GEOGRAPHY 2051 Section 1

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY:
Land and Water Surfaces Fall 2012 Professor: Mon Wed Fri 9.30 10.30 3 credits

Dr. Patrick Hesp Department of Geography and Anthropology 227 (old) Howe/Russell Geoscience Building Office Hours: 10.30-11.30 Monday

Teaching Assistant: Josh Gilliland Office Location: Howe Russell Geoscience Building E330 Email: jgilli7@lsu.edu Office Hours: 10.30-11.30 Wednesday or by appointment. Textbook: Introduction: Physical Geography is the science which studies the nature of the Earths surface. It is concerned with understanding the elements that compose our environment, the processes that shape it, and the complex inter-relationships of forms and processes. At the broadest scale we can identify four natural spheres of the earth system the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the lithosphere and the biosphere. This course primarily aims to provide a broad introduction to the latter three spheres with a particular concentration on the lithosphere and the development of landforms. The course consists of lectures supplemented by reading from Geosystems. It will be necessary to both read the assigned material and attend lectures. It is essential you take good lecture notes. It is desirable that you read the appropriate section or chapter from the textbook before you come to class. General Education Learning Objectives This course satisfies three credits of the universitys general education natural (physical) sciences requirement. As such, it addresses in a sustained way many of the following criteria: the structure and properties of atoms and matter; chemical reactions, motions, and forces; the conservation of energy and the increase in disorder; the interactions of energy and matter; energy in the earth system, geochemical cycles, and the origin and evolution of the universe and the earth system The learning goals for students in GEOG 2051 are to: Christopherson, R.W., 2012. Geosystems: An Introduction to Physical Geography (8th Edition), Prentice Hall.

Demonstrate knowledge of a broad survey in the discipline, including the underlying principles that govern the natural world Demonstrate the ability to use inductive and deductive reasoning to understand scientific phenomena; Demonstrate an ability to relate the field of study to other fields in the natural sciences.

Learning Strategy I strongly encourage you to (a) attend every class and take notes, (b) keep up with the reading, and (c) ask questions in class if you wish to (your classmates will appreciate this), (d) make an appointment or see the TA or me after class if you have further questions. To help with the note-taking process, I will post a template of the lectures with many of the figures to be discussed in class. I will not necessarily post the full lectures notes online, and I will not give them out to students by request. Therefore, you must attend class and take notes if you wish to have all the material for the exams covered. If you miss a class, you will need to get the notes from a classmate, not from me! All of the exam questions will be drawn directly from material presented in lectures and textbook; thus, the notes can serve as a very useful study guide for each of the exams. So that all students can benefit from the lecture, I ask that you observe a few simple rules: Try your best to be on time, but if you are late, tiptoe in. Please turn off cell phones, iPods, and other electronic devices. You may use your laptop during the class exclusively for accessing the lecture material being presented in class. Any other use shall be regarded as inappropriate and you may be reported to the Dean of Students. Attendance should be considered mandatory, but you're on your honor. I do not take a roll. I figure you're paying to be here, and it's up to you whether or not you would like to get what you pay for by coming to class. Attend class and TAKE NOTES. Course Requirements and Methods of Evaluation: Students will be evaluated on the basis of 3 examinations: Two tests (worth 30% each) and a final examination worth 40%. Test/exam dates are provided in the schedule below. The format for the tests and exams is multiple choice and true/false questions. Exam material is from lectures AND textbook. You will need a scantron sheet for each exam. The final exam will not be cumulative; instead, the material covered in the examinations will be spaced throughout the semester. The final grade will be determined on a ten-point scale (90-100% A; 80-89% B; 70-79% C; 60-69% D; below 60% Fail). Students should keep in mind that grading is an assessment of quality, not a measure of effort. Please do not interpret my attempt to make the classroom environment friendly and welcoming as any indication of relaxed academic expectations. On the contrary, you should expect a rigorous learning experience, and I will set a high academic standard for the class. Extra credit activities will not be made up in any circumstance, no exceptions!

