ATMS 101 - Winter 2013

Instructor: Jerome Patoux
316 ATG Bldg. - Box 351640
Seattle, WA 98195-1640
(206) 685-1736

General description: In this class, we will give you an overview of the "atmospheric sciences," from Seattle weather to tornadoes, and from wind, clouds, precipitation, to hurricanes. We will also look into weather forecasting, air pollution, and climate. Our goal is to help you develop an understanding of what happens in the atmosphere, around you and around the planet. Rather than asking you to memorize facts and numbers, we will ask you to think, reason, and explain. (No math.)

Lectures: 10:30-11:20 MTWTh, Kane 220

Office hours: M 11:30-12:30 (ATG 316)

Required textbook: Any version of C. Donald Ahrens' Weather, Essentials of Meteorology, or Meteorology, Thomson Brooks/Cole. You can find cheap used copies at the UW bookstore and on amazon.

Optional (but highly recommended) workbook: J. Patoux. ATM S 101 Weather Workbook, University Readers, 2012. To be ordered online through University Readers (https://students.universityreaders.com/store/).

TAs:

Quiz sections:

Office hours (ATG 402):

CLUE: Your TAs will facilitate two sessions within the framework of CLUE (Center for Learning and Undergraduate Enrichment), a highly successful Evening-Study program launched three years ago by the Office of Undergraduate Education. CLUE represents an opportunity for you to delve more deeply into the coursework for this class by studying, reviewing, and discussing it actively with your classmates. CLUE tries to recreate a more intimate, small-college-type setting than the large-lecture classroom afford. Last year, thousands of student visits occurred at CLUE, and the students have reported in great numbers and with great appreciation how academically enriching these opportunities have been for them. We encourage you to participate this year. A session will be held in Mary Gates Hall on:

CLUE website: http://depts.washington.edu/clue/index.htm

Course grading:

Homework: You will be responsible for completing weekly homework on-line at https://canvas.uw.edu/ The homework will be posted each Thursday (except on the week preceding the exams) and will remain open until the following Thursday, at the beginning of class, 10:30 a.m. Late homework will not be accepted. We recommend that you submit your homework Wednesday night at the latest and wait not until Thursday morning, to avoid electronic submission problems too close to the deadline.
You can take and submit the homework as many times as you want: it is the last submission that counts. Solutions will be posted after the due date. The exams will borrow in part from the homework. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you study and understand the content of the homework. It is designed to help you prepare for the tests.
(Note: The practice homework questions in your workbook are additional homework questions to help you prepare for the tests. You do not need to turn them in.)

You can also post questions to your TAs on the canvas website.

Quizzes: Your TA will give short (5-minute) quizzes in your quiz section. There will be no make-up quizzes. You will be allowed one free drop for the quizzes (worst grade, sick, etc.). You should use the quizzes to evaluate where you stand in the class and what you do not understand, or what you need to work on.

Exams: The midterm (50 min) will take place on Monday, February 11 from 10:30 to 11:20, and the final exam (110 min) will take place on Monday, March 18, from 8:30 to 10:20 a.m.
Both exams will take place in Kane 220, unless mentioned otherwise in class and on this webpage. Check the webpage before each exam.
The exams will cover the lectures, homeworks and quiz sections. They will be multiple choice and closed book, closed notes. Review sessions will take place in quiz section before the exams. There will be no make-up exams, except in cases of serious illness or death in the family. You must be excused in advance by telephone or e-mail.

Readings: You are strongly encouraged to read the chapters from Ahrens corresponding to the lectures. I will post the chapters and pages on the "Schedule" webpage as we go along.

Last modified: Saturday, 12 January 2013