Specifically, students will

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1 Learning Objectives for Introduction to Environmental Science, ENVL 1100 Introduction to Environmental Science has the following broad objectives: Students will (1) define, explain and provide examples of the basic concepts of ecology and physical geography, (2) know how the growth of the world s population and how economic growth have affected the environment, ecological systems and the hydrosphere, atmosphere, and lithosphere, (3) discuss how changes in these systems are likely to affect human populations, (4) explain how humans can respond to try to mitigate the effects of growing populations and expanding economies through changes in technology, policy, governmental regulations and agreements, and incentives. Specifically, students will 1. Know the pattern of population growth over the previous ten thousand years (particularly the accelerated rate of growth marking the past two hundred years) 2. Define key terms in demography including total fertility rate, and childhood and infant mortality rates 3. Explain the demographic transition model for population growth and how changing mortality rates and age structure 4. Know the broad changes in agricultural technology that have occurred since domestication of grains, how changes in technology that have permitted countries to feed growing populations, and what options there are for avoiding food shortages 5. Be able to list categories of pollutants by chemical nature and how key pollutants move through biotic and abiotic systems. Students will be able to explain biomagnifications and will know how excess nutrients can act as pollutants. Students will list the major air pollutants regulated by the Clean Air Act and describe the effects of each of these pollutants. 6. Diagram the global carbon cycle and discuss climate change, including the inputs and outputs into the marine and terrestrial environment the evidence for anthropogenic climate change ACC the anthropogenic and non anthropogenic factors produce these the effects this can have on humans and natural habitats positive feedback loops that could accelerate global climate change. the evidence that this is mostly anthropogenic and evidence that opponents of ACC use to argue against that. 7. Discuss the formation and destruction of the stratospheric ozone layer and its possible consequences, and relate the Ozone Wars to the conflicts over the health effects of tobacco and lead. 8. Discuss the potential environmental impacts of energy use and the environmental, economic, and practical problems associated with using (a) fossil fuels, (b) nuclear energy, (c) sources of renewable energy (hydro electric, photovoltaic, wind and tidal, biofuels). Explain the role of conservation in lowering energy demand. Students should be able to graph the relationship between energy use per capita and the human development index 9. Explain the term sustainable development, name and discuss three strategies for reaching sustainability.

2 Learning Objectives of Physical Geography (ENVL2100) The class of Physical Geography is designed to (1) introduce students the most basic principles of earth science focusing on the balance of energy, transformation of energy and matters, and interactions of physical and biological processes on earth, (2) help student to understand how these natural processes work, how landscape is formed, what causes spatial variations of climate, soils, vegetations, wildlife, and natural resources, and how they are related to human activities, and (3) bring students attention to the serious environmental challenges we are facing now. Specifically, students in Physical Geography will 1. Learn about uneven distribution of solar energy on earth and forces of redistributions of energy and water. By the end students will be able to a. Recognize spatial patterns of global temperature and precipitation, b. Understand the dynamics of global ocean current and wind systems, c. Balance water cycles, d. Explain the processes of hazardous weather systems and their forming conditions, e. Identify the major characteristics of climatic regions, and f. Understand the challenges of global warming and its relationship with human activity 2. Learn the processes of weathering and land formation. By the end, students will be able to a. Understand the three forces of weathering, physical, chemical and biological weathering. b. Explain how wind, running water, glacial ice, and sea waves erode, transport, and deposit mineral and organic matter across a region, and form a specific landscape, c. Describe the stages of alluvial rivers and their floodplains d. Delineate watershed boundaries, and e. Identify the major causes for a typical landscape 3. Learn the processes of soil formation and associated physical and biological environment. By the end, students will be able to a. Read and measure soil profiles and identify the differences in soil properties b. Relate soil characteristics to their physical and biological environment and soil formation processes c. Recognize the geographical distributions of major soil orders and their relationships to geological, climatic, and biological factors, and d. Understand the economical and environmental challenges we are facing due to global scale soil erosion, pollution, and degradation as a result of human activities such deforestation, cultivation, and industrialization of farming. 4. Learn about bio-geographic processes and dynamics of ecosystems. By the end students will be able to

3 a. Evaluate the processes of photosynthesis, respiration, and decomposition of an ecosystem and their relationship to environmental factors such as sun light intensity, temperature, precipitation, and soil aeration. b. Balance the cycles of carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen of an ecosystem c. Understand the processes of organism adaptation, interaction, succession and evolution d. Explain the impact of environmental factors on species interaction and evolution e. Construct a flow chart of natural succession of an ecosystem in terms of plant community structure and species diversity, and f. Understand the importance of biodiversity and measure species diversity 5. Learn about interactions of geological, physical, and biological factors in an ecosystem so that students can conduct a team research on the functions of a specific ecosystem by a. identifying the geographic distribution of the ecosystem b. examining the main characteristics of its climate (seasonality and variations in temperature and precipitation, and dominant wind patterns) c. describing the typical landforms and topographic features (elevation and slopes) d. documenting the typical soil properties (soil profile, nutrient level, moisture level, texture, ph, productivities), dominate life forms, vegetation and wildlife species and their adaptation characteristics e. drawing connection among natural and human components of the ecosystem and explaining the reasons for the significant impact of human activities on the ecosystem, and f. identifying the environmental problem that could potentially change the functions of the ecosystem.

