*Tentative*
Syllabus and Grading
Outline for AATM 200 (7041) – Natural Disasters
Official course description in the undergraduate bulletin.
Pre-requisite: AATM 107 or AATM 100 or AENV/AGEO 105
or Permission of Instructor.
This course fulfills a Natural Science (NS) General
Education requirement.
FALL 2012:
Prof. Landin’s e-mail address: mlandin@albany.edu
Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday & Friday: 10:30 AM to Noon
TA: ???? (ES ????, ???, ??
to ??)
(Professor Landin and his
TA are also available by appointment.)
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Course web page: http://www.atmos.albany.edu/deas/atmclasses/atm200/
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Course Text: "Natural Disasters - 7th Edition" by: Patrick L. Abbott,
McGraw-Hill Publishing,
(ISBN: 978-0-07-337669-1), 2009
http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0073376698/
Also valid for this
course (not
recommended):
"Natural Disasters - 8th Edition" by: Patrick L.
Abbott,
McGraw-Hill Publishing,
(ISBN: 978-0-07-336937-2), 2012
http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0073369373/information_center_view0/
Note: two copies of
the 7th Edition text will be on
3-hour reserve
from the Reserve Desk in the basement of
the Main Library
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The following 7th Edition chapters will be covered:
Note 1: Parts of other chapters will be introduced as support material.
Note 2: Additionally, the students will select four topics from the following
list to conclude the semester: ice storms & blizzards, landslides &
avalanches, floods, droughts & famine, wildfires, heat & cold waves,
solar storms, and pandemic diseases.
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This course is A-E
Graded. Four exams will be
given. Exams #1,
#2 & #3 will all be
full-class 50-minute exams and the Final Exam
will be a 2-hour,
“cumulative exam.” The exams will count
for 90%
of your final grade. The remaining 10% is earned through completing
three primary homework
assignments (i.e., 10 homework points).
THERE WILL BE NO EXAM MAKE-UPs! Exceptions
made only by obtaining a
“Dean’s E-mail” from the
Dean of Undergraduate Studies, by providing
them proper documentation as to why you missed the exam. Have them
send the e-mail to all
your professors. (Athletes are to hand
in
the appropriate paperwork
as soon as possible to account for any
potential clashes of exam
dates and lectures, with games/meets.)
Special arrangements will
be made on a case-by-case basis.
Attendance is highly
recommended. A random “Disaster Check” (to be
explained in class) will
be performed each lecture. A “Disaster”
will occur once
during each of the four primary sections of the class.
For each “Disaster,” every
student having the proper “mitigation” (to
be explained) will earn 1 final grade Bonus Point. Thus, there is a
maximum of 4
final grade Bonus
Points to be earned.
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To figure your final
grade, if you take all three exams and score
a 30 or better on each
exam, then you will keep the "best
two" of
your first three exams,
each worth 27% of your grade. The Final
Exam will make up 36% of
your grade. (In other words, you get to
drop your lowest
grade of the first three exams.) If you
miss any
of the first three exams
(or score less than a 30 on any of them)
then you will keep all
three grades, each worth 18% of your grade,
with the Final Exam still
making up 36% of your grade. (In other
words, miss any exam or
score less than a 30, you keep them all.)
Example #1: Ex #1: 96; Ex
#2: 92; Ex #3: 64; F.Ex: 70; Gr=90
(A)
Example #2: Ex #1: 96; Ex
#2: 92; Ex
#3: 0; F.Ex: 70; Gr=73 (C)
Example #3:
Ex #1: 86; Ex #2: 82; Ex #3: 86; F.Ex: --; Gr=90
(A)
(Above examples assume all
10 homework points and the maximum
4 final grade Bonus Points
earned through the “Disaster Checks.”)
Performance Bonus: If
your three-exam average plus your homework
points and final grade Bonus Points is “90.0” or higher (as in
Example #3), then you will
receive an “A” in the class and be
exempt from
taking the Final Exam, provided that you “sign in”
for attendance at each
of the final six lectures. An unexcused
absence at any of
the final six lectures will require that you
take the Final Exam and
have your grade calculated as above.
Cell phones, iPods and any
other electronic gadgets (i.e., anything
with an "on/off"
switch) are prohibited during exams.
They are to be
turned off and out of
sight. Anyone caught cheating will be
granted
an automatic "E"
in this course and subject to prosecution by the
University's judicial
system. You are to show your UAlbany I.D. card
when handing in an exam
and know your 9-digit UAlbany student
number.
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Below is the tentative
syllabus, by date, using chapter numbers.
As we go through the
semester, you will be able to download a class
“Lecture Summary,” including daily class announcements, the sections
covered in each edition of
the text, the major topics covered, and a
useful "Study
Guide". The individual daily notes
for this course
will not be posted,
but as an option, a “Notes Template” will be
available for each
lecture. You are expected to have
excellent
attendance and you are
fully responsible for all material presented
in lecture.
Dates Monday Wednesday Friday
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Aug 27,29,31: Intro/1 1 2
Sep 3,5,7: no class 11 11
Sep 10,12,14: 11 11 11
Sep 17,19,21: no class 11 13 (end Part 1)
Sep 24,26,28: 3 no class 3
Oct 1,3,5: 4 Exam #1 4
Oct 8,10,12: 4 6 7
Oct 15,17,19: 7 8 8
Oct 22,24,26: 9 9 (end Part 2) 5
Oct 29,31; Nov 2: 17 Exam #2 17
Nov 5,7,9: 16 16 16
Nov 12,14,16: 12 12 12 (end Part 3)
Nov 19,21,23: Exam
#3 no class no class
Nov 26,28,30: *T4 *T3 *T2
Dec 3,5,7: *T1 DVD 00
Dec 10 Review
Final Exam: Tue, Dec. 18th,
3:30 PM
* The final four
topics to be determined by a class web page vote;
the actual voting period
(during October) and procedure will be
announced in class.
There will be a number of video
presentations scattered throughout
the lectures. You are responsible for any additive
material. These
videos will not be available
outside of class. Another good reason
to have excellent
attendance.
Get ready for an
educational, eye-opening and fascinating semester!
It has been said that the
farther we are away from a major natural
disaster, the closer we
are to the next one!