January 16, 2013 - GGR100H1S (Winter 2013) Course Syllabus
GGR100H1S – Introduction to Physical Geography
Course Syllabus – Winter 2013
Department of Geography
University of Toronto
Instructor
Dr. J. Weaver
Email:
Office:
Office Hours:
jennifer.weaver@utoronto.ca
SS5061 (Sidney Smith Hall)
Thursdays 3-5pm, starting January 17th, 2013
Teaching Assistants

Jennifer Sawyer

Golnoush Abbasi

Stephanie Gagliardi

Anastasia Hervas

Peter McGovern
jennifer.sawyer@utoronto.ca
abbasig@geog.utoronto.ca
stephanie.gagliardi@mail.utoronto.ca
anastasia.gousseva@mail.utoronto.ca
peter.mcgovern@mail.utoronto.ca
Course Description
The course is an introduction to Physical Geography using an Earth systems approach.
We will examine the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere,
emphasizing processes, cycles and scale. Some specific topics include climate and
weather, river systems, glaciers, geomorphic processes and landform development,
soils, and biomes. The course consists of two one-hour lectures per week and four
laboratory sessions. This is a science course.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this course, students are expected to have improved their
understanding in the following areas:
 Earth systems and recognition of the linkages between them;
 Quantitative and spatial reasoning through analysis of data, maps and images;
 Data handling (basic manipulation, plotting and analysis in spreadsheet software);
 Effective scientific writing.
Required Text
Christopherson, R. W., M. –L. Byrne and P. Giles. 2013. Geosystems, Third Canadian
Edition, Pearson/Prentice Hall, Toronto.
 available at the University of Toronto (St. George campus) bookstore.
Course Webpage
I will use Blackboard to distribute course notes and information.
Lectures
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2 – 3 pm, MC102 (Mechanical Engineering Building)
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January 16, 2013 - GGR100H1S (Winter 2013) Course Syllabus
Labs
P0101 Monday
P0201 Monday
P0301 Monday
P0401 Monday
P0501 Monday
P0601 Monday
P0701 Wednesday
P0801 Wednesday
P0901 Wednesday
P1001 Wednesday
P1101 Thursday
P1201 Thursday
11:10 am – 12pm
12:10 pm – 1 pm
1:10 pm – 2 pm
2:10 pm – 3 pm
3:10 pm – 4 pm
4:10 pm – 5 pm
12:10 pm – 1 pm
1:10 pm – 2 pm
2:10 pm – 3 pm
3:10 pm – 4 pm
11:10 am – 12 pm
12:10 pm – 1 pm
PGB 101
PGB 101
PGB 101
PGB 101
PGB 101
PGB 101
PGB 101
PGB 101
PGB 101
PGB 101
PGB 101
PGB 101
Peter
Peter
Stephanie
Anastasia
Anastasia
Anastasia
Golnoush
Golnoush
Golnoush
Stephanie
Peter
Peter
Labs are scheduled on four different weeks, starting on January 28, 2013. Labs will be
held in Room 101, Physical Geography Building (PGB), 45 St. George Street.
Attendance at labs is required and you must attend your assigned lab section.
Labs are due exactly one week after your assigned lab session before 5pm. They
can be submitted to the course slot in the grey drop box on the main floor of PGB.
Please note that labs will be accepted up to 6 days late, but at a penalty of 5% per day
including weekend days. Please note that the drop box is not emptied on the
weekend. No extensions will be granted unless a valid University of Toronto medical
certificate is presented to document any illness. Late assignments should also be
placed in the course slot in the drop box in PGB.
Evaluation
Labs:
Midterm Exam:
Final Paper:
Final Exam:
28%
20%
17%
35%
(4 labs * 7% / lab)
(February 14, 2013, location TBA, no make-ups)
(April 5, 2013)
(Held during the official exam period April 10-30, 2013;
day/time/location TBA)
Other Information
Academic Integrity
Please remember the seriousness with which the University of Toronto treats academic
dishonesty of any form, particularly plagiarism. For more information on what constitutes
academic dishonesty, see the University's Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters
(http://www.utoronto.ca/govcncl/pap/policies/behaveac.html) or speak with the course
instructor. You may work in groups for some of the lab exercises, but each student
must independently write up their own lab report and must independently think about
each question and answer. It is a serious academic offence to submit work under your
own name that has been written by someone else. Please ask me or your TAs if you
