Lesson IN – Course Introduction
Before Class
Total approximate time: 2 hours (without optional activities)
Links to documents are embedded in the text or can be found in the lesson module contents at left.
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Log in to the EV203 Blackboard page and browse the links in the left pane. (5 minutes)
Read the EV203 course guide. (15 minutes)
Take the "Course Guide Quiz" until you score 100%. You will not receive any grades for your
other course work until you complete this task. (15 minutes)
Download and skim the Dean’s Documentation of Academic Work. (5 minutes).
Read the EV203 study plan. (5 minutes)
Visit and follow the EV203 Stream channel. (5 minutes)
Download Respondus Lockdown Browser if you do not already have it on your computer. (5
minutes)
Inspect your Goode's World Atlas to make sure it has no handwritten notes in it, then fill out the
“Atlas Inspection Document.” (5 minutes)
Register with Mastering Geography. See the section on "Course Materials" in the course guide
for more information. Don't worry if you're unable to register. Your instructor can assist you and
answer any questions you have on the first day of class. (10 minutes)
Watch the following videos. Note that you can alter the video speed by clicking the gear icon in
the bottom right of the video screen, the selecting "Playback Speed."
Introduction to Blackboard (10:08)
Documentation of Academic Work (6:04)
How to make an A in Dirt #1: “Use your textbook for more than a paperweight”
(7:19)
Read Hess Chapter 1 (to “Earth-Sun Relations and the Seasons”). (30 minutes)
OPTIONAL: Watch the lecture video(s).
o Scientific Method and Earth's Spheres (9:43)
o Significant Latitudes and Zones (6:49)
o How to Read Latitude & Longitude Coordinates (4:14)
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Student Performance Objectives
1. Understand the expectations of a student in EV203.
2. Describe how geographers study the world. Compare and contrast physical geography and
human geography.
3. List and explain the steps of the scientific method. Explain the difference between an observation,
a hypothesis, a prediction or inference, and a theory. Explain how scientists go about accepting
or rejecting new scientific ideas and theories. Distinguish between claims testable by science and
those not testable by science.
4. List and define the Earth’s four environmental spheres.
5. Locate points on the Earth’s surface using the geographic grid (latitude and longitude). List and
locate the seven significant lines of latitude. List and locate the seven descriptive zones of
latitude.
Key Terms
great circle, parallel, meridian, prime meridian
Lesson MG – Military Geography
NOTE: This lesson is an evening lecture in Robinson Auditorium. See the "Course Overview Calendar" in
the course guide for time and location.
Before Class
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Before the evening lecture, print the “MG Note-taking Guide" and bring it to the lecture.
Read “Military geography and D-Day,” by Francis Galgano.
Watch the following videos.
• How to Make an A in Dirt #2: Make awesome Dirt study tools (8:03)
• How to Make an A in Dirt #3: Get better results from less study time (5:08)
Familiarize yourself with Google Earth.
• You can either download and install Google Earth Pro, or you can use the web-based
version.
• Read "How to open Google Earth files" (link at left).
• Watch "Google Earth How To for Blackboard Homework" (link at left).
• If you are using the web-based version, you can find help here.
• If you are using Google Earth Pro, search the web for “Google Earth Pro Tutorial.”
Read "How to Review Your Blackboard Homework" (link at left).
OPTIONAL READING:
• “D-Day and geography,” by Mildred Berman.
• “Geographical factors in the invasion and battle of Normandy,” by Arthur Davies.
Student Performance Objectives
1. List and describe the eight large-scale geographic factors (factors of relative location or situation)
that led to the selection of Normandy over Calais as the landing site for Operation Overlord.
2. Explain how physical geography (tides, weather, and terrain) influenced the D-Day invasion and
the subsequent battle for Normandy. Provide specific examples.
3. Explain how the cultural landscape of Normandy influenced the D-Day invasion and the
subsequent battle for Normandy. Provide specific examples.
Key Terms
military geography, cultural landscape, tidal range, bocage
Lesson IE – Introduction to Earth
Before Class
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Read Hess Chapter 1 (from “Earth-Sun Relations and the Seasons” to end of chapter).
Read Hess Chapter 4, pages 90-91 (from "Variations in Insolation by Latitude and Season" to
"Latitudinal Radiation Balance.")
Read “How to Calculate Solar Altitude” on Blackboard.
Review Goode’s World Atlas, xxi, p92.
Blackboard Homework.
Take the practice quiz in Respondus Lockdown Browser. To do this, close all open apps and
open Respondus. Log into Blackboard and go to EV203. Click "Quizzes" in the left pane and
open the practice quiz. The password is jkd768. Write this password down before you open
Respondus.
Watch How to Make an A in Dirt #4: Manage your study time like a boss (6:27).
