Welcome to
Geography/IES 120
Global Physical Environments
This course provides an introduction to the global distribution and processes of climate, weather, ecosystems, landforms, and soils, emphasizing interrelationships.
Instructors
-
Instructor for First Half of Course: Professor Waltraud Brinkmann
Office Hours:
Tuesdays & Thursdays: 2:30-3:30 pm, Rm 213 Science Hall, 262-6316
Instructor for Second Half of Course: Professor Vance Holliday
Office Hours:
Mondays & Wednesdays: 11:00-12:00 am, Rm 455 Science Hall, 262-6300
T.A. for Entire Semester: Russel Graves
Office Hours:
to be announced in class, Rm 401 Science Hall, 262-8920
Lectures:
- Tuesdays & Thursdays: Lecture 1=11:00-12:15, Lecture 2=1:00-2:15
Room 180 Science Hall
3 credits in physical science
Prerequisite:
- None; but students are expected to know the locations of the 50 states, all continents, and all oceans.
Required Text
Syllabus
Examinations and Grading
Example Test Questions
Honors Credits
Survival Tips
Information for Students with Disabilities
Information Regarding Religious Observances
Information Regarding Accademic Misconduct
INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
We wish to fully include persons with disabilities in this course. Please let the Instructors and the T.A. know--within the first three weeks of class--if you need any special accommodations in the curriculum, instructions, or assessments of this course to enable you to fully participate. We will try to maintain the confidentiality of the information you share with us.
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INFORMATION REGARDING RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES
We wish to accommodate students' sincerely held religious beliefs. Please let the Instructors or the T.A. know--within the first three weeks of class--if the timing of any of the lectures or examinations for this course conflict with commonly recognized religious holidays.
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INFORMATION REGARDING ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT
Examples of academic misconduct include, but are not limited to: cheating on an examination; stealing examinations or course materials; submitting an assignment that is the work of another person without appropriately identifying the source. Penalties range from reprimands, to a lower or failing grade, to expulsion from the University. For a full text see: Academic Misconduct--Rules and Procedures, available from the Dean of Students Office.
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TEXTBOOK (required)
"Physical Geography, 5th edition" by T.L. McKnight, Prentice HallWeb Site for this books is: McKnight Text
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HONORS CREDITS
This course may be taken for honors credits. If you register for honors credits, please contact the T.A. You will be expected to complete the Honors Assignment.
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EXAMINATIONS
Three equally weighted 75-minute examinations will be given at roughly 5-week intervals. Each exam will stress the material covered since the previous exam:
- In class: Thursday, February 20
- In class: Tuesday, April 8
- Final: Sunday, May 11, 7:25 pm
GRADING
Each exam will consist of 50 questions, worth 1 point each. The questions will be in the form of multiple choice and matching; some of the multiple choice questions will refer to diagrams.
Make-ups for the first two exams will be given only for medical reasons, and only if you contact the T.A. or instructor within 24 hours of the scheduled exam time. The final exam is NOT a comprehensive exam, but, in accordance with university regulations, it is given during finals week. Please note that the final exam MUST be taken at its scheduled time, so do not plan on leaving town until after May 11. A make-up for the final exam will be given only if you have two exams scheduled for the same time or three exams in a 24-hour period.
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EXAMPLE TEST QUESTIONS
Electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength of between .9 and 1.2 microns is referred to as:
a. visible light.
b. ultraviolet radiation.
c. infrared radiation.
d. X-rays.
Fog begins to form when:
a. the relative humidity of the air near the ground is greater than 50 percent.
b. the dew point of the air near the ground is less than 20 degrees celsius.
c. the vapor pressure of the air near the ground is greater than 20 mb.
d. none of the above.
The geostrophic wind is:
a. an upper-air wind that is the result of a balance between the pressure gradient force and friction.
b. an upper-air wind that blows perpendicular to the isobars.
c. a surface wind that blows at an angle across the isobars, from high to low pressure..
d. none of the above.
In Bolivia, Peru, the coldest month of the year is:
a. January.
b. April.
c. July.
d. October.
Which of the following statements concerning moisture in the atmosphere is correct:
a. Water freezes spontaneously when the temperature drops to below freezing.
b. Ice at a temperature of below -40 degrees Celsius is called 'supercooled water'.
c. There is an abundance of freezing nuclei in the atmosphere.
d. None of the above is correct.
The source of most of the precipitation in a Cs-type of climate is:
a. mid-latitude cyclones and associated fronts.
b. intertropical convergence zone and the trade winds.
c. thunderstorms forming within polar easterlies.
d. tropical cyclones.
Following the passage of a cold front across Madison, you would expect:
a. the temperature to fall and the pressure to rise.
b. the pressure to fall and the wind to blow from the east.
c. cloud cover and rainfall to increase.
d. none of the above.
Which of the following might be a source region of cP airmasses:
a. North Atlantic.
b. northern Canada.
c. Sahara Desert.
d. Gulf of Mexico.
Igneous rock classification is based on what properties?
a. color and chemical composition.
b. cooling history and chemical composition.
c. texture and cooling history.
d. cooling history and size of mineral grains.
e. color and mineral content.
Island arcs:
a. are found along spreading centers.
b. form along the margins of rifts.
c. are found along ocean plate/ocean plate subduction zones.
d. are common in the western Atlantic.
e. are common in the eastern Pacific.
The Himalayas and Alps are the result of:
a. continent plate/continent plate collision.
b. ocean plate/continent plate collision.
c. ocean plate/ocean plate collision.
d. subduction.
e. a spreading center.
Karst landscapes result from:
a. chemical weathering of sandstone.
b. chemical weathering of granite.
c. physical weathering of limestone
d. chemical weathering of limestone.
e. physical weathering of shale.
The Basin and Range region of the western United States is:
a. the result of Hot Spot activity.
b. due to formation of anticlines and synclines.
c. due to formation of Horsts and Grabens
d. a series of hogbacks and cuestas.
e. a good example of a Karst landscape.
Which of the following glacial landforms would you not expect to find in an area that has undergone alpine glaciation?
a. cirques.
b. moraines.
c. kames.
d. U-shaped valleys.
e. all of the above would be expected.
During the Quaternary, sea level:
a. rose as the glaciers advanced.
b. lowered as the glaciers advanced.
c. had no relationship to glacial events.
d. rose steadily to its present position.
e. none of the above.
A terrace is:
a. where a stream stores flood waters.
b. where gravel is deposited in a meandering stream.
c. where erosion occurs in a meandering stream.
d. an abandoned floodplain (isolated by erosion).
e. formed along mountain fronts in arid regions.
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SYLLABUS
| DAY | TOPICS | READINGS |
|---|
| Jan 21 | Introduction, Geographc Grid | Chapter 1 |
| Jan 23 | Earth-Sun Relationships, the Seasons | Chapter 1 |
| Jan 28 | Heating & Cooling of the Atmosphere | Chapter 4 |
| Jan 30 | Spatial & Seasonal Variations | Chapter 4 |
| Feb 4 | Atmospheric Moisture | Chapter 6 |
| Feb 6 | Atmospheric Moisture | Chapter 6 |
| Feb 11 | Atmospheric Pressure & Wind | Chapter 5 |
| Feb 13 | General Circulation of the Atmosphere | Chapter 5 |
| Feb 18 | Air Masses, Middle Latitude Weather | Chapter 7 |
| Feb 20 | EXAM 1 | |
| Feb 25 | Middle Latitude Weather | Chapter 7 |
| Feb 27 | Weather Hazards | Chapter 7 |
| Mar 4 | Climate Classification | Chapter 8 |
| Mar 6 | Climate Types | Chapter 8 |
| Mar 11 | Climate Change | pp.84-85, 571-572 |
| Mar 13 | Earth Materials | Chapter 13 |
| Mar 18 | Plate Tectonics | pp. 387-397 |
| Mar 20 | Plate Tectonics | pp. 387-397 |
| Mar 22-31 | SPRING RECESS | |
| Apr 1 | Rock Structure & Landforms | pp. 410-421 |
| Apr 3 | Volcanoes | pp. 398-408 |
| Apr 8 | EXAM 2 | |
| Apr 10 | Streams | Chapter 16 |
| Apr 15 | Fluvial Landforms | Chapter 16 |
| Apr 17 | Glaciers | Chapter 20 |
| Apr 22 | Glacial Landforms | Chapter 20 |
| Apr 24 | Glacial Landforms | Chapter 20 |
| Apr 29 | Glacial History | Ch 20 & pp. 495-97 |
| May 1 | Weathering | Ch 15 & pp. 531-36 |
| May 6 | Soil Formation | Chapter 12 |
| May 8 | Soil Geography | Chapter 12 |
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SURVIVAL TIPS
- If you have any problems with your grade, see the T.A. or Instructor immediately. Do not wait until the end of the semester to improve your grade.
- There is no extra credit for the course.
- Counceling and Consultation Services, 262-1744, 905 University Avenue helps students who are experiencing personal stress, career concerns, family or interpersonal conflict, general anxiety, depression or other psychological conerns.
- Dean of Students' staff at 263-5700, 75 Bascom Hall are ready to assist and support you in any way they can.
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