Optional Assignments


Assignment
 Date Assigned
 Date Due
 points
 topic(s)
Toilet Flushing Asst.
 Wed., Nov. 7
 5 pm Wed., Nov. 9
 0.1
 direction of spin of water in a draining toilet or sink
In-class Asst.
 Fri., Nov. 2
 Fri., Nov. 2
 0.15
 Newton's 1st law of motion and forces  Answers
Humidity Problems Asst
 Fri., Oct. 19
 Wed., Oct. 24
 0.5
 humidity example problems.  Answers
In-class Humidity Asst.
 Fri., Oct. 19
 Fri., Oct. 19 or Mon. Oct. 22
 0.2
 some rather challenging questions about humidity variables  Answers
Hidden Asst.
 Wed., Oct. 17
 Fri., Oct. 19
 0.15
 humidity variables, a link was "hidden" in the Wed., Oct. 17 online notes.  Here are answers to the questions.
Upper Level Charts Asst.
 Wed., Sep. 26
 Wed., Oct. 3
 0.5 pts and a Green Card
 read the online material on upper level charts: Pt. 1, Pt. 2, and Pt. 3
to earn the green card you must answer 85% of the questions correctly
Surface Weather Map Analysis
 Mon., Sep. 24
 Mon. Oct. 1
0.5
 use this online example analysis as a guide
click here to see the completed analysis
In-class Asst.
 Fri., Sep. 14
 Fri., Sep. 14
 0.2
 troposphere, stratosphere, ideal gas law, station model notation  Answers
Asst. #1
 Fri., Sep. 7
 Fri., Sep. 14
 0.5
 composition of air; mass, weight, density, pressure  Answers

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

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 students 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.  Only papers with less than full credit will have a grade marked on them.  Papers without a 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 pts out of 0.5 pts 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 look at and grade some of the questions on the optional assignments.  You should carefully compare your answers with those on the optional assignment answers handout even if nothing is marked wrong on your paper.