OrangeCoastCollegeDepartment of Marine Sciences

OCEANOGRAPHY LECTURE – MARINE SCIENCE 100

Course Syllabus & Proposed Schedule

Fall 2007

Instructor:Lisa D. Snyder

Section #: 1406, Class Meets: Mon. 6:00-9:10 pm

Location: Science Hall

E-mail:

Voicemail phone (messages only): (714) 432-0202 ext. 22838

Class Web-site: (Class notes available here)

Marine Science Department Web-site:

Office Hours: TBA

*Note: The best way to contact me is via e-mail.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

An introductory and orientation class about the science of Oceanography, including considerations of the biological, physical, chemical, and geological properties of the seas. It also covers the sea-air interface and weather. We will look at the sea as a physical, chemical, biological, and recreational resource, and the obligation of humankind to control further contamination of the oceanic environment. Two hours and fifty minutes lecture per week for sixteen weeks in class. A transfer course. Not offered as credit/no-credit option. No prerequisite.

REQUIRED TEXT:Garrison, T. 2007. Oceanography: An Invitation to Marine Science, 6th edition. Brooks/Cole. ISBN: 0-534-40887-7.

*Available at the O.C.C. Bookstore

For whom the course is intended:

1.For students fulfilling general education science requirements that wish to learn about modern trends and discoveries in oceanography and Marine Biology without entering too deeply into the Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, Geology, and Biology of the oceans.

2.For students seeking to better understand the marine environment and to enrich their enjoyment of and appreciation of the ocean.

3.As a first course for students wishing to major in the marine sciences or related sciences.

Course objectives:

1. The student will be stimulated to learn more about the marine environment (both local and global), and to expand his or her knowledge of the ocean through additional reading and viewing of this subject throughout his or her life.

2.The student will be exposed to a general coverage of the topic, with only limited specialization and with supplemental information from other fields, and will be able to demonstrate understanding of this information by passing examinations patterned after the presented and assigned material.

3.Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to make logical choices relating to ocean conservation issues (both globally and locally), will be aware of some representative marine management techniques, and will be better equipped to evaluate the environmental consequences of the management of the ocean resources.

4.I will challenge you to observe and inquire about the physical and chemical properties of the sea and how living things cope in different kinds of oceanic environments through both field and lab exercises. I also encourage you to inquire about your role on this planet and how your activities affect the marine environment and how it, in turn, impacts you. My hope is that you will find the coursework truly informative and enjoyable.

Reading assignments:

The class schedule provides a list of reading assignments for each week of lecture. I will stress some points more than others. Let my lectures guide you on what particular topics to focus on in the text. To do well you must keep up with the reading, which is one of the most important requirements for this class.

CLASS POLICIES

1.Attendance: Be in class at every meeting and arrive on time! Do not make any other plans during this sixteen-week semester for the hours, days, and weeks that our class meets. Everything presented in lecture is important to your understanding of this topic or it wouldn’t be discussed.

*Attendance is taken every day near the beginning of the class and again near the end of class and you must be sitting in your assigned seat to be counted present at those times. If you don’t like the seat you were assigned, see the course assistant about changing your seat in advance. We drop persistent non-attendees (four or more absences) and people who keep coming in late to class. As a courtesy to your classmates and professor I will expect you to turn off cell phones and pagers when you enter class.

If for some reason you are no longer able to attend class, be sure to drop yourself according to school drop dates:

Last date to drop without a “W” – 21 September

Last date to drop with a “W” – 16 November

2.Academic Honesty: I expect and require you to exhibit academic honesty when you take any exam or take a quiz in this class. Specifically, I expect you not to cheat in any way. Do not ask other students for answers, give answers to other students, or copy answers off other students papers. Do not use crib (cheat) sheets, notes, or anything else during a test that gives you an unfair advantage over other students. I expect you to inform the course assistants or myself, immediately, of the identity of any student you know to be cheating in class. All work must be completed on your own. The penalty for cheating on a quiz/exam will be a “0” for the exam and the incident will be reported to the Dean. A second offense will result in a grade of “F” for the course.

3.Courtesy: I require that you practice civility and courteousness in MS 100 with your fellow students, the course assistants, and me. I will not condone or tolerate foul language, abusive, or inappropriate behavior by students in my class or anything that I deem disruptive to the order and progress of the class.

4.Important: You will need five (5) RED Scantron Test Form 200 (# F-289-PAR-L), one the syllabus quiz & one for each exam this semester.

5.Food and beverages are NOT allowed in the Science Lecture Hall. However, bottled water is O.K. Please clean up after yourself as a courtesy to others.

STUDENT EVALUATION

Examinations: All exams consist of multiple choice, true/false, and matching questions. There will be one 20-point quiz over the syllabus, three 70-point midterm exams and a 90-point final exam. All quizzes & exams are non-cumulative, including the final. So, they only cover the material since the last exam.

You must bring your own Red Scantron Form (Parscore) - available in the O.C.C. Bookstore, a #2 pencil, and your student I.D. card with you to complete all exams.

After each exam we will post your grades. Keep track of these and use the grade scale below to calculate your current overall grade.

