Science and Mathematics Department
Spring 2012
SCI 112: INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
Lecture: TT 8:00-9:15 (SCM 315); Lab: M 1:00-3:50 (SCM 207)
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Catalog Description: A study of human related environmental problems stressing human impact on the
natural world and possible solutions. Three lecture and three laboratory hours a week.
Offered spring semester. A laboratory fee of $95 is charged for this course.
The word environment has several different meanings, depending on the person questioned. To scientists
the environment is the place (habitat) where an organism lives. This may be a pond for bass, a forest for
wrens, or the soil for moles. To a number of humans the word environment brings up ideas of being
“green” and that we need to change our life styles to be more "Earth friendly". In this course we wish to
cover both these ideas as well as others. Simply put, we will investigate the environment of planet Earth
and how humans have changed it over several thousand years.
As typical of science classes at most colleges, this course includes a lecture and laboratory component.
Together this makes a four (4) credit course, with three hours lecture and three hours lab per week.
SCI 112 has NO prerequisite course.
INSTRUCTOR
Dr. Charles Horn
Office: SCM 223
Phone: 803-321-5257
Office Hours: MWF 9-10, 11-12; TT 9:15-10:15
E-mail address: Charles.horn@newberry.edu
STUDENT LEARNING AND PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES
Newberry College is committed to monitoring student learning for continual program improvement. This class has
course-level student learning outcomes (SLOs listed below) which are aligned to overall program learning outcomes
(PLO alignment indicated in parentheses below). After completion of this course, you should be able to:
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Describe the natural environment (biosphere) for organisms on this planet.
Compare the various types of environments (habitats) for organisms.
Describe the components of a community, ecosystem, and biome.
Describe the historical, present, and future dynamics of human population growth.
What problems are associated with food resources? Can sustainable agriculture be the solution?
Describe biodiversity and the importance of preserving threatened species.
Describe the environmental concerns over air, water, soil, and biological resources.
Describe solutions to the various above environmental problems; what can you do?
REQUIRED TEXT
Cunningham, William P. and Mary Ann Cunningham. 2011. Principles of Environmental Science,
Inquiry & Applications, 6th edition. McGraw Hill. ISBN: 978-0-07-338324-8
Environmental Science
Laboratory handouts – These will be provided to you prior to lab.
Selected articles & other resources – At times during the semester I will make available other reading or
Internet resources for your use.
The course website is at: http://www.newberry-college.net/chorn/SCI112 You may visit it to see the
syllabus, obtain lecture notes, and review sheets for exams.
INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS
The course will consist of a series of PowerPoint lectures directed at covering the class topics. In
addition class time may be taken to discuss current events of special value. Lab will provide an
opportunity to work individually and in small groups to complete small research projects to better
understand environmental topics. Conclusions from lab projects will be completed through oral
discussion, comparison of group results and written summaries.
ATTENDANCE and other CLASSROOM POLICIES
As is typical of any course at Newberry College, attendance is important. Any time you miss class you
should contact your professor to determine what important information you missed. For this, a
laboratory science course, we meet three times a week (lab on M and lecture on TT); hence we have
more classes than the typical course. But that doesn’t mean there are more classes to skip! Absences
will be counted in both lecture and lab. The policy:
 Students with two (2) or fewer absences will add three points onto their course total (600
possible).
 After six (6) absences, I will drop two points from your total points for each additional absence.
 Exception to the above will be for students who have legitimate and documented excuses posted
to me in writing prior to the absence or are documented after an emergency absence (ex.,
accident & in hospital).
Use of a cell phone, computer or other electronic devices during class time must be related to class activities.
Repeated activities of a nonrelated purpose may result in a request for you to leave class and an absence assessed for
the day.
ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING
Lecture Exams (4@ 75 pts) – Each exam will cover material since the previous exam and will be a
combination of matching and short answer. Some questions may expect you to interpret data
and/or critique information.
Final Exam (100 pts) – This will be of the same format as the pervious exams. A scientific article may
be included to test reading comprehension of environmental issues; otherwise the final will NOT
be comprehensive. Graduating seniors wishing to exempt the final MUST have an A, B+, or B
and permission of the instructor.
Laboratory Reports (10 @ 5 pts = 50 pts) – Selected labs (about every other week) will require a lab
report to be submitted. Most of these will come from a handout of a set format with tables and/or
graphs to include.
Laboratory Quizzes (10 @10 pts = 100 pts) – As with the reports, each lab will provide information that
will be the basis for a lab quiz. These quizzes may be based on methods of analysis or the
scientific data collected during a lab.
