Announcements:

Wednesday, December 16:

Course grades including the final exam are posted under the Grades link. Please check over your grade and let me know if you believe there is a mistake. I will wait until Friday morning to officially submit the grades. I wish you all a nice winter break.

Monday, December 7:

Course grades without the final exam are posted under the Grades link. Explanation of columns on the gradesheet. HWave is your homework average, which is the sum of the class registration and the four homeworks divided by 4. This is 20% of your weighted class average. Another 20% is based on the research paper plus optional topic. There is also 20% weight for each of the three in-class exams. Class Average is your weighted class average, with 20% homework average, 20% topic plus research paper, 20% exam 1, 20% exam 2, and 20% exam 3. The letter grade scale is based on your weighted class average, A (88%), B (76%), C(63%), D(50%) and E(<50%). This is the letter grade you will get in the class if you do not take the final exam. The column "To Raise Grade" tells you what you need to score on the final exam to raise your letter grade one letter higher than you have without the final exam. The final exam is completely optional. Please scroll down to the course information below to read how taking the final exam will affect your class average. The letter grade scale remains the same for those who take the final exam.

If you are definitely not taking the final exam, then you do not need to come to class tomorrow, unless you would like to pick up graded material. If you have any questions about the grading or are considering taking the final exam, then you should come to class tomorrow. Please bring your previously graded in-class exams 1 and 2 with you to class. I will talk about how to prepare for the final exam and do a brief review of some of the topics covered during the semester.

Wednesday, November 25:

A breakdown of the topics covered on exam 3 is posted under the Old Exams link. We will review for exam 3 in class next Tuesday. I suggest that you begin preparing for the exam BEFORE coming to the review on Tuesday.

Wednesday, November 18:

I placed a practice quiz, this one covering solar declination, solar angle at noon, and length of day, on D2L. This practice quiz can be used as a self-evaluation exercise and to help you to prepare for some of the material covered on exam 3.

Monday, November 16:

Homework #4 Global Warming Essay is posted. Please read over the assignment, but do not start writing until after the lecture tomorrow, Tuesday, November 17.

Monday, November 2:

Homework #3 is posted. Please read over the assignment. You can complete much of it immediately, but the last map will not be available until November 11. I will discuss the homework in class this week.

Monday, October 26:

The answers originally posted for last year's exam 2 were incorrect. The correct answers are now posted. Sorry for the mistake.

Friday, October 23:

I posted the breakdown of topics covered on exam 2 under the Old Exams link.

Wednesday, October 21:

I placed another practice quiz, this one covering 500 mb height maps, on D2L. These practice quizzes can be used as self-evaluation exercises and to help you to prepare for some of the material covered on exam 2.

Wednesday, October 7:

I have written down grading guidelines that I am going to use in grading your research papers. You may want to refer to these Grading Instructions for the Research Paper as you work on your paper, which is due next Thursday, October 15.

Wednesday, September 30:

Homework #2 is posted. There are 10 questions total. We have already covered material necessary to get started on the first few questions. We will cover the material for remaining questions in lecture next week. The homework is due in class on October 27.

Monday, September 28:

Exam 1 Grades have been posted.

Monday, September 28:

Two new practice quizzes covering calculations of relative humidity and dew point temperature, which we will be covering in class tomorrow, as well as filling in and interpreting stability tables, which we will cover in class next week have been placed on the class D2L pages. These are self-evaluation and learning exercises. The quizzes carry no point value and are not required.

Thursday, September 22:

The skew-T diagram for last year's exam 1 has been placed under the Old Exams Link.

Thursday, September 22:

At least one student in this class requires a notetaker. If you are interested in volunteering, please read this announcement

Wednesday, September 16:

A practice quiz covering the reading of skew-T diagrams is available on the D2L webpages for this course. This is a self-evaluation and learning exercise. The quiz carries no point value and is not required.

Wednesday, September 16:

Feedback has been provided to everyone who submitted the extra credit research paper topic proposal to the dropbox on D2L. The feedback is associated with the dropbox submission. You should read the feedback before continuing to work on your paper.

Monday, September 14:

Homework #1 is now complete. There are 10 questions total. The homework is due in class on Thursday, September 24, 2015.

Wednesday, September 9:

3 more new questions have been added to homework #1. These cover topics that will be discussed in class Thursday and next Tuesday. There will be 2 to 3 more questions added to the homework soon.

Tuesday, September 8:

If you submit the optional research paper topic statement to the dropbox on D2L, you will be given feedback in the feedback area under the dropbox tab. Please read and consider the feedback as you work on your paper. Feedback will be provided in the order that I receive them. It may take some time provide feedback for the 170 students I have in the different sections of the course.

Friday, September 4:

The first Grade Sheet has been posted. Make sure that you can find your selected class ID. If you forgot your ID or would like to change it, please send me an email. There are currently 12 students registered for the class that did not submit a class registration form, which is available under the homework link. The grade sheet shows that one student has submitted the optional term paper topic to the D2L dropbox.

Wednesday, September 2:

The first part of Homework #1 has been posted on the homework page. More questions will be added. The four questions posted are based on material that we have covered in lecture, so you can start immediately.

Tuesday, September 1:

I placed a few links to some free writing courses offered by the Writing Skills Improvement Program on campus below the research paper instructions on the Homework Page.

Wednesday, August 26:

A practice quiz covering 500 mb maps and winds is available on D2L. This is a self-evaluation and learning exercise. The quiz carries no point value and is not required.

