Meteorology               Natural Science 1005

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NATS 1005
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Syllabus 
Study Guides
Sample Test
Lab Syllabus

Manuals

• Course manual--ARCC 
• You must have a Fall 2008 copy of this manual to participate in lab.

Recommended Materials

There are a few items strongly recommended for Meteorology lab. All of these are available at the bookstore.

If you do not have these materials, your lab grade will suffer.

• Pencil [Regular lead pencil]
• Eraser [This should be a separate eraser, not part of your pencil. You will be doing a lot of erasing.]
• Colored pencil [Red works well. You will often be marking on maps. If you have colored pencils, this will be easier and clearer.] 
• Blue or black ink pen

Pencil                 Pen                Eraser               Colored pencil

• Be prepared to go outside each week. Many labs have an outdoor component. 
• No smoking during lab

• Lab attendance is required to complete the course objectives.
• You must attend the lab in which you are enrolled.
• The lab meets for the entire 100-minute time period listed in the schedule. You may not always spend 100 minutes in lab, but be prepared for it.  
• If you are late for the lab, you may not be allowed to participate.
• If you are more than 10 minutes late for a lab, you will not be allowed to participate.

Lab Tardiness

• Everyone has circumstances that result in their being late once in a while. However, repeated tardiness will not be tolerated. If you are regularly late to lab, you may not be allowed to participate.

• Labs meet every Monday (section 02) and Tuesday (section 01) that regular classes meet (not during final exam week).
• Exceptions: There will be no labs on the following dates. Instead, there will be a study session open to everyone in the course:
  --Tuesday, September 3
  --Monday, November 10

*****Lab Objectives******

• To give you the chance to experience and learn about Meteorology in a low-stress, hands-on, non-lecture environment.
• To allow you to work with others.

• Note: Many students expect that the purpose of the lab is to enhance and clarify topics presented in lecture. This is NOT the objective of most labs.

Lab grading

• The labs will be graded pass/fail.
• The first time that you turn in an unacceptable lab writeup, you will receive a warning. The lab will be counted as a pass if you have no further unacceptable labs. [If the lab writeup is significantly incomplete, you will receive a failing grade for the lab.]

Grading Criteria

The labs will be graded pass/fail. The lecture syllabus explains in detail how the labs are graded. If pass/fail grading doesn't work, we will use the grading system below.

To help you understand what makes a good lab writeup, I have included the grading criteria I used in the past when labs were assigned grades. Remember, this semester labs will be graded pass/fail.

Please understand the grading criteria

• Generally, the more you put into the lab write-up, the higher your grade will be.
• Completing questions/discussions on a yes/no, limited basis will result in a low score for the lab. You need to do college-level work to do well on the labs. (It isn't as hard as you may think. It usually just takes effort.)
• Remember that the approximate grade listed below is used to adjust your exam scores.
• I expect that most students will do good work in the labs.

Lab grades

7
Outstanding. Every item (answers to questions, graphs, maps, tables) is thoughtful and complete. Many items have additional insights or analysis beyond what is required. Items are easy to read and understand. Shows an outstanding grasp of the topics and and an outstanding effort. Truly among the best handful of labs in the semester.
Grade: 99

6
Solid. Most items (answers to questions, graphs, maps, tables) are thoughtful and complete. Some items have additional insights or analysis beyond what is required. Almost all items are easy to read and understand. Shows a solid grasp of the topics and a solid effort.
Grade: 95

5
Good work. Many items (answers to questions, graphs, maps, tables) are thoughtful and complete. A few items have additional insights or analysis beyond what is required. All or almost all items have been done correctly. Most items are easy to read and understand. Shows a good grasp of the topics and a good effort.
Grade: 91

4
Decent work. Some items (answers to questions, graphs, maps, tables) are thoughtful and complete. One or two items have additional insights or analysis beyond what is required. Almost all items have been done correctly. Most items are easy to read and understand. Shows a decent grasp of the topics and a decent effort.
Grade: 87

3
Barely acceptable. A few or no items (answers to questions, graphs, maps, tables) are thoughtful and complete. No items have additional insights or analysis beyond what is required. Most items have been done correctly. Some items are easy to read and understand. Shows a barely acceptable grasp of the topics and a barely acceptable effort.
Grade: 83

2
Substandard. Some items missing or done incorrectly. Many items have minimal responses or work done. Shows a substandard grasp of the topics and a substandard effort.
Grade: 75

1
Incomplete. Many or most items missing. Items may have been done incorrectly. Shows an incomplete effort and does not demonstrate a grasp of the topics.
Approximate grade: 50

0
Nothing. Basically, little or nothing turned in.
Grade: 0