Your exams will consist of a written midterm, an oral presentation, a written final and a research paper with an associated critique. The relative contribution of each exam to your overall grade is outlined below: A total of 1000 points is available for this course; 600 for the lecture exams and oral and 400 for the research paper.  These point allocations are weighted in accordance with the amount of subject material covered.
 
 

The first midterm exam and the final will be open-ended essays questions and/or may include data sets to be taken home for reduction/interpretation. These written exams will be cumulative and will cover the materials presented in class and in reading assignments up to the date of the exam. Emphasis will be placed on presenting essay questions that not only critically test comprehension and understanding of the lecture materials but also help develop scientific writing skills.  It is important that you not only understand the lecture and reading materials but that you also have an excellent command of all of the scientific concepts covered in the course material. Some of the questions in the exams will be experimental in nature and may include data interpretation. These questions will be aimed to test your comprehension of the subject rather than test your retentive short term memory and your ability to reiterate facts. To earn an "A" grade you will therefore have to demonstrate that you can readily apply the underlying concepts covered in the course to new situations. A less effective understanding of the material will be worthy of a "B" grade and precise memorization without sufficient insight to apply the materials will be worth no more than a "C".

The second mid-term will require each student in the class to give an oral power point presentation on a specific pollutant that has been identified in the Colorado Lagoon, or, alternatively in the Southern California Bight.  Pollutants will be allocated by lottery. Normally each student will be assigned an inorganic and an organic pollutant.  However, in the case of large classes only 1 pollutant will be assigned.  Details of the various aspects of the pollutant that should be covered in the presentation will be given in class.  Students will be required to ask questions of the presenters concerning the topic.  Students will be graded on the relevance/rigor/appropriateness of their questions and also the nature of the response.

The remainder of the grade will be allocated to a toxicity report on the Colorado Lagoon in Long Beach based upon sediment and faunal analyses conducted during the class.  This assignment includes a written report and two peer critiques. The requirements for these assignments are described in more detail later in the syllabus.

F.         GRADE DETERMINATION:

Final grades are determined on the conventional basis:

• 90 % and above - A
• 75-90 % - B
• 60-75% - C
• 50-60% - D
• below 50% - F

The exams will not be marked to a curve.  Grades for Spring 2008