Course Title: The Atmosphere

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: The Atmosphere

Credit Points: 12.00

Terms

Course Code

Campus

Career

School

Learning Mode

Teaching Period(s)

ENVI1011

City Campus

Undergraduate

135H Applied Sciences

Face-to-Face

Sem 1 2006,
Sem 1 2007,
Sem 1 2008,
Sem 1 2009,
Sem 1 2010,
Sem 1 2011,
Sem 1 2012,
Sem 1 2013,
Sem 1 2014,
Sem 1 2015

ENVI1011

City Campus

Undergraduate

171H School of Science

Face-to-Face

Sem 1 2017,
Sem 1 2018,
Sem 2 2019,
Sem 2 2020,
Sem 2 2022

Course Coordinator: Dr Marie Keatley

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925

Course Coordinator Email: marie.keatley@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Availability: By Appointment


Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

Required Prior Study

You should have satisfactorily completed following course/s before you commence this course.

Alternatively, you may be able to demonstrate the required skills and knowledge before you start this course.

Contact your course coordinator if you think you may be eligible for recognition of prior learning.


Course Description

The air we breathe; understanding the atmosphere. The atmosphere is all around us, all the time. Our lives and the lives of all living things depend on it, yet few of us understand how the atmosphere functions. In this course, you will develop a solid scientific understanding of how the earth’s atmosphere works and its interactions with the earth and oceans. Learning about the atmosphere during the Anthropocene, global warming takes centre stage. Local weather and Indigenous knowledge of seasons, climate extremes and air pollution provide real-world examples of atmospheric science theory that will position you ideally to apply a scientific understanding of the atmosphere to diverse careers.


Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

This course contributes to the development of the following Program Learning Outcomes at AQF level7:

PLO 1: Understanding science: Demonstrate a coherent understanding of environmental science.
PLO 2: Scientific knowledge: Exhibit depth and breadth of environmental science knowledge.
PLO 3: Inquiry and problem-solving: Critically analyse and solve problems in environmental science.
PLO 4: Communication: Be an effective communicator of environmental sciences.
PLO 5: Personal and professional responsibility: Be accountable for individual learning and scientific work in environmental science.

 


Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

  1. Understand and explain how the atmosphere functions
  2. Recognise local weather patterns and Indigenous seasons in their bioregion
  3. Critically evaluate sources of information about atmospheric processes and phenomena
  4. Work with others to solve problems associated with mitigating and adapting to climate change
  5. Communicate a scientifically-grounded analysis of atmospheric science issues to a range of audiences in a written and oral format

 


Overview of Learning Activities

You will be actively engaged in a range of learning activities such as lectorials, tutorials, practicals, laboratories, seminars, project work, class discussion, individual and group activities. Delivery may be face to face, online or a mix of both.

You are encouraged to be proactive and self-directed in your learning, asking questions of your lecturer and/or peers and seeking out information as required, especially from the numerous sources available through the RMIT library, and through links and material specific to this course that is available through myRMIT Studies Course.


Overview of Learning Resources

This course is delivered via online learning resources that you will access through Canvas and weekly online teacher-guided tutorials. Your learning resources include essential concept videos, and the open-source online textbooks, podcasts and authoritative written materials.

There are services available to support your learning through the University Library. The Library provides guides on academic referencing and subject specialist help as well as a range of study support services. For further information, please visit the Library page on the RMIT University website and the myRMIT student portal.


Overview of Assessment

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task 1: Local weather and Indigenous Seasons Authentic Assessment
Weighting 15%
This assessment task supports CLOs 1, 2, 5

Assessment Task 2: Atmospheric function weekly quizzes
Weighting 30%
This assessment task supports CLOs 1, 3

Assessment Task 3: Annotated Bibliography Authentic Assessment
Weighting 25%
This assessment task supports CLOs 3, 5

Assessment Task 4: Case study Authentic Group Assignment
Weighting 30%
This assessment task supports CLOs 1, 3, 4, 5

If you have a long-term medical condition and/or disability it may be possible to negotiate to vary aspects of the learning or assessment methods. You can contact the program coordinator or Equitable Learning Services if you would like to find out more.