Oceanography Lecture courses (OCE 1001)



What does the course cover?

Introductory Oceanography gives you the opportunity explore the geological, chemical, physical, and biological aspects of our World Ocean. Oceans cover 71% of the surface of Earth, and are, by far, the largest living space on the planet. You will learn about the creation and destruction of the sea-floor and the forces that split and move continents and build oceans. You will discover what makes ocean water salty, and how that salt gets into the sea, and the processes that remove salt from the ocean. You will learn about the heat driven hydrologic cycle, and how the sun's heat energy is distributed around the globe by tremendous ocean currents and huge convective atmospheric cells. This knowledge will further your understanding of marine weather and climate systems. The periodic rise and fall of sea-level caused by the gravitational attraction of the sun and moon, as well as the conditions that generate ocean waves will be explored. An understanding of the ecology of the oceans, from the coastal regions to the middle of the oceans to the bottoms of the deepest regions will help you to integrate the biology of the world's oceans to the physical, chemical, and geological aspects that affect all life on Earth. Oceanography is perhaps the quintessential interdisciplanary science, and it is that interdisciplinary nature of the science that will become the overall theme of this course.

Are there any course pre-requisites or corequisites?
  • There are no prerequisites for this course. OCE1001 is a general education course that satisfies the 3 credit hour physical science requirement for the A.A. degree.  You do not need to take OCE1001L, the Oceanography Lab, with this course.  You can take the Lab portion before or after you take this course, or never take it.
Are there any face to face meetings during the semester?
  • This is a blended course that meets 1.25 hours one day per week.  The remaining class hours are spent by the student online.
Are you prepared to take a blended course with an online component?  Read the following list of skills and knowledge that you should already have before taking an online course.
  • Computer Knowledge and Skills:
    • Students in this course should be familiar with the following computer skills.
      • File Management - You should be familiar with finding and saving files on your computer.
      • The Internet - You should be familiar with connecting to the Internet through an Internet Service Provider or Network Connection.
      • Web Browser Software - You should be familiar with using web browser software to navigate the Internet and locate information.
      • Email - You should be familiar with sending and receiving email messages.
      • Discussions - You should be familiar with posting and reading discussion messages in a threaded format.
      • Attachments - You should be familiar with sending email messages with attached files.
      • Word Processing - You should be familiar with creating, editing, saving, and printing documents using Microsoft Word.
Other Requirements:
  • You'll need a BC email address to access the online portion of this course.
  • Online courses are best suited for the self-motivated student willing invest a considerable amount of time and effort on the course.  How much time?  Consider that in a face to face classroom course you have 48 hours of "face time", and are expected to put in about 2 hours of studying for every hour the course meets.  That totals 144 hours of study time per course, or about 10 hours per week.
How is your grade determined? 
  • 50 % of your grade is determined by the average of 15 weekly quizzes.  Quiz questions are multiple choice and true/false. The other half of your grade comes from 3 tests taken in class.  Your active participation in the course will be considered in grading.

What textbook and other items do you need for the course?
  • Required Text:  Essentials of Oceanography  11th Ed, 2014.  Authors: Trujillo and Thurman.  Publisher: Prentice Hall.  ISBN-10: 0321814053






  • SBN-10: 0321813944 |  ISBN-13: 9780321813947

    • or the most recent edition.

    Links to help students get connected to BConline course(s)
    Any more questions?
    Contact me at jmuza@broward.edu