Environmental Issue Paper (25 pts) – Complete a minimum 600 word (about 1½ pages) paper based on
your reading of one or two scientific articles. A separate handout will provide details.
Miscellaneous assignments (25 pts) – At various times you will be assigned several short readings for
which you will write a summary or answer questions.
Extra Credit (up to 10 pts) – Several opportunities may be available for extra credit during the semester.
SCI 112 Syllabus, pg. 3
COURSE GRADE
Summing up the above assignments generates a total of 600 points. The course grade will become:
> 93% = A; 88-92% = B+; 83-87% = B; 78-82% = C+; 73-77% = C; 68-72% = D+;
63-67% = D; <63% = F
As you will note, a one-point interval is present between each grade. For example, if you have a final
average of 87.3 you could get a B+ or B, depending on the below criteria (in order):
 your final exam score: higher or lower that your course average?
 your exam grades: improving during the semester?; was there only one bad exam?
 class attendance, including tardiness: perfect attendance is best
 attitude in class: paying attention, asking questions, etc.
CACP CREDIT
Those who wish level 2 credit may submit their Environmental Issue paper for such, assuming it is at
least 600 words of text (excluding titles and references). The paper needs to be submitted with a proper
reference citation and the proper certification cover sheet. Submitted papers with extensive quotes are
not unacceptable, as it does not show your writing ability.
POLICY ON ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
Academic integrity at Newberry College assumes that all work, written or oral, submitted by a student is
that student’s own work. I adhere to the College’s policy, which deals severely with cheating—including
plagiarism. Plagiarism is the theft of another person’s words or ideas. It is a dishonest, unethical attempt
to claim someone’s work as your own, and will not be tolerated in this class. Students who fail to comply
will receive one of these penalties:
1. A paper may receive a grade of “0”; a Report of Academic Dishonesty will be filed as part of the
student’s record in the Registrar’s Office,
2. A student may receive a grade of “F” for the course; a Report of Academic Dishonesty will be filed
with the Registrar, as part of that student’s permanent record,
3. A student whose offense is particularly heinous may be remanded to the Academic Integrity
Committee, which may result in a judicial sanction and/or expulsion.
For complete explanation of academic integrity, review the document as follows:
Academic Integrity Policy:
http://www.newberry.edu/UserFiles/newberry/Documents/Academic_Integrity_Policy_11.pdf
CENTER FOR STUDENT SUCCESS
Student Support Services: The mission of the Center for Student Success is to support each student’s
educational goals by offering opportunities to enrich and enhance their academic environment.
Services offered to support this mission are free and include: Individual Academic Specialty
Assistance, Career Services, Content and Writing Assistance, Disability Services, International
Programs, Retention, Study Abroad. The Center for Student Success is in Wessels Library. Hours
for the Spring Semester are 7:30 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. You can request a Content
and/or Writing Assistant at tutor.request@newberry.edu. Please include your name, professor,
course and number. These requests will be answered within 24 business hours.
For updated information throughout the semester about Center services, please reference the
Student Success Tab within Wolf Den.
Policy on Special Needs—Students with Special Needs: Students who wish to enroll or are already
enrolled in the Disability Services Program must identify themselves and present documentation of
Environmental Science
their disability signed by an approved professional in order to have an accommodation letter put in
place. This can be accomplished by contacting Ms. Kay Chandler in the Center for Student Success
by phone (803-321-5187), e-mail (kay.chandler@newberry.edu), or in person to schedule an initial
meeting. ALL records are kept confidential for the protection of our students. Note: Your
instructors are not permitted to discuss your disabilities with you until you have registered with the
Office of Disabilities Support Services.
EMERGENCY SITUATIONS
In case of any emergency situation on campus, please visit the college’s web page for updated
information and instructions: http://www.newberry.edu/emergencyinfo.aspx . The college website will
include information on weather related announcements including possible college closing, if needed.
In addition, in case of a pandemic or other health related emergency, all students, faculty and staff are
expected to follow standard protocol, including taking appropriate personal preventive measures to avoid
contracting influenza and other communicable diseases, minimizing personal contact with others when
feeling ill, and following instructions of Newberry College administration / Health Services Center
personnel if quarantined or if an official pandemic is declared. Individual students who are sick should
notify course faculty of their illness as soon as possible to develop a plan for completion of course
requirements within the timeframe of the course. If face-to-face classes are cancelled because of an
emergency, procedures will be posted on the college emergency information website noted above.
Regardless of the situation, we will attempt to keep the course running through e-mails, course webpage
information or Wolf Den postings. The official postings for the course will be via the course webpage:
http://www.newberry-college.net/chorn/SCI112/index.htm .