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| HOME | GEL3330 | Syllabus | Schedule | FAQ | Professor | Radar | USGS Water | ||
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| HOME | GEL3330 | Syllabus | Schedule | FAQ | Professor | Radar | USGS Water | ||
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Course Description:
Hydrology is the study of the earth's waters - their movement, chemistry, and distribution. This course will focus on the types of data collection, analysis and decision-making useful to government agencies, businesses, and individuals. We will do field, laboratory, classroom and computer work related to stream flow, flooding, ground water flow, water wells, water chemistry and contamination. You will wade in the Tioga River to measure it's velocity, use spreadsheets to calculate the Tioga's discharge, use online government databases, estimate 100-year flood-levels using a spreadsheet and graphing program, monitor water levels in local wells, map the chemistry of water in the Tioga River, and do calculations that will enable you to map the protection area of a water-supply well. Nearly all of your work will be done in the context of an environmental professional who works for a consulting company or a government agency. You will write letters to clients, prepare quotations for projects, collect and interpret hydrologic data, write field reports for agency files, make presentations to your peers, and review the work of other hydrologists. Most of this course is centered around field work, writing, and math-based assignments. Be prepared to spend a good portion of your time in streams and computer labs. The level of physical exertion is light but the math problems will be so lengthy that you will need to do them using a spreadsheet instead of a calculator. You will also need to evaluate data from government databases and use that data to solve practical problems. The course will give you plenty of practical skills related to hydrology and will count towards your writing-across-the-curriculum requirement. Topics included in the course are intended for students engaged in environmental or earth science studies. There are no prerequisites.
Course Format:
Class sessions will meet in Belknap 203 with an anticipated enrollment
of about 25 students. Meetings will take place between 11:30 AM on Tuesdays
and Thursdays, however, there will be a few field sessions that take
place outside of these regularly scheduled meetings.
Your grade will be determined by your performance
on three exams, computer-based assignments, writing
assignments, math-based assignments and field work. Your instructor is
demanding and maintains high academic standards. You should come to the
course expecting to work very hard.
Textbook:
There is no textbook for this course. Your reading assignments will be
mostly from government websites, summaries prepared by your instructor,
and items placed on the course website.
Software / Computer Skills:
This course has an expectation that you will have access to a web-connected
PC running Windows 95 (or greater), Internet Explorer or another browser,
Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Paint (or another graphics editor). You will
use Internet Explorer to access the course website, download data from
government databases and submit online assignments. Powerpoint will be
used to access lecture files; Excel to do calculations and graphing, Word
to prepare letters and reports; and Paint to prepare maps and diagrams.
It is up to you to acquire the skills and software to complete your
work. If you do not personally have these tools, they are available at
several public computing labs on campus (see the student technology web
page for locations). Your classmates can be an important source of assistance.
Materials: An important part of this course will be the illustrations, charts, and maps that your instructor will draw in class. Many of these will be complex and your instructor will use color to emphasize important details. It will be very important for you to have these recorded in your notes for study purposes. Bringing a few colored pencils or markers to class will help you prepare clear illustrations for your notes, assignments, and exams. Color can significantly improve the clarity of your work and is easy to use. Take advantage of it.
Email Communications: All Mansfield University students are given an e-mail account that should be used for all electronic communications about academic matters. It is your responsibility to learn how to use your MU e-mail account and check it on a regular basis. You are responsible for any announcement or assignment that is sent to your MU e-mail account. To assure that your academic information remains confidential, your instructor will not respond to requests for private information with a return address that is outside of the MU e-mail system.
Course Website: All of your assignments will be posted on the course website - geologyeducation.com. Every student should plan for regular and frequent use of personal or University computers to access this website and complete these assignments. Your instructor will provide access information on the first day of class.
Attendance and Expectations: You are expected to attend every class, complete in-class quizzes and submit homework assignments. All quizzes and assignments must be submitted on time and according to instructions. They will not be accepted at other places or at other times. If you are absent or fail to complete and deliver an assignment according to instructions you will not receive credit for your work. You should complete and submit all homework well ahead of schedule so that computer or personal problems will not interfere with your work as assignment deadlines approach. Requests for deadline extensions or exceptions to this policy will be denied.
Seating: Seating assignments will be determined by the instructor. If you need to sit in a special location to see, hear, or gain access please notify the instructor on or before the first day of class so that accommodations can be made.
