Spatial patterns and underlying processes of the physical environment and biosphere, including climate, vegetation, soils, landforms, and water resources. The role of human activity in shaping and influencing the behavior of the earth's biophysical systems is examined from local to global spatial scales.
Athena Title
Intro to Physical Geography
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in GEOG 1111E, GEOG 2110H
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall, spring and summer
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
Students will analyze consider and evaluate the mechanisms controlling weather, climate, and atmospheric circulation patterns, allowing them to explain various atmospheric phenomena including mid-latitude cyclones and hurricanes.
Students will analyze consider and evaluate the bio-physical processes operating at Earth’s surface, allowing them to identify and interpret landforms created by various geomorphic processes.
Students will demonstrate an ability to analyze the distribution of global biomes, soils, and ecosystems in relation to climate and human interaction, conservation, and sustainability.
Students will identify the interaction between human activities and modification of the earth-atmosphere system and evaluate how Earth's interconnected systems respond to natural and human-induced changes.
Students will consider and evaluate the importance of science in the everyday functioning of our planet, and its role in informing policy decision-making.
Topical Outline
- Lecture and Reading Schedule: The course syllabus is a general plan for the course; deviations announced to the class by the instructor may be necessary.
o Course Introduction; Latitude and Longitude
o Earth/Sun Geometry and Seasons
o Composition and Structure of the Atmosphere
o Energy, Heat, and Temperature
o Energy and the Atmosphere
o Global Energy Balance and Temperature Patterns
o Water and the Atmosphere
o Adiabatic Processes and Atmospheric Stability
o Clouds, Fog, and Precipitation
o Hydrologic Cycle and Water Balance
o Air Pressure and Winds, Global Atmospheric Circulation
o Midlatitude Wave Cyclones, Upper-Level Atmospheric Circulation
o Severe Weather
o Climate Classification
o Global Climate Change
o Plate Tectonics, Tectonic Activity and Earthquakes
o Weathering, Erosion, and Gravity
o Volcanic Processes and Landforms
o Drainage Basins and Streams
o Hydrographs, Stream Flow Stream Dynamics
o Sediment Load and Capacity, Stream Erosion and Deposition
o Physical and Chemical Soil Properties
o Soil Forming Processes and Factors
o Arid Landforms
o Coastal Processes and Landforms
o Glacial Processes and Landforms
o Properties of Ecosystems, Vegetation Communities, Biomes
General Education Core
CORE II: Physical Sciences
Institutional Competencies
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