OPTIONAL: Watch the lecture video(s).
o Earth Sun Relationship (06:06)
o Sun Angle and Day Length (07:11)
o Solstice and Equinoxes (5:34)
o Calculating Solar Altitude (3:58)
Student Performance Objectives
1. Describe the Earth's movements, including its rotation on its axis and its revolution around the
Sun. Describe and explain the significance of the inclination and polarity of the Earth's axis.
2. Explain the "annual march of the seasons." In particular, explain how the seasons are related to
changes in day length and Sun angle (solar altitude) caused by the movement of the declination
of the Sun. Describe the conditions associated with the June solstice, September equinox,
December solstice, and March equinox. Describe the seasonal transitions related to the
movement of the declination of the Sun and changes in day length.
3. Explain how angle of incidence, the effect of the atmosphere, and day length influence seasonal
changes in solar energy at different latitudes.
4. Calculate the solar altitude given a latitude of interest and the declination of the sun on a given
date.
5. Describe how time zones are used to establish actual times around the world. Discuss the
relationship between time zones and the International Date Line.
Key Terms
declination of the sun (subsolar point), solar altitude, circle of illumination, polarity, inclination, plane of the
ecliptic, angle of incidence, Universal Time Coordinated
Lesson IA – Introduction to the Atmosphere
Before Class
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Read Hess Chapter 3.
Blackboard Homework.
Watch How to Make an A in Dirt #5: Metacognition – What it is and how to get some (9:29).
OPTIONAL: Watch the lecture video(s).
o Size, Composition, and Vertical Structure of the Atmosphere (6:27)
o Introduction to Climate Controls (6:57)
o Ozone and the hole in the Ozone layer (4:00)
o EV203 Concepts: Climate control questions (6:27)
Student Performance Objectives
1. Describe the composition of the modern atmosphere, including the permanent gases, variable
gases, and particulates (aerosols).
2. Describe the vertical structure of the atmosphere, including the relationships between altitude,
pressure, and temperature, in the troposphere and stratosphere.
3. Describe recent anthropogenic changes to the atmosphere. Explain how the ozone layer has
been affected by human-produced chemicals, why this is a problem, and how the problem has
been addressed. List and describe anthropogenic causes of air pollution.
4. Explain the difference between weather and climate.
5. List and describe the seven most important controls of weather and climate. Determine the most
likely climate controls for a place based on its location and climate data.
Key Terms
water vapor, Coriolis effect, ozone layer
Lesson IT – Insolation & Temperature
Before Class
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Read Hess Chapter 4.
Review Goode’s World Atlas pp. 22-23.
Watch How to Make an A in Dirt #6: Urban legends of EV203 (7:06).
Blackboard Homework.
OPTIONAL: Watch the lecture video(s).
o Electromagnetic Radiation (6:04)
o Heating and Cooling Processes, Land/Water Contrasts, and Greenhouse Effect (19:58)
o Insolation Variations and Global Patterns (10:50)
Student Performance Objectives
1. Explain how the Sun provides energy to the Earth’s atmosphere in the form of electromagnetic
radiation.
2. Explain nine of the ten basic heating and cooling processes in the atmosphere (radiation,
absorption, reflection, transmission, conduction, convection, advection, adiabatic cooling and
warming, and latent heat).
3. Explain the greenhouse effect.
4. Explain variations in insolation by latitude and season due to angle of incidence, effect of the
atmosphere, and day length.
5. Describe the implications of land-water contrasts on climate.
6. Explain the reasons for land and water temperature contrasts, especially the role of specific heat.
7. Describe global temperature patterns. Explain how these patterns are influenced by the
prominent controls of temperature. Describe seasonal patterns of temperature and geographic
differences in annual temperature ranges.
Key Terms
insolation, greenhouse gases
Lesson AP – Atmospheric Pressure & Wind
Before Class
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Read Hess Chapter 5.
Review Goode’s World Atlas pp. 24-25.
Blackboard Homework.
OPTIONAL: Watch the lecture video(s).
o Introduction (4:04)
o Pressure Basics, Pressure Maps, and Pressure Gradient Force (11:48)
o Coriolis Effect Explained (6:09)
o Coriolis Effect, Friction, and Vertical Flow (9:34)
o General Circulation of the Atmosphere and Seasonal Variations (12:03)
o EV203 Concepts: Geostrophic Winds (3:16)
Student Performance Objectives
1. Describe the factors influencing atmospheric pressure, including density-pressure relationships
and temperature-pressure relationships.
2. Read and analyze a surface pressure map. Identify high pressure areas, low pressure areas,
troughs, and ridges.
3. Explain how wind direction is influenced by the pressure gradient force, the Coriolis effect, and
friction, both at the surface of the Earth and in the upper atmosphere.
4. Describe the horizontal and vertical circulation of air within cyclones and anticyclones. Describe
the typical weather conditions associated with each.
5. Name, locate, and describe the seven components of the General Circulation of the Atmosphere.
Diagram and describe the geographic distribution of major global wind and pressure systems.
