Introduction to Earth Science

Student Learning Outcomes, Goals, Objectives:

Students successfully completing this course will be able to:

• Apply quantitative analysis to understand the natural world.

• Analyze and interpret quantitative data to evaluate and test hypotheses about the natural world.

• Construct and interpret data tables, charts, graphs, or other representations of scientific data.

• Describe how Earth’s major subsystems are connected.

• Describe the nature and makeup of Earth’s major inorganic subsystems.

• Explain and describe the key process that occur within Earth’s lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere.

• Understand and articulate the nature and significance of important local and global environmental challenges.

• With a basic knowledge of the Earth and the processes that shape it, students will have a greater appreciation of our home—planet Earth.

Course Grading Information:

Activity/Performance Measure	Percentage/Points
Reading quizzes (RQs)	15%
Attendance and Participation (Lecture Quizzes)	25%
Test 1	10%
Test 2	20%
Test 3	10%
Final Exam	20%

Final grades will be rounded only once, after the final course percentage has been calculated. The final percentage will be rounded to the nearest whole percent. Percentages ending in .50 or higher will be rounded up, while percentages ending below .50 will be rounded down. No additional or intermediate rounding will be performed. For example, 89.50% is recorded as 90%, whereas 89.49% is recorded as 89%.

Grading Scale

Percentage	Letter Grade
93–100	A
90–92	A−
88–89	B+
83–87	B
80–82	B−
78–79	C+
73–77	C
70–72	C−
68–69	D+
63–67	D
60–62	D−
below 60	F

Attendance/Participation:

Regular and consistent attendance is necessary for you to earn a good grade on this course. Exams/tests and quizzes will be taken from both the lectures and the textbook. Reading the textbook is imperative for your success in this course, however, if you do not attend class and only read the textbook, it is likely that you will not pass the course.

Live Response (via Mastering Geography) will be used throughout the semester to conduct in-class activities and record your attendance and participation. In-class activities will include pop quizzes and other interactive exercises completed during class, which will be graded to record your attendance and participation. These will be referred to as Lecture Quizzes. Each class will include one Lecture Quiz.

Each lecture quiz is weighted equally, and collectively they account for 25% of the total course grade.

Course Materials Purchased by the Students:

McKnight’s Physical Geography: A Landscape Appreciation 13 Ed. (E-Textbook available on Pearson’s Mastering Geography platform, ISBN: 9780135800065)

This course is part of UNCG’s First Day Complete Program for Course Materials Access, an inclusive access model called First Day. Students are automatically billed at a discounted price as a course charge for this course unless they opt out. Access to the required materials is provided via the Canvas site with single sign-on and no codes required.