Natural Sciences 101,
Section 5, Fall 2009
Introduction to
Meteorology and Climate
Last updated: August 27, 2009
1:00 pm
Aug
24: Senate
hearing on climate change in National Parks
Aug
26: US
Chamber of Commerce threatens EPA with lawsuit over climate change
Bring
your interwrite PRSRF clickers to
first class
Quick
guide to setting up your clicker: word pdf
**MANDATORY**: On
a sheet of paper or 3x5 card, hand in your name and
your clicker radio ID so we can make sure you are correctly loaded
into the class roster.
Class
Hours and Location: Section 5:
2:00 PM – 03:15 AM (T,Th) in ILC 120.
Review
Sessions
on Wednesday before Thursday quiz. (1) Time: 6:00 PM, Location: TBD.
(2) Time: TBD, Location: TBD
Instructor: Dr. E. Robert
Kursinski (kursinski@atmo.arizona.edu, PAS 580, 621-2139,
621-6831).
Teaching
Assistant:
Diana Stovern (dstovern@atmo.arizona.edu,
Office: PAS
TBD, Telephone: TBD)
Adam
Gray (agray@atmo.arizona.edu,
Office: PAS TBD, Telephone: TBD)
Office
Hours:
Dr. Kursinski: W TBD and by appointment. D. Stovern: TBD and by appointment, A.
Gray: TBD and by appointment.
Class
listserv: Please add yourself to the class
listserv
in order to receive important email updates outside of class. To add yourself, send a one-line email
to the address: listserv@listserv.arizona.edu. The one line should read
Subscribe
nats101s5fall09 firstname lastname where you substitute your
first and last names for firstname and lastname.
Required
Text: Essentials of Meteorology-An
Invitation to the Atmosphere, 5th Ed. (ISBN 0-534-42264-0) by C. Donald Ahrens
Highly Recommended: Study Guide for Essentials of
Meteorology, 4th Ed. (ISBN 0-534-42266-7) by C. Donald Ahrens.
Available by order at bookstore or online.
Other Required Material: interwrite PRSRF
clickers, used for daily student-to-instructor
feedback, attendance (see below), etc.
Course Description: An introduction to the
science of weather and climate, including (time permitting) atmospheric
composition, energy balance, wind systems, genesis of fronts and cyclones,
precipitation processes, clouds, severe weather, weather prediction, climate
and global warming and optical phenomena. Emphasis will be given to phenomena
that have strong impacts on human activities and economic livelihood such as
tornadoes, hurricanes, El Nino, global warming, ozone depletion, and air
pollution. The fundamental importance of physics, chemistry and mathematics to
the atmospheric sciences will be explored.
Grading Policy: Final grade will be
based on scores from your six best regularly-scheduled quizzes, impromptu “pop
quizzes”, a lab and a comprehensive final examination. Scheduled quizzes
(~every other Thursday) will consist of approximately 20 total questions that
are multiple choice and/or short answer. Extra credit questions may appear on
some quizzes. Each quiz will cover new material presented up through the end of
the latest lecture period. There will be seven quizzes during the term. The quiz
dates are given on the schedule below. Students who arrive late on quiz/exam dates, where late is
defined as arriving after the first student turns in her/his quiz/exam, will not be not allowed to take the quiz/exam. Because
the lowest score among the seven quizzes will be excluded from the course
grade, there will be NO MAKE-UP QUIZZES. Bring your CAT CARD on quiz days!
LABS: Each student will do one lab this
semester. There are two labs to
choose from, 1. Determine how much oxygen is in the air and 2. Determine the
latent heat of the melting of ice.
You will take equipment with you for two weeks to make the measurements,
then return it, receive more information on how to analyze the results, write
up your results and hand them in.
We will break the labs up into 3 or 4 groups on each lab so that at any
time about 15% of the class is working on Lab 1 and another 15% are working on
Lab 2. Further instructions and a
more detailed schedule will follow.
Pop-quizzes will consist of one to a few
questions. The format of the questions will be primarily multiple choice
questions answered via the clickers. They will be added to your total quiz score.
As incentive to “keep up with the program”, pop quizzes may include material
that is contained in the reading assignment for that day’s lecture.
The final will be Thursday December
17, 2009 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. in ILC
150. No Exceptions. Bring your CAT CARD to
the final! The final will consist
of multiple-choice questions and/or short answer questions. Many will be taken verbatim from the old quizzes.
The lab will count 20% of your grade. If your score on the final exceeds the
average of your six best quizzes, the quizzes will comprise 50% and the final
the remaining 30% of your course grade. Otherwise the quizzes will comprise 60%
and the final the remaining 20%. Any student with an average of 90% or better
on all seven quizzes and their lab will be exempt from the final and will receive
an "A'' for the course. There will be NO EXTRA
CREDIT PROJECTS. No Exceptions…so plan accordingly!
|
Course Grading
Scale |
||||
|
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
|
90% or higher |
89.99-80.0% |
79.99-65.0% |
64.99-55.0% |
Below 55.0% |
Expectations: The reading
assignments for each day's lecture are listed below. You are expected to complete the assigned reading before the lecture. Please ask
questions about the material during lecture, office hours or review sessions.
