38:170 Laboratory
Hello, my name is Ms. Wenonah Fraser van Heyst and I am the lab instructor for the 38:170 course How Earth Works (HEW). Our lab classroom is on the 3rd floor of the Brodie Building, room BB 3-47. This not where the course lectures are held with Dr. Wiseman. I can be reached at fraserw@brandonu.ca via email, or in Teams [ @FraserW ].
You will have registered for a lab section on either Wednesday (z01) or Thursday (z02) afternoon from 1:40 to 4:30 PM. The first lab sessions will be held on September 16 or 17. Please come to the section for which you have registered.
At your first lab period, each student will receive a lab manual consisting of the preprinted assignment worksheets plus a topographic map for individual use. During the term, there will be weekly lab assignments, and two lab quizzes. The lab periods start with an “introduction to this week’s lab topic” followed by time to work on the current week’s assignment.
Lab assignments are due by the end of that day’s lab period.
A student’s lab mark in How Earth Works will be based on the following:
- eight (8) in-class lab assignments (Labs #1-8)
- one (1) take-home / virtual lab assignment (Lab #9)
- two (2) in-class lab quizzes (Lab Quiz 1 & Lab Quiz 2)
The weightings or proportions that labs represent in the overall final course grade are posted on Dr. Wiseman’s main website for 38:170 How Earth Works.
Supplies: You will need the COURSE TEXTBOOK (digital or hardcopy) for most lab assignments; please bring it to the labs. In addition, you will need to provide your own CALCULATOR (a basic calculator is fine), a 30-cm RULER with millimetre (1-mm) divisions and, on occasion, COLOURED PENCILS (or coloured pens). You will write directly on the lab’s assignment worksheets and hand them in, so bring a pencil or pen to record your answers on those pages of the lab manual.
Microsoft TEAMS: Please refer to the “1 Laboratory Assignment” channel within Dr. Wiseman’s How Earth Works 2026-27 class Team for lab-related communication through the term.
TENTATIVE LAB SCHEDULE
| Lab Dates 2026 | Lab # | Topic(s) | Textbook (Arbogast) |
| Sept 16|17 | 1 | Topographic Maps – Geographic & Projected Coordinates | Chapter 2 (pages 13-19); map sheet 62G/13 |
| Sept 23|24 | 2 | Topographic Maps – Scale, Distance, Area & Direction; Dominion Land Survey | Chapter 2 (pages 19-33); map sheet 62G/13 |
| Sept30|Oct01 | n/a | NO 38:170 HEW LABS THIS WEEK (Truth & Reconciliation Day on Sep 30th) | |
| Oct 07|08 | 3 | Field Mapping Techniques & GPS; Rural Addresses in Manitoba | Chapter 2 (pages 40-41); map sheet 62G/13 |
| Oct 14|15 | 4 | Elevation – Isolines & Vertical Profiles; Time Zones | Chapter 2 (pages 20-24); Chapter 3 (pages 51-54,) |
| Oct 21|22 | 5 | Earth-Sun Relationships, Insolation & Seasons; Climographs | Chapter 3 (pages 47-60) & Chapter 4 (pages 83-84); Chapter 9 (pages 213-229) |
| Oct 28|29 | QUIZ | LAB QUIZ #1 (Labs 1 to 4) | [bring protractor, ruler & calculator] |
| Nov 04|05 | 6 | Water Balance (Soil-Water Budget) | Chapter 7 (pages 147-148), Chapter 11 (pages 279-280) |
| Nov 11|12 | n/a | NO 38:170 HEW LABS THIS WEEK (Fall Study Break & Remembrance Day) | |
| Nov 18|19 | 7 | Flood Rating and Frequency; [Soil Properties – tentative/pending] | Chapter 16 (pages 433-437); [Soils: Chapter 11 (pages 286-289)] |
| Nov 25|26 | QUIZ | LAB QUIZ #2 (Labs 5 to 7, primarily); [Lab #9 (Google Earth) introduced] | |
| Dec 02|03 | 8 | Glacial Landforms | Chapter 17 (pages 463-479) |
| Dec 09|– | 9* | Google Earth Virtual Field Trip [ON-LINE]. * ASSIGNMENT DUE BY the last day of classes, Friday December 11th. | Chapters 14, 15, 16 & 17 |