I. General Information

1. Course Title:
Physical Geography

2. Course Prefix & Number:
GEOG 1400

3. Course Credits and Contact Hours:

Credits: 3

Lecture Hours: 3

4. Course Description:

In this course students will examine the earth as a set of subsystems working together to sustain life. Included are studies of the earth as a planet, weather patterns, climates and the resulting distribution of vegetation and soils, as well as plate tectonics, landforms, weathering, and glaciers.

5. Placement Tests Required:

Accuplacer (specify test):

Reading College Level CLC or Reading College Level

Score:

6. Prerequisite Courses:

There are no prerequisites for this course.

9. Co-requisite Courses:

There are no corequisites for this course.

II. Transfer and Articulation

1. Course Equivalency - similar course from other regional institutions:

St. Cloud State University, GEOG 273 Physical Geography I, 3 credits
St. Cloud State University, GEOG 274 Physical Geography II, 3 credits
Normandale Community College, GEOG 1101 Physical Geography, 4 credits

III. Course Purpose

2. MN Transfer Curriculum (General Education) Courses - This course fulfills the following goal area(s) of the MN Transfer Curriculum:

• Goal 5 – History and the Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Goal 10 – People and the Environment

IV. Learning Outcomes

1. College-Wide Outcomes

College-Wide Outcomes/Competencies	Students will be able to:
Demonstrate written communication skills	Answer essay questions related to course content; write a research paper on a topic related to the course.
Apply abstract ideas to concrete situations	Use meteorological principles to interpret a weather map and one’s own local weather conditions over five days.
Discuss/compare characteristics of diverse cultures and environments	Cooperate on a Power point presentation on a world climate/biome with fellow students in a group.

2. Course Specific Outcomes - Students will be able to achieve the following measurable goals upon completion of the course:

• Employ the methods and data that historians and social and behavioral scientists use to investigate the human condition. MnSCU Goal 5
• Use and critique alternative explanatory systems or theories. MnSCU Goal 5
• Develop and communicate alternative explanations or solutions for contemporary social issues. MnSCU Goal 5
• Explain the basic structure and function of various natural ecosystems and of human adaptive strategies within those systems. MnSCU Goal 10
• Evaluate critically environmental and natural resource issues in light of understandings about interrelationships, ecosystems, and institutions. MnSCU Goal 10
• Propose and assess alternative solutions to environmental problems. MnSCU Goal 10
• Articulate and defend the actions they would take on various environmental issues. MnSCU Goal 10
• Discern patterns and interrelationships of biophysical and sociocultural systems MnSCU Goal 10
• Describe the basic institutional arrangements (social, legal, political, economic, religious) that are evolving to deal with environmental and natural resource challenges. MnSCU Goal 10

V. Topical Outline

Listed below are major areas of content typically covered in this course.

1. Lecture Sessions

1. Introduction to geography
• The Scientific method
• Systems theory
• Location, time and navigation
• Longitude and latitude
• Time zones
• Maps, scale and projections
2. Earth Systems
• Energy in the Climate System
• Earth/Sun Relations
• Axial tilt
• Revolution and rotation
• Seasons
• Solstices and Equinoxes
• Arctic circles, tropics
• The role of the atmosphere
• Atmospheric effect
• Greenhouse effect
• Solar Radiation
• Energy Budget 
• Daily lag of temperature
• Yearly lag of temperatures
• The role of water in the atmosphere
• Evaporation
• Condensation
• Latent heat
• Humidity
• Relative humidity
• Saturation and dew point
• Clouds and Precipitation
• Cloud types
• Precipitation conditions and types
3. Atmospheric Dynamics
• Atmospheric Pressure
• ITCZ
• Trade winds
• Subtropical highs
• Westerlies
• Subpolar lows
• Polar easterlies
• Polar highs
• Local  Winds
4. Water, Weather and climate systems
• Water on Earth
• Properties of water
• Atmospheric stability
• Weather
• Air masses
• Regional air masses
• Characteristics
• Interactions of air masses
• Interpreting weather maps
5. Water resources
• Hydrologic cycle
• Groundwater
• Water usage
6. Climate
• Global Climate Systems
• Koppen and other climate classification systems
• Defining climates
• Climate types
• Tropical
• Mesothermal
• Microthermal
• Polar
• Arid
• Global Climate change
• Factors in climate change
• Climate science
• Milankovich cycles
• Anthropogenic climate change
7. Vegetation
• Blomes
• Forests
• Grasslands
• Deserts
• Tundra
• Ecology and ecosystems
• Components and functions
• Communities and succession
8. Soils
• Soil Types
• Podzolization
• Laterization
• Calcification
• Salinization
• Gleization
• Soil Patterns
9. Dynamic planet
• Plate Tectonics
• Convergencne
• Divergence
• Lateral movement
• Rock cycle
• Igneous process
• Sedimentation
• Metamorphosis
• Volcanic activity
• Intrusive
• Extrusive
• D. Earthquakes
10. Weathering and erosion
• Processes
• Landforms
11. Glaciers
• Ice ages
• Glacial process
• Alpine glaciers
• Continental ice sheets
• Glacial landforms
• Moraines
• Eskers
• Drumlins
• Glacial lakes
• Minnesota’s post-glacial landscape