Make-up Procedure: Make-up exams will only be allowed in cases where a test was missed for a valid and documented reason (medical condition, bereavement, travel for an athletic event or other university business) and MUST be completed no later than a week after the regular test day. Mark test dates on your calendar now!! If you miss a test and you have a valid excuse, you must notify the TA by e-mail before the exam begins or, when that is logistically impossible, very soon afterwards on the same day. Use the same study guide, notes, and text readings as the regular exam to study for any make up exam. Conflicts with jobs, other classes, and your personal life are not satisfactory excuses. Personal travel is not, in any circumstance, a legitimate excuse. Please plan to be in attendance for each exam, including the last exam which will be given during the official university final exam period. Email Policy: Email will be a primary means of communication for this course. Students must ensure that their email address on Moodle is accurate, as important course information may be provided periodically by the Moodle email interface. I encourage students to use email as their primary means of contacting the TA outside of the classroom. Whenever possible the TA will respond to a student email inquiry within 24 hours. Please dont forget to sign your name at the end of the email it is often difficult to identify a student solely by email address. In addition, in order to make classrelated email exchanges as efficient as possible, I will not respond to emails requesting basic course information that is in this syllabus. This includes, but is not limited to, questions about exam dates/times, grading policies, requests for extra credit, requests for missed class notes, etc. STUDY TECHNIQUES WHICH WILL ALLOW YOU TO ACHIEVE HIGHER GRADES WITH LESS EFFORT:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Do a quick reading of the topic to be covered in the lecture before attending class. Ten or fifteen minutes will be sufficient. Attend class and TAKE

NOTES.

Attend all classes. Yes I said all classes! Someone is paying for you to attend, so BE THERE. Be on the alert for any indication by the instructor of possible test questions, or obviously important statements. DO SOME HOMEWORK!! Read over your notes after the lecture and clarify points; Read the appropriate chapter in the textbook and TAKE NOTES.

6. If you are having trouble understanding something, ask. Go visit the TA or

Professor concerned.

Lect 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

DATE Aug 20 22 24 27 29 31 Sept 3 5 7 10 12 14 17 19 21 24 26 28 Oct 1 3 5 8-13 15 17 Oct 18-21 22 24 26 29 31 Nov 2 5 7 9 12 14 16 19 21-25 26 28 30

LECTURE TITLE Introduction Earth Systems Latitude and Time Longitude Maps, Scales and Projections; GIS Journey into the Earth LABOR DAY HOLIDAY Igneous Rocks and the Rock Cycle Sedimentary and Metamorphic Rocks Plate Tectonics TEST Review TEST 1 Earths Surface Relief Features and Orogenesis Tectonic Landforms and Third Order Relief Features Volcanic landforms Rock Weathering Mass Movement Fluvial Processes Fluvial Landforms Structurally Controlled Landforms Deserts Mid-Semester Exams Period The Dust Bowl Coasts - Waves FALL BREAK Coastal Landforms TEST Review TEST 2 Test Overview Glacial Processes Glacial Landforms Global Climate and Glacials Karst Landforms Soils 1 Soils 2 Ecosystem essentials 1 Ecosystem essentials 2 Ecosystem essentials 3 THANKSGIVING Terrestrial Biomes 1 Terrestrial Biomes 2 EXAM REVIEW

Christopherson TEXT (8th Edition) Chpt 1 Chpt. 1: 1 - 13 Chpt. 1: 13 - 15 Chpt. 1: 15 - 23 Chpt. 1: 23 - 35 Chpt. 11: 294 - 304 Chpt. 11: 303 - 309 Chpt. 11: 309 - 314 Chpt. 11: 314 - 329 Chpt. 12: 330 338 343 349 Chpt. 12: 338 - 343; 348-355 Chpt. 12: 355 - 367 Chpt. 13: 368 - 387 Chpt. 13: 386-397 Chpt. 14 Chpt 14 Chpt. 15: 489-492/Lecture Chpt. 15 Chpt. 15/Lecture Chpt. 16/Lecture Chpt. 16/Lecture

22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32

Chpt 17 Chpt 17 Chpt 17: 509-517/Lecture Chpt. 13: 380 - 385 Chpt. 18: 526 - 533 Chpt. 18: 533 553/Lecture Chpt. 19: Chpt. 19: Chpt. 19 Chpt. 20 Chpt. 20

DEC 4th FINAL EXAM

7.30 9.30 am