6. Explain how latitudinal variation of the sun modifies the General Circulation of the Atmosphere
and creates monsoons on a seasonal basis. Locate the most prominent monsoons around the
world.
Key Terms
isobars, geostrophic wind, friction layer, Hadley cells
Lesson AM – Atmospheric Moisture 1
Before Class
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Read Hess Chapter 6 (to “Atmospheric Lifting & Precipitation”).
Review Goode’s World Atlas pp. 24-25.
Blackboard Homework.
OPTIONAL: Watch the lecture video(s).
o Phase changes, Humidity, Lapse Rates, Clouds, and Fog. (25:05)
Student Performance Objectives
1. Explain how phase changes of water are accompanied by exchanges of latent heat. Explain the
importance of latent heat exchange as both a warming and a cooling process in the atmosphere.
2. Compare and contrast three different measures of humidity: specific humidity, relative humidity,
and dew point temperature. Explain the relationship between temperature and relative humidity.
3. Explain the role of adiabatic cooling in cloud formation. Explain the difference between the dry
adiabatic rate and the saturated adiabatic rate.
4. Describe the three main cloud forms.
5. Describe the four types of fog and explain how they form.
Key Terms
condensation, condensation nuclei, lifting condensation level (LCL)
Lesson A2 – Atmospheric Moisture 2
Before Class
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Read Hess Chapter 6, pp. 161-170 (from “Atmospheric Lifting and Precipitation” through end of
chapter).
Review Hess Chapter 5, pp. 131-135 (from “El Niño-Southern Oscillation” to end of chapter).
Blackboard Homework.
OPTIONAL: Watch the lecture video(s).
o Atmospheric Lifting (6:25)
o Wind over the Mountain (6:47)
o Global Precipitation Patterns (3:30)
o Example of orographic lifting (1 min)
o Example of frontal lifting (1 min)
o Example of convective lifting (1 min)
Student Performance Objectives
1. Given elevation, starting temperature and LCL, calculate the changing temperature of air as it
moves over a mountain.
2. Explain how each of the four principal types of atmospheric lifting leads to condensation and
precipitation (convective, orographic, frontal, and convergent). Describe where and/or when each
type of lifting is most likely to occur.
3. Describe and explain the global distribution of precipitation. Locate regions of high annual
precipitation and low annual precipitation and explain the reasons for this distribution. Describe
seasonal patterns of precipitation and explain the reasons for these patterns.
4. Describe the sources of acid rain, the types of damage it causes, and the actions taken to reduce
it.
5. Explain the El Niño-Southern Oscillation cycle and its effect on global weather patterns.
Key Terms
rain shadow
Lesson AD – Atmospheric Disturbances 1: Midlatitude Cyclones
Before Class
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Read Hess Chapter 7 (to “Easterly Waves”).
Blackboard Homework.
OPTIONAL: Watch the lecture video(s).
o Air Masses (9:20)
o Fronts (4:42)
o Mid-Latitude Cyclones (6:45)
Student Performance Objectives
1. Describe the characteristics, origin, classification, movement, and modification of the six types of
air masses (A, cP, mP, cT, mT, & E).
2. Describe the structure and characteristics of a cold front and a warm front. Describe the weather
conditions typically associated with each. Draw and label a cross-sectional diagram of a cold front
and a warm front.
3. Describe the characteristics, movements, and life cycle of a midlatitude cyclone. Describe the
weather changes that occur during the passage of a midlatitude cyclone. Describe the typical
occurrence and distribution of these storms.
4. Describe the characteristics of midlatitude anticyclones and how they are related to midlatitude
cyclones.
Key Terms
source regions, cyclogenesis
Lesson D2 – Atmospheric Disturbances 2: Hurricanes & Tornadoes
Before Class
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Read Hess Chapter 7 (from “Easterly Waves” to end of chapter).
Blackboard Homework.
OPTIONAL: Watch the lecture video(s).
o Tropical Disturbances (5:01)
o Characteristics of tropical cyclones (15:42)
o Tornadoes (8:20)
Student Performance Objectives
1. Name and describe the categories of tropical disturbances.
2. Describe the characteristics, origins, and movement patterns of a tropical cyclone. Describe the
life span of a tropical cyclone and explain the seasonal patterns associated with tropical cyclone
development.
3. Name and describe the sources of damage associated with tropical cyclones.
4. Explain the potential links between climate change and tropical cyclones.
5. Explain how tornadoes are thought to form. Describe and explain the reasons for the spatial
patterns and seasonality of tornadoes.
Key Terms
hurricane, storm surge, Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale, enhanced Fujita Scale
Lesson CL - Climate
Before Class
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Read Hess Chapter 8 (to “Global Climate Change”).
Review Goode’s World Atlas pp. 18-19, 22-23, 26-27.
Blackboard Homework.
