Geog. G107 Physical Systems of the Environment    (Fall, 2006)
TR 12:00 - 1:15 p.m.
Instructor...Dr. Isiorho
TA...Ms Glenna Daughdrill
Office (SB-236) Hours  TR (1:30 - 2:45 p.m.)

Course Description:

The course is designed to give students a basic understanding of the physical environment, which we will view as a complex system of interacting components (climate, soils, and other Earth materials and processes). Emphasis will be given to the dynamics of the individual components, the way these interact, and the global patterns that result when the components are integrated. Students would be required to 'travel' around the world making observations of the climates, time zones, and vegetation type and other environmental features. Students will also be required to make observations (using a scientific method) for two weeks of an aspect of the environment and write a report. The report should use the observations, apply knowledge gained from the course, and student activities that could affect the outcome of observations. As part of this course, students would be required to travel outside the North American continent, examine how location, gender, class, economics,  and politics affect water quality and quantity. Students who successfully complete this course will relate their activities to the environment and the environment to their activities. Students will be assessed through exams, class projects and reports.
NOTE: Check the syllabus weekly as it is a living document. The content will not change, but, there could be new useful materials.  

You may also use the Vista Discussion board for posting questions.....and you can answer any questions posted on the discussion board.
ALL REPORTS MUST BE SENT THROUGH WEBCT.   ALSO, INCLUDE YOUR NAME AND REPORT TITLE IN YOUR REPORT& as part of your file name, EXAMPLE, IsiorhoaboutRpt... failure to have your name as part of your file name will cost you points

Exams/Reports:

Three exams and a finals. Course grades will be based on two exams (42%), finals (21%), Water report (21%), Group project (5%), Survey (2%), and class assignments (One rock and two video reports (9%)).

NO CLASS ON EXAM  DATES & NO MAKE UP EXAMS

NOTE: All reports must be sent as attachment (word perfect or microsoft word document) to me through WebCT. Your email subject area should include your name, G107, and type of report (water/group or rock). Your report must be sent before 5:00 p.m or as posted. Any report received after 5 p.m. or as posted, will have points deducted and report will not be graded if received a day late. You are responsible for all materials in the textbook and or internet links and you could get questions outside of lectures...applied questions. PLEASE DO NOT ASK FOR EXTRA CREDITS... I DO NOT CURVE...WHAT YOU GET IS WHAT YOU GET. Grading scale: A=90-100; B=80-89; C=70-79; D=60-69; F=<60
"If you have or acquire a disability and would like to find out what special services and accommodations may be
available to you, contact Services for Students with Disabilities in WU 118 & 218 (481-6657, voice/TTY)"

(Start early, no extension, no exemption, and no excuses will be accepted)

Group project (5%) would involve making a two-week (14 consecutive days) obervation of the weather in a given location (must give the name) that may include precipitation, temperature, cloud type/cover, wind speed/direction. Include statistics, compare your data to the normal weather condition of the location. It is important that you work together in your group. Any member of the group could be called upon to give a 5-minute presentation which forms part of the grade. You must follow the report format given below. Only one report (5-10 pages...excluding graphs/tables) per group, and this will be due Tuesday October 3, 2006 to be presented Thursday October 5, 2006.   (suggestion: collect your weather data in early September...)

Rock report (4%)  A one page report (double space) on any rock in the Geogarden (need not follow the report format given below) is due Thursday November 9, 2006. Your report should include the name of the specific rock, mineral composition, why you chose the rock, and any use of the rock.

Water report (21%) Write a 6-page double space report on the effects of "CLASS STANDING/STATUS"i.e. social standing/status, on  water quality & quantity from any two different locations (one location from Africa and the other from North America (outside of Indiana)). NOTE: YOU CANNOT COMPARE A COUNTRY TO STATE OR CITY...You compare a city with city, state with state, a region with a region, or country with a country. For North America, you can examine the political, economic, class and environmental implication for irrigation in the United States (would need to specify a place or region). Your report must follow the format given below and it should also include the location (village/town/city, region, or country) gender and class standing. I will be looking for the role of diversity in water supply and your personal reflection in your water report. Report (through WebCt) is due NOON Thursday November 16, 2006 (NO EXCUSE WILL BE ACCPETED. Report will not be graded if received late).

All Tests will be taken online in WebCTvista.

Optional PreQuiz: (August 21-31) through WebCTvista.
Would recommend you take the prequiz as the score will be added to one of your test scores.

Introduction to the Atmosphere (Chpt. 2)
Composition and structure of the atmosphere, elements of weather and climate

Insolation and Temperature (Chpt. 3)
Solar energy (insolation), basic process of heating and cooling of the atmosphere, mechanism of heat transfer, global temperature patterns.

Video September 5, 2006...write  six short (will not grade if more than 6) sentences on this video (3% of course grade). One sentence must be from the begining, another sentence from the middle, and a third from the end of the video. The remaining three sentences could be from any part of the video. The six sentences must be submited to the TA (G. Daughdrill) before 6 p.m. September 12, 2005 through WebCt. 
DO NOT USE MY REGULAR EMAIL FOR ANY ASSIGNMENTS

Atmospheric Pressure and Wind (Chpt. 5)  Prof. Drummond....Guest Lecturer Sept. 12 & 14
Nature of atmospheric pressure and wind, nature of wind (direction of movement, cyclones, anticyclones) general circulation of the atmosphere, localized wind systems (sea and land breezes, katabatic, chinook, Froehn, valley and mountain breezes).

Atmospheric Moisture (Chpt. 4)
Measures of humidity (absolute, specific, relative), condensation (clouds, fog, dew, adiabatic processes), precipitation (processes, forms, atmospheric lifting), global distribution of precipitation (average precipitation, seasonal precipitation patterns, variability).

