FALL 2008
Mondays and Wednesdays, 10-11:50, Stevenson 3072
This course satisfies GE Area B-3, and is also a required core course for the Geography major
Course Description: This course explores the different aspects of the natural environment, including the atmosphere and hydrosphere (weather and climate, oceans), lithosphere (landforms, earth processes), and biosphere (plants and animals, primarily), and emphasizes the fundamental relationships between these spheres. The primary goal of the course is for the student to gain a deeper understanding of how these systems work and how they are so intimately connected in the earth's natural environment as a whole. Woven into the class are daily discussions of current events in the world associated with natural phenomena and human interactions with and impacts on the natural world. Global Climate Change will be an almost daily topic. Satisfies GE category B3, CAN Geog 2.
Instructor: Dr. Dorothy E. Freidel, Professor. Office: 3056 Stevenson; 664-2314, email: dorothy.freidel@sonoma.edu
Office Hours:
Mon & Weds noon-1 p.m.Textbook: Christopherson (2007) Elemental Geosystems, 5th Edition. Available at the SSU Bookstore.
Class Listserv: Will be set up the first week of class. This list will use your SSU email address, so be sure to check it regularly (once a day).
Course Website: http://www.sonoma.edu/users/f/freidel/physical/ All course materials (syllabus, schedule, assignments, study guides) are available on the course web page. If you need a copy of any of these documents, you can print it for yourself at any of the campus computer labs. The classroom is a wireless zone, if you'd like to bring your laptop for note taking and following web explorations in class.
Grading: The lecture portion is worth 75% of your total grade, consisting of weekly quizzes, two midterms, plus a final exam. The final exam is half comprehensive, half on material since the second midterm. Weekly quizzes and participation will constitute 20% of your grade. There will be three required lab exercises and one field trip, which combined are worth 25% of your final grade. There are also two optional extra credit reports that can increase your midterm grades. You may notice, then, that Presence and Participation are an extremely important part of your grade.
Summary of points for final grade:
Lab exercises
15%
Field Trip
10%
Weekly Quizzes (~10)
20%
First Midterm
15%
Second Midterm
15%
Final Exam
25%
100%
IF YOU CHOOSE TO SUCCEED IN THIS CLASS You can learn a lot about the natural environment, and get a good grade in this class, if you follow these simple suggestions:
Never miss class, and don't arrive late. If you need to be absent, please email or call Professor Freidel, and arrange to get notes from another student. Read your text assignments (from Christopherson) before the lecture for which they are assigned, and ask questions in class. The schedule of topics and readings will be followed as closely as possible. Homework assignments will include use of computers and the Internet; there is a 24 hour lab in the lower level of Schultz Library for your convenience. Be sure to check your SSU email account regularly. Don't miss quizzes and turn in homework on time. Late homework will lose 10% per day late.There are no make up quizzes. If you must turn in homework late, or miss an exam, there must be serious extenuating circumstances such as a death in the family or doctor-required absence. (Doctor's notes and other documentation will be required for a make-up exam.) If you're having difficulties with the course, seek help early -- don't wait until right before the midterm! Please note carefully the dates of scheduled exams. There are no scheduled make-up exams. Cheating and Plaigarizing will not be tolerated. Students cheating on an exam will receive an F for the class. If you plaigarize you will receive 0 points for your assignment. All cell phones will be turned off during class.
IF AT ANY TIME YOU NEED HELP, PLEASE ASK FOR IT. (See office hours, above.)
If you are a student with a disability and think you may need accommodations in this course, you must contact the Disabled Students Services located in Stevenson 1038 (664-2677). Please contact Prof. Freidel before the first midterm.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
FIELD TRIP: Dates to be arranged
Read the assignments in order, not by date. If we skip a topic I will let you know.
| Day | Lecture topic | Readings in text |
| W 8/26 | Introduction, What is Geography?, Four spheres | 1-12 |
| M 9/1 | LABOR DAY, No class | |
| W 9/3 | Global Climate Change, Sustainability, Video with Exercise Special Assignment 1 (Freidel away) |
|
| M 9/8 | Basic concepts, systems, equilibrium, feedbacks (Freidel returns, first lecture -- Essential that all students attend!) | |
| W 9/10 | Geographic grid system, latitude, longitude, time (Begin Exercise. 1) | 15-22 |
| M 9/15 | Solar energy, electromagnetic spectrum | 40-50 |
| W 9/17 | The Atmosphere, composition, temperature | 51-64 |
| M 9/22 | Solar energy in atmosphere, Earth's energy balance | 75-87 |
| W 9/24 | Air temperature, Regional, seasonal, (Exercise 1 due) | 87-106 |
| M 9/29 | Atmospheric circulation, winds, driving forces | 111-120 |
| W 10/1 | General atmospheric circulation, high and low pressure systems, Exam Review | 120-129 |
| M 10/6 | FIRST MIDTERM (Freidel in Alaska) | |
| W 10/8 | Local winds, Ocean currents, water on earth (Freidel in Alaska) | 129-146 |
| M 10/13 | Humidity, adiabatic processes, latent and sensible heat (begin Extra Credit 1) (Freidel in Alaska) | 146-156 |
| W 10/15 | Clouds, fog, air masses, uplift mechanisms | 155-166 |
| M 10/20 | Westerly cyclones, cold and warm fronts, thunderstorms | 166-175 |
| W 10/22 | Hydrologic cycle, evapotranspiration, drought, water balance | 176-200 |
| M 10/27 | Global climate systems, Classification, El Nino, (Ex Credit 1 due) | 217-147 |
| W 10/29 | Climate change, global warming, Exam review | 248-257 |
| M 11/3 | SECOND MIDTERM | |
| W 11/5 | Lithosphere, Earth's crust, rock cycle, rocks | 263-279 |
| M 11/10 | Plate tectonics, Volcanoes and earthquakes (Begin Extra Credit 2 ) | 280-289, 298-329 |
| W 11/12 | Weathering, mass movements (Introduce Exercise 3 , Field Observation) | 333-356 |
| M 11/17 | River systems and landforms, Floods and river management | 361-390 |
| W 11/19 | Wind processes and landforms, desertification | 395-418 |
| M 11/24 | Coastal processes and landforms (Exercise 3 due today) | 421-446 |
| W 11/26 | NO CLASSES, THANKSGIVING BREAK | |
| M 12/1 | Ecosystems and Biomes | 515-530 |
| W 12/3 | Biodiversity, Climate Change | 530-540 |
| M 12/8 | Terrestrial Biomes | 540-557, Table 16.2! |
| W 12/10 | The Human Denominator, Review | 563-574 |
| M 12/15 | Final Exam, 11 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. in STV 3072 |
This is a GE class: The General Education (GE) Mission at Sonoma State University investigates the complexity of human experience in a diverse natural and social world, and promotes informed and ethical participation as citizens of the world. To help achieve this mission, Geog 204, Physical Geography will help students to reach the following fundamental Goals for all GE approved classes:
I. Help you to learn to think independently, ethically, critically and creatively
II. Help you to learn to communicate clearly to many audiences (e.g. participating in class discussions and group presentations)
III. Help you to gain an understanding of connections between the past and the present, and to
look to the future (particularly in the natural and human environment)
IV. Help you to learn to appreciate intellectual, scientific, and artistic accomplishment
V. Help you to build upon your reading, writing, research, and critical thinking skills (e.g. Do you believe everything you read in a newspaper or blog or hear on TV? Why or Why Not?)
Last updated 1/28/08