I. ASCRC General Education Form
Group
XI Natural Science
Geography
Dept/Program
Course #
GEOG U 102 N
Course Title
Prerequisite
3
Introduction to Physical Geography
none
Credits
II. Endorsement/Approvals
Complete the form and obtain signatures before submitting to Faculty Senate Office
Please type / print name Signature
Ulrich Kamp
Instructor
243-6469 /
Phone / Email
ulrich.kamp@umontana.edu
Date
Program Chair
Jeffrey Gritzner
Dean
Jerry Fetz
III. Description and purpose of the course: General Education courses must be introductory
and foundational. They must emphasize breadth, context, and connectedness; and relate course
content to students’ future lives: See Preamble:
http://www.umt.edu/facultysenate/gened/GEPreamble_final.htm
An introduction to physical geography; the study of the Earth system’s including atmosphere,
hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere. Examination of relationship between natural
environments and society. The course begins with basics in cartography. It then examines the
principles and mechanisms of climate and weather and then surveys tectonics, landforms and
earth surface processes. The final section of the class examines vegetation and ecosystems on
global and regional scales.
IV. Criteria: Briefly explain how this course meets the criteria for the group. See:
http://www.umt.edu/facultysenate/ASCRCx/Adocuments/GE_Criteria5-1-08.htm
The course explores earth systems including
Courses explore a discipline in the
atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and
natural sciences and demonstrate how
biosphere. For example, the weather and
the scientific method is used within the
climate section includes the analysis and
discipline to draw scientific conclusions. interpretation of TV/internet weather
forecasting maps leading to the development
of meteorological laws.
Students gain familiarity with the processes
Courses address the concept of analytic
surrounding hypothesis testing and the
uncertainty and the rigorous process
uncertainties associated with theories that are
required to take an idea to a hypothesis
now widely accepted but once disputed. For
and then to a validated scientific theory. example, Alfred Wegener was not able to
prove his hypothesis of continental drift in
the 1910s and 1920s. Only improved
scientific equipment allowed for exact
measurements in the 1950s and 1960s that
led to the theory of plate tectonics.
Lab courses engage students in inquirybased learning activities where they
formulate a hypothesis, design an
experiment to test the hypothesis, and
collect, interpret, and present the data to
support their conclusions.
No lab.
V. Student Learning Goals: Briefly explain how this course will meet the applicable learning
goals. See: http://www.umt.edu/facultysenate/ASCRCx/Adocuments/GE_Criteria5-1-08.htm
Discussions range from basic principles of
understand the general principles
associated with the discipline(s) studied; atmospheric influences on insolation to how
Alfred Wegener designed his hypothesis of
continental drift.
In bi-weekly exercises students examine
understand the methodology and
activities scientists use to gather, validate datasets and do a variety of analyses of
scientific figures and data tables.
and interpret data related to natural
processes;
detect patterns, draw conclusions,
develop conjectures and hypotheses, and
test them by appropriate means and
experiments;
understand how scientific laws and
theories are verified by quantitative
measurement, scientific observation, and
logical/critical reasoning; and
understand the means by which analytic
uncertainty is quantified and expressed in
the natural sciences.
Although this >100 students course does not
allow for in-class experiments, the nature of
scientific experiments is explained for many
topics. The temperature-related layered
structure of the atmosphere can be analyzed
with a simple rising weather balloon
including a thermometer.
We discuss the history of science reflecting
the development of laws and theories. The
theory of plate tectonics is supported by
measurements of sea-floor spreading.
Glacier melt in mountains as a result of
climate change has been observed by local
farmers.
This is intrinsic to weather forecasting,
global climate change predictions, and
ecosystem changes under climate change.
VII. Syllabus: Paste syllabus below or attach and send digital copy with form. ⇓ The syllabus
should clearly describe how the above criteria are satisfied. For assistance on syllabus
preparation see: http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/syllabus.html
See accompanying file.
*Please note: As an instructor of a general education course, you will be expected to provide
sample assessment items and corresponding responses to the Assessment Advisory Committee.
INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
(GEOG 102N)
- Spring 2008 Class Meets: TR 3:40 – 5:00 pm; JOUR 304
Professor Ulrich Kamp, Ph.D.
Department of Geography
Old Journalism Building, Room 205
Tel.: 243-6469, Fax: 243-4840
ulrich.kamp@umontana.edu
http://www.umt.edu/geography/faculty/kamp/kamp.html
Office Hours: T 2 – 3 pm; R 10 – 11 am and by appointment
Joe Welke
Teaching Assistant
Department of Geography
Old Journalism Building, Room 304A
Tel.: 243-4733
joseph.welke@umontana.edu
Office Hours: TR 9 – 11 am; and by appointment
Course Description
ical geography: the study of the Earth’s natural environments. The course begins with the principles and mechanisms
of climate and weather, and then surveys landforms and earth surface processes. The final
section of the class examines vegetation and ecosystems on global and regional scales.
Throughout the course we use specific regional examples to illustrate and understand global
processes. We give special attention to global environmental problems such as “greenhouse”
warming and climatic change, the stratospheric ozone layer, the El Niño/La Niña oceanicatmospheric circulation pattern, tropical storms and other extreme weather events, and the nature
and distribution of volcanoes and earthquakes. The course is designed to be both challenging
and interesting. It provides essential background for further study in meteorology, climatology,
hydrology, ecology, biogeography, geology and physical geography.
Course Policies
Class Attendance and On-time Appearance
Attendance will NOT be noted. However, attendance during the lectures is essential to your
general success in class. Excessive lateness disturbs everyone else – please appear on time.
You should have your lunch before or after class.
Readings
The course textbook (see below) is available in the University Center’s bookstore. Additional
material dealing with interesting aspects of physical geography might be distributed in class.
Questioning about the scheduled topics is a matter of course, so please are prepared. Reading in
general is essential for your success at the university. The earlier you start the better.
Additional Course Material
All additional course material (pdfs of powerpoint presentations, lecture notes, etc.) will be posted
on Blackboard after the lecture. You should download all material to your PC and use it for your
studies.
Discussion Sections
he office hours for discussions dedicated to problem solving, clarification of challenging concepts, and work on the
problem sets (see below).
Assignments
Together with a partner you will work on six assignments. Assignments have to be handed in
before the lecturing starts on the due date. No late work will be accepted. There is no extra credit.
Examinations
The three exams will take place in the classroom. Each exam will cover the topics that have been
discussed in the weeks before the exam. The final exam will NOT cover the entire class. Review
questionnaires for your preparation will be posted on Blackboard after every session. There is no
extra review session during the time the class meets, and there are no make-ups for either the
midterms or the final. However, you should make heavily use of the TA’s discussion sections
BEFORE the exams (see above).
Academic Integrity
“All students must practice academic honesty. Academic misconduct is subject to an academic
penalty by the course instructor and/or a disciplinary sanction by the University. All students need
to be familiar with the Student Conduct Code. The Code is available for review online at
http://www.umt.edu/SA/VPSA/index.cfm/page/1321.”
Readings
Course Textbook
Strahler, A. (2007): Visualizing Physical Geography. – Wiley and Sons, Chichester, 624 pages.
Alternative Textbooks
General Earth System Science and Physical Geography
Blij, H.J. de, Muller, P.O. & Williams R.S. (2004): Physical Geography. The Global Environment. –
Oxford University Press, Oxford, 702 pages.
Chernicoff, S. & Venkatakrishnan, R. (1995): Geology. – Worth, New York, 593 pages +
Appendix and Index.
Christopherson, R. W. (2004): Elemental Geosystems. – Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, 580
pages + CD.
Christopherson, R. W. (2005): Geosystems. An Introduction to Physical Geography. – Prentice
Hall, Upper Saddle River, 660 pages + Appendix and Index.
Davidson, J.P., Reed, W.E. & Davis, P.M. (2002): Exploring Earth. – Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle
River, 549 pages.
Gabler R.E., Sager, R.J. & Wise, D.L. (1994): Essentials of Physical Geography. – Saunders
College, Fort Worth, 559 pages + Index.
Jacobson, M.C., Charlson, R.J., Rodhe, H. & Orians, G.H. (Eds.) (2000): Earth System Science.
From Biogeochemical Cycles to Global Change. – Elsevier Academic Press, Amsterdam, 527
pages.
Keller, E.A. (2005): Introduction to Environmental Geology. – Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River,
583 pages + Appendix and Index.
Kump, L.R., Kasting, J.F. & Crane, R.G. (2004): The Earth System. – Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle
River, 419 pages.
Levin, H.L. (2003): The Earth Through Time. – Wiley and Sons, Chichester, 563 pages +
Appendix and Index.
McKnight, T.L. & Hess, D. (2005): Physical Geography. – Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, 559
pages + Appendix and Index.
Merrits, D., Wet, A. de & Menking, K. (1998): Environmental Geology. An Earth System Science
Approach. – W.H. Freeman and Company, New York, 452 pages.
Monroe, J.S. & Wicander, R. (2001): The Changing Earth. Exploring Geology and Evolution. –
Thomson Brooks/Cole, Pacific Grove, 733 pages + Appendix and Index.
Murck, B.W. & Skinner, B.J. (2003): Geology Today. Understanding Our Planet. – Wiley and
Sons, Chichester, 527 pages + Appendix and Index.
Owen, C., Pirie, D. & Draper, G. (2001): Earth Lab. Exploring the Earth Sciences. – Thomson
Brooks/Cole, Pacific Grove, 377 pages.
Plummer, C.C., McGeary, D. & Carlson, D.H. (2005): Physical Geology. – McGraw Hill, New
York, 580 pages + Appendix and Index.
Press, F. & Siever, R. (1998): Understanding Earth. – W.H. Freeman and Company, New York,
682 pages.
Skinner, B.J., Porter, S.C. & Park, J. (2004): Dynamic Earth. An Introduction to Physical Geology.
– Wiley and Sons, Chichester, 584 pages + Appendix and Index.
Strahler, A. & Strahler, A. (2003): Introduction to Physical Geography. – Wiley and Sons,
Chichester, 683 pages.
Strahler, A. & Strahler, A. (2005): Physical Geography. Science and Systems of the Human
Environment. – Wiley and Sons, Chichester, 794 pages.
Tarbuck, E.J. & Lutgens, F.K. (2002): Earth. An Introduction to Physical Geology. – Prentice Hall,
Upper Saddle River, 670 pages.
Tarbuck, E.J. & Lutgens, F.K. (2003): Earth Science. – Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, 647
pages + Appendix and Index.
Special Issues
Aguado, E. & Burt, J.E. (2004): Understanding Weather and Climate. – Prentice Hall, Upper
Saddle River, 560 pages.
Bradley, R.S. (1999): Paleoclimatology. Reconstructing Climates of the Quaternary. – Academic
Press, San Diego, 613 pages.
Bradbury, I.K. (1998): The Biosphere. – Wiley and Sons, Chichester, 254 pages.
Cech, T.V. (2003): Principles of Water Resources. History, Development, Management, and
Policy. – Wiley and Sons, New York, 446 pages + Appendix.
Easterbrook, D.J. (1999): Surface Processes and Landforms. – Prentice Hall, New York, 546
pages.
Garrison, T. (2005): Oceanography. An Invitation to Marine Science. – Thomson Brooks/Cole,
Belmont, 522 pages.
Krohne, D.T. (2001): General Ecology. – Brooks and Cole, Pacific Grove, 512 pages.
MacDonald, G. (2003): Biogeography. Introduction to Space, Time and Life. – Wiley and Sons,
Chichester, 518 pages.
Mackenzie, F.T. (2003): Our Changing Planet. An Introduction to Earth System Science and
Global Environmental Science. – Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, 580 pages.
Menzies, J. (Ed.) (2002): Modern and Past Glacial Environments. – Butterworth-Heinemann,
Oxford, 543 pages.
Miller, R.W. & Donahue, R.C. (2001): Soils in Our Environment. – Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle
River, 642 pages.
Ritter, D.F., Kochel, R.C. & Miller, J.R. (2002): Process Geomorphology. – McGraw Hill, New
York, 559 pages.
Rothschild, L.J. & Lister, A.M. (Eds.) (2003): Evolution on Planet Earth. The Impact of the
Physical Environment. – Elsevier Academic Press, Amsterdam, 438 pages.
Ruddiman, W.F. (2001): Earth's Climate. Past and Future. – W.H. Freeman, New York, 465
pages.
Singer, M.J. & Munns, D.N. (2002): Soils. An Introduction. – Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River,
429 pages.
Summerfield, M.A. (1991): Global Geomorphology. – Prentice Hall, New York, 537 pages.
Thurman, H.V. & Trujillo, A.P. (2002): Essentials of Oceanography. – Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle
River, 524 pages.
Twiss, R.J. & Moores, E.M. (1992): Structural Geology. – W.H. Freeman and Company, New
York, 532 pages.
An excellent resource for the course is Robert Christopherson's web-page (see link below). In
addition to featuring review questions on topics related to the course, this source has great
illustrations of features such as maps and satellite imagery of earth's surface and atmosphere. To
explore the Christopherson site, go to the chapter, which deals with the relevant course topic on
the Christopherson web-page, and open the files for the kinds of questions you are interested in
(e.g., multiple choice, short answer, and skill testing questions). When you have finished
answering the questions, you can submit them to Prentice Hall for a grade. Prentice Hall will tell
you which ones you got right and, for certain types of questions, will supply the correct answers. If
you wish my feedback, feel free to electronically submit the responses to me.
http://cw.prenhall.com/bookbind/pubbooks/christopherson/
HT
TH
Work Evaluation and Final Grading
6 Assignments
Exam 1 and 2; Final Exam
94 – 100
90 – 93
87 – 89
83 – 86
80 – 82
77 – 79
73 – 76
70 – 72
67 – 69
60 – 66
< 60
50 %
50 %
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
F
Missing the scheduled time for any examination without obtaining prior approval from me will
result in a score of zero. Late assignments will be penalized. An assignment that is turned in one
day late will have 10 % of the available points deducted from the score. An assignment that is
turned in two days late will have 20 % of the available points deducted from the score. No credit
will be awarded for assignments that are more than two days late. "Day" denotes a business day
(Monday through Friday) not the time interval between class meetings. For example an
assignment that is due on Thursday but turned in on Monday will be counted two days late.
Tentative Schedule
Topic
Date
WEEK 1
22-Jan
Readings
Remarks
Prologue
01 – Introduction & Scope of Class; What is Science? 24-Jan
WEEK 2
29-Jan
02 – Shape, Location & Time; 03 – Map Projections
Chapter 1
Chapter 1
04 – Earth, Sun & Seasons Chapter 2
31-Jan
05 – Atmosphere; 06 – Radiation WEEK 3
05-Feb
Chapters 2&3
07 – Energy Balances; 08 – Global Temperature Patterns 07-Feb
Chapter 4
Assignment 1 due
09 – Humidity, Precipitation & Clouds WEEK 4
12-Feb
14-Feb
WEEK 5
19-Feb
21-Feb
WEEK 6
26-Feb
28-Feb
WEEK 7
04-Mar
06-Mar
WEEK 8
11-Mar
13-Mar
WEEK 9
18-Mar
20-Mar
WEEK 10
25-Mar
27-Mar
WEEK 11
01-Apr
03-Apr
WEEK 12
08-Apr
10-Apr
WEEK 13
15-Apr
17-Apr
WEEK 14
10 – Winds and Atmospheric Forces
11 – Atmospheric Circulations; 12 – Oceanic Circulations
Chapter 5
Chapter 5
13 – Weather Systems
14 – Violent Weather
Chapter 6
Chapter 6
15 – Global Climates
16 – Air Pollution; 17 – Global Climate Change
Chapter 7
Chapter 3
18 – Geologic Cycle
19 – Plate Tectonics; 20 – Plate Boundaries
Chapter 8
Chapter 8
21 – Tectonic Landforms; 22 – Earthquakes
23 – Plutonism and Volcanism
Chapter 9
Chapter 9
24 – Weathering; 25 – Karst
26 – Mass Wasting
Chapter 10
Chapter 10
No Class: Spring Vacation
No Class: Spring Vacation
-----
27 – Hydrological Cycle; 28 – Water Resources & Pollution
29 – Fluvial Erosion, Transportation & Deposition
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
30 – Coastal Processes & Landforms
31 – Eolian Processes & Landforms
Chapter 13
Chapter 13
32 – Periglacial Processes and Landforms
33 – Glacial Processes and Landforms
Chapter 10
Chapter 14
Assignment 2 due
Exam 1
Assignment 3 due
Assignment 4 due
Exam 2
Assignment 5 due
22-Apr
34 – Global Soils
Chapter 15
24-Apr
35 – Ecosystems and Biomes
Chapters 16&17
36 – Biogeography
Course Review
Chapters 16&17
---
1:10 – 3:10 pm
---
WEEK 15
29-April
01-May
WEEK 16
06-May
Assignment 6 due
Final Exam