Exams:
All exam dates will be announced at least one week in advance and posted
on the course website. Most exam questions will require a short answer
of between one and five words. However, there will also be many questions
that involve calculations, computer skills, finding and utilizing information
from government databases, geologic problems, annotated drawings or short
essays. Be prepared for anything!
Calculators may be used on the exams but they may not be shared and they
must be available for the instructor's inspection at the beginning of the examimation period.
Calculators may not be pre-programmed and may not have any course-related information stored within them. Devices capable of wireless communication may not be used during exams. Anyone who has an unapproved electronic device in view during an exam
will receive a zero on that exam.
Each exam will contain information from lectures, assignments, field work, and readings.
All of your answers must have correct grammar,
punctuation, and spelling. Numerical answers must have complete and correct
units of measure.
Exams will begin promptly at the beginning of class on the scheduled date. If you arrive after the first
student has left the room, you have missed the exam. If you ask to leave the room after the exam
begins you must hand-in your paper or agree to take the make-up exam at the end of the semester.
You may review your graded exam during the class meeting immediately
after the exam is given. After review, all exams must be returned to
the instructor. If you have an unexcused absence on the date that an exam
is reviewed, you forfeit the opportunity for review.
Make-up Exam Policy: Any student who misses an exam for any reason will be able to take a make-up exam at the end of the semester. This make-up exam will be given during the final examination period and will contain questions from topics covered throughout the semester. Students who miss the final exam, or take it outside of the scheduled final exam period are required to take the make-up exam.
Grades: Letter grades will be based upon the percentage of possible points earned. These are summarized in the chart below. Requests for special consideration, exceptions or extra credit will be denied.
Academic Integrity: Your instructor's goal is to provide an equal opportunity for every student in the course. He will make a planned effort to maintain academic integrity on every exam. For written assignments, students are expected to submit original work. Where outside sources have been used full citations must be provided. All incidents of academic dishonesty or plagiarism will be reported to the Provost's Office and will result in penalty or failure of the course. Additional information on academic honesty can be found in the Mansfield University Password.
Inclement Weather Policy: Your instructor intends to teach class every day that the University is open. However, there may be days that roads in the campus service area are closed or dangerous. On those days, you should use to your own judgment. You know the conditions of the roads in your area, the condition of your vehicle, your driving skills, and your other responsibilities. If you have any concerns on these matters, err on the side of safety. If there is a day that local schools (K-12 schools in Tioga County) are closed due to road conditions, the class meeting on that date will not include any hand-in assignments or quizzes. In addition, all homework due on that date will be accepted without penalty at the designated time on the date of the next class meeting. If there is a day that weather prevents your instructor from teaching the class, he will place a message on his answering machine at 570-662-4615 and a message on the Mansfield University course cancellations website - as long as telephone and internet access is available from Wellsboro, Pennsylvania. If you check these places and there is not a class cancellation announcement, then you should assume that class will be held. This announcement will be in place at least two hours before the scheduled class, unless conditions causing the cancellation develop at a later time.
Office Hours: Your instructor is available for consultations in Belknap Hall 205-C during the times listed on his Office Hours webpage. If none of the posted times work for you other mutually convenient opportunities can be arranged. Office hours are dedicated to your needs and interests. You are welcome and can visit or phone (570-662-4615) to discuss grades, careers, assignments, course topics, and other items of importance to you.
Your Instructor: Hobart King is a graduate of California University of Pennsylvania (B.S. Geology, 1975) and West Virginia University (M.S. Geology, 1978; Ph.D. Geology, 1982). From 1980 until 1994 he worked as a geologist at the West Virginia Geological Survey. There he did work in coal geology, economic geology and environmental geology. During his last seven years at WVGES he directed the Economic Minerals and Geologic Hazards Section. He
joined the Mansfield University faculty in 1994 and serves as advisor for the
Earth and Space Science Education Program, the Geology Minor, and the MU Geology
Club. His main professional interests are developing computer-based problem-solving
assignments for introductory geology courses, mapping and GPS software, and
teaching with technology. He is the author of "Hazard City: Assignments in Applied
Geology," a CD that accompanies introductory geology textbooks published by
Prentice Hall. He is also fascinated
with the web and is the publisher of Geology.com.
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