Optional Assignments


Assignment
 Date Assigned
 Date Due   
points
 topic(s)
El Niño Thu., Nov. 19
 Tue., Dec. 1
 0.35
 read this background material
Thermal circulations, 3-cell model asst.
 Tue., Nov. 17
 Tue., Nov. 24
 0.25
 read this background material
Atmospheric stability
 Thu., Nov. 12
 Thu., Nov. 19
 0.5
 read this background material, study this example
Draining toilet asst.
 Tue., Nov. 10
 Thu., Nov. 12 (5 pm)
 0.15
 experiment results
Forces and winds asst.
 Tue., Nov. 10
 Tue., Nov. 17
 0.4
 forces that cause wind, surface & upper levels winds  answers
Humidity asst.
 Thu., Oct. 22
 Tue., Oct. 27
 0.4
 Humidity variable example problems  answers
In-class asst.
 Tue., Oct. 20
 Tue., Oct. 20
 0.4
 energy balance, effects of clouds on daytime & nighttime temperatures, humidity variables  answers
Upper level charts asst.
 Thu., Oct. 1
 Thu., Oct. 8 (before the start of class)
 see the assignment sheet for details
 read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of the supplementary material on upper level charts
In-class asst.
 Thu., Sept. 17
 Thu., Sept. 17 (end of class)
 0.25
 troposphere & stratosphere, ideal gas law, station model notation

You can download and print the assignment in Microsoft WORD format by clicking on the appropriate link above.

If you make an honest attempt at answering all the questions, you should be able to earn full credit on each assignment.  An honest effort includes having the assignment done before coming to class and turning the assignment in at the beginning of class.  It is OK to work together with other students in the class, but everyone should contribute.  You shouldn't just copy another student's work.

There will be a sufficient number of optional assignments for you to be able to earn at least 3 points extra credit by the end of the semester.  The extra credit points are added to the average grade computed prior to the final exam.

Note:   Don't be concerned if you get work back without a grade.  Usually only papers with less than full credit will have a grade marked on them.  Papers without a marked grade have earned full credit.  An individual assignment is generally only worth a few 1/10ths of a point of extra credit (see table above).  A paper with a grade of 4/5 really means you earned 0.4 out of 0.5 points extra credit.  1/10ths of a point extra credit may not seem like much.  But the accumulated total at the end of the semester can have a significant effect on your grade. 

Also note: The fact that you do not have any answers marked wrong does not necessarily mean you answered all the questions correctly.  Frequently the grading load requires that we only grade some of the questions on the optional assignments.  You should carefully compare your answers with the answers once they appear online.