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Geography 104 - The
Physical Environment | ||||||||||||||||||
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Lecture: Phillips 007, Tuesday
and Thursday, 11:00-12:15 PM |
Geography 104 provides GE II credit. For
more details see: | |||||||||||||||||
| Instructors | Professors Garry Running Harry Jol |
Offices Phillips 253 Phillips 249 |
E-mails runningl@uwec.edu jolhm@uwec.edu |
Office Phones 836-2731 836-3472 | ||||||||||||||
| Office Hours | Running: M 1:00 - 3:00, T 9:00 - 10:15, W 11:00 - 12:15, F 9:00 - 10:00, or by appointment Jol: M 1:30 - 2:30, T 2:00 - 2:50, or by appointment | |||||||||||||||||
| Rental Texts | Geosystems: An
Introduction to Physical Geography, 5th Ed., R. W.
Christopherson. 2004. Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River,
NJ. Goode’s World Atlas, 21st Edition. Rand McNally: Chicago. | |||||||||||||||||
| Laboratory Manuals | Assignments will be handed out at the beginning of each laboratory session. Additional "pre-lab" assignments will sometimes be handed out in lecture. | |||||||||||||||||
| Course Purpose | To familiarize students with Earth systems (including the interrelationships among them) that operate at the surface of the Earth, with particular emphasis on those Earth-system processes that determine the distribution of physical phenomena at global and regional scales. Earth systems to be addressed include the Atmosphere, the Hydrosphere, the Lithosphere, and the Biosphere. Emphasis will be placed on the processes that operate within and between these systems, processes that result in observable patterns of weather and climate, plant communities, soil types, natural hazards, geomorphic processes, and landforms. The overall goal of the course is provide a basic appreciation of the physical features that characterize this unique planet and an understanding of their geographic distribution across the globe. | |||||||||||||||||
| Course Organization and Grading | Your grade in this
course will be determined by your performance on two mid-term exams, a
final exam, a lab exam, and your 9 (out of 10) best lab assignments.
Your final grade will be based on the total number of points earned
during the entire semester. The following table indicates how much the
exams and lab assignments are worth:
* Weekly laboratory assignments are equally weighted even though the total number of possible marks varies from assignment to assignment. | |||||||||||||||||
| Laboratory | Attendance at the
weekly laboratory section for which you registered is mandatory. You
may not attend another lab section without written permission from your
lab instructor. You are expected to remain in laboratory the full
two hours or until your weekly exercise is completed and turned in. P283
is an open laboratory, and it will be open from 8 AM to 6 PM (possibly
later) Monday through Friday. Maps, equipment, and other material
necessary to complete weekly laboratory exercises will be available for
your use when P283 is open and no other laboratory or class is in session.
Completed weekly laboratory exercises should be placed in the appropriate
box outside P283. The deadline for each lab assignment is 5:00 PM the day
following your laboratory meeting. Corrected weekly laboratory exercises
will be returned the following week during your laboratory meeting. No
unexcused late laboratory assignments will be accepted (late labs will
be marked but will receive no credit).
Please bring along to each lab: textbook, Goode's World Atlas, your lecture notes, pens, pencils (#2 and colored), eraser, calculator, and scratch paper. You won't use all these materials every week, but you should bring them all just in case. Be prepared. | |||||||||||||||||
| Course Prerequisites | An open and inquisitive mind. | |||||||||||||||||
| Expectations | We expect
students to exhibit initiative
and ask questions. We can’t clarify ambiguities or address
scheduling problems unless you take the initiative and ask for
clarification, inform us of scheduling conflicts in advance, and
let us know ASAP about illness or personal tragedies that affect
your ability to perform. Take advantage of our office hours. Send us
questions or inform us of problems via email. Ask us questions in the
hallways. Ask us questions in laboratory or in lecture. Be a proactive
learner.
We expect students to conduct themselves in a professional, considerate manner. Anyone who's being inconsiderate of others during lecture or lab will be shown the door. We expect students to be responsible and dependable. We will not accept unexcused late laboratory exercises, and we will not give unexcused make-up exams. We expect students to attend all lectures and lab meetings, to be attentive, and to take notes and do assigned work diligently. While lecture attendance is not mandatory, keep in mind that poor performance is strongly correlated with poor attendance. Lab attendance, on the other hand, is mandatory. | |||||||||||||||||
| Academic misconduct | Our view of academic misconduct couldn't be dimmer. Academic misconduct will be dealt with according to university regulations. Please review the literature on this subject supplied by the Office of Student Development and Diversity, which is on the web at http://www.uwec.edu/sdd/chap14.htm. | |||||||||||||||||
| Students with special needs | If you have a
disability and are in need of classroom accommodations, please contact us
and the Services for Students with Disabilities Office at 836-4542. We,
along with the university, are committed to equality of educational
opportunity for all students, but it is your responsibility to initiate
the provision of any accommodations (see http://www.uwec.edu/SSD/services/index.htm).
Also, if you have any scheduling conflicts that would negatively affect your performance, you must let us know about them as soon as possible. We will make arrangements to accommodate reasonable conflicts if, and only if, you provide us with adequate warning. | |||||||||||||||||
| Additional Help | The Academic Skills Center (ASC) in Old Library 2112 offers tutorial assistance for students in GEOG 104.
You should take advantage of this service if you ever feel the need for additional help. Also, the ASC offers general tutorial assistance for students who wish to improve their math, writing, and study skills. To learn more, either call the ASC at 836-4421, drop by the ASC in Old Library 2112, or check out the ASC website (http://www.uwec.edu/asc/index.htm). | |||||||||||||||||