Transient Atmospheric Flows and Disturbance (Chpt. 6)
Air masses (characteristics, origin, classification, movement and modification ), fronts (cold, warm, stationary, occluded), atmospheric disturbances.

Climatic Zones and Types (biomes ) (Chpt. 7)
Climatic classification (purpose, classification schemes, modified Koppen System, climographs), world distribution of climatic types (Tropical Humid, Dry, Mild Mid latitude, Sever mid latitude, polar, highland), global pattern.    Hawaii movie (climate & wave) clip
Cloud cover IPFW Oct. 2, 2006
Oct. 2, 2006  Cloud cover movie .... enjoy

CLASS NOTE II
Draft power point slide II
EXAM 2: Thursday October 12, 2006  WebCTvista (6:0 a.m. -6:00 p.m.)

Soils (Chpt. 10)
Soil and regolith, soil forming factors (geologic, climatic, topographic, biological, chronological), soil components (inorganic, organic, air, water) Soil properties (color, texture, structure), chemistry (colloids, cation exchange, acidity/alkalinity) soil profiles, pedogenic regimes (laterization, podzolization, gleization, calcification, salinization), soil classification, global distribution of major soils (entisols, vertisols, andisols, inceptisols, aridisol, mollisol, spodosol, alfisols, ultisols, oxisols, histosols)
Check this site for detailed Soil Science course (Univ. of Minnesota)
Amazon Rain Forest...forest fire...soil

Earth Materials (Chpt. 11)
Composition of the crust (igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic), some critical concepts (basic terms, uniformitarianism, geologic time), internal and external geomorphic processes.
(Geogarden: write a one-page (double space) report on any rock in the garden and send your report to me through WebCT before 5:00 p.m., Thursday November 9, 2006 (4% of course grade).
*Your report must inlcude 1) specific name of the rock, 2) why you chose the specific rock, 3) the mineral composition, and 4) the use(s).

The Internal Processes (Chpt. 12)
Crustal rearrangement (continental drifts, plate tectonics), volcanism, diastrophism (folding and faulting)

Weathering and Mass Wasting (Chpt. 14)
Weathering (physical, chemical), mass wasting (fall, slide, slump, flow, creep)

Optional bonus rock report due Nov. 2 before noon..... describe, name A rock (#s 1 through 7) and turn your report to me through WebCT.  You do not need to send a copy to the TA for this bonus assignment.
                    Check this out  draft  power point slides... UPDATED Nov. 2, 2006      

CLASS NOTE III

EXAM 3: Thursday November 9, 2006  WebCTvista (6:00 a.m. - 6 p.m.)

             Video November 7, 2006 ...Write four short sentences on the video (one must be from the begining, one from the middle, one from the end of the video, and the forth sentence could come from any part of the video.) (2% of course). Report due before 6 p.m. November 14 through WebCT

The Hydrosphere (Chpt. 15)
The hydrologic cycle (surface to air, air to water, movement on and beneath surface, residence times, surface water (lakes, swarms and marshes, rivers and streams) Underground water (aeration, saturation zones, aquifer, pumping, drawdown)

The Fluvial Processes (Chpt. 16)
Fundamental concepts (drainage basins), stream channels, stream systems (basins), valleys (deepening, widening, lengthening)

River Meanders....River?            Power point slides (Quick review) for rivers and groundwater

                   Spectacular pictures for 2003 Courtesy of Kristi Emely

Glacial Terrain ( Chpt. 19 )
Impact of glacial on the landscape, types of glaciers (continental, mountain, how glaciers form), how glaciers form. Glaciated land forms ... glaciers from the interenet
CLASS NOTE IV (see chapters)

The Topography of Arid Lands ( Chpt. none )
The work of the wind (erosion, transportation, deposition), characteristics of desert landforms
(Dust aggravates droughts?)

Survey: December 5, 2006 (6:00 a.m. - 6 p.m.) (2% of course grade) through WebCTvista.

Post Quiz: December  7, 2006 (from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.) through WebCTvista.

                                                                              Important words for test four

FINAL EXAM (Not comprehensive): from 6:00 a.m. Tuesday December 12 through NOON Wednesday December 13, 2006  WebCTvista

REPORT FORMAT
Report Format (you must follow this format):  Use the red lettered words in your subheadings
Title (what is your report about? not more than 15 words),
Abstract (a special type of summary of your report that includes problem/question asked, method, result and conclusion),
Introduction (what do you know about the topic and what has been done and why this report i.e. purpose?),
Method/Approach (how did you you get your information result, data etc.),
Result/Data (self explanatory...could put your result(s) in table format),
Discussions (what does your result mean?....  include your opinion here),
Conclusion (two to four-sentence summary of your report),
Acknowledgment (if any),
References (what works did you cite?  Minimum of Three references...use APA format)
(call if I do not acknowledge receiving your report after two business days).
NO HARD COPY WILL BE ACCEPTED

No class November 24. Thanksgiving...break.
              ALL EXAMS WILL BE SEVENTY MINUTES LONG

Isiorho's webpage           Geogarden                   IPFW             e-mail
Other Links

When there is global warming

Katrina Cloud related Pictures in PPt

Water  Conflict   Ppt

Women Children and water ppt
Buz Words....drawings/pictures from Prof. Williams Univ. of Wisconsin River Falls
Water UMAC

Check Dr. Pamela Sandstrom for your water report.

Extra Credit .... Here is a possibility you may want to consider for extra credit! Just attend, write a one page double spaced summary and a critique on the first event. This report would be due one week after the event, sent through WebCT .  The first event is on Nov. 8, 2006

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." Thomas Edison