OPTIONAL: Watch the lecture video(s).
o Climate (12:25)
Student Performance Objectives
1. Describe the Köppen climate classification system and explain how it is used to classify climates.
2. Locate the Köppen climate types on a map and describe their global distribution. Describe the
characteristics of each climate type and explain its dominant climate controls.
3. Determine the most likely Köppen regional climate type for a location based on its latitude and
longitude and/or its climograph. Name and explain the most likely dominant climate controls for
that location.
4. Compare and contrast the Köppen climate zones in your textbook with those in Goode’s World
Atlas.
Key Terms
climograph
Lesson CH – Climate Variability & Change
Before Class
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Review Hess Chapter 4, pp. 103-105 (from “Climate Change and Global Warming” to end of
chapter).
Read Hess Chapter 8, pp. 232-247 (from “Global Climate Change” to end of chapter).
Blackboard Homework.
OPTIONAL: Watch the lecture video(s).
o Climate Variability & Change (52:52)
o EV203 Concepts: Oxygen Isotope Ratios & Ocean Sediments (3:18)
Student Performance Objectives
1. Describe the trends in global temperature change over the last century and explain their
relationship to increasing greenhouse gas concentrations.
2. Name and describe six climate proxies that scientists use to reconstruct past climates
(dendrochronology, oxygen isotope analysis, ice cores, pollen analysis, remnant glacial land
forms, and speleothems).
3. Name and describe four causes of climate change (atmospheric aerosols, fluctuations in solar
output, variations in Earth-Sun relations, and greenhouse gas concentrations). Explain how each
can impact global climate. Identify whether each cause is natural, anthropogenic, or both.
4. Describe the feedback mechanisms related to climate change.
5. Explain the role of the ocean in climate change.
6. Describe observed and projected impacts of climate change on air temperature, the oceans, the
polar regions, weather patterns, and the biosphere.
Key Terms
global warming, paleoclimatology, proxy, eccentricity, obliquity, precession, Milankovitch cycles
Lesson TF – Terrestrial Flora
Before Class
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Read Hess Chapter 10, pp. 282-284 (from “The Flow of Energy” to “The Hydrologic Cycle”).
Read Hess Chapter 10, pp. 297-302 (from “Environmental Factors” to “Environmental
Correlations”).
Read Hess Chapter 11.
Review Goode’s World Atlas pp. 36-37 pp. 44-45.
Blackboard Homework.
OPTIONAL: Watch the lecture video(s).
o Terrestrial Flora (25:52)
Student Performance Objectives
1. Explain how the environmental factors of light, moisture, and temperature affect plant growth, or
net primary productivity (NPP).
2. Describe the major biomes of the world and their global distribution. Name the climate types most
closely associated with each biome. Describe the types of vegetation common to each biome and
explain why these types of vegetation are found there. Identify the limiting factor for NPP in each
biome, if there is one.
3. Compare and contrast the biomes in your textbook with those in Goode’s World Atlas.
4. Explain the concept of vertical zonation.
Key Terms
photosynthesis, biome
Lesson W1 – Written Partial Review 1
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WPR1 covers Lesson IN through D2.
The exam will be taken during your normal class period.
The exam length is 75 minutes. Cadets who may require additional time in taking the exam, such
as international cadets and cadets with documented medical conditions, should coordinate with
their instructors prior to the exam.
The exam is composed of multiple-choice questions, short answer questions, and geography
problems similar to those you encountered in the homework, the quizzes, and the study
questions.
Every question on the WPR is related to a student performance objective or key term in some
way.
The only authorized reference is your Goode’s World Atlas (no notes, books, internet resources,
assistance from others, etc.).
You MAY use a calculator and/or a blank piece of scratch paper and pencil.
You are not allowed to take pictures, write out the questions, or reproduce this exam in any way
Lesson GS – Global Soils
Before Class
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Read Hess Chapter 12.
Review Goode’s World Atlas pp. 40-41.
Review the “EV203 Latitude Chart” on Blackboard.
Blackboard Homework.
OPTIONAL: Watch the lecture video(s).
o Global soils (27:04)
o Alternate option: The most passionate and entertaining lecture you’ll ever watch about
soils (55:47)
o EV203 Concepts: Connecting Climate, Biomes, Vegetation, and Soils (8:09)
Student Performance Objectives
1. List and describe the five soil-forming factors (geologic, climatic, topographic, biological, and
time). Explain how they contribute to the development of soils.
2. Describe the components and properties of soils.
3. Classify the following major soil orders based on their dominant development pathways (sitedominated, climate-dominated, time-dominated, or parent material-dominated): histosols, gelisols,
mollisols, aridisols, oxisols, vertisols, and andisols. Describe the key features of each of these soil
orders.
4. Predict the type of soil found in a location based on its dominant soil-forming factors.
Key Terms
parent material, organic matter, silt, clay
Lesson LF – Introduction to Landform Study
Before Class
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Read Hess Chapter 13.
