Frederick Community College PC 106 - Introduction to Meteorology Spring 2012
Class begins: Jan 30	Class ends: May 18	Last Day to Drop: Apr 16

You must send your email address to the instructor before class begins

Instructor Information:
Name: Richard Gottfried	Office: B-103A
E-mail: rgottfried@frederick.edu	Phone Number: 301-846-2581
Office Hours: by appointment	Campus Mail Box #: 252

Course Information: This is an on-line course. Materials for this course have been developed and made available by the American Meteorological Society. Upon registering, you will be given a password to access the course web site and AMS on-line materials.
Credits: 4
On-campus Meetings: 1 (orientation)	On-campus Exams: 0
Prerequisites: EN 50A and EN 52 or ESL 95 and ESL 99, and MA 82 or MA 91	Co-requisites: none

Course Description:

This is an Internet course designed to survey the basic physics and chemistry of the atmosphere and to apply the diagnostic tools of the meteorologist. Includes some discussion of applied meteorology, forecasting, pollution, and climatology. Students cannot get credit for both PC 106 and PC 105.

Core Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this course students will

1. Present the basic scientific principles that are used to model the atmosphere.

2. Analyze the interactions between the atmosphere and other “spheres” of the Earth.

3. Analyze energy and matter flow within and between the various layers of the atmosphere.

4. Discuss the principles of weather forecasting including the role of technology

5. Evaluate man’s influence on weather and climate.

6. Apply concepts learned to everyday experiences.

Instructional Methods:

1) Web-based instruction and research including use of AMS site
2) Text readings and assignments
3) At-home experiments

 How is this course organized:

This is an on-line course. Materials for this course have been developed and made available by the American Meteorological Society. Upon registering, you will be given a password to access the course web site and AMS on-line materials.

You will be expected to check the course web site frequently. Assignments and dates for submitting assignments will be posted on a regular basis. No assignments will be accepted late! While most work will be submitted via e-mail to the instructor, there will be two exams (mid-term and final) that will be given on campus.

The pace will be about a chapter per week. This will include chapter readings, completion and submission of on-line assignments, and participating in any posted chat sessions. Plan your time appropriately!

Text(s) for Course:

Weather Studies, by Joseph Morgan, American Meteorological Society, 2009, 4^th ed
Investigation Manual for Weather Studies, 2011-2012 and summer 2012 edition

Additional References you may find useful:

Essentials of Meteorology, by Donald Ahrens, Prentice Hall, 2001
Meteorology: Understanding the Atmosphere, by Ackerman and Knox, Brooks/Cole, 2003
The Atmosphere, by Lutgens and Tarbuck, Prentice Hall, 2001
Exercises for Weather and Climate, by Greg Carbone, Prentice Hall, 2001
Images in Weather Forecasting: A practical guide for interpreting satellite and radar imagery, by Bader, et. al., Cambridge University Press, 1998

Progress Report:

By the end of the 6th week of the semester, you will have an opportunity to evaluate your progress in this course and decide if you need to make any adjustments (additional study, tutoring, conference with instructor) to assure your success in this course.

Evaluation Methods:
Tests / Papers / Projects	Point Value	Final Grade Scale
Two exams 12 Online Investigations Three quizzes (on-line) Research topic Participation (discussion board, etc)	200 points (100 points each) 240 points (12 x 20 points each) 60 points (20 points each) 50 points 50 points	540 = A 480 = B 420 = C 360 = D Below 359 = F
If the graded performance for online assignments differs significantly from the grade average for proctored assignments, the instructor reserves the right to administer additional tests.

Attendance/Participation Policy:

You will be expected to:

1. Keep in contact with me on a weekly basis by e-mail, phone, or office visit

2. Participate in chat rooms/discussion board forum

3. Respond to all requests from the instructor on a timely basis.

Email Policy:

Email is an instructional tool essential to student-instructor and student-student communication. In the Blackboard environment by default, your email address is available to all students in this course.

However, students are permitted to use email addresses of other students in this course only for the purpose and the duration of this course.

Students who are concerned about the privacy of their personal email address are reminded of commercially available products that allow them to create unique email addresses specifically for the purpose and duration of this course.

The instructor can be expected to respond to regular student email inquiries (grades, posted assignments, and tests excluded) within the time frame of 24 to 48 hours.

Academic Honesty:

Work in this course is subject to the provisions of the FCC Code of Academic Honesty. Plagiarism in any form will not be tolerated. As a student, it is your job to practice academic honesty at ALL times. Make sure that all sources, particularly Internet sources, get proper credit for quotations, paraphrases, and ideas.

Topical Outline

Week	SUBJECT	CONTENT
1	Course and AMS orientation
2	Monitoring the Weather	Chapter 1
3	Atmosphere: Origin, Composition and Structure	Chapter 2
4	Solar and Terrestrial Radiation	Chapter 3
5	Heat, Temperature and Atmospheric Circulation	Chapter 4
6	Air Pressure	Chapter 5
7	Humidity, Saturation and Stability	Chapter 6
8	Catch-up Week -- Exam #1 (chapters 1-6)
9	Clouds, Precipitation, and Weather Radar	Chapter 7
10	Wind and Weather	Chapter 8
11	Planetary Circulation	Chapter 9
12	Weather Systems of Middle Latitudes	Chapter 10
13	Severe Weather	Chapter 11 or 12 (your choice)
14	Weather Analysis and Forecasting or Climate and Climate Change	Chapter 13 or Chapter 15 (optional)
15	Finish all course work - Exam #2 (covers chapters 7 -12)

NOTE I: Your instructor reserves the right to make changes to this outline as needed.

NOTE 2: Each chapter requires the completion and submission of an investigation.

NOTE 3: Spring Break is Mar 19 – Mar 25