Basis for your final grade:

POINT BREAKDOWN

1 Syllabus Quiz 20

3 midterm exams (70 points each)210 points

Final Exam (90 points) 90 points

TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE320 POINTS

Grades will be assigned based upon the following scale of percentages of total possible points:

Grade / Percentage / Total Score (approximate)
A / 90 – 100% / 287 – 320 points
B / 80 – 89% / 255 – 286 points
C / 70 – 79% / 223 – 254 points
D / 60 – 69% / 191 – 222 points
F / 0 – 59% / 0 – 190 points

Make-up Examinations: Make up exams will only be given in the event of documented emergencies and significant conflicts (e.g., hospital stay, contagious illness). To take a make-up exam at the end of the semester (see below) for an exam that you missed, you must have an excused absence for the day you missed. Your written excuse and copy of documentation (Dr.’s note, etc.) must arrive in the instructors hands no later than one week after the scheduled exam that you missed. If you fail to do this, your absence will not be excused later and you will not be allowed to take the make-up exam. This is your responsibility.

I will not accept telephone messages or notes in my mailbox in place of a written (or typed) explanation. Do not turn these in to a course assistant or anyone else. If you e-mail me regarding your absence, please print a hard copy of your e-mail & turn it in to me. If you forget to do this, I will not accept your excuse at a later date, no exceptions. I do not excuse absences due to work conflicts, too much homework in other courses, being on vacation on the date of the exam, forgetting class, or driving someone to the airport or train station instead of coming to class. Also, unverified illnesses or court dates will not be accepted.

All make-ups are given on the same day (4:30 – 5:45 p.m. Monday 26 November). Location will be announced in lecture. You must have an excused absence to take a make up exam. You can only make up one exam you miss due to non-attendance on the day the exam is scheduled. You cannot retake an exam because you received a low grade on it the first time you took it! You must see the course assistant the week prior to the make-up exam and register for it (Monday 19 November). Failure to register by that date will result in your loss of the opportunity to take a make-up exam.

THERE IS NO MAKE-UP FOR THE FINAL EXAM.

Extra Credit

Students will have the option of completing one 30 point extra credit assignment. Interested students may earn extra credit by attending one beach cleanup event conducted by Save Our Beach (Seal Beach). Students must help clean up the beach for a minimum of one hour to earn credit. Save Our Beach will provide a certificate of completion as proof of attendance. Students must submit this certificate to your instructor for credit. Tentative 2007 cleanup dates are: 15 September, 27 October, & 24 November. An informational handout will be provided to interested students at the beginning of the semester.

Due date for EXTRA CREDIT certificate of completion:26 NOVEMBER 2007

MARINE SCIENCE 100 – PROPOSED CLASS SCHEDULE (FALL 2007)

Note: Lecture topics or reading assignments may be modified at the Instructors discretion during the course of the semester. Changes will be announced in lecture.

Week / Date / Lecture Topic / Reading
1 / 27 Aug / Course IntroductionKnowing the Ocean World
Video: Lost at Sea: The Search for Longitude / Preface (pp xvii – xxi)
Chap. 1 (pp 1 – 36)
2 / 3 Sep / Labor Day Holiday – No Class
3 / 10 Sep / Syllabus QUIZ: 20 points (Bring: RED Parscore/Scantron form, #2 pencil, student I.D.)
Origins
Video: Origins: The Earth is Born
Earth Structure & Plate Tectonics / Chap. 2 (pp 37 – 52)
Chap. 3 (pp 53 – 86)
4 / 17 Sep /

Continental Margins and OceanBasins

Sediments

/ Chap. 4 (pp 87 – 114)
Chap. 5 (pp 115 – 136)
5 / 24 Sep / EXAM #1: 70 points (Bring: RED Scantron/Parscore Form, #2 pencil, student I.D.)
Water and Ocean Structure / Chap. 1 – 5Chap. 6 (pp 137 – 161)

6

/ 1 Oct / Seawater Chemistry
Circulation of the Atmosphere / Chap. 7 (pp 162 – 176)
Chap. 8 (pp 177 – 199)
7 / 8 Oct / Circulation of the Ocean
Video: Thermohaline Circulation
Waves / Chap. 9 (pp 200 – 227)
Chap. 10 (pp 228 – 256)
8 / 15 Oct / EXAM #2: 70 points (Bring: RED Parscore/scantron Form, #2 pencil, student I.D.)

Tides

/ Chap. 6-10Chap. 11 (pp 257 – 274)
9 / 22 Oct /

Coasts

Life in the Ocean / Chap. 12 (pp 275 – 303)
Chap. 13 (pp 304 – 331)
10 / 29 Oct / Life in the Ocean(continued)
Plankton, Algae, & Plants / Chap. 13 (pp 304 – 331) Chap. 14 (pp 332 – 354)
11 / 5 Nov / EXAM #3: 70 points (Bring: RED Parscore/Scantron Form, #2 pencil, student I.D.)
Plankton, Algae, & Plants(continued)
Marine Animals I – The Invertebrates /
Chap. 11-14 (partial)
Chap. 14 (pp 332 – 354)
Chap. 15 (pp 369 – 389)
12 / 12 Nov / Veterans Day Holiday – No Class
13 / 19 Nov / Marine Animals I – The Invertebrates (Continued)
Marine Animals II – Vertebrates / Chap. 15 (pp 369 – 389)
14 / 26 Nov /

Marine Resources

/ Chap. 17 (pp 413 – 436)
Note: MAKE-UP EXAM DAY: Monday, 26 November from 4:30 – 5:45 p.m. Location will be announced in lecture. You can only take one make up this day & you cannot repeat a test that you did poorly on. To take a make up this day your excuse must have been approved & you must have checked in with our course assistant no later than the end of class on Monday 19 November!
15 / 3 Dec /

Environmental Concerns (Continued)

Video: Climate Change / Chap. 18 (pp 437 – 463)
16 / 10 Dec / FINAL EXAM: 90 points (Bring: RED Parscore/Scantron Form 200, #2 pencil, student I.D.) /

Chap. 14-18