Marine Science
Syllabus & Pacing Guide
Mrs. Rebecca Dix, rebedix@paps.net, 732-376-6030 ext. 23657
http://www.paps.net/Domain/1104
This is the anticipated progression of Marine Science classes at PAHS (main campus). The
NEW grading policy for all classes can be found at the bottom of this chart.
PACING GUIDE
Unit/Topic/Skill
Living on a Blue Planet
Suggested
Time Frame
Notes
2 weeks
Intro to course, lab safety, critical thinking and nature
of science, ocean influence on life, chemical and
physical properties of water (brief), begin introducing
ocean zones and Ocean Literacy standards
Taxonomic review
Marine Biodiversity:
Taxonomic Review
1 week
Important as it is sometimes not covered in biology
(time constraints?), many students need review over
prokaryote vs. eukaryote, plant vs. animal, vertebrate
vs. invertebrate, brief review of vertebrate
classifications (fish through mammals)
Marine Ecosystems
2 weeks
Introduce ocean zones, review (and/or reteach)
ecology of food webs and energy transfer between
organisms as needed, discuss marine producers,
analyze flow of energy and interdependence
Marine Ecosystems
1 week
discuss marine producers, predators, symbiotic
relationships such as mutualism, discuss populations
3 weeks
Use estuaries to review some key concepts about salt
and/or fresh water differences, ecosystems
(biotic/abiotic factors), osmoregulation, evaluate
New Jersey as a coastal state with harbors, rivers, etc.
Estuaries
Show aerial pictures of New Jersey and New Jersey
Coast, barrier islands.
Begin field/lab trips to the waterfront and other NJ
areas.
The Deep
Open Ocean
Polar Seas
Seasonal Seas
Coral Reefs
Tidal Seas
Coasts
GRADING
POLICY
2 weeks
Hydrothermal vent communities, deep ocean
exploration, plate tectonics, earthquakes/tsunamis,
abiotic ocean factors (pressure, temperature, light),
adaptations of deep sea organisms, whale fall
ecosystems
2 weeks
Open ocean as a “desert” adaptations of plankton,
adaptations of nekton, Current, volcanoes as new
feeding grounds, ocean as a distributor of energy,
migration (?), schooling fish, fisheries, human
impact, climate change
2-3 weeks
Explanation of poles, axis of earth, amount of
sunlight, adaptations to pole climate, north vs. south
pole, life beneath ice,
2-3 weeks
Temperate waters as most productive on earth,
seasonal algae blooms, photosynthesis, food webs,
migrations, climate change effects,
2-3 weeks
Cnidarians, coral-zooxanthellae symbiosis, feeding
behaviors, temperature, ocean acidity, bleaching,
human impact, biodiversity,
3-4 weeks
Tides, tidal pools, forces that cause tides, adaptations
to survive change of physical and chemical factors
during tide changes in intertidal zones, moon phases,
tidal fluctuations
1 week
Sandy beaches, island coasts, erosion, waves and
effects on shores, coasts as mating grounds and
territories, pinnipeds,
 60%: TESTS (unit tests, quarterly exams, individual lab reports, large or
long term projects, lab practicals)
 30%: QUIZZES (quizzes, labs, group lab questions, short-term projects,
webquests, small writing assignments)
 10% PARTICIPATION (do-now assignments, homework, classwork,
test review questions, classroom website blog assignments)