have any questions at all about academic integrity.
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January 16, 2013 - GGR100H1S (Winter 2013) Course Syllabus
Email policy
Please make an effort to ask questions in person during instructors’ office hours, lab or
in lecture. This includes your TAs. If you need to ask questions over email, we will
make an effort to answer them within 48 hours on weekdays (emails will not be
answered on weekends). In order for us to do this, you must follow these instructions.
• Place GGR100H1S in the subject header.
• Sign your message with your full name.
• We strongly encourage you to send email using your UTORmail email account
(not hotmail, gmail, yahoo etc.) to ensure that we receive your message in a timely
manner, without it being dumped into the spam folder (see www.utorid.utoronto.ca)
• Consider email as a formal and public method of communication. Do not write
anything that you do not want on the permanent, public record.
• Do not expect an answer if you send an email at the last minute. We will try our very
best to reply within 48 hours on weekdays.
Extensions / Doctor’s Notes
You must submit a doctor’s note to the instructor within 5 business days (official forms
are available on the University of Toronto website) if you miss the midterm or final
exam. I would appreciate an email to let me know that you will be missing either exam.
There will not be a make-up exam for the midterm. Extensions will only be granted
under extenuating circumstances and only by the instructor. These are best discussed
in person.
Accessibility
The University of Toronto is committed to accessibility. If you require accommodations
for a disability, or have any accessibility concerns about the course, the classroom or
course materials, please contact Accessibility Services as soon as possible via email
(disability.services@utoronto.ca). To better understand the scope of services offered,
visit http://studentlife.utoronto.ca/accessibility.
Course Drop Date
The final drop date for this course is March 10, 2013.
Logging into the GGR100H1S Blackboard course website
GGR100H1S uses Blackboard for its course website. To access the GGR100 website,
or any other Blackboard-based course website, go to the U of T portal login page at:
http://portal.utoronto.ca and login using your UTORid and password. Once you have
logged in to the portal using your UTORid and password, you’ll find the link to the
GGR100H1S (Introduction to Physical Geography) course website along with links to all
your other Blackboard-based courses. If you need help using Blackboard, the U of T
portal page contains the relevant links.
J. Weaver – January 2013
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January 16, 2013 - GGR100H1S (Winter 2013) Course Syllabus
Schedule
The following schedule includes lecture and laboratory topics, weekly reading assignments and due dates. Readings are
from the textbook – Christopherson et al. (2013). Please note which day/time you are assigned to attend the labs and note
that labs are due exactly 1 week after your assigned lab day.
Week
Lecture Dates
1
Jan. 8, 10
2
Jan. 15, 17
3
Jan. 22, 24
4
Jan. 29, 31
5
Feb. 5, 7
6
Feb. 12, 14
Feb. 19, 21
Topic
Introduction to Course,
Systems and Mapping
Solar Energy; Atmosphere;
Energy Balance
Global Temperatures;
Water and Atmospheric Moisture
Atmospheric and Oceanic Circulations;
Weather
Hydrologic Cycle; Water Resources;
Readings
Due Dates
Ch. 1
Ch. 2, 3, 4
Ch. 5, 7
Ch. 6, 8
Ch. 9
Global Climate Systems;
Feb. 14: Midterm Exam
Reading Week – No Class
The Dynamic Planet;
Tectonics, Earthquakes and Volcanoes
Weathering and Mass Wasting; Soils
Fluvial processes and landforms;
Coastal/wetland processes and landforms
Ch. 11, 12
Jan. 28-31:
Lab 1
Feb. 4-7:
Lab 2
Ch. 10
7
Feb. 26, 28
8
March 5, 7
9
March 12, 14
10
March 19, 21
Glacial processes and landforms
Ch. 17
11
March 26, 28
Ecosystems and Biogeography;
Terrestrial Biomes
Ch. 19, 20
12
April 2, 4
Humans and the Environment; Exam Review
Ch. 21
4
Lab Dates
Lab 1 Due (one week
after your lab)
Lab 2 Due (one week
after your lab)
Feb. 28: Final Paper
Outline Due
Ch. 13, 18
Ch. 14, 16
Mar. 11-14:
Lab 3
Mar. 18-21:
Lab 4
Lab 3 Due (one week
after your lab)
Lab 4 Due (one week
after your lab)
April 5: Final Paper
Due