Monday, August 24:

Welcome to Atmospheric Sciences 336. Please periodically check this area for class announcements.

Course Objectives:

This course examines basic weather phenomena, climate variability and climate change, and their associated effects on people. The possibility and implications of human-caused changes in the climate system are also discussed. A more detailed description of the course and specific learning ojectives is provided in the course syllabus.

Web page:

Most of the course material will be placed on the course web pages, home is http://www.atmo.arizona.edu/students/courselinks/fall15/atmo336/home.html There will also be a few activities done on the course D2L pages. All students registered for this course should have access to the D2L page for ATMO336, Section 001.

Course Hours/Location:

Tuesday & Thursday   9:30 - 10:45  
Henry Koeffler Building, Room 218.
Link to Campus Map

Instructor:

Dr. Dale Ward, Lecturer / Research Scientist
Department of Atmospheric Sciences
Email: ward@atmo.arizona.edu (Best way to contact me)
Office: Physics and Atmospheric Sciences (PAS) Building, Room 566D. Link to Campus Map
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 1:00 - 2:00 or by appointment.

Teaching Assistants:

Bill Cassell
Email: cassell@email.arizona.edu
Office: Physis and Atmospheric Sciences (PAS) Building, Room 522
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 2:00 - 3:00 or by appointment.

Tyler Krantz
Email: tkranz@email.arizona.edu
Office: Physics and Atmospheric Sciences (PAS) Building, Room 526
Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday 2:30 - 3:30 or by appointment.

Class Notes / Important Dates:

There is no textbook for this course. Lectures will be based on the reading material posted under the Lectures Link and additional material that will be distributed during lectrues throughout the semester. I expect that each student read over the relevant reading material before the lecture is presented in class. This is important because the you will be famaliar with what I discuss in lecture and better able to understand it.

Important dates, such as homework deadlines, exam dates, etc., will be posted in the class calendar.

Academic Integrity:

The University of Arizona's Code of Academic Integrity, Code of Conduct, and Student Code of Conduct will be strictly followed. All students are responsible for knowing the codes and abiding by them. Please see Academic Integrity Policies for University of Arizona Students.

Accessibility and Accomodations:

It is the University's goal that learning experiences be as accessible as possible. If you anticipate or experience physical or academic barriers based on disability or pregnency, please let me know immediately so that we can discuss options. You are also welcome to contact Disability Resources (520-621-3268) to establish reasonable accommodations.

Grading/Assignmnets:

Class Grades will be posted under the grades link as a spreadsheet. Currently the link points to the gradesheet from a previous class. You will will choose a class ID that will be known only to you so that you can see your grades. There is a Class Registration form posted under the homework link. You will be given 10 extra credit points on your semester homework score for submitting the form by the due date. If you do not submit a form, there will be a blank space in the Class ID column for your grade row.

Please see the course syllabus for more detail about assignments and grading.

Homework:

Four homework assignments will be given periodically during the semester. The first two will be brief problem sets go with the exam 1 and exam 2 material. Sometime in late October, a 500 mb forecasting project will be assigned. Lastly, global warming opinion essay will be due near the end of the semester. The sum total of all homework accounts for 20% of your final grade. Individual homework assignments may not be weighted equally in determining your overall class homework grade.

Your homework assignments will be graded on the quality and clarity of your English as well as their content. No cheating, fabrication, facilitating academic dishonesty, or plagiarism will be tolerated (see University of Arizona Code of Academic Integrity). The research paper and perhaps some of the homework assignments will be filtered through Turnitin. Homework assignments turned in late will incur a grade reduction of 10% per day.

All homework assignments will be available on the class web page. You will be notified in class and with an announcement on the class homepage when homework assignments are posted. You will be given plenty of time to complete assignments.

Research Paper:

A research paper on the subject of the United States adopting an emission control policy will be required for each student. Information about the paper is available under the homework link . I will discuss the research paper in class on Tuesday, September 1. Please read over the assignment sometime before coming to class on September 1.

The research paper will account for 20% of your final class grade. It is due on or before October 15, which is approximately the midway point in the semester. I strongly suggest that you begin to work on your paper long before the due date. The paper accounts for a significant portion of your final grade. As an incentive to begin early, there is an optional assignment, which is due by September 9, in which I ask you to specify your topic and provide a preliminary list of references. You can earn up to 5% extra credit on your research paper for this assignment. Information is available under the homework link .

Exams:

There will be 3 in-class exams and a final exam. Exam grades account for 60% of your final grade. Each in-class exam will account for 20% of your final grade. The exams will consist of a mixture of multiple choice and short answer questions. The in-class exams are not comprehensive in that the questions concentrate on material covered since the last exam. However, it is expected that you are familiar with some of the basic concepts covered early in the semester.

Questions from previous exams will be made available on the class web pages.

Final exam is Tuesday, December 15 from 8:00 - 10:00 in the regular classroom, Koeffler 218.

Exam Policy:

You are expected to study and understand material covered in class during lecture as well as to read the relevant material from the class notes. Exam questions will be taken from both the in-class lectures and the reading material included in the class web pages.

Please contact the instructor (preferrably via e-mail) as soon as possible if for an unexpected reason you are unable to be in class for an exam. A make-up exam will be arranged with sufficient proof. No make-up exam will be given unless you notify the instructor BEFORE missing the exam in class. In general, I would prefer make-up exams to be taken before the exam is given in class.

Grade Scale:

Your final grade will be curved and therefore depends on everybody else's grades. However, the grade scale will not be any more difficult than A(90%); B(80%); C(70%); D(60%).