COURSE INFORMATION FOR DAY CLASS

WHAT IS PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY?

Physical Geography brings together several branches of the natural sciences to provide students with an overview of earth's physical environment and the processes that shape it. This course examines the impact of the physical environment upon people and the impact of people upon their physical environment.

LINK TO COURSE CONTENT PAGE

COURSE OBJECTIVES

At the conclusion of the course you should be able to:

• Travel with a fresh understanding of the landscape, with greater sensitivity to the differences between places and the explanation for those differences.
• Explain how hydrologic, tectonic, erosional, and atmospheric processes as well as earth-sun relationships are interconnected and together shape the physical environment.
• Summarize the conditions that cause such natural hazards as flood, storms, earthquakes, landslides, volcanoes, and coastal erosion, and explain their impact on humans.
• Analyze the impact of humans on the natural environments and research such local environmental issues as waste management, air pollution, water pollution, climate change, and environmental planning.
• Analyze and reach valid conclusions from analysis of graphs, geographic diagrams, statistics, and maps.
• Construct diagrams that accurately explain and demonstrate such earth science processes as the hydrologic cycle, the rock cycle, and the plate tectonic cycle.

TEXT and STUDY GUIDE

Earth Science. Tarbuck and Lutgens, Prentice Hall 1997 Tarbuck Textbook Web Site: http://www.prenhall.com/~bookbind/pubbooks/tarbuck

Reading assignments will be made from this textbook, and occasional handouts. The textbook will also be on reserve in the library. You must also purchase a package of scantron quizstrips in the bookstore.

OFFICE HOURS

Instructor: Alan Forsberg

My office is in D220 next to the classroom. Office hours are Wednesday or Thursday after class, and at other times by appointment. My office phone is 748-2310. Leave voice mail at any time. My E-mail address is griots@hotmail.com.

HOW THE COURSE IS ORGANIZED

The topics of this course are divided into units, which may consist of one or more classes. Most units include online resources (posted on the page of assigned readings). Classes will be in the lecture/discussion format with full use of graphic illustration.

PREPARATION AND ASSIGNMENTS

You should complete the assigned reading before you come to the class on that topic. Refer to the Physical Geography Assignments sheet. Prepare for the class by taking notes and asking questions on topics that you do not understand.

COMPUTER TUTORIALS

The links from the COURSE CONTENT PAGE are designed to complement the readings and lecture, and to provide students with additional explanation and resources. The lab hours are 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

MINI QUIZZES & IN-CLASS EXERCISES

I give frequent 30 point quizzes and exercises to encourage you to keep up with your reading and to enable you to measure your progress. Questions may include multiple-choice, true-false, open-ended questions, and matching. Some questions will involve the analysis of maps, diagrams, or statistics. There will be no make-up quizzes or exercises. Instead, the best 10 will make up your final quiz/exercise score. Please buy a packet of the small Scantron quizstrips for these quizzes.

MIDTERMS AND FINAL

There will be two midterms and a final. Each of these tests will be worth 100 points and will cover about a third of the course material. I will give you a handout before each test that will give you a clear idea of the most important material to review and I will suggest essay topics in advance so that you can do some preparatory research.

ATTENDANCE

On-time class attendance is required. Please do not come into class late. It is disruptive to your fellow students and unnerving to me. You may hand in some work during each class. You will be dropped if you are absent more than three class hours or miss two quizzes in a row. However, it is your responsibility if you decide to drop the class. Do not count on me to drop you before the last date for a "W".

CLASS PARTICIPATION

Class participation means attending regularly, answering questions in class, asking appropriate questions, contributing to classroom discussion and group activities.

COURSE EVALUATION

Examinations (3 @ 200 pts. each)	600 points
In-class Quizzes	300 points
Participation	100 points
TOTAL POINTS	1000 points

GRADING

The total number of points that you accumulate during the semester will determine your final course grade. Final grades are based on the following percentages of total points:

A = 850-1000 pts.

B = 750-880 pts.

C = 650-740 pts.

D = at least 500 pts.

Note: I do not give grades nor negotiate them, you earn them.

SOME BASIC CLASS RULES

Do not bring food or drink into the classroom, they make the tables sticky and bring ants! Private conversations with fellow students should take place outside class time. During quizzes and tests, do not look at other student's papers or copy other student's answers.

COURSE CONTENT

Geography at College of Alameda

College of Alameda Homepage

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY LABORATORY CLASS 1L

Do not confuse this class with the required computer tutorials in the Title III lab. This is a separate 1 unit class that meets on Thursday, 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm or 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm in D 222 and L 202. This 1 unit class meets the lab requirement for transfer to a four-year college. Some majors such as the education major at Cal State Hayward require this lab class along with the physical geography class even if you already have a lab in another discipline.