Geography 121: Earth s Physical Environments MWF 11:00-11:50, Shideler 215 Spring 2007 Instructor: Dr. Mary C. Henry TA: Amy Lukens (lukensas@muohio.edu) Office: 219 Shideler Hall Lab Sections: (Shideler 213) Office Phone: 529-5014 D meets Monday 1:00 2:50 Office Hours: MW 10-10:45 E meets Monday 3:00 4:50 E-mail: henrymc@muohio.edu F meets Monday 5:00-6:50 Required Text: Geosystems: An Introduction to Physical Geography (6th Edition) Robert Christopherson, Prentice Hall, 752 pp. ISBN: 0131531174. There is no lab manual required- be sure you buy the book only, not a bundle with a lab manual. Occasionally there are FREE materials bundled with the text- that is OK, just don t pay more than you have to! Physical Geography FAQs What exactly is Physical Geography? If you ve already purchased your textbook and taken a look at the chapters, then you might have an idea about what topics we ll be covering this semester. Physical Geography is the study of all different aspects of the earth s natural systems. This includes weather phenomena, climate, vegetation, ecosystems, and geologic processes. In this class, we will study a wide range of topics. My own interests include certain aspects of physical geography, such as human impacts on ecosystems. I also use geographic tools, like remote sensing in my research. To introduce you to these techniques in more depth, I will show satellite images during some lectures. Finally, I am interested in how the natural environment affects humans- one aspect of this is natural hazards. To help underscore the significance of physical geography to our lives, I will incorporate some discussion of these events where appropriate. What will I learn in this class? You will learn about the natural world around you: weather and climate, world vegetation, and landforms. A few questions that you will be able to answer at the end of the semester include: Why are days shorter in the winter than in the summer? Why does it get so much colder here in Oxford than it does in San Francisco, when both places are located at about the same latitude? Why are there so many hurricanes in Florida, but none in California? Why does Japan have so many earthquakes? What human activities are impacting the earth s physical environment? How will I be graded? Labs (100 pts) - Labs meet in Shideler 213 (the Geography computer lab) and will complement lecture material. Lab activities are all computer-based and use a range of websites to enhance your understanding of important class concepts. An important part of scientific research is data collection, which can be time-consuming and require large amounts of data to
be recorded. Many of the labs require filling in tables of information- just to give you a sense of the process. You will do 9 labs over the semester. Labs are due at the end of the lab period. NO LATE LABS WILL BE ACCEPTED. NO LAB MAKE-UPS WILL BE GIVEN. If you miss a lab, should complete it on your own time to learn the material. To make up points for missing a lab, you can do an extra credit lab during week 9 (March 5 th ). You must attend the lab section for which you are registered. Your lab grade will be calculated as a percentage of lab points earned versus lab points possible. The final percentage will be used as a point total in your grade calculation. Lab Exams (100 pts each x 2 = 200 points total) These exams will be given during lab time in weeks 6 (Feb. 12 th ) and 11 (March 26 th ). Each lab period will be split into two 50- minute parts, with half of the section taking the exam in each 50-minute period. Lab exams will be independent (not working in pairs). You will complete activities similar to those from previous labs. Exams (150 pts each x 3 = 450 points total) Exam 1 on 2/7(group part 2/9) Exam 2 on 3/21 (group part 3/23) Exam 3 on 5/3 at 7:45PM (non cumulative final exam) Exams will contain a mixture of multiple choice and short answer questions. No late exams will be given. If you know that you cannot attend an exam, you must arrange to take it EARLY. If you have a truly valid reason for missing an exam, be sure to contact me ahead of time. Exams will be given in two parts. The first part will be a standard exam. On the following class day, you will take an additional multiple choice exam in small groups. This group portion of the exam will account for about 15-20% of the exam points. The exams are not weighted very heavily, because I do not want to base your entire grade on them. Class Project (250 pts) This project consists of selecting a landscape photo and researching the physical geographic characteristics of the location. You should start looking for a photo of a landscape TODAY! It can be a postcard, from a magazine, the internet, an old calendar, a picture you took, etc. Just be sure it doesn t have much evidence of human beings. There can be people in the picture- just not buildings or other human-created features. This includes human-made lakes- ANY lake with a dam on it, is an artificial lake. You need to come and see me during office hours to get your picture approved by Wednesday, Feb 28th. This project can be alone or with one other student. In order to work with a partner, you need to complete all stages of the project together- not decide at a later stage to join someone. The project will be evaluated out of 250 points total, being divided in the following way: Part 1 (20 points): choosing a picture and coming to office hours (by Wednesday 2/28) Part 2 (20 points): finding a map showing the location of your picture (due Friday 3/9) Part 3 (30 points): annotated bibliography for final paper (due Friday 3/30) Part 4 (30 points): online presentation (due Monday 4/16) Part 5 (150 points): final paper (due Monday 4/23) A detailed description of the paper and format will be posted on Blackboard during the first few weeks of the semester. You can pick a partner as soon as you d like (if you are going to work with a partner) and look for a photo, too. Pick a place you are interested in! 2
