Marine Science

Explore the classification, anatomy and physiology of organisms in the marine environment, as well as their ecological functions as part of complex biological communities and various sea zones. Discover the origin of the oceans and their meaning to mankind. The course requires lab work, graphing, data collection, calculating and other hands-on assignments.

This High School Course is also offered as part of the College Prep Online Diploma program.

Credits: 1 Unit

Course ID: SCV10

Course Area: Science

Course Type: College Prep

Study Method: Online

Course Outline:

Module 1: Marine Ecosystems

Unit 1: Estuaries and Bays

Lesson 1: What is an estuary?

Lesson 2: The importance of estuaries

Unit 2: Intertidal Zones

Lesson 1: What are intertidal zones?

Lesson 2: The challenges of living in intertidal areas

Unit 3: Beaches

Lesson 1: Types of beaches.

Lesson 2: Formation of beaches

Lesson 3: Waves

Unit 4: Reefs

Lesson 1: What is a coral reef?

Lesson 2: How are reefs made?

Lesson 3: Types of reefs

Unit 5: Continental Shelves

Lesson 1: Formation of continental shelves

Lesson 2: Submarine canyons

Unit 6: Pelagic Zones

Lesson 1: Abiotic features of oceans

Lesson 2: Pelagic Animals

Unit 7: Deep Ocean Zone

Lesson 1: Features of the ocean floor

Lesson 2: Marine sediments

Lesson 3: Deep sea organisms

Module 2: Marine Microorganisms, Algae, and Marine Plants

Unit 1: Bacteria

Lesson 1: Domain archaea

Lesson 2: Domain eubacteria

Lesson 3: Primary productivity

Unit 2: Protista

Lesson 1: Kingdom protista

Lesson 2: Animal-like protozoans

Lesson 3: Single-celled photosynthetic

Unit 3: Multicellular Algae and Marine Plants

Lesson 1: Red algae

Lesson 2: Brown algae

Lesson 3: Green algae

Lesson 4: Marine plants

Module 3: Kingdom Animalia: Marine Invertebrates

Unit 1: Phylum Porifera: Sponges

Lesson 1: How can sponges be animals?

Lesson 2: Sponge anatomy

Lesson 3: Fishing for sponges?

Unit 2: Phylum Cnidaria: Anemones, Jellyfish Corals

Lesson 1: Phylum cnidaria characteristics

Lesson 2: Sea anemones, jellyfish

Lesson 3: Corals

Lesson 3: Symbiosis

Unit 3 : Worm Phyla

Lesson 1: Simple marine worms

Lesson 2: Marine annelid worms

Unit 4: Phylum Mollusca

Lesson 1: Mollusca

Lesson 2: Bivalves

Lesson 3: Gastropods

Lesson 4: Cephalopods

Lesson 5: Other marine molluska

Unit 5: Phylum Arthropoda

Lesson 1: Arthropod characteristics

Lesson 2: Horseshoe crabs and barnacles

Lesson 3: Lobsters and shrimp

Lesson 4: Crabs

Unit 6: Phyluma Echinodermata

Lesson 1: Echinoderm characteristics

Lesson 2: Sand dollars and sea urchins

Lesson 3: Crinoids and sea stars

Module 4 : Marine chordates

Unit 1: Invertebrate chordates

Lesson 1: Tunicates

Lesson 2: Lancelets

Unit 2: Fish

Lesson 1: Class agnatha

Lesson 2: Class chondrichthyes

Lesson 3: Class osteichthyes

Lesson 4: Incredible diversity of fish

Unit 3: Reptiles

Lesson 1: Marine turtles

Lesson 2: Marine iguanas

Lesson 3: Sea snakes

Unit 4: Birds

Lesson 1: Characteristics of birds

Lesson 2: Penguins

Unit 5: Mammals

Lesson 1: How did mammals adapt to life?

Lesson 2: Seals, sea lions, walruses

Lesson 3: Dolphin and whales

Lesson 4: Cetacean communication

Module 5: Oceanography

Unit 1: Explorations

Lesson 1: Charles Darwin's journey 1831

Lesson 2: The Challenger expedition 1872s

Lesson 3: Finding hydrothermal vents

Lesson 4: Locating the Titanic 1985

Unit 2: World Oceans

Lesson 1: Locate the oceans

Lesson 2: Why are the oceans salty?

Lesson 3: Biogeochemical cycles

Unit 3: Ocean Currents

Lesson 1: Winds and currents

Lesson 2: Coriolis effect

Lesson 3: Major ocean currents

Unit 4: Marine Geology

Lesson 1: The ocean floor

Lesson 2: Sea floor spreading

Lesson 3: Plate tectonics

Items Provided by Students: none