Two Year College

31-70

Introductory class for non-science majors

Prerequisites: Intermediate Algebra and introductory college-level English
Course will be hybrid online/traditional with weekly lab meetings but the 'lecture' portion online.

Primary Goals:

1. Students will be able to apply their knowledge of historical geology (earth as a system, the evolution of life and the fossil record, the change of climate over time, major chemical and energy cycles) to analyze and understand problems (anthropogenic climate change, accelerated rates of extinction, availability and effects of fossil fuels as an energy source) that affect their lives in particular and, and our society, in general.
2. Students will be able to critically evaluate the evidence (relative dating methods using fossils and sedimentary rocks, absolute dating methods, geochemical analysis of rocks and ice) upon which the scientific theories in historical geology (global dating of rock record, directional and episodic change in Earth's history) are based.

Students will be able to critically evaluate the visual display of quantitative information to determine integrity and detect bias.

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