Final Grading Scale (out of 1000 points): A+ 1000 B+ 870-899 A 930-999 B 830-869 A- 900-929 B- 800-829 C+ 770-799 C 730-769 C- 700-729 D+ 670-699 D 630-669 D- 600-629 F <600 Grades will be posted on Blackboard. Your final grade is a point total, so in order to check your current grade, you will need to calculate a percentage. Just total your points earned so far, divide by the points possible so far and multiply by 100 to get a percentage. You are always welcome to come by office hours to check your grade, as well. How can I do well in this class? Come to class, read your book, and come to office hours if you need help. You can also make an appointment if you cannot make my scheduled office hours. Check the website links on Blackboard to get additional information, as well. You should do the assigned reading BEFORE each class, so that we can talk about the material in more depth. I will not spend the whole class explaining simple concepts that are already in the book, so come prepared! We will be following the content of the book fairly closely, because it is a good text. There may be occasional material that is NOT in the book, so you should rely on your notes or the supplemental readings for that. A good portion of this class (especially the first half) focuses on weather and climate. To help you understand these concepts, I recommend watching the nightly news weather forecast regularly. If you have cable, you might also tune into the weather channel for a few minutes to see what they are showing and talking about. You will definitely gain a clearer understanding about some of the concepts from class- PLUS you ll always know when you need to bring your umbrella or how warmly you should dress! Some advice on note-taking Study guides will be posted on Blackboard for each topic. You can print these out and bring them to class for taking notes on, you can wait until after class and type them in from your class notes, or any other way they are helpful for you. I use PowerPoint to organize the lectures and incorporate graphics, animation, and websites. It is important to write down information on figures and other graphical information that is shown, in addition to writing down the bulleted points on the text slides. I often find that students only write down what is on the text slides, and later find that they are missing information that I covered in lecture. Try to avoid only copying exactly what is on the slides. Add your own supplemental information where appropriate. You should also take notes from in-class discussions, including comments made by other students. Note-taking is a skill- if you are already a good note-taker- great! If not, this is a chance to improve your technique. Keep in mind that everyone has their own method that works best- talk to your classmates and see what they do if you are unsure. What is Dr. Henry expecting from me? First and foremost, you are expected to attend class and come prepared. This course covers a LOT of material and coming to class is the best way to absorb it all and understand important concepts. It s easy to get behind and difficult to catch up if you do, so it is in your best interest to come to class every time. There is a direct correlation between class attendance and 3
final grades. Translation: Students who come to class get higher grades! You will not be graded specifically on attendance, but we will do in-class activities, have discussion, and your presence (or absence) will be noted. If you miss one or two classes over the semester due to illness, you should not fall behind. However, if you regularly miss class, your chances of earning a high grade are slim. Section 701 of the Miami Student Handbook states, Every student is expected to attend every class session for which the student is duly registered. STUDENTS MISSING THE FIRST TWO CLASS MEETINGS WILL BE DROPPED FROM THE COURSE. If you need to miss class this semester for a religious holiday, please notify me in writing (so I can put it in my files) during the first two weeks of the semester. You will still be responsible for material covered during your absence. When in class, it is very important to respect your fellow students and your instructor (me) by exercising common courtesy please do not carry on conversations during lecture and do not get up to leave class early (unless it is unavoidable and you ve notified me ahead of time). Do not use your cell phone during class for phone calls, web-surfing, or text messaging (make sure the ringer is