July 7th – August 12th
Contact Information
Instructor: Dr. Mary Beth Booth, O.D. (Assistant Professor, Geography)
Office: Room 2145, Building 2000
Northridge Campus
E-mail: mbooth@austincc.edu
Mailing address:
Telephone: 512-223-4023
Fax number: 512-223-4310
Office Hours: See attached
Note: I typically check email early in the morning on Monday through Friday. I may check email on the weekends, but there is no guarantee that I will. So plan accordingly if you need to contact me via email.
This course introduces the student to an area of study that brings together and interrelates the important elements of the physical environment of humans. The nature and characteristics of the physical environment, their development and distribution are emphasized.
Introduction to Physical
Geography GEOG 1301 is designed to provide students with a basic knowledge of
the earth’s environment and its components and the interrelations among
the various environmental elements; provide a general education that assists
students to think critically, and to apply the basic knowledge, skill, and
principles of physical geography to everyday life and their chosen careers; and
to prepare students for transfer and success in a baccalaureate degree granting
institution.
By the end of this course, the student will:
·
Be able
to describe what Geography and Physical Geography are.
·
Understand
the physical principles and processes governing the circulation and
characteristics of the atmosphere and climates on Earth.
·
Understand
the physical principles and processes governing the circulation and
characteristics of water on Earth.
·
Understand
the principles of geomorphology and the processes that shape the landscape.
·
Understand
the distribution and dynamics of organisms and their environments.
·
Understand
the directional and locational systems employed on the surface of the Earth
·
Be able
to use and analyze maps.
This course is an on-line Internet-based course. Students will read/study the textbook, complete a four written exercises, and complete four tests that cover textbook material. The course will be administered through the ACC Blackboard site (http://acconline.austincc.edu). Once you have enrolled in the course, go to this website and click on the “Login” button. If you don’t already know what your User ID is, click on the “What's my User ID?” link in the upper right hand of the web page. Unless you have already changed your password in Blackboard, your password is your birthdate in MMDDYY format (Jan 2, 1978 = 010278). Follow the link to this course (Introduction to Physical Geography - GEOG 1301 (15744)). If you are not familiar with Blackboard, go to http://irt.austincc.edu/blackboard/ for an online tutorial on how to use Blackboard. If you have trouble logging in to Blackboard, email or call the instructor immediately.
Required Textbook
McKnight, Tom
L., and Darrel Hess, 2008. Physical Geography: A Landscape Appreciation.
You can buy the book at the
Note: You do NOT need to buy the lab manual. You only need the textbook listed above. This is a 3-credit hour non-lab course, so you do NOT need a lab book.
Technology
Requirements: You will need the following:
Reliable Internet access and a working email address ("Working" also means that your mailbox is not full.) You will also need access to a word processor such as MS Word or WordPerfect. Computers with Internet access and Word Processing programs are available at all ACC campuses. Contact the instructor if you need more information.
The last day to withdraw from this course for the Summer 2008 session is Tuesday, July 29, 2008. It is the YOUR responsibility to withdraw from the course if needed. Normally I will NOT withdraw you from the class once you have started it. There is an exception to this policy: if you have not completed the online orientation by July 11th, you will be withdrawn from the course.
Academic Integrity
Students enrolled in this class are responsible for observing the policy on academic integrity described in the 2007-2008 ACC Student Handbook.
Acts prohibited by the college for which
discipline may be administered include scholastic dishonesty, including but not
limited to cheating on an exam or quiz, plagiarizing, and unauthorized
collaboration with another in preparing outside work. Academic work submitted
by students shall be the result of their thought, research, or self-expression.
Academic work is defined as, but not limited to tests, quizzes, whether taken
electronically or on paper; projects, either individual or group; classroom
presentations, and homework.
If a student commits any of the above actions, the instructor may seek disciplinary action in the form of an academic penalty (which may include a course grade of 'F'). Such disciplinary action will be at the discretion of the instructor.
Each ACC campus offers support services for students with documented
physical or psychological disabilities. Students with disabilities must request
reasonable accommodations through the office for Students with Disabilities on
the campus where they expect to take the majority of their classes. Students
are encouraged to do this three weeks before the start of the semester.
Each student is strongly encouraged
to participate in online discussions. In any classroom situation that includes
discussion and critical thinking, there are bound to be many differing
viewpoints. Students may not only disagree with each other at times, but the
students and instructor may also find that they have disparate views on
sensitive and volatile topics. It is my hope that these differences will
enhance the discussion and create an atmosphere where students and instructor
alike will be encouraged to think and learn. Therefore, be assured that your
grades will not be adversely affected by any beliefs or ideas expressed in
class or in assignments. Rather, we will all respect the views of others when
expressed in discussions.