Per University policy, every student is expected to devote a minimum of two
hours outside of class to studying, reading, etc. for every contact hour in
classroom. See http://catalog.arizona.edu/2004-05/policies/enrpol.htm#unit.
Attendance Policy: Attendance is
mandatory. I will tally attendance during the semester. After three unexcused
absences, you will be issued an administrative drop (prior to the end of week
8) in accord with University of Arizona (UA) policy. http://catalog.arizona.edu/2009-10/policies/classatten.htm.
Bottom line: Just come to class.
Academic Integrity: The UA Code of Academic
Integrity, Code of Conduct and Student Code of Conduct are strictly followed.
All students are responsible for knowing the codes and abiding by them. http://w3.arizona.edu/~studpubs/policies/ppmainpg.html.
You can submit complaints about fellow students online at http://dos.web.arizona.edu/uapolicies/index.html.
Literacy Requirements: There is a science literacy
requirement for this course. For instance, we use scientific notation for
writing numbers (especially for rather large or small ones). We specify units for all physical
quantities (e.g. meters for height, etc.).
Natural Sciences 101,
Section 5, Fall 2009
Introduction to Weather and Climate
Schedule of Topics and Links to Lecture Slides
All Subject to Change, So COME to Class!
|
Week |
Tuesday |
Thursday |
|
Aug 24 – Aug
28 |
Introduction: Why study the
atmosphere? Vertical structure of
the atmosphere |
Weather vs. Climate |
|
Sep 1 - 5 |
|
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Sep 8 – Sep
12 |
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Sep 15 – Sep
19 |
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Sep 22 – Sep
26 |
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Sep 29 – Oct
3 |
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Oct 6 – Oct
10 |
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Oct 13 – Oct
17 |
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Oct 20 – Oct
24 |
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Oct 27 – Oct
31 |
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Nov 3 – Nov
7 |
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Nov 10 – Nov
14 |
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Nov 17 – Nov
21 |
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Nov 24 – Nov
28 |
|
Thanksgiving |
|
Dec 1 – Dec
5 |
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|
Dec 8 - 9 |
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Natural Sciences 101,
Section 5, Fall 2009
Introduction to Weather and Climate
Required Reading Assignments for Above Lectures
Essentials of Meteorology: An Invitation to the
Atmosphere 4th Ed.
by C. Donald Ahrens
|
Week |
Tuesday |
Thursday |
|
Aug 24 – Aug 28 |
|
1-22; 435-437 (Appendix A),
441-442 (Appendix C) |
|
Sep 1 - 5 |
25-42 |
QUIZ 1 |
|
Sep 8 – Sep 12 |
|
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|
Sep 15 – Sep 19 |
|
QUIZ 2 |
|
Sep 22 – Sep 26 |
|
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|
Sep 29 – Oct 3 |
|
QUIZ 3 |
|
Oct 6 – Oct 10 |
|
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|
Oct 13 – Oct 17 |
|
QUIZ 4 |
|
Oct 20 – Oct 24 |
|
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|
Oct 27 – Oct 31 |
|
QUIZ 5 |
|
Nov 3 – Nov 7 |
|
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|
Nov 10 – Nov 14 |
|
QUIZ 6 |
|
Nov 17 – Nov 21 |
|
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|
Nov 24 – Nov 28 |
|
Thanksgiving |
|
Dec 1 – Dec 5 |
|
QUIZ 7 |
|
Dec 8 - 9 |
|
|
Natural Sciences 101,
Section 05, Fall 2009
Introduction to Weather and Climate
Questions for Review to Accompany Lectures and Reading
Essentials of Meteorology: An Invitation to the
Atmosphere 4th Ed.
by C. Donald Ahrens
|
Week |
Tuesday |
Thursday |
|
Aug 24 – Aug 28 |
|
1.2, 1.3, 1.10, 1.14,
1.18, 1.19, 1.21, 1.22 |
|
Sep 1 - 5 |
2.1-2.4, 2.7, 2.9-2.12 |
|
|
Sep 8 – Sep 12 |
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Sep 15 – Sep 19 |
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Sep 22 – Sep 26 |
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Sep 29 – Oct 3 |
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Oct 6 – Oct 10 |
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Oct 13 – Oct 17 |
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Oct 20 – Oct 24 |
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Oct 27 – Oct 31 |
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Nov 3 – Nov 7 |
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Nov 10 – Nov 14 |
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Nov 17 – Nov 21 |
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Nov 24 – Nov 28 |
|
Thanksgiving |
|
Dec 1 – Dec 5 |
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Dec 8 - 9 |
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