SURVEY OF METEOROLOGY II SPRING 2008

Office Hours: M,F 8:30-9, T, TH: 9:30-10 AM or stop by anytime!

Course prerequisites:

1. Pre Calc or higher
2. Survey of MET I and MET I Lab

You need to have passed the above classes with a grade of C- or higher.

Goals of the course: By the end of this course you will:

• have an increased understanding of the basic physical processes which generate atmospheric motions and our weather.
• have learned some basic principles of weather forecasting.
• have further developed critical thinking and problem solving skills.

Required text: Meteorology Today. An introduction to weather, climate, and the environment, 7^th edition by C. Donald Ahrens

It's available in the book store

Grading:

The material covered in homework assignments and exams will come from the reading assignments in the text and the lecture material covered in class. Material covered in the reading assignments will substantially overlap with the lecture material, however, I will expand upon some subjects and will cover some topics not discussed in the text. Some topics discussed in the text will not be covered in class. You will be responsible for those topics. The format of the exams will be multiple choice, true-false, and short essay questions.

I highly encourage in-class participation. It can make a difference in your grade, particularly if you are on the border between two grades. For example, if you have a B+ for a final grade and have participated in class a lot, I will likely give you an A-.

As you take quizzes, exams, and turn in homework during the course of the semester, I will have calculated your "grade-to-date". Your grade-to-date represents what your final grade would be at any particular time during the semester. It is a good indicator of your current course grade and can be used to determine how you are doing in the course.

You are also required to enroll in one of the Survey of Met II Lab sections.

Grades for all exams, homework assignments, and labs will be based on the following scale:

Makeup and late homework assignments: There will be no makeup exams. If you miss one of the exams during the semester for a legitimate reason, the others will be weighed greater when determining your final grade. All homework assignments MUST be turned in on time, no credit will be given to late assignments.  An assignment is late if it is not turned in during the first 10 minutes of class on the day it is due.

Homework Policy:  All homework scores count towards your final grade. This includes homework assignments not turned in. Homework assignments not turned in will count as a 0.

Academic Honesty: As per Lyndon State College Catalog.

Attendance and Classroom Conduct: It is your responsibility to attend class. If you need to miss class for some legitimate reason, please let me know of your upcoming absence and you will be excused from the lecture. I will not be taking attendance, though if I have documented that you have missed more than 4 lectures (unexcused), you will fail the course. Any unruly classroom conduct is not acceptable. This includes excessive noise or physical activity. If such behavior becomes apparent, you will be asked to leave the classroom and will receive an F for the course.

Survey of Meteorology II Home Page: Currently a home page on the World Wide Web exists for Survey of Met II. The URL is: http://apollo.lsc.vsc.edu/classes/met130/index.html . This web site contains the syllabus, lecture notes, homework assignments, current information about the class, and questions regarding key concepts discussed in class. These questions can be used as a study guide for the quizzes and exams. It will also contain other relevant links to other web sites around the country.

Lecture Format: The format of the class periods will be as follows.

• There will be approximately four class periods for each chapter.
• At the beginning of each class, a short weather briefing will be presented.  Thereafter, we will discuss the relevant material in the chapter.

Writing Across the Curriculum:  The Meteorology Department has implemented a writing program where Met majors further develop their writing skills by writing papers in selected courses in the Met Curriculum.  The first paper is to be written in Survey of Met II.  Although there are many components of a good paper, we will focus on choosing an appropriate title for the paper.  Other details include:

• The paper will be two pages long
• You can choose any meteorological topic that we have discussed this year in either Survey of Met I or II.
• The paper will count as two homework grades.  Hence, you will not have to turn in homework for the last two chapters of the class (see class schedule below)
• The grade for your paper will be based upon:
  • an appropriate choice of a title
  • proper grammar, spelling, etc.
  • clarity of presentation
• All papers must be typed

How does one choose a good title for a paper?  Well, the easiest test to determine the quality of a title is that when you read it, you have a clear idea as to what the paper is about.  If after reading the title, you have no clue what the paper it about, it is not a good title.  Try practicing with old senior seminar paper titles.

Reasonable Accommodation statement:   Students with disabilities who request accommodations are asked to provide a certification letter within the first two weeks of class. Students should contact Mary Etter, Learning Specialist, in the Academic Support office (Vail 325) to arrange for the appropriate letter to be sent.

SURVEY OF MET II COURSE AND EXAM SCHEDULE

DATE        Chapter Covered, due dates, and Exams

23 January- Lecture on Ch10

25 January- Lecture on Ch10

28 January- Lecture on Ch10

30 January -Lecture on Ch10 Homework due, Ch10

1 February -Lecture on Ch11

4 February -Lecture on Ch11 Homework due, Ch11

6 February - EXAM #1 on Chs 10 and 11

8 February- Lecture on Ch12

11 February- Lecture on Ch12

13 February- Lecture on Ch12

15 February- Lecture on Ch12

18 February - Lecture on Ch13 Homework due, Ch12

20 February- Lecture on Ch13

22 February-  NO CLASS

25 February- Winter Break, NO CLASS

27 February - Winter Break, NO CLASS

29 February - Winter Break, NO CLASS

3 March - Lecture on Ch13

5 March - Lecture on Ch13, Ch14

7 March- Lecture on Ch 14 Homework due, Ch13

10 March- EXAM#2 on Chs 12 and 13

12 March- Lecture on Ch14

14 March- Lecture on Ch14

17 March-  Lecture on Ch14

19 March - Lecture on Ch14

21 March- Lecture on Ch15 Homework due, Ch14

24 March- Lecture on Ch15

26 March- Lecture on Ch16 Homework due on Ch15

28 March-  Lecture on Ch16

31 March- EXAM #3 on Chs 14 and 15

2 April - Lecture, Ch16

4 April - Lecture, Ch 16

7 April-  Spring Break, NO CLASS

9 April - Spring Break, NO CLASS

11 April- Spring Break, NO CLASS

14 April-  Lecture on Ch17

16 April - Lecture on Ch17 Homework due, Ch16

18 April- Lecture on Ch17

21 April- Exam #4 on Chs 16 and 17

23 April-  Lecture on Ch18

25 April- Lecture on Ch18

28 April- Lecture on Ch 18 

April 30 - Lecture on Ch 18

2 May - Lecture on Ch 19 Homework due on Ch18

5 May-  - Lecture on Ch 19 

7 May - Lecture on Ch 19 Paper Due at beginning of class

9 May - Lecture on Ch 19

last updated: 04/02/08 10:10 AM