4 Learning Objectives of Physical Geography Laboratory (ENVL2105) The class of Physical Geography Laboratory is designed to (1) introduce students the important tools used in studies of physical geography, such as statistical modeling, mapping, geographic information systems (GIS), and environmental field work, and (2) correctly use these tools to answer questions or solving problems. Specifically, students in Physical Geography Laboratory will 1. Learn about topographic maps so that students will know a. the basic terms of topographic mapping b. how to read a topographic map correctly c. how to estimate elevation, slope, and distance based on the scale of a topographic map, and d. how to locate a spatial object with its standard coordinates. 2. Learn data acquisition and aggregation 3. Learn MS Excel to a. Import and export data with different formats, such as *.txt, *.csv, *.dbf, etc. b. Analyze climatic data to understand the spatial variations of climatic conditions and determining factors. c. Analyze long term climatic and hydrological data to understand patterns of temporal variations and detect possible trend d. Develop statistical models to evaluate the empirical relationships between dependent and independent variables in the field of physical geography. 4. Learn data analysis to calculate the frequency of flood, evaluate of ground water availability, and examine the responses of ground water level to changes in surface weather conditions. 5. Learn the basic skills of environmental field work including preparation, observation, documentation, description, measurement, and raising questions. 6. Learn MS Access to a. Understand the structure of relational database b. Be able to retrieve relevant data from large environmental databases, such as census database, Forest Inventory Database, State Soil Geographic Database, etc c. Analyze and summarize these data to answer questions about spatial relationship of environmental factors. 7. Use GIS mapping tools to a. Understand the interconnection of environmental factors of a geographic region b. Examine the spatial distribution of land cover types and environmental factors c. Evaluate spatial pattern of a geographic phenomena, i.e. tree species diversity in New Jersey.

5 LEARNING OBJECTIVES INTRODUCTION TO STATISTICS & COMPUTERS ENVL Teach students the major statistical procedures used in environmental and biological sciences, and the context in which they can be used. 2. Understanding the limitations of statistics. 3. Understanding the assumptions associated with statistical procedures, and their robustness and/or sensitivity. 4. The importance of exploratory data analyses as a precursor to the proper use of statistical procedures.

6 Ecological Principles Lecture 1. Be able to describe how the biological world works in terms of ecological processes. Be able to explain how individuals, populations and communities change as a result of environmental change. 2. Be able to define common ecological terms and relate each to ecological processes. 3. Be able to describe and interpret exemplary studies in ecology. 4. Be able to locate information on ecology in books, journal articles and the Internet. 5. Be able to summarize and interpret written material and graphs from reference sources in your own words and use that information to help you prepare written answers to questions about ecological processes. 6. Be able to create graphs and tables from ecological data. 7. Be able to answer, in writing, questions about ecological processes and support your answer with specific examples and facts, giving the correct names to plants, animals, habitats, and processes. 8. Be able to discuss the nature and origins of scientific knowledge and relate your conclusions to the material covered in the course. 9. By the end of class, students will be sufficiently familiar with the science of ecology to answer 70% of the questions and define 70% of the terms presented in the study guides.

7 Learning Objectives Ecological Principles Laboratory 1. Learn basic principles of scientific ecological and natural history observation and investigation. 2. Students will learn how to use dichotomous keys to identify organisms. Students will learn how to find keys and field guides to indentify other taxa. 3. Students will learn how to use MS Excel to a. Download data and modify it into an Excel compatible format. b. Construct life tables, community species-area and dominance-diversity graphs, or other representations of populations and communities c. Use data sets to calculate ecological parameters d. Use these data tables to make comparisons between ecological units 4. Learn basic sampling techniques commonly used in ecology and the difference between systematic and random sampling and understand the importance of spatially-referenced data 5. Use Stella or other computer software to create and modify population and community models 6. Use laboratory and field sampling and experimental techniques to answer ecological questions through hypothesis testing and reporting their results orally and in writing 7. Use the Library s databases to find primary papers in ecology and relate those to data they collect in the field 8. Improve their scientific writing using a variety of formats.