Grading Policy
There are four tests worth a maximum of 100 points each. See below for details about the tests.
There are a series of written exercises that together will be worth a maximum of 160 points. See below for details about the exercises.
|
|
Total Points Available |
|
Lecture tests |
400 |
|
Written exercises |
160 |
Total Points available |
560 |
Grades will be based on the
following:
Letter Grade |
Total Points Earned |
|
|
|
|
A |
504 – 560 |
|
B |
448 - 503 |
|
C |
392 - 447 |
|
D |
336 - 391 |
|
F |
0 – 335 |
*Note: The grade of
“I” (Incomplete) is very rarely assigned in this course. In the
event that a true emergency (such as hospitalization) happens AFTER the
withdrawal date which prevents the student from completing the course work, a
grade of “I” may possibly be given at the discretion of the instructor.
Incompletes must be made up by the deadline posted on the ACC website (which is
typically sometime in November), or the “I” will automatically be
converted to an “F”.
*Note: The written exercises are meant to help you
raise your grade. Many people have difficulty with the tests as the tests cover
a lot of challenging material. You can raise your grade by accurately completing
the written exercises by the posted deadlines.
Tests
There
will be four tests. All the tests are multiple-choice. There are approximately 10
– 12 questions from each chapter. The tests are worth a maximum of 100
points each.
The
tests will be administered online through Blackboard. You must request a
password from me to take the test. You must email me your request for a
password (mbooth@austincc.edu)
at least 3 days before you want to take the test. Each test is timed (60
minutes) and must be completed in one sitting. You are NOT allowed to stop
taking the test partway through and then go back to finish it later.
If
you feel you will need more than one hour to take the test, you have the option
to take the tests at the
There are NO retests.
Make-up tests: If you miss a test
deadline, you can
still take the test after the deadline, but the most you can earn on that test
is a maximum of 90% (There is a 10% penalty for taking the test late). So in
other words, if you miss the test deadline for test 1 or test 2, you can still
take the test anytime until August 12th. But the maximum score you can get on
that test is 90%. (For example, if you
take a test late and score a 70% on it, your grade would be 63 points (70
points * 90% = 63 points)).
To get the most points that you can in this course, check the test deadlines carefully and plan ahead so that you can take the tests by the stated deadlines. Bosses want you to work overtime, children get sick, Internet servers go down, life happens, etc. So DO NOT wait until the last day to take the tests. If you do, you run the risk of not finishing the tests by the deadlines.
Test Number |
Chapters covered |
Deadline to take the test on Blackboard or at the NRG testing center |
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
1, 2, 3, &
4 |
July 25, 2008 |
|
2 |
5, 6, 7, & 8 |
July 25, 2008 |
|
3 |
9, 10, 11, & 13 |
August 12, 2008 |
|
4 |
14, 15, 16, & 19 |
August 12, 2008 |
Note: we are going to skip chapters 12, 17, 18, & 20. Although these are valuable & interesting chapters, twenty chapters are too much to cover in an introductory course. The chapters we will cover (chapters 1 through 11, 13 through 16, & chapter 19) are the most useful for giving you a solid foundation in Physical geography. I highly recommend that you read chapters 12, 17, 18, & 20 but these chapters will not be covered on any of the tests.
The first and second written exercises are due on July 25, 2008. However, you can earn 5 points extra credit for each of these two written exercises if you submit them to me by July 16, 2008. The third and fourth written exercises are due on August 12, 2008. However, you can earn 5 points extra credit for each of these two written exercises if you submit them to me by July 30, 2008. Late exercises will NOT be accepted. The details about each exercise will be posted on the Blackboard website. The exercises explore interesting topics (the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, hurricanes, earthquakes, and the plate tectonics theory) in more detail than is in the textbook. The exercises are straightforward to complete, but they do take a fair amount of time to do properly.
Please call me, e-mail me, or come by my office hours if you have any problems with these exercises.
Make
sure that you read through the whole exercise before answering the questions.
Textbook Animation CD - ROM
Your textbook contains a CD with animations. These animations are extremely helpful in explaining some of the more difficult physical geography concepts. I recommend that you install the CD & watch all the animations for each of the chapters.
See the last two pages of this syllabus for information about installing & using the animation CD.
