Course Description
The student will study interrelationships among organisms and their environment, focusing on the position of humans in the overall scheme. This study will include the roles of energy, soil, water, and air in ecosystem function and how humans use and abuse these resources. IAI: L1 905L.
Prerequisite(s)
Appropriate assessment score or ENGL 1422 - Must be taken either prior to or at the same time as this course.
At the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Demonstrate the ability to apply the scientific method in conducting a basic investigation in the biological sciences.
- Apply integrated scientific process skills that will include forming hypotheses, testing hypotheses, graphing, interpreting data, and making conclusions. This may also include designing experiments or critiquing experimental design.
- Differentiate between ethics and morals and be able to describe how these affect decisions at the individual, corporate, and governmental levels with regard to environmental matters.
- Identify the basic chemical and physical processes that influence ecological systems.
- Interpret the interactions of organisms within populations, communities, and ecosystems.
- Describe population principles and the significance of human populations on the environment.
- Understand available energy resources at all levels of organization and how humans use and develop those resources.
- Explain management strategies for reducing human induced pollution of soil, air, and water.
- Define and explain the principles of solid and hazardous waste disposal and current problems associated with each.
Topical Outline
1. Environmental Literacy
2. Science Literacy and the Process of Science
3. Information Literacy & Human Populations
4. Environmental Economics and Consumption
5. Solid Waste Management
6. Ecosystems and Nutrient Cycling
7. Population Ecology & Community Ecology
8. Evolution and Extinction & Biodiversity
9. Preserving Biodiversity
10. Freshwater & Water Pollution
11. Agriculture, Sustainable Agriculture
12. Coal, Petroleum, & Air Pollution
13. Climate Change and Nuclear Power
14. Renewable Energies & Solutions
15. Urbanization and Sustainable Communities