissueatanytime, students shouldavoidwaitinguntilthelastminutetocompletehomeworksandtests.

The“incomplete”grade:ThegradeofI(incomplete)shallONLYbegivenforthereasonslistedandunder theconditionsspecifiedin theFAUcoursecatalog (

Electronicmailis acriticalcommunicationtoolinanyweb-basedcollegecourse!Pleasenotethatthis courseconformstotheFAUstudentemailpolicy.Allcourse-relatedemailwillbe senttoyourFAUemailaccount.Allstudentsmustregularly(atleastthreetimesweekly)accesstheirFAUemailaccounts,as wellasBlackboardforannouncementsandschedulinginformation!Youcannormallyexpectallemailstothe instructorto berepliedtowithin48hours.

Academicintegrity:StudentsatFloridaAtlanticUniversityareexpectedto maintainthehighestethical standards.Academicdishonesty,includingcheatingandplagiarism,is consideredaseriousbreachof these ethicalstandards,becauseitinterfereswiththeUniversitymissiontoprovidea highqualityeducationin whichnostudentenjoysanunfairadvantageoveranyother.Academicdishonestyisalsodestructiveofthe University6community,whichis groundedinasystemofmutualtrustandplaceshighvalueonpersonal integrityandindividualresponsibility.Harshpenaltiesareassociatedwithacademicdishonesty.Formore information,seeUniversityRegulation4.001at

Youmustneverrepresentthe work ofanotherpersonas yourownwithoutacknowledgment.Inthiscourse, youmayworktogetherinstudygroupsandmayhelponeanotherwiththe homeworkassignments. However,duringthetests youmayuseyourlecturenotesandthetextbook ONLY,andmayNOT collaboratewithothers.Ifyouhaveanyquestionsregardinginterpretationsofacademicintegrityrules,be suretoseetheinstructor.

Courseetiquette:Asthisis afullyonlinecourse,studentsmustusegood netiquette,whichisproperor politebehaviorontheinternet.Howwecommunicatetoeachotherisveryimportantinthiscourse.Inorder tomaintaina positiveonlineenvironmentforourclass,weallneedtofollowthenetiquetteguidelines:

Showrespectfortheinstructorandforotherstudentsintheclass;Respecttheprivacyofotherstudents. (nospammingstudentemails);Expressdifferencesofopinionina politeandrationalway;Avoidbringing up irrelevanttopics wheninvolvedingroupdiscussions;Usemainlylowercaseintheirmessageswith propercapitalizationrulesfollowed(useof alluppercaseinamessageis theequivalentofshoutingand is consideredoffensive;Useappropriatelanguageinmessagesthatareconversationalandpositiveinnature andnotthreateningoroffensive

Specialaccommodations:Athletescompetinginsportsthissemestershouldbecertainthattheir academicadvisoris awareofthecourseassignmentscheduleandcontactstheinstructorassoonas possibleifthereareconflicts.SinceallassignmentscanbecompletedonlinefromanyInternetconnected computer,extensionsarenotgenerallyprovidedfor“away”gamesandcompetitions.

Studentswithdisabilities:IncompliancewiththeAmericanswithDisabilitiesAct(ADA),studentswho requirespecialaccommodationduetoadisabilitytoproperlyexecutecourseworkmustregisterwiththe OfficeforStudentswithDisabilities(OSD)-in BocaRaton,SU133(561-297-3880);inDavie,MOD1(954-

236-1222);inJupiter,SR117(561-799-8585);orattheTreasureCoast,CO128 (772-873-3305)–and

followallOSDprocedures.

ESC2070 Schedule

Chapter

Week

Start

Dates

EndDates TopicsllecturesReading

Assignments

HomeworkTestdue

duedatesdates

101/05/1501/09/15GettingStartedwithTheBluePlanet01/16/15

Chapter1: IntroductiontoEarth Science1

201/10/1501/16/15Chapter2:MatterandMinerals201/16/15

301/17/1501/23/15Chapter3:Rocks,Matelialsofthe SolidEarth301/23115

01/21/1501/23/15Module1Test1-301/23115

401/24/1501/30/15

Chapter4:Weathering,SoiI,andMassWasting4

Chapter5:RunningWater5

01/30/15

501/31/1502/06/15

Chapter5:Groundwater5

Chapter6:Glaciers,Deserts,andWind6

02/06/15

02/04/1502/06/15Module2Test4-602/06/15

602/07/1502/13/15

Chapter7:PlateTectonics,AScientificRevolutionUnfolds7

Chapter8:EarthquakesandEarth'sInterior8

02/13/15

702/14/1502/20/15

Chapter9:VolcanoesandOtherIgneousActivity9

Chapter10:CrustalDeformationandMountainBuilding10

02/20/15

02/1811502/20/15Module3Test7-1002/20/15

802/21/1502/27/15

Chapter13:TheOceanFloor13

Chapter14:OceanWaterandOceanLife14

02/27/15

902/28/1503/13/15

Chapter15:TheDynamic Ocean l?l

15

03/13/15

03111/1503113/15Module 4Test13-1503/13115

Chapter16:TheAtmosphere,Composition,Structure,and

16

1003/14/1503/20/15 Temperature03/20/15

17

Chapter17:Moisture,Clouds,andPrecipitation

Chapter18:AirPressureandWind18

1103/21/1503/27/15 Chapter19:WeatherPatternsandSevereStorms1903/27/15

03125/1503127/15Module5Test16-1903/27/15

1203/28/1504/03/15 Chapter20:WorldClimatesandGlobalClimateChange2004/03/15

1304/04/1504/10/15 DirePredictions:Parts 1,2,3Parts 1,2and304/10/15

14/1504/11/1504/17/15

DirePredictions:Parts 4,5

Movie:The11thHour

Parts 4and504/17/15

04/2311504/25/15Module6Test20,Parts1-504/25/15