{"id":1906,"date":"2020-08-18T12:29:01","date_gmt":"2020-08-18T17:29:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/people.brandonu.ca\/wiseman\/?page_id=1906"},"modified":"2025-09-03T08:31:49","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T13:31:49","slug":"38-170-how-earth-works","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/people.brandonu.ca\/wiseman\/courses\/38-170-how-earth-works\/","title":{"rendered":"38:170 How Earth Works: Applied Physical Geography"},"content":{"rendered":"

Instructors:<\/strong> \u00a0Lecture, Dr. Dion J. Wiseman – 38:170 Laboratory, Ms. Wenonah van Heyst
\nOffice:<\/strong> Brodie Room 4-07
\nOffice Hrs:<\/strong> Monday, Wednesday, Friday; 11 – 12 PM; or by Appointment
\nPhone:<\/strong> 727-9774
\nEmail:<\/strong> wiseman@brandonu.ca<\/a><\/p>\n

Required Text:<\/h2>\n

Arbogast, Ford, and Dagesse. Discovering Physical Geography,<\/em> 1st Canadian Edition. John Wiley and Sons, 2018. Available through the BU bookstore as either a loose-leaf text or in electronic format. Another option is to rent the textbook for just the semester; more information is available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Course Description<\/h2>\n

Physical Geography is the study of the physical components and processes operating within Earth\u2019s atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere. This course will introduce basic geographic concepts and examine a variety of these systems in a spatial context. Topics discussed include coordinate systems, maps, and map projections; GIS, remote sensing, and GPS technology; solar energy and radiation balances; weather and climate; volcanism, earthquakes, and plate tectonics; weathering and mass movements; fluvial, eolian, coastal, and glacial landforms and processes; and soils.<\/p>\n

Tentative Course Outline<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Topic<\/strong><\/td>\n\u00a0Description <\/strong><\/td>\nChapter(s)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/td>\nIntroduction, Earth Four Spheres, and the Systems Approach<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\nBasic Concepts, Location, and Geospatial Technologies<\/td>\n2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\nEarth Sun Relations and the Reasons for the Seasons<\/td>\n3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Test I<\/strong><\/td>\nFriday, October 3rd<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\nSolar Energy and the Global Energy Balance<\/td>\n4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\nStructure of the Atmosphere and Temperature Controls<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6<\/td>\nAtmospheric Pressure and Global Circulation Patterns<\/td>\n6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Test II<\/strong><\/td>\nFriday, October 31st<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7<\/td>\nWater in the Atmosphere, at Earth’s Surface, and Subsurface<\/td>\n7 (to pg. 148) & 15<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8<\/td>\nEarth\u2019s Internal Structure, Tectonics, and Volcanism<\/td>\n12 & 13<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9<\/td>\nWeathering and Mass Movements<\/td>\n14<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10<\/td>\nFluvial Processes and Landforms<\/td>\n16<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11<\/td>\nGlacial Processes and Landforms<\/td>\n17<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Final<\/strong><\/td>\nThursday, December 18th,\u00a0 2-4 PM<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Grading Scheme<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Test I & Chapter Quizzes<\/td>\n20%*<\/td>\n<\/td>\n> 90%<\/td>\nA+<\/td>\n<\/td>\n70 \u2013 72%<\/td>\nB-<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Test II & Chapter Quizzes<\/td>\n20%*<\/td>\n85 \u2013 89%<\/td>\nA<\/td>\n<\/td>\n67 \u2013 69%<\/td>\nC+<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Final & Chapter Quizzes<\/td>\n20%*<\/td>\n80 \u2013 84%<\/td>\nA-<\/td>\n<\/td>\n63 \u2013 66%<\/td>\nC<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lab Assignments & Quizzes<\/td>\n40%<\/td>\n77 \u2013 79%<\/td>\nB+<\/td>\n<\/td>\n60 \u2013 62%<\/td>\nC-<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Total<\/td>\n100%<\/td>\n73 \u2013 76%<\/td>\nB<\/td>\n<\/td>\n50 \u2013 59%<\/td>\nD<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
* Variably weighted, best exam vs. worst exam +\/- 5 percent.<\/td>\n< 50%<\/td>\nF<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\u25caOptional Extra Credit Assignments<\/a>:<\/h4>\n

A book review <\/span>OR<\/span> short essay on \u201cWhy Geography Matters\u201d may be submitted at any time before the last day of class for extra credit. See the link above for additional information.<\/span><\/p>\n

38:170 Laboratory<\/a>:<\/h4>\n

Labs are scheduled on either Tuesday or Wednesday afternoons. There are 9 lab assignments worth 24% and two lab quizzes worth 16%. Following the link above for a detailed lab schedule and other important information.<\/p>\n

Microsoft Teams<\/h2>\n

In addition to the course website, I will use Microsoft Teams to manage the course. This includes distributing lecture notes prior to class, posting and receiving chapter quizzes, administering tests, and responding to questions outside of class time. I will provide you with an access code and instructions on how to join our How Earth Works Team via your BU email prior to the first class.<\/p>\n

Acceptable Use of Online Resources<\/h2>\n

The most useful resources to you for this course will be the required textbook, laboratory manual, lecture notes provided to you, and your own notes taken during class. Online resources, including AI (e.g. ChatGPT), may be used to look up terms and definitions or acquire additional information about key concepts discussed throughout the course, but should not be used when completing quizzes, exams, or laboratory assignments.\u00a0 Online resources may be used as a resource for researching optional extra credit assignments, provided that any information obtained is properly referenced, and they are not used to generate content that is presented as your own.<\/p>\n

Important BU Statements and Policies<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Instructors: \u00a0Lecture, Dr. Dion J. Wiseman – 38:170 Laboratory, Ms. Wenonah van Heyst Office: Brodie Room 4-07 Office Hrs: Monday, Wednesday, Friday; 11 – 12 PM; or by Appointment Phone: 727-9774 Email: wiseman@brandonu.ca Required Text: Arbogast, Ford, and Dagesse. Discovering Physical Geography, 1st Canadian Edition. John Wiley and Sons, 2018. Available through the BU bookstore […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":0,"parent":19,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1906","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.brandonu.ca\/wiseman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.brandonu.ca\/wiseman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.brandonu.ca\/wiseman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.brandonu.ca\/wiseman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.brandonu.ca\/wiseman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1906"}],"version-history":[{"count":64,"href":"https:\/\/people.brandonu.ca\/wiseman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1906\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2367,"href":"https:\/\/people.brandonu.ca\/wiseman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1906\/revisions\/2367"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.brandonu.ca\/wiseman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.brandonu.ca\/wiseman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}