Read Hess Chapter 14, pp. 398-406 (to “Plate Boundaries”).
Blackboard Homework.
OPTIONAL: Watch the lecture video(s).
o Intro to Landforms 1 (12:20)
o Intro to Landforms 2 (11:16)
o Intro to Landforms 3 (12:37)
Student Performance Objectives
1. Describe the structure of the Earth, including the crust, the mantle, and the inner and outer cores.
Contrast continental crust with oceanic crust.
2. Describe the three major classes of rock (igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic) and their
properties. Explain how each is formed.
3. Name and describe the subtypes of igneous rocks (plutonic and volcanic); sedimentary rocks
(detrital, chemical, and organic); and metamorphic rocks (foliated and nonfoliated).
4. Explain the difference between internal (endogenic) and external (exogenic) processes.
5. Describe the theory of plate tectonics. Explain how the theory of plate tectonics developed from
Wegener’s theory of continental drift. Describe the evidence that supports plate tectonics. Explain
the mechanism that drives plate tectonics.
Key Terms
mafic, felsic, isostasy, uniformitarianism, catastrophism, seafloor spreading, subduction
Lesson IP – Internal Processes
Before Class
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Read Hess Chapter 14 (from “Plate Boundaries” to end of chapter).
Review Goode’s World Atlas pp. 6-17. NOTE: The tectonic plate movement diagram on page 9
can be confusing (especially the continental rift zone and the continental-continental plate
boundary) if you don’t study it in conjunction with your book. Talk to your instructor if you have
questions about this diagram.
Blackboard Homework.
OPTIONAL: Watch the lecture video(s).
o Internal Processes 1 (8:08)
o Internal Processes 2 (7:16)
o Internal Processes 3 (5:59)
Student Performance Objectives
1. Describe the three basic plate boundaries (divergent, convergent, and transform). Diagram and
describe the subtypes of these basic plate boundaries (midocean ridges, continental rift valleys,
oceanic-continental convergent, oceanic-oceanic convergent, and continental-continental
convergent). Describe the types of landforms that develop at each of these boundaries. Locate
these boundaries on a tectonic map.
2. Describe and explain the global distribution of volcanoes using plate tectonics. List the four
principal types of volcanoes (composite, shield, cinder cone, and lava dome). Describe their
shapes and sizes, their structures, their magma types, and their eruption styles. Describe the
hazards associated with volcanoes.
3. Explain the tectonic processes of folding and faulting. Identify, list, and describe the three types of
folds (monoclines, anticlines, and synclines) and the four principal types of faults (normal,
reverse, thrust, and strike-slip).
4. Identify, list, and describe the following landforms associated with faulting: tilted block mountain
ranges, horsts and grabens, rift valleys, and offset streams.
5. Describe the hazards associated with earthquakes.
Key Terms
hotspot, mantle plume, magma, lava, caldera, magnitude
Lesson MW – Weathering & Mass Wasting
Before Class
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Read Hess Chapter 15.
Blackboard Homework.
OPTIONAL: Watch the lecture video(s).
o Weathering & Mass Wasting (19:32)
Student Performance Objectives
1. Explain the process of denudation in terms of weathering, mass wasting, and erosion.
2. Explain the difference between joints and faults. Explain how they contribute to weathering.
3. Describe the process of mechanical weathering and its subtypes (frost wedging, salt wedging,
temperature changes, and exfoliation).
4. Describe the process of chemical weathering and its subtypes (oxidation, hydration, hydrolysis,
carbonation, and spheroidal weathering).
5. Explain the relationship between climate and weathering.
6. Describe each of the different types of mass wasting events (rockfall, landslide, slump, earthflow,
mudflow, and creep). Compare and contrast these types of mass wasting events based on their
speed and moisture content.
Key Terms
biological weathering, differential weathering
Lesson FL – Fluvial Processes & Landforms
Before Class
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Read Hess Chapter 16.
Blackboard Homework.
OPTIONAL: Watch the lecture video(s).
o Fluvial Processes 1 (8:55)
o Fluvial Processes 2 (11:18)
o Fluvial Processes 3 (5:52)
Student Performance Objectives
1. Explain the concepts of stream erosion, transportation, and deposition. Describe the three
components of stream load (dissolved load, suspended load, and bed load).
2. List, identify, and describe each of the four stream channel patterns (straight, sinuous,
meandering, and braided). Describe the conditions under which each is most likely to occur.
3. Explain how valleys deepen through downcutting and knickpoint migration. Explain how valleys
widen through lateral erosion. Explain how valleys lengthen through headward erosion, stream
capture, and delta formation.
4. Identify, name, and describe the landforms commonly associated with floodplains (floodplains,
bluffs, cutoff meanders/ oxbow lakes, natural levees, backswamps, and yazoo streams). Explain
how each form.
5. Describe how floods are agents of erosion and deposition. Explain how recurrence intervals are
used to describe the probability of a flood event. Describe how flood controls are implemented.
Key Terms
cut bank, point bar, competence, capacity
Lesson GW – Groundwater & Karst Topography
Before Class
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Read Hess Chapter 9, pp. 251-254 (from “The Hydrologic Cycle” to “Movement of Ocean
Waters”).
Read Hess Chapter 9, pp. 269-275 (from “Groundwater” to end of chapter).
Read Hess Chapter 17.
Blackboard Homework.
OPTIONAL: Watch the lecture video(s).
o Groundwater & Karst 1 (3:08)
o Groundwater & Karst 2 (13:28)
o Groundwater & Karst 3 (12:23)
Student Performance Objectives
1. Identify, diagram, and describe the component parts of a groundwater system, including aquifers,
aquicludes, the zone of aeration, the zone of saturation, the water table, cones of depression,
confined aquifers, artesian wells, and the waterless zone.
2. Explain the process of groundwater mining and describe the problems associated with it.
3. Explain the processes of dissolution and precipitation. Describe how these processes result in
caverns and related features.
4. Name and describe the types of landforms commonly associated with karst topography (caverns,
speleothems, sinkholes, surface drainage, and haystack hills/mogotes). Explain how each forms.
5. Name and describe common hydrothermal features (hot springs, geysers, and fumaroles).
Key Terms
hydrologic cycle, porosity, permeability
Lesson AL – Topography of Arid Lands
Before Class
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Read Hess Chapter 18.
Blackboard Homework.
OPTIONAL: Watch the lecture video(s).
o Arid Landforms (16:57)
Student Performance Objectives
1. Identify, name, and describe the geomorphic features associated with surface water in deserts
(exotic streams, ephemeral streams, playas, and saline lakes).
2. Explain how fluvial erosion influences the landscapes of arid lands. Describe the flash flood
hazards associated with arid lands. Explain how differential weathering influences the
development of landforms in deserts.
3. Describe the two categories of aeolian erosion (deflation and abrasion) and how they create
blowouts and ventifacts. Explain how rock material is moved through aeolian transportation
processes.
4. Identify and name the types of sand dunes created by aeolian deposition. Explain how sand
dunes are formed.
5. Identify, name, and describe the landforms associated with basin-and-range regions (ranges,
alluvial fans, bajadas, and basins). Explain how these geomorphic features form. Locate the
basin-and-range regions of North America.
6. Identify, name, and describe the landforms associated with mesa-and-scarp terrain (plateaus,
mesas, buttes, and pinnacles). Explain how these geomorphic features form. Locate the mesaand-scarp regions of North America.
Key Terms
aeolian processes, badlands
Lesson PE – Portraying Earth
NOTE: This lesson is an evening lecture in Robinson Auditorium. See the "Course Overview Calendar" in
the course guide for time and location.
Before Class
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Read enough of Hess Chapter 2 to answer the SPOs and to define the key terms.
Skim Goode’s World Atlas, xv-xx.
Select and watch ONE of the following videos. Take notes on the video you watch using the “PE
Video Viewing Questions” document in this lesson module. You will need these notes to complete
your Blackboard homework a few lessons from now.
o Imagery & Remote Sensing (6:43)
o COVID-19 & Crisis Management: A GIS Approach (25:12)
 Time Series Forecasting (6:34-10:58)
 ArcGIS Indoors (11:40-16:30)
 Community Contact Tracing (16:30-20:40)
o U.S. Census Bureau Video (6:32)
o ArcGIS & DoD Artificial Intelligence (5:20)
o Examining Patterns of Racial Bias in Police Stop Data (10:00)
OPTIONAL: Watch the lecture video(s).
o PE lecture video (26:55)
o EV203 Concepts: Map Scale (2:57)
Student Performance Objectives
1. Explain the concept of map scale. Distinguish between large- and small-scale maps. Identify and
explain graphic, fractional, and verbal map scales. Describe potential advantages and
disadvantages of each. Explain why no map of the world can be as accurate as a globe.
2. Explain the concept of map projections. Compare and contrast equivalent map projections,
conformal map projections, and compromise map projections. Explain when each type of
projection is most suited for use.
3. Describe the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). Describe how a GPS unit determines
its location. Describe some common uses of GPS.
4. Define remote sensing. Discuss the kinds of information that can be gathered by remote sensing.
Distinguish passive remote sensing systems from active remote sensing systems.
5. Describe overlay analysis. Explain how GIS helps in the analysis of geographic data.
Key Terms
isolines, Global Positioning System (GPS), electromagnetic spectrum, multispectral
Lesson GL – Glacial Modification of Terrain
Before Class
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Read Hess Chapter 19.
Blackboard Homework.
OPTIONAL: Watch the lecture video(s).
o Glaciers & Glacial Landforms (28:03)
Student Performance Objectives
1. Describe the two primary types of glaciers (mountain glaciers and continental ice sheets).
2. Describe the Pleistocene glaciation, the extent of the glaciation, the resulting sea level changes,
and the associated crustal depressions.
