NATURAL SCIENCES 101—INTRODUCTION TO WEATHER AND CLIMATE

SECTION 6: MWF 9:00 A.M.—9:50 A.M. ILC 140

Class Hours and Location:    Section 6: 9:00 AM - 9:50 AM (MWF) in ILC 140.

Instructor: Prof. Christopher L. Castro (email: castro@atmo.arizona.edu), PAS 520, 626-5617.

Teaching Assistants:  Stephen Bieda (email: bieda@atmo.arizona.edu), PAS 476, 626-5123.

 

Office Hours: Prof. Castro: WF 2:00-2:50 pm, but subject to change with advance notice, or by appointment.

                  Mr. Bieda: MWF 11:00am -12:00pm or by Appointment, PAS 476

Required Text:  Meteorology Today, Eighth ed. (ISBN 0-495-01162-2) by C. Donald Ahrens

Course Description: An introduction to the science of weather and climate, including such topics (time permitting) as the atmospheric composition, energy balance, wind systems, genesis of fronts and cyclones, precipitation processes, clouds, severe weather, weather prediction 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 three examinations, two essay assignments, and a final exam. Each examination will consist of approximately 30-40 total questions in a multiple choice format. Short answer extra credit questions may appear on some exams. Each exam will cover new material presented up through the end of the previous lecture period.  The examinations will be given on Wednesday February 14, Wednesday March 28, and Wednesday April 25.  No Exceptions. The time for exams is 9:00 am sharp.  No Exceptions. Students who arrive late on exam dates, where late is defined as arriving after the first student turns in her/his exam, will not be not allowed to take the exam.  Bring your CAT CARD on exam days!

  

The final is Friday, May 11, 8:00 am-10:00 am.  No Exceptions.  Bring your CAT CARD to the final! The final will consist of approximately 60 multiple-choice questions and/or short answer questions.  Approximately half of these will be taken verbatim from the old exams.  Grades will be computed as follows:

Three term exams: 45% (15% per exam)

Essay assignments: 30% (15% per essay)

Final exam: 25%

A student who receives 90% or greater on all three term exams and two assignments at the end of the term will receive an “A” for the course and may opt out of the final exam.  If the final exam grade is one letter grade above the average of the three term exams and two essay assignments, lowest score of these dropped and final exam is worth 40% of the final grade.  There will be NO EXTRA CREDIT PROJECTS. No Exceptions, so plan accordingly!

COURSE GRADING SCALE

A = ≥ 90.00%         B = 89.99-80.0%        C = 79.99-65.0%        D = 64.99-55.0%      E = Below 55.0%

Expectations: The reading assignments for each day's lecture are listed on a separate handout and in the tables that follow.  You are expected to complete the assigned reading before the lecture. Unless you hear otherwise from Professor Castro, you are always responsible for the reading material. Of course, you are invited to ask questions about the material during lecture, office hours or review sessions. Per University policy, I expect every student 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/2006-07/policies/enrpol.htm#unit. If you are unwilling or unable to commit to a minimum of 2 hours outside of class, then I recommend that you take another course.

Honors Credit: This course is available for honors credit to qualified Honors Students.  Please contact the instructor for further information.

 

Attendance Policy: Attendance is mandatory. I reserve the right to take attendance throughout 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/2006-07/policies/classatten.htm. My suggestion is pretty simple...just come to class…every meeting.  All holidays or special events observed by organized religions will be honored for those students who show affiliation with that particular religion if the instructor is given reasonable notice. Absences for travel to road games by NCAA athletes will be honored if the instructor is given reasonable advance notice. Students are responsible for all material missed in class, including exams, which are expected to be taken with prior arrangements from the instructor.

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. See http://web.arizona.edu/~dos/uapolicies/. You can submit complaints about fellow students online at http://dos.web.arizona.edu/uapolicies/index.html. Your submission is completely anonymous, and I will investigate the allegations further.

Classroom Behavior: Every student is expected to behave as a courteous adult and in manner consistent with enhancing the educational experience of your peer students. You are expected to not talk with your neighbors during class, to turn off your electronic toys (e.g. cell phones, pagers, blackberries, iPods, mp3’s, etc.), and to remain seated until I dismiss the class. Destructive behavior in the classroom or any perceived threatening behavior toward fellow students or the teaching staff will be dealt with swiftly and accordingly (See UA Policy http://policy.web.arizona.edu/~policy/threaten.shtml). Please note that I always carry my cell, and a 911 call is no more than five seconds away.

Disability Resource Center: I remind students who are registered with the Disability Resource Center that I must receive appropriate documentation if they are requesting reasonable accommodations.

 

Literacy Requirements: There is a science literacy requirement. This means that we use scientific notation for writing numbers (especially rather large or small ones).  We specify units for all physical quantities (e.g. meters for length, seconds for time, kilograms for mass, etc.). We attempt to quantify physical relationships based on data, simple reasoning and the governing laws of physics.

 

Course Withdrawal: Last day to drop the course without it appearing on your record is Tuesday February 6, 2007. Last day to drop the course with a "W'' grade is Tuesday March 6, 2007. To receive a W, your average grade at the time you drop must equal or exceed 55%.

Syllabus

Class Listserv castro@listserv.arizona.edu