EOSC 112: FLUID EARTH: Atmosphere and Ocean

Schedule: Monday/Wednesday/Friday12:00-1:00 PM

Room: Klinck 201

INSTRUCTORS

Sara Harris Roger FrancoisRoom 353, EOS-South Room 3029, Copp604-822-9651 604-822-6355sharris @ eos.ubc.ca rfrancois @ eos.ubc.ca

Consultation Hours: by appointment via email or phone

http://www.elearning.ubc.ca/vista

Who are we?

Sara Harris Erin Lane(education research)

Roger Francois

TAs: Bart deBaereSelena FarrisBrock Ramshaw

Earn 1% extra credit by completing an on-line survey as part of a major initiative to improve

science education at UBC

1.Complete the survey by Friday, September 18th

at http://www.eos.ubc.ca/scripts/courses/saess/survey.html login: saess

password: earth2.Complete the survey again at the end of the term,

dates TBA.

This link is also posted on the course website

What are we going to do? By the end of this course, you will be able to…

1. DESCRIBE how Earth’s geosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere comprise an integrated system driven by a continuous supply of energy

How are we going to get there?

Clickers!

On-line quizzes!

Open discussion

board!

Clicker Q: Where does the energy come from to drive Earth’s

climate?A. Mostly from the SunB. Mostly from inside the EarthC. Mostly from plantsD. About equal parts from the

Sun, and from inside the EarthE. About equal parts from the

Sun, from inside the Earth, and from plants

GOALS 2 & 3…By the end of this course, you will be able to…

2. EXPLAIN the primary factors determining Earth’s Climate.

3. EVALUATE evidence and hypotheses explaining why Earth’s climate changes on different time scales

Clicker Q: What processes would be good to consider when evaluating this graph?

A. Changes in the Sun’s brightnessB. Formation of the Himalayan MountainsC. Volcanic eruptionsD. Changes in greenhouse gasesE. Formation of huge glaciers

TODAYTHE PAST

GOAL 4…By the end of this course, you will be able to…

4. COMPARE today’s climate to the climate of the past

Warm & wet during the time of the dinosaurs

Cold & dry during ice ages

A. It’s much warmer today than it’s ever been in 400,000 yrsB. It’s much cooler today than it’s ever been in 400,000 yrsC. It’s warmer today than the average temperature over the

past 400,000 yrs D. It’s cooler today than the average temperature over the

past 400,000 yrs E. It’s about equal today to the average temperature of the

past 400,000 yrs

Clicker Q: How does today’s temperature compare to Earth’s temperature of the past 400,000 yrs?

TODAY THE PAST

WARMER

COOLER

GOAL 5…By the end of this course, you will be able to…

5. Using scientific principles and evidence, EVALUATE information in the mainstream media about climate change

Radio

Main goal: for you to learn something new about how the

Earth works

In the end, how can we all tell what’s been learned?