3. Explain how glaciers form. Explain the balance between glacial accumulation and ablation and
how this relates to glacier flow, glacier advance, and glacier retreat.
4. Explain how glaciers shape topography through erosion (glacial plucking and glacial abrasion);
transportation; and deposition (direct deposition and secondary deposition by meltwater).
5. Identify and describe the landforms created by continental ice sheets and mountain glaciers.
Explain how they are formed. In particular, explain how continental ice sheets form roche
moutonées and moraines (terminal and recessional). Explain how mountain glaciers form glacial
troughs, hanging glacial troughs, and moraines (lateral and medial).
Key Terms
till, glacial erratics
Lesson CP – Coastal Processes and Terrain
Before Class
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NOTE: This lesson will be ASYNCHRONOUS. You will not have an in-class lesson dedicated to
this topic, but you will be responsible for the material in the reading and videos.
Read Hess Chapter 20.
Read “Coastal Engineering Structures Supplemental Reading” located on Blackboard
Blackboard Homework.
Watch the lecture video(s).
o Coastal Processes 1 (24:46)
o Coastal Processes 2 (19:59) (Pay special attention to the section between 7:58 and
12:28.)
Student Performance Objectives
1.
2.
3.
4.
Explain how wave refraction and wave erosion shape and smooth coastlines.
Explain how tsunamis form. Describe the effects of tsunamis.
Explain how longshore currents and beach drifting cause coastal sediment transport.
Identify, name, and describe the landforms created by coastal deposition (beaches, spits,
baymouth bars, tombolos, barrier islands, and barrier island lagoons). Explain how each is
formed.
5. Identify, name, and describe coastal engineering structures (groins, jetties, breakwaters, and
seawalls). Explain how these structures cause erosion and/or deposition by modifying longshore
transport and/or wave energy.
Key Terms
headland, bay, swash, backwash
Lesson TW – Terrain Walk: Reading the Landscape
Before Class
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Blackboard Homework on glaciers and coastal processes.
Lesson Notes
This lesson is a terrain walk around West Point. Your instructor will provide you with information on your
link-up location. The uniform is ACU/OCP with appropriate clothing for the weather. In winter, bring fleece
or parka, pile cap, and gloves). Bring rain gear if the weather forecast calls for precipitation.
Student Performance Objectives
1. Apply the principles learned in EV203 to analyze the physical and cultural aspects of a
landscape.
Lesson W2 – Written Partial Review 2
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WPR2 primarily covers Lessons CL through TW, although concepts and material from the first
block of the course may also be included.
The exam will be taken during your normal class period.
The exam length is 75 minutes. Cadets who may require additional time in taking the exam, such
as international cadets and cadets with documented medical conditions, should coordinate with
their instructors prior to the exam.
The exam is composed of multiple-choice questions, short answer questions, and geography
problems similar to those you encountered in the homework, the quizzes, and the study
questions.
Every question on the WPR is related to a student performance objective or key term in some
way.
The only authorized reference is your Goode’s World Atlas (no notes, books, internet resources,
assistance from others, etc.).
You MAY use a calculator and/or a blank piece of scratch paper and pencil.
You may NOT consult with or discuss the exam with other cadets until the exam period is
concluded.
You are not allowed to take pictures, write-out the questions, or digitally reproduce this exam
Notes on the Culture Block
There are no lecture videos for the culture block. If you miss class, coordinate with your instructor for AI.
If you miss a reading quiz during the culture block, see the "Grading Policies and Graded Events" section
of the course guide for instructions on how to make it up.
Three lessons in the culture block will begin with a 10-point Blackboard quiz with questions related to the
reading and/or videos for that lesson.
Note that if you bought the bundled textbook from MBS, the Rubenstein readings are at the very back of
the textbook. If you are missing any of the Rubenstein chapters, you may have received an older version
of the textbook. You can find any missing chapters through the etext in Mastering Geography.
Lesson MD – Medical Geography
NOTE: This lesson is an evening lecture in Robinson Auditorium. See the "Course Overview Calendar" in
the course guide for time and location.
Before Class
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No preparation required.
Student Performance Objectives
1. Explain the triangle of human ecology and the importance of each component in disease
transmission.
2. Explain how spatial and temporal patterns of health are affected by physical and cultural
landscapes.
3. Describe the social determinants of health and explain how they differ from other (biological)
determinants of health.
4. Identify the role medical geography plays in addressing a health crisis.
Key Terms
host, agent, reservoir, vector, disease diffusion, cultural buffer
Optional Reading
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Chain of infection (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention)
Concepts of disease occurence (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention)
Zoonotic diseases (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention)
West Point professors help U.S. Army North model COVID-19 impact (Army.mil)
Lesson CG – Introduction to Cultural Geography
Before Class
Scan Chapter 1 of Rubenstein (“This is Geography”) (10 minutes). NOTE: The Rubenstein
chapters can be found at the back of your loose-leaf textbook or in the etext on Mastering
Geography. If you have an older version of the book, the Rubenstein chapters will not match. In
that case, you should use the chapters in the etext.
