Environmental Science Print
Environmental Science is an upper-level science course and is a multidisciplinary field that draws from all the sciences in addition to other fields. This course will help students better understand the relationship between humans and the world in which we live. Environmental science applies the principles of pure sciences such as biology, chemistry, ecology, geology, and others. Students more closely examine the value of water, impact of pollution, agricultural methods, and human effect and impact on the environment around them.
When you have completed this course, you will be able to:
- Describe human interaction and its impact on the environment.
- Explain the various sciences that contribute to the study of Environmental Science.
- Describe the relationship between all organisms within an ecosystem.
- Explain the concept of a biome as a region characterized by a specific climate, plant life, and animal community.
- Identify the properties of populations and how they affect and respond to their environment.
- Recognize the diversity of life on Earth–biodiversity.
- Understand the value of water and its influence on the environment.
- Identify the environmental impact of pollution and how humans are working to combat it.
- Identify the agricultural methods used to feed the world’s population and describe the related difficulties in providing food to the world.
- Describe the various types of energy resources and how they are used by humans, including new types of energy technologies.
- Explain how human health is affected by environmental conditions.
- Describe the ways that individuals can influence the environment through their actions.
Course Outline
Semester 1:
• Chapter 1: Science and the Environment
• Chapter 2: Tools of Environmental Science
• Chapter 3: The Dynamic Earth
• Chapter 4: The Organization of Life
• Chapter 5: How Ecosystems Work
• Chapter 6: Biomes
• Chapter 7: Aquatic Ecosystems
• Chapter 8: Understanding Populations
• Chapter 9: The Human Population
• Chapter 10: Biodiversity
Semester 2:
• Chapter 11: Water
• Chapter 12: Air
• Chapter 13: Atmosphere and Climate Change
• Chapter 14: Land
• Chapter 15: Food and Agriculture
• Chapter 16: Mining and Mineral Resources
• Chapter 17: Nonrenewable Energy
• Chapter 18: Renewable Energy
• Chapter 19: Waste
• Chapter 20: The Environment and Human Health
• Chapter 21: Economics, Policy, and the Future