Course Syllabus

Instructor: Professor Robert Wood (robwood2@uw.edu)

Instructor Office Hours: Tuesdays 11:30-12:20pm (ATG 310), or by appointment

TA: No TA for this class. 

Class Meeting Times: Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri, 11:30am-12:20pm

Class Meeting Location: ATG Building, Room 310

Class web site: https://canvas.uw.edu/courses/1745427

Questions about course material, homework, exams, etc should be posted to the Canvas discussion board on the class web page. Please see us for questions or concerns about the course.  Conceptual issues are best handled in person, after lecture, during office hours, or by special appointment.

Class Schedule: Schedule_ATMS301_Aut2024

Class description

Required Textbook  
Atmospheric Science. An Introductory Survey, Second Edition, by J. M Wallace and P. V. Hobbs.

Grading policy

Your grade will be based on a midterm exam, one comprehensive final exam, homework assignments, and a project.

Grading Policy: 50% homework (including one non-collaborative homework); 35% take-home final; 15% project

No late HW accepted. Each student's lowest scored homework will be dropped in calculating the final grade.

You are expected to attend lectures and participate in class.  There will be no make-up exams except in extreme circumstances in which case you must contact the instructor as soon as possible. Assignments are due by the deadline, no late assignment will be accepted as the answers are published immediately after the deadline.

If you feel your exam was graded incorrectly, you must submit your complaint to the instructor in writing, along with your graded exam, no earlier than 24 hours, and no later than 1 week, after your graded exam is returned to you. Your entire exam will be re-graded.

How to do well in this class

• Attend lectures and ask questions. Read the textbook. If you miss a class, ask a classmate for the notes. 
  
• Complete homework assignments on time.
• Attend and participate in lab class

Policies and Expectations

The students are expected to attend lectures and participate in class. Exams can be made-up only in extreme circumstances, in which case you must contact the instructor at least 24 hours BEFORE the exam is missed. Homework assignments are due at the END of class on the day of the deadline, no late assignments will be accepted without permission of the instructor prior to the day it is due.

In order to guarantee a response to questions about homework assignments or exams,  contact the instructor at least 24 hours before the assignment or exam in question is due. Emails sent within 24 hours of the deadline might not be answered in time. Please send all communications to your instructors from your University of Washington email address (...@uw.edu), to make sure that they are delivered and seen in time. Start the subject line of your email with "ATM S 301", so we can make sure to respond to you as soon as possible.  

If you feel your exam, quiz or homework was graded incorrectly, you must submit your complaint to the instructor in writing, along with your graded exam, quiz or homework, no later than 1 week after the grade was given to you.

How to do well in this class:

• Attend lectures and participate by asking questions. Read the assignments and textbook so you are prepared.
• Don't get behind. 

Class sessions will be recorded so students may watch them later for any reason. The recording will capture the presenter’s audio and computer screen. In the event that students participate online (e.g. through covid quarantining), then student audio and video may be recorded if they share their computer audio and video during the recorded session. The recordings will only be accessible to students enrolled in the course to review materials. These recordings will not be shared with or accessible to the public, and will be deleted after the course ends.

The University and Zoom have FERPA- (link here)  (Links to an external site.)compliant agreements in place to protect the security and privacy of UW Zoom accounts. Students who do not wish to give consent to being recorded should:

1. Choose a Zoom profile name that does not include any personal identifying information like their name or UW Net ID and do not upload a profile picture
2. Not share their computer audio or video during their Zoom sessions

By enrolling in this class, all students agree to not upload the recordings to other platforms.  

Important dates

• FINAL: Wednesday, December 11, Take-home exam 
• Project deadline: Thursday, December 12th 

Student learning goals

• Explain basic physical principles underlying atmospheric composition, structure, and motion
• Appreciate the different ways in which energy and moisture are important for Earth's atmosphere
• Understand conceptually the causes of weather phenomena
• Learn how to read and display weather charts
• Understand how clouds and thunderstorms work

Access and Accommodations

Your experience in this class is important to us, and it is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. Disability Resources for Students (DRS) offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities. If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary or permanent disability that requires accommodations, you are welcome to contact DRS at 206-543-8924 or at uwdrs@uw.edu (link (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.). If you have already established accommodations with DRS, please use the information provided on the website for this course when submitting your Alternative Testing Contract to DRS via their online system. Students with accommodations are solely responsible for submitting the Alternative Testing Contract and scheduling exams with DRS well in advance of exam dates.

If you have a letter from DRS indicating that you have a disability that requires academic accommodations, please present the letter to the instructor so that we can discuss the accommodations you might need in the class. Academic accommodations due to disability will not be made unless the student has a letter from DRS specifying the type and nature of accommodations needed.

Academic Honesty

At the University level, passing anyone else's scholarly work (which can include written material, exam answers, graphics or other images, and even ideas) as your own, without proper attribution, is considered academic misconduct. Plagiarism, cheating, and other misconduct are serious violation of the University of Washington Student Conduct Code (WAC 478-120, link (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.). We expect that you will know and follow university policies on cheating and plagiarism. Any suspected cases of academic misconduct will be handled according to university regulations. For more information, see College of the Environment's Academic Misconduct Policy (linkLinks to an external site.) and the Community Standards and Student Conduct website (link (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.).

Religious Accommodations

Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for the accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy.  (Links to an external site.)Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form available HERE.  (Links to an external site.)

Student Conduct

All UW students agree to abide by, and familiarize themselves with, the Student Conduct Code when enrolling at the University of Washington. All students in ATM S courses are expected to abide by the Student Conduct Code (WAC 489-120, link (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.). The possession, use, or distribution of controlled substances, firearms, and dangerous weapons will not be tolerated. Physical abuse, sexual harassment, or harassment of any kind, for any reason, will not be tolerated. Violations will be immediately reported to the Community Standards and Student Conduct, and possibly to the UW Police Department. If you have questions or concerns regarding an alleged violation of the Student Conduct Code, please contact your instructor, ATM S Student services (206-543-4576, or ecoleman@uw.edu), or Community Standards and Student Conduct (206-685-6194, or cssc@uw.edu).  

Statement About Diversity and Inclusion

I aim to create and maintain an inclusive learning environment in this class.  A diversity of perspectives and experiences are recognized as a source of strength for this class and the study of Earth's atmosphere.  Our goal is that students from all backgrounds will be well-served by this course and that it will be accessible to each of you, regardless of age, culture, ethnicity, gender, race, religion, sexuality, or socioeconomic background. 

I welcome your input on ways to improve the effectiveness of this course.

Safety and Mental Health Resources

Your physical safety and mental health will significantly impact your academic success.  

Any member of the UW community can call SafeCampus anytime to anonymously discuss safety and well-being concerns for yourself or others. If you need to talk to someone right now:

• UW partners with My SSP (Student Support Program) to give students access to real-time, confidential mental health and crisis intervention.  It is available 24/7 and in multiple languages.  You can:
  • Call from within the US or Canada: 1.866.743.7732
  • If calling from outside the US or Canada: 001.416.380.6578
  • Chat with a My SSP counselor on the My SSP website  (Links to an external site.)
• You can also reach out, 24/7 to call Crisis Connections:  866.427.474 or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a Crisis Text Line counselor

For longer-term help, the UW Counseling Center is available for virtual visits.  You can call them at 206.543.1240 

Please see UW Wellbeing websiteLinks to an external site. for the full list of available mental health and safety resources at UW.

IT Support

For technical help, please first try the help page for UW Information TechnologyLinks to an external site.--I have found them to be very responsive and helpful.  If the issue is not resolved with them, please contact the instructor or TA.