Frederick Community College PC 106 - Introduction to Meteorology Summer 2009
Class begins: May 30	Class ends: July 25	Last Day to Drop: July 8

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 #: 124

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, EN 52, 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 (10 chapters in 8 weeks). This will include chapter readings, completion and submission of assignments, and participating in any posted chat sessions. Plan your time appropriately!

Text(s) for Course:

Required: Weather Studies, by Joseph Moran, American Meteorological Society, 2006 packaged with Investigations Manual for Fall 2008 –Summer 2009 edition

Additional References you may find useful:

Essentials of Meteorology, by Donald Ahrens, Prentice Hall, 2005
Meteorology: Understanding the Atmosphere, by Ackerman and Knox, Brooks/Cole, 2006
The Atmosphere, by Lutgens and Tarbuck, Prentice Hall, 2005
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 4th 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
10 0nline chapter investigations	200	450 points = A
3 Online Quizzes	120	400 points = B
Final Exam	100	350 points = C
Research Topic:	50	300points = D
Discussion Board Participation	30	Below 299 = F

Note: If the graded performance for online assignments differs significantly from the grade average for proctored assignments, the instructor reserves the right to administer additional assessments.

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

1	Ch 1 and Ch 2	-Monitoring Weather -Atmosphere: Origin, Composition and Structure
2	Ch 3	-Solar and Terrestrial Radiation -Quiz #1
3	Ch 4	-Heat, Temperature and Atmospheric Circulation
4	Ch 5	-Air Pressure -Quiz #2
5	Ch 6 and Ch 7	-Humidity, Saturation and Stability -Clouds, Precipitation, and Weather Radar
6	Ch 8	-Wind and Weather -Quiz #3
7	Ch 9	-Planetary Circulation
8	Ch 10	-Weather Systems of Middle Latitude -Final Exam (cumulative)

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

2) You may choose to complete two chapters from the text not covered above (one from chapters 11 and 12 and one from chapters 13 - 15) for your research topic requirement. This would consist of both chapter questions and the Investigation Manual items for these chapters.

You may also do one of these chapters (Investigation Manual) for extra credit (up to a maximum 15 points.)