• Read p. 1-18 of Cresswell’s Place: An introduction. Available
from: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/usma/reader.action?docID=1780033. (20 minutes)
• Browse the website The Cultural Landscape Foundation: About cultural landscape. Available
from: https://tclf.org/places/about-cultural-landscapes. (10 minutes)
• Watch “The meaning of a monument.” Available
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL2CW8bZ0to (16 minutes)
• Read “Roosevelt’s statue to be removed from Museum of Natural History.” Available
from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/21/arts/design/roosevelt-statue-to-be-removed-frommuseum-of-natural-history.html. (10 minutes) NOTE: If you cannot access the article because of
a paywall, you can find the text of the article through the USMA library here. Alternatively, you
can register through the library for free access to the New York Times by following these
instructions.
• OPTIONAL READING: “Six strategies for dealing with controversial monuments.” Available
from https://hyperallergic.com/445981/six-strategies-for-dealing-with-controversial-monumentsand-memorials/. (5 minutes)
• Answer the study questions. (1 hour)
Total approximate prep time: 2 hours 10 minutes
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Student Performance Objectives
1.
2.
3.
4.
Explain what is meant by the term culture.
Compare and contrast the following concepts: place, space, culture, and cultural landscape.
Explain Rubenstein’s distinctive features of a place: place names (toponyms), site, and situation.
Explain what is meant by the term contested landscapes. Explain some of the different ways that
cultures deal with contested landscapes.
5. Describe the controversy surrounding the Teddy Roosevelt statue at the American Museum of
Natural History.
Lesson GR – Geography of Religions
Before Class
Read Rubenstein pages 28-29 (“Connections: Diffusion”). (5 minutes)
Read enough of Rubenstein Chapter 6 (“Religions”) to answer the study questions. (30 minutes)
Watch “The Man Behind the Mosque.” Available
from: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/man-behind-mosque/. The transcript can be found
here: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/man-behind-mosque/transcript/. (37 minutes)
• Answer the study questions. (1 hour)
Total approximate prep time: 2 hours 15 minutes
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Student Performance Objectives
1. Explain the various ways that aspects of culture can spread though diffusion (relocation diffusion,
expansion diffusion, contagious diffusion, hierarchical diffusion, and stimulus diffusion).
2. Name the world’s four largest religions in order of size. Describe their global spatial distributions.
Compare and contrast the spatial distributions of universalizing and ethnic religions.
3. Describe the historical diffusion of universalizing religions using the examples of Christianity,
Islam, and Buddhism. Describe specific examples of the concepts of relocation diffusion,
hierarchical diffusion, and contagious diffusion in the spread of these religions.
4. Explain how religion is related to place and landscape. In particular, discuss the concept of
sacred places. Explain how these concepts are related to "The man behind the mosque."
5. Explain how territorial conflicts related to religion can arise.
Key Terms
universalizing religions, ethnic religions, hearth, assimilation, acculturation
Lesson ET - Ethnicities
Before Class
Read Rubenstein Chapter 7 (“Ethnicities”). Focus your reading on Key Issues 1, 3, and 4. Scan
Key Issue 2. (35 minutes)
• Read “Racism definition: Merriam-Webster to make update after request.” BBC News, June 10,
2020. Available from: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52993306. (5 minutes)
• Read McWhorter J. “The dictionary definition of 'racism' has to change.” The Atlantic, June 22,
2020. Available from: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/06/dictionary-definitionracism-has-change/613324/. (10 minutes)
• Answer the study questions. (1 hour)
Total approximate prep time: 2 hours
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Student Performance Objectives
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Explain the difference between ethnicity and race.
Contrast the definition of racism in your textbook with other commonly used definitions of racism.
Explain the difference between ethnicity and nationality.
Explain how conflict might arise when ethnicities are split among more than one nationality.
Contrast ethnic cleansing with genocide. Explain how ethnicity is related to these two processes.
Key Terms
nationalism, balkanization, ethnic enclave
Lesson ST – Special Topics in Geography
NOTE: This lesson is an evening lecture in Robinson Auditorium. See the "Course Overview Calendar" in
the course guide for time and location.
Before Class
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No preparation required.
Note that while this lecture is not classified, it does contain sensitive material that may not be
recorded. For that reason, do not bring any digital recording devices such as cell phones into the
auditorium. You will not be allowed to take notes, so do not bring note-taking materials, either.
Student Performance Objectives
1. Use the concepts you have learned in EV203 to solve tactical and strategic problems related to
military operations.
Key Terms
Coriolis effect