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Lab Sections:

• Lab 200, M 11:00-12:50, Instructor: 
  
• Lab 201, M 1:00-2:50, Instructor: 
  
• Lab 202, M 3:00-4:50, Instructor: 
  
• Lab 203, Tu 2:00-3:50, Instructor:  
• Lab 204, Tu 4:00-5:50, Instructor:  
• Lab 205, W 11:00-12:50, Instructor: 
  
• Lab 206, W 4:00-5:50, Instructor:
  

Lab Grade. Lab grades are assigned by the lab instructors on the basis of pre-lab assignments, lab exercises, and class participation. The lowest lab (prelab and lab exercise combined) will be dropped, and the final lab grade is based on the best 10 labs. The short paper assignment is also graded by your TA and becomes part of your lab grade. The lab is worth 50% of your overall course grade (150 of 300 points). A passing lab grade (at least half of the lab points) is required to pass the class. Grades in lab are generally higher than on the lecture exams, so it is to your advantage to maintain a high lab grade.

Assignment    Points     Description
Pre-labs           30        Answers to chapter review questions (best 10 of 11).
Lab exercises   70        Assignments handed in during lab, and lab participation (best 10 of 11).
Short paper      50        Paper covering the physical geography of a place in the United States.
Lab Total        150
 
Attendance Policy. The lab attendance policy for this class is strictly enforced. Every student is allowed one unexcused absence during the semester. Since the lowest lab grade is dropped, missing one lab will not affect your semester grade. Beyond one absence, missing labs will seriously hurt your lab grade because make-up work  is not be accepted except under extraordinary circumstances. Contact your lab instructor if you know you are going to be absent in advance. If you are going to miss your lab section, you can consult the list on the course website and attend another lab section that week.

Pre-Labs. The pre-lab assignments are found on the first page of each chapter in the Student Workbook for Physical Geography. Each week you will be asked to complete readings from the textbook in preparation for lab, and you will be required to hand in a pre-lab assignment based on several review questions. The pre-lab readings help prepare for lab and keep up-to-date with the lecture topics.

Lab Exercises. Lab activities for this class are in the Student Workbook for Physical Geography.  Be sure to bring both the Student Workbook and textbook to lab every week. The labs include campus field trips, educational videos, experiments, interpreting geographic data, and map analysis. Your instructor will usually require you to hand in pages from the workbook at the end of the lab period. Your lab exercise grade also includes consideration of participation, attendance or tardiness, and overall effort in lab. The main topics covered in the lab exercises will also be included on the exams in lecture. Most lab exercises cannot be made up at a later date since they involve field trips, experiments, discussion of videos, and other group activities.

Short Paper Assignment. The short paper is due at the beginning of lecture on Monday, Nov. 14.  It is a 2-3 page paper that asks you to choose a location in the United States and discuss its climate, vegetation, and soils. It will be read by your lab instructor, and will be considered part of your lab grade. The paper is worth 50 points (the same as an exam). It is important that you hand in your paper on time - late papers will incur a penalty of -10 points (out of 50) per day. The paper assignment and data worksheet are included on the last 3 pages of the Student Workbook, and are posted on the course web site. Click here for the short paper assignment.

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Lab Schedule: