MARINE
SCIENCE
SYLLABUS
Chas Pauly
509-687-9585
Marine Science: We’ll study the
life of the world's oceans including principles of cell biology,
energy flow through living systems, evolution of marine life,
taxonomy of marine plants and animals, an overview of marine habitats
and their organisms, intertidal zonation, plankton biology, marine
mammals, pollution and its relations to marine biology, and discussion
of currently applicable topics. This course will help you learn
how to observe and wonder about the living things and the varied
environments of the ocean world. I will challenge you to
inquire about your role on this planet and how your activities
affect the marine environment & its inhabitants and how the
ocean, in turn, impacts you. Please ask questions! The only dumb question
is the one not asked.
Pre-requisite: High School Biology
Reading assignments:
This class will require students to do
quite a bit of technical reading. You will be asked to read texts,
handouts and electronic journals. 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 class is important to your understanding
of this topic or it wouldn’t be discussed.
2. Academic Honesty: I expect and require you to exhibit academic honesty when you take any exam/quiz or complete any assignments in this class. Cheating, plagiarism, or any act of obtaining or attempting to obtain credit for work by any dishonest or fraudulent means will not be tolerated in this class. Cheating includes writing exact answers to questions on an assignment as someone else, copying answers from someone else on a quiz/exam, using answers from students of previous semesters, copying from the textbook or INTERNET, or having another person write your answers. The penalty for cheating on a quiz/exam will be a “0” for the exam and the incident will be reported to the Principal. A second offense will result in a grade of “F” for the course. The penalty for cheating on other assignments is a “0” for the first episode; the penalty for the second episode is an “F” for the unit and a conference with the Principal and your parents.. All work must be completed on your own.
3. Courtesy: I require that you practice civility and courteousness in class with your fellow students and me. I will not tolerate inappropriate behavior by students in my class.
4. Food and beverages are NOT allowed in the lab. However, bottled water is O.K. Please clean up after yourself as a courtesy to others.
Grading
Policy:
Student’s
final quarter grades are based primarily on their test scores.
Daily assignments, projects, presentations, and entry tasks are
designed to prepare the student to successfully master the course
material as demonstrated by the student’s test scores. However,
the instructor will weigh these activities in determining the
student’s final grade for that quarter.
Approximate
weight of each category:
Assessments
of Learning (Tests, Quizzes, Projects, Presentations) – 80%
Assignments/homework/
Entry Tasks -20%
The
instructor retains to the right to modify the weight of each category
depending on the focus of the course at that time. Students and
parents are encouraged to check with instructor if they have any
concern regarding their grades. The instructor has been known
on occasion to make errors. An error corrected early prevents
hurt feelings later on.
Research
Journal Paper
Students will complete
a short (2 pages), typed report focused on a specific topic in
Marine Biology of the student’s choice. This assignment may
be limited by the lack of available resources You will be given
a detailed handout about this assignment near the beginning of
the semester.
Additional
Assignments
1. Video Questions: We may watch several videos
throughout the semester in which I will assign short questions
to be answered following the video.
2. Student Presentations:
There will be several presentations that students will make throughout
the course. A detailed handout will be provided to the student.
Field
Trip: It
is my hope that we can take at least 1 field trip to the marine
environment in
1. Introduction:
Fundamental Concepts, History, Resources. Investigative
Techniques
2.The Ocean Floor: Margins, Topography; Sediments, Plate Tectonics
3.The
Nature of Water: Solvent properties, Viscosity; Density;
Heat capacity; Salinity;
Dissolved
oxygen; pH values; Nitrogen
4.Ocean
Dynamics: Salinity, Solar radiation, Currents, Waves, Tides
5.
Ecological Conditions for Sea Life: General Conditions,
Divisions of the Marine Environment, Distribution of Ocean Life
6.Biological
Productivity and Energy Transfer: Primary Productivity, Energy
transfer in marine ecosystems
7. Monera, Protista, Mycota, and Metaphyta:
Biological Characteristics, Life History
8.
Marine Animals: Invertebrates: Biological Characteristics,
Life History
9. Marine Vertebrates 1:
The Fishes: Evolution and diversity; Skeletons; Locomotion;
Feeding patterns; Systems;
Senses; Migration; Reproduction; Defense
10.Marine
Vertebrates II: Reptiles, Birds & Mammals: Sea turtles,
Sea snakes, Marine lizards; Birds; Adaptations and ecology; Evolution
from land;
11.Intertidal
Zone: Characteristics, Zonation, Adaptations,
12.
Benthos of the Continental Shelf: Characteristics, Zonation,
Adaptations
13.Photic
Zone: Characteristics, Zonation, Adaptations
14.
Deep Ocean: Characteristics, Zonation,
Adaptations
15.
Human Impact on Ocean Life: Pollution, Global Policies