Internet Textbook Resources
The McKnight textbook has a companion website
(URL: http://wps.prenhall.com/esm_mcknight_physgeo_8). For each chapter there are links to Chapter Objectives, Multiple Choice Quiz, True False Quiz, Thinking Spatially questions, Chapter Review, Critical thinking questions, and other things. Check out the website; the links here may help you understand the material better. The link is to the 8th edition as the 9th edition does not have online resources available.
|
Topic |
Reading Assignment (McKnight) |
Animations |
Suggested date by which you should complete this chapter |
|
Introduction |
Chapter 1 |
Chapter 1 |
Jul
9 |
|
Portraying Earth |
Chapter 2 |
Chapter 2 |
Jul
11 |
|
The Atmosphere |
Chapter 3 |
Chapter 3 |
Jul
13 |
|
Insolation and Temperature |
Chapter 4 |
Chapter 4 |
Jul
15 |
|
Test 1 |
|
|
Jul 16 |
|
Atmospheric Pressure and Wind |
Chapter 5 |
Chapter 5 |
Jul
18 |
|
Atmospheric moisture |
Chapter 6 |
Chapter 6 |
Jul
20 |
|
Transient Atmospheric Flows & Disturbances |
Chapter 7 |
Chapter 7 |
Jul
22 |
|
Climate Zones & Types |
Chapter 8 |
Chapter 8 |
Jul
24 |
|
Test 2 |
|
|
Jul 25 |
|
The Hydrosphere |
Chapter 9 |
Chapter 9 |
Jul
27 |
|
The Biosphere |
Chapter 10 |
Chapter 10 |
Jul
29 |
|
Terrestrial Flora and Fauna |
Chapter 11 |
Chapter 11 |
Jul
31 |
|
Landform studies |
Chapter 13 |
Chapter 13 |
Aug
2 |
|
Test 3 |
|
|
Aug 3 |
|
Internal Processes |
Chapter 14 |
Chapter 14 |
Aug
5 |
|
Weathering |
Chapter 15 |
Chapter 15 |
Aug
7 |
|
Fluvial Processes |
Chapter 16 |
Chapter 16 |
Aug
9 |
|
Glacial Modification of Terrain |
Chapter 19 |
Chapter 19 |
Aug
11 |
|
Test 4 |
|
|
Aug 12 |
Animation CD -ROM
Information
I. System
requirements
a) Minimum configuration
- Windows:
500 MHz Intel Pentium III processor or equivalent
Windows 2000/XP
16-bit Sound Card
128 MB or more of available RAM
1024x768 monitor (minimum) resolution set to 16-bit color
Mouse or other pointing device
4x CD-ROM Drive
*Optional
components:
- Active internet connection with 56K modem
- Internet Browser:
- Netscape 7+, Firefox 1+, Internet Explorer 6+
- Macintosh:
400Mhz G4 processor
Operating System OSX 10.2+
128 MB or more of available RAM
1024x768 monitor (minimum) resolution set to 16-bit color
Mouse or other pointing device
*Optional components:
- Active internet connection with 56K modem
- Internet Browser:
- Netscape 7+, Firefox1+, Safari 1.2+
II. Getting started
- Windows:
Inserting this CD-ROM will automatically start the application.
If you need to manually start the application follow the
following steps:
- Insert the CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive.
- Browse to the "PhysGeo_9e" CD-ROM Windows
Explorer window.
- Double-click the "PhysGeo.exe" program file.
- Macintosh:
If you have AutoRun turned on on your machine -
Inserting this CD-ROM will automatically start the application.
If you need to manually start the application follow the following steps:
- Insert the CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive.
- Double-click the "PhysGeo_9e" CD icon on your
desktop.
- Double-click the "PhysGeo" application file.
III. CD-ROM content
This CD-ROM contains animation and illustration files that can be directly
accessed using your system file browser, but it is recommended to view all the
CD-ROM content using the "PhysGeo" application program. (See
"Getting started" section)
IV. Known issues
- If you decide to link to MyGeographyPlace from within the application, you
will need to have an active Internet connection and a compatible internet
browser (see "System requirements").
- Linking to MyGeographyPlace will launch your default Internet browser, and
attempt to browse to the supplied URL. On some occasions the Internet browser
will not automatically take focus and stay in the background, behind this CDs
application. When this happens, you will have to manually focus the Internet
browser.
- If you find your Internet browser is launched but does not follow the
supplied MyGeographyPlace link, select the link text manually with your cursor
and copy (Macintosh: ctrl+click and select “copy”, Windows:
right-click and select “copy”) it to the location bar of your
Internet browser window.
V. Support information
If you are having problems with this software, call (800) 677-6337 between 8:00
A.M. and 8:00 P.M. EST, Monday through Friday; between 5:00 P.M. and 12:00 A.M.
EST, Sunday.
You can also get support by filling out the web form located at:
http://247.prenhall.com/mediaform.html
Our technical staff will need to know certain things about your system in order
to help us solve your problems more quickly and efficiently. If possible,
please be at your computer when you call for support. You should have the
following information ready:
- product and title and product ISBN
- computer make and model
- RAM available
- hard disk space available
- graphics card type
- sound card type
- printer make and model
- network connection
- detailed description of the problem, including the
exact wording of any error messages.