ENS-1001 THE WHOLE EARTH COURSE Fall 2004
T-R 2:00 - 3:15 p.m. – Room S210 Crawford Science Tower
Course Outline
Coordinator: Dr. Steven Lazarus, Department of Marine and Environmental Systems (DMES), Link
Room 207, extension 2160, slazarus@fit.edu
Other Faculty:
Dr. Kevin Johnson, Oceanography, DMES, Link Rm 132, ext. 7186, johnson@fit.edu
Dr. George Maul, Department Head, DMES, Link 110, Ext. 8096, gmaul@fit.edu
Dr. Hamid Rassoul, Physics and Space Sciences, Crawford Rm 527, ext. 8778, rassoul@pss.fit.edu
Dr. Gary Zarillo, Oceanography, Link Rm 244, ext 7378, zarillo@fit.edu
Dr. Iver Duedall, Oceanography, Link Rm 205, ext 8008, duedall@fit.edu
The Course Description:
The Whole Earth Course is an interdisciplinary class that examines various aspects of the following
six components of “The Earth System”: cosmosphere, geosphere, anthroposphere, hydrosphere,
atmosphere, and biosphere. This course applies an integrated approach/view, often referred to as
“Earth System Science”, in an effort to enhance (and at times reformulate) the ‘traditional’
perspective of problem solving in science, engineering, and management. Intended as an
introductory course, integral aspects of each sphere are presented in the context of building an
understanding of the complex nature of these systems and their interactions.
The Course Objectives:
 To describe the six spheres and their various interconnections;
 To provide examples of global change and impact;
 To develop and/or enhance study habits, and discussion skills;
 To examine and evaluate global change via the development of simple quantitative models;
 To engender a more complete understanding of earth system issues through class discussion;
and
 To enhance critical thinking with respect to issues that impact the Earth system
The Course Requirements:
 Attend each class
 Read all assignments before each class
 Complete all assigned work in a scholarly and timely manner
 Take quizzes and examinations
 Participate in discussions
The Whole Earth Course website is on Blackboard. If you do not already have a Blackboard
account go http://fit.blackboard.com/ to create your Blackboard account and then self enroll in
ENS1001.
Textbook:
The Blue Planet: An Introduction to Earth System Science, 2nd Ed., Skinner, Porter, and Botkin (1999).
Study Guide: strongly recommended (available at Bookstore and a copy is on reserve in the library).
1
SUBJECT
Course Introduction; The Earth System, faculty and
student introductions; Open Discussion on “System
Feedbacks and Mechanisms”
Cosmosphere I-1: Large Scale Structures of the
Cosmosphere.
Faculty
Sept 2
Cosmosphere I-1: Exploring the large-scale structure of
the solar system; our nearest neighbor; what if.
Dr. Rassoul
Sept 7
Cosmosphere I-2: Our Hood -- Earth and Solar
System, Fundamental Laws of Planetary Systems.
Dr. Rassoul
Sept 9
Cosmosphere II-1: Evolution of Planets and The Sun.
Dr. Rassoul
Sept 14
Cosmosphere-II-2: The Active Sun; Cosmosphere
demonstration.
Dr. Rassoul
Sept 16
Geosphere I: Plate tectonics: What does the
paradigm of plate tectonics help explain and what
does it buy us?
Dr. Zarillo
Sept 18
Geosphere II: Earthquakes and Volcanoes:
Characteristics, formation and their relationship to the
earth system?
Dr. Zarillo
Ch. 5 and 7
NOTE: OMIT
pp. 136-137 &
147-153
(Composition) &
(Origin of
Magmas)
Sept 21
Geosphere III: Change: How do we know the earth has
changed? How, and in what ways has the earth
changed? How long is geological time? How can past
changes help us understand and predict future changes?
Dr. Zarillo
Sept 23
Geosphere IV: How big are earthly things?
Dr. Zarillo
Ch. 8
Note: Omit
pp. 168-176
Geosphere
homework due
Homework
returned
????
Exam Review (Cosmosphere and Geosphere)
Sept 28
Sept 30
First Mid-Term Examination
Anthroposphere I: People, geography, and human
migration patterns; population/demography – past,
present and future.
Dr. Zarillo &
Dr. Rassoul
Students
Dr. Duedall
Oct 5
Anthroposphere II: Earth Resources/consumption
trends;
Anthroposphere III: Are humans impacting earth
systems; sphere interactions?
Anthroposphere IV: Approaches to sustaining
resources; geosphere measurements and calculations.
DATE
Aug 26
Aug 31
Oct 7
Oct 12
Oct 14
Fall Break!
2
All Faculty
& All Students
Dr. Rassoul
Dr. Duedall
ASSIGNMENT
pp. V-XX, Ch. 1I
Ch.1 pp. 1-21; Ch.
12, pp 294, 310312
Ch. 2 pp. 23-35
Homework
Assigned
Ch. 2,
pp.35-41
Ch. 3;
Cosmosphere
homework due
Ch. 3 Homework
returned
Ch. 4
STUDY!!!
