Optional Assignments


Assignment
 Date Assigned
 Date Due
 points
 topic(s)
Forces and winds asst.
 Thu., Oct. 13
 Tue., Oct. 18
 0.5
 Newton's 1st law of motion, pressure gradient & Coriolis forces, upper level and surface winds
in the northern and southern hemisphere.  answers
In class asst
 Thu., Oct. 23
 end of class
 0.15
 humidity variables
In class asst.
 Tue., Oct. 21
 end of class
 0.1(0.2?)
 see the end of the Tue., Oct. 21 online notes.  If you turn the assignment
in by the start of class on Thu., Oct. 23 you'll receive full credit.
Surface weather map analysis
 Tue., Oct. 7
 Tue., Oct. 14
 0.5 
use this example analysis as a guide
Upper level charts asst.
 Tue., Oct. 7
 Tue., Oct. 14
 two options
(see assignment)
 upper level charts, read Pt. 1, Pt. 2, and Pt. 3 of the material on upper level charts.
In class asst.
 Thu., Sep. 30
 Tue., Sep. 30
 0.15
 surface weather map features  answers
Asst. 1
 Tues., Sep. 16
 Tue., Sep. 23
 0.5
 composition of the atmosphere; pollutants; mass, density & weight  answers

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.