PHYS 105 Air, Weather and Climate
This course is an introduction to the atmospheric sciences, including meteorology, climatology, and atmospheric chemistry. This course emphasizes scientific method, human impact on the environment, and the climate and weather in Minnesota. Includes lab. Intended for general education students and students majoring in Life Sciences Teaching.
Note: Math prerequisite may be taken concurrently.
First day attendance is mandatory.
Prerequisites
Special information
First day attendance is mandatory.
4 Undergraduate credits
Effective May 9, 2010 to present
Meets graduation requirements for
Learning outcomes
General
- Apply the vocabulary, concepts and methods of meteorology and climatology to current and historical cases, including analysis of daily weather charts, interpretation of the Mauna Loa carbon dioxide record, EPA maps of sulfur deposition, hurricane events, and similar scientific examples.
- Articulate and defend the actions they would take on various environmental issues.
- Communicate their experimental findings, analyses, and interpretations both orally and in writing.
- Demonstrate mastery of the concepts, knowledge and vocabulary of atmospheric sciences at the level necessary for informed citizenship and success in teaching General Science at the grades 5-8 level.
- Demonstrate quantitative reasoning skills and the ability to use arithmetic, algebra and elementary statistics at a level appropriate for graduates of a bachelor degree programs.
- Demonstrate understanding of scientific facts and theories in meteorology, climatology and atmospheric chemistry.
- Describe the basic institutional arrangements (social, legal, political, economic, etc.) that are evolving to deal with environmental and natural resource challenges.
- Evaluate critically environmental and natural resource issues in light of understandings about interrelationships, ecosystems, and institutions.
- Evaluate societal issues from a natural science perspective, ask questions about the evidence presented, and make informed judgments about science-related topics and policies.
- Formulate and test hypotheses by performing experiments in atmospheric science, including the collection of data, statistical and graphical analysis of results, and an interpretation of its sources of error and uncertainty.
- Propose and assess alternative solutions to environmental problems.
- Understand and explain environmental issues relate to air pollution and climate change, and be able to apply that knowledge to the evaluation of alternative human activities.
Minnesota Transfer Curriculum
Goal 3: Natural Sciences
- Demonstrate understanding of scientific theories.
- Formulate and test hypotheses by performing laboratory, simulation, or field experiments in at least two of the natural science disciplines. One of these experimental components should develop, in greater depth, students' laboratory experience in the collection of data, its statistical and graphical analysis, and an appreciation of its sources of error and uncertainty.
- Communicate their experimental findings, analyses, and interpretations both orally and in writing.
- Evaluate societal issues from a natural science perspective, ask questions about the evidence presented, and make informed judgments about science-related topics and policies.
Goal 10: People and the Environment
- Explain the basic structure and function of various natural ecosystems and of human adaptive strategies within those systems.
- Discern patterns and interrelationships of bio-physical and socio-cultural systems.
- Describe the basic institutional arrangements (social, legal, political, economic, religious) that are evolving to deal with environmental and natural resource challenges.
- Evaluate critically environmental and natural resource issues in light of understandings about interrelationships, ecosystems, and institutions.
- Propose and assess alternative solutions to environmental problems.
- Articulate and defend the actions they would take on various environmental issues.