Ch. 20/Handouts
New homework
assigned
Ch. 18
Handouts
Dr. Duedall
Ch. 19
Dr. Duedall
Anthroposphere
homework due
now
DATE
SUBJECT
Faculty
ASSIGNMENT
Oct 19
Hydrosphere I: H2O - The most interesting and unique
chemical compound on planet earth.
Why is the earth the blue planet?
Dr. Maul
Oct 21
Dr. Maul
???
Hydrosphere II: Snow and Ice: How much does water
impact terrestrial surfaces? Where does ice meet the
land? The sea?
Hydrosphere III: The Ocean: 70.8% of the earth’s
surface and a major influence on all the other spheres.
Global effects of the ocean.
Hydrosphere IV: Tides, OTEC or Oil? Hydrosphere
demonstration..
Exam Review (Anthroposphere and Hydrosphere)
Ch. 9
Homework
returned; New
homework
assigned
Ch. 10
Nov 2
Nov 4
Second Mid-Term Examination
Atmosphere I: Its composition and structure.
Dr. Lazarus
Nov 9
Nov 11
Atmosphere II: Winds, weather, and desert.
Atmosphere III: Earth’s climate system.
Dr. Lazarus
Dr. Lazarus
Nov 16
Atmosphere IV: Climate continued.
Dr. Lazarus
Nov 18
Biosphere I: Our Unique Biosphere.
Dr. Johnson
Nov 23
Biosphere II: Evolution of an ecosystem, ecological
balance and population cycles.
Thanksgiving
Dr. Johnson
Oct 26
Oct 28
Nov 25
Nov 30
Dec 2
Biosphere III: Biogeochemistry: What is it and is it
important? Consideration of global ecosystems, major
taxonomic groups and the role of plate tectonics.
Biosphere IV: The origin of life and biosphere.
Dec 7
Dec 9
Class overview – Questions etc.
Final Exam Review (Atmosphere & Biosphere)
Dec 16
FINAL EXAM 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. Classroom: Note:
all students to take final at this time; no exceptions.
3
Dr. Maul
Dr. Maul
Ch. 11;
Hydrosphere
homework due
Homework
returned
Dr. Maul &
Dr. Duedall
STUDY!!!
New homework
assigned; Ch. 12
pp 273–283
Ch. 13 pp 295-302
Ch. 14 pp 317-325
& pp 330-339.
Atmosphere
homework due
now
Ch. 15Ch. 15
Homework
returned; new
homework
assigned
Ch. 17
Dr. Johnson
Ch. 16 Biosphere
homework due
now
Dr. Johnson
Ch 17 Homework
returned
Faculty/students
Dr. Lazarus &
Dr. Johnson
STUDY!!!
OTHER IMPORTANT COURSE INFORMATION:
Course Grading:
Exam 1
Exam 2
Final Exam
Quizzes
Homework
Participation
Total
20%
20%
20%
10%
20%
10%
100%
Exams
Exams will be based upon homework, textbook, lectures, quizzes, lab or demonstration, as well as
other distributed materials (e.g., handouts).
Quizzes
Quizzes will be given on-line (through blackboard) once per week. These quizzes will be based on
the required reading assignment for that week. Students may take the quiz at any time during the
designated quiz period (i.e. from Friday morning through Tuesday prior to class). Missed quizzes
cannot be made up! A missed quiz due to a legitimate cause will not be counted. All other
missed quizzes will be given a grade of zero.
Homework
Homework assignments will be handed out during the classes at the beginning of each sphere. The
assignments are designed to assist you in learning the subject matter. Each student will complete
his/her own homework. Read to plagiarism statement on the course website; plagiarism can lead to
dismissal from the university. Late homework is not accepted, unless a legitimate excuse exists.
It is better to submit an incomplete homework assignment than none at all. One homework
assignment is required for each “sphere” presented during the course. Except for calculations and
formulas, which can be hand written (however most word processors are adept at handling
equations), homework must be typed and clearly written (please proofread and spell check!) and is
due at class time –see schedule. Homework will be returned as soon as possible.
Attendance and Participation
Attendance in 1000-level classes is mandatory of all students. Attendance will be taken each day at
the beginning of the class, based on a sign-in sheet. Attendance is the single most significant factor
in determining the ‘participation’ grade (up to 10% of your total grade) and unexcused absences
will result in a lowering of your grade. If you anticipate missing a class, you must submit (prior to
the class) a typewritten request to be excused from the class. Note that it is not Florida Tech policy
to accept a medical excuse to miss class (see http://auxservices.fit.edu/healthcenter/excuse.html),
however we will consider, depending on the nature of the illness, a letter from an attending
physician. The excuse form and/or physical letter should be given to Dr. Lazarus during class. The
typewritten excuse must include your name, student number, and the reason for the absence. Only
absences sanctioned by university policy will be accepted (see page 24 in the University Catalog for
University Policy, http://www.fit.edu/catalog/2004-2005/catalog.pdf). Participation includes: 1.)
attendance, 2.) class discussion, 3.) quizzes, and 4.) exam review sessions.
Class Picnic
There will be a DMES picnic on ???; ALL of you are invited to come to the picnic which will be in
the Link Yard (between the Link Building and Gleason Auditorium). There will be food and
activities for both all DMES students and all non-DMES majors enrolled in DMES courses and
DMES faculty and staff.
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