OFF). Additionally, Miami University expects the highest academic integrity from you-- any instances of cheating or plagiarism will be reported to the department chair according to the procedures outlined in section 01.501 of the Miami University student handbook. The minimum penalty for cheating is a grade of F on the assignment in question. If this is a second academic misconduct incident, you will receive a grade of F in the course. What can I expect from Dr. Henry? I will do what I can to make the class interesting for you. I show a few videos throughout the semester to help illustrate important concepts. I also like to have group activities during lecture. Course updates and materials will also be available on the web, using Blackboard. The attached page shows a tentative schedule for the semester. It is subject to change, but I will give you fair warning if any exams or due dates change. My posted office hours are M/W 10-10:45, but please let me know if you can t make those times. Before and after lab is often a good time to meet if you can t come to office hours. I am often in my office at other times, so you can always stop by and see if I am available. Otherwise- please feel free to make an appointment. If you send e-mail, please put GEO 121 in the subject. This will help me organize the chaos of my inbox and make sure that I get to your message quickly. You don t need to specify the class day and time, because I only teach one section of the class. If you use an account outside of the university, also be sure to sign your name at the end of the message- otherwise I may not be able to tell who sent it! Please DO NOT call me Mrs. Henry. I realize that you all called your high school teachers Mr. or Mrs., but I have a PhD so my correct title is Dr. Henry. Students sometimes call me Professor or Professor Henry and that is also fine. Welcome to GEO 121 and have a good semester! 4
GEO 121 Spring 2007: Tentative Course Schedule Week Dates Topic Reading Lab Important Dates 1 1/8-1/12 Introduction, Maps, Remote Sensing Ch. 1 no lab- 1st week- get yourself organized! buy your book & start reading! 2 1/15-1/19 Earth-Sun Relationships Ch. 2 no lab (no class MLK Day) no class Monday 3 1/22-1/26 Earth's Atmosphere & Energy Balance Ch. 3 Lab 1: Earth-Sun & Maps 4 1/29-2/2 Global Temperatures & Circulation Ch. 4 & 5 5 2/5-2/9 Global Circulation, EXAM ONE 2/7 & 2/9 (Ch. 1-5) review Lab 2: Atmosphere & Temperature Lab 3: Atmospheric Circulation & El Niño Exam One: Wed & Friday 6 2/12-2/16 Atmospheric Moisture Ch. 7 Lab Exam 1 7 2/19-2/23 Weather Ch. 8 Lab 4: Humidity switch day: M meets T 8 2/26-3/2 Global Climate Ch. 10 Lab 5: Weather picture deadline Wed 9 3/5-3/9 Climate Change SB 3/12-3/16 No class: Spring Break 10 3/19-3/23 EXAM TWO 3/21 & 3/23 (Ch. 7, 8, 10, Bb) see Blackboard review Extra Credit Lab Lab 6: Carbon Diet 11 3/26-3/30 Plate Tectonics Ch. 11 & 12 Lab Exam 2 maps due Friday in class Exam Two: Wed & Friday bibliography due Friday in class 12 4/2-4/6 Fluvial Processes Ch. 14 Lab 7: Plate Tectonics 13 4/9-4/13 Flooding see Blackboard 14 4/16-4/20 Glacial Processes Ch. 17 no lab Lab 8: Rivers & Flooding (take-home) Lab 9: World Glacier 15 4/23-4/27 Biogeography Ch. 19 & 20 Inventory Final Exam: THURSDAY MAY 3RD, 7:45 PM (SHD 215) online presentation due Monday by 7:00PM final paper due Monday by 3:00PM
Other Important Information **********NOTICE: Rules for dropping courses (effective Fall 2005)********** If a student drops a full semester course by the third week deadline, the course will be removed from the record. (This is the same as before) If a student drops a course between the third week and ninth week of the term (this deadline is 03/09/2007 for the fall), a "W" will be recorded. A student cannot normally drop a course after the ninth week of the term (s/he's in it for the duration) and the only way to drop at this point is by petition. For more information, please see the student academic handbook at: http://www.miami.muohio.edu/documents_and_policies/handbook/academic_regulations/acadregspii.cfm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This course meets the Miami Plan for Liberal Education goals of: Critical Thinking You will learn about a variety of earth system processes and develop an understanding of how they are interrelated. You will also use maps and image data to study these processes. If you have not worked with maps in the past, this will be a new skill for you. Understanding Context Geography is a discipline that focuses on the spatial context of human and natural systems. In this course, you will study earth s climate, vegetation, and landforms, and understand how these vary over the earth s surface. Engaging with other learners The lab portion of the course allows greater interaction with other students. This atmosphere of cooperation and joint work can be enjoyable and beneficial to your learning process. Reflecting and acting Because this course focuses on the earth s physical environment, we will also discuss how human activities are changing the earth. This perspective may be new to you and cause you to question the status quo. This course fills the Physical Science with lab requirement (IV.B) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~