Physical Science (Oceanography)

Course Number:

GS 108

Transcript Title:

Physical Science (Oceanography)

Created:

Aug 11, 2022

Updated:

Jul 11, 2023

Total Credits:

4

Lecture Hours:

30

Lecture / Lab Hours:

0

Lab Hours:

30

Satisfies Cultural Literacy requirement:

No

Satisfies General Education requirement:

Yes

Grading Options

A-F

Default Grading Options

A-F

Repeats available for credit:

0

Alignment with Institutional Learning Outcomes

Major

1. Communicate effectively using appropriate reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. (Communication)

Major

2. Creatively solve problems by using relevant methods of research, personal reflection, reasoning, and evaluation of information. (Critical thinking and Problem-Solving)

Major

3. Extract, interpret, evaluate, communicate, and apply quantitative information and methods to solve problems, evaluate claims, and support decisions in their academic, professional and private lives. (Quantitative Literacy)

Minor

4. Use an understanding of cultural differences to constructively address issues that arise in the workplace and community. (Cultural Awareness)

Minor

5. Recognize the consequences of human activity upon our social and natural world. (Community and Environmental Responsibility)

To establish an intentional learning environment, Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs) require a clear definition of instructional strategies, evidence of recurrent instruction, and employment of several assessment modes.

Major Designation

1. The outcome is addressed recurrently in the curriculum, regularly enough to establish a thorough understanding.
2. Students can demonstrate and are assessed on a thorough understanding of the outcome.
   • The course includes at least one assignment that can be assessed by applying the appropriate CLO rubric.

Minor Designation

1. The outcome is addressed adequately in the curriculum, establishing fundamental understanding.
2. Students can demonstrate and are assessed on a fundamental understanding of the outcome.
   • The course includes at least one assignment that can be assessed by applying the appropriate CLO rubric.

Suggested Outcome Assessment Strategies

The instructor will choose from the following methods of assessment: exams, quizzes, lab exercises, written reports, oral reports, group projects, class participation, homework assignments, and field trips. The instructor shall detail the methods to be used to the students at the beginning of the class.

Course Activities and Design

The determination of teaching strategies used in the delivery of outcomes is generally left to the discretion of the instructor. Here are some strategies that you might consider when designing your course: lecture, small group/forum discussion, flipped classroom, dyads, oral presentation, role play, simulation scenarios, group projects, service learning projects, hands-on lab, peer review/workshops, cooperative learning (jigsaw, fishbowl), inquiry based instruction, differentiated instruction (learning centers), graphic organizers, etc.

Course Content

(Note: topics may be selected in any order by each instructor)

• Explain the nature and history of oceanography as a science.
• Discuss the structure and evolution of the earth’s ocean basins and coastlines.
• Discuss the mechanics of waves, currents, and tides.
• Describe the major chemical and physical properties of seawater and the interaction of these properties.
• Discuss marine biology in terms of habitats and zones, life in the oceans.
• Discuss how humans impact the marine environment in terms of resources from the sea and marine pollution.
• Other topics as desired by the instructor.

Topics to be covered include:

• Oceanography as a science:
  • The scientific method as it applies to oceanography
  • Major divisions of oceanography
  • Brief history of oceanography
• Marine geology:
  • Major seafloor features and bathymetric mapping.
  • The earth’s internal structure and structure of oceanic crust.
  • Surficial processes related to the oceans - Mass wasting, stream flow, groundwater, glaciers, wind, waves, and ocean currents.
  • Tectonic processes related to the oceans - Volcanism, crustal deformation, and plate tectonics.
  • Major rock types.
  • Seafloor sediment - Classification, formation, and distribution.
• Physical oceanography:
  • Seawater - Physical properties, measurement, and geography.
  • Surface and deep ocean currents - Mechanics, measurement, and geography.
  • Waves - Basics physics and types.
  • Tides - Mechanics, measurement, and prediction.
• Marine biology:
  • Marine organisms and adaptation.
  • Marine organisms and ecological relationships - Food webs, energy flow, and populations.
  • Marine environments - Types, physical conditions, inhabitants and adaptations, ecological relationships.
  • Human impact -The impact of resource extraction from and contamination of marine environments.

Department Notes

The purpose of this course is to develop an understanding of the chemical, biological, physical, and geological processes related to the ocean, and include historical perspectives. It is a one-term survey course that may be included as part of the year’s sequence in physical science for college transfer credit. The course will have as many of the following components as feasible:  lectures, discussions, lab activities, videos, CDs, slides, and computer aided instruction. It is necessary to successfully complete the lab part of the course in order to pass the course.

The text and materials have been chosen by the faculty and the emphasis of the course will be the viewpoint of the author(s). This includes relativity, the geologic time scale, and the evolution of the Earth, our solar system, our galaxy, and the universe at large.

Columbia Gorge Community College Science Department stands by the following statement about regarding science instruction:

Science is a fundamentally nondogmatic and self-correcting investigatory process. Theories (such as biological evolution and geologic time scale) are developed through scientific investigation are not decided in advance. As such, scientific theories can be and often are modified and revised through observation and experimentation. "Creation science", "Intelligent design" or similar beliefs are not considered legitimate science, but a form of religious advocacy. This position is established by legal precedence (Webster v. New Lenox School District #122, 917 F. 2d 1004).

The Science Department at Columbia Gorge Community College therefore stands with organizations such as the National Association of Biology Teachers in opposing the inclusion of pseudo-sciences in our science curricula except to reference and/or clarify its invalidity.

Students are expected to be able to read and comprehend college-level science texts and perform basic mathematical operations to successfully complete this course.