GEOG 1000: Physical Geography (PS)

Instructor: George Ramjoue

Contact Information: Canvas
Geosciences Department Website (Links to an external site.)

Required Material
Textbook: Dynamic Earth (Links to an external site.), created by R. Adam Dastrup
Supplemental websites: SLCC Student ePortfolio (Links to an external site.), Canvas, ArcGIS
Online (Links to an external site.), and Google Earth (Links to an external site.)

Course Description
A scientific and spatial understanding of natural processes that shape the surface of our planet and the
systems that exist between the atmosphere, climate, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere within the
context of the human environment.

College-wide Learning Outcomes

The Core Themes of SLCC's Mission focuses on Access and Success, Transfer Education, Workforce
Education and Community Engagement. As such, all courses and programs address one or more of the
below College-Wide Learning Outcomes. Upone successful completion of any program at SLCC, students
should:

Acquire substantive knowledge in the discipline of their choice sufficient for further study, and/or
demonstrate competencies required by employers to be hired and succeed in the workplace.

Communicate effectively.

Develop quantitative literacy necessary for their chosen field of study.

Think critically.

Develop the knowledge and skills to be civically engaged, and/or to work with others in a
professional and constructive manner.

Course Learning Outcomes

In order to fulfill the goals of the College-wide Learning Outcomes, the following course learning
outcomes have been established for this course. Upon completion of this course a person educated in the
course should be able to demonstrate a general understanding of the following essential learning
outcomes:

demonstrate proficiency in the essentials, technology, and methodology of geography

demonstrate proficiency in lithospheric systems (i.e. plate tectonics, earthquakes and volcanoes,
weathering, mass movement, river systems, and landforms).

demonstrate proficiency in hydrospheric systems (i.e. atmospheric water and weather, water
resources, climate systems, and climate change).

demonstrate proficiency in energy and atmospheric systems (i.e. solar energy, seasons,
atmospheric energy, temperature, atmospheric pressure, and atmospheric and oceanic circulations).

demonstrate proficiency in biosphere systems (i.e. soils, ecosystems, terrestrial biomes, and the
interaction of humans with the environment.

SLCC General Education Statement

This course fulfills the Physical Science requirement for the General Education Program at Salt Lake
Community College. It is designed not only to teach the information and skills required by the discipline,
but also to develop vital workplace skills and to teach strategies and skills that can be used for life-long
learning. General Education courses teach basic skills as well as broaden a students knowledge of a
wide range of subjects. Education is much more than the acquisition of facts; it is being able to use
information in meaningful ways in order to enrich ones life.
While the subject of each course is important and useful, we become truly educated through making
connections of such varied information with the different methods of organizing human experience that
are practiced by different disciplines. Therefore, this course, when combined with other General Education
courses, will enable you to develop broader perspectives and deeper understandings of your community
and the world, as well as challenge previously held assumptions about the world and its inhabitants.

ePortfolio Statement
In order for SLCC students to have a place to display and chronicle projects that demonstrate
discipline-specific skills, critical thinking, and collaboration, SLCC has instituted a Gen Ed ePortfolio
requirement in which students display their work from General Education courses. Students taking
Gen Ed courses must place significant projects from those courses on a website they create that
acts as a virtual portfolio of accomplishments in each course. In this way, prospective employers,
community members, and transfer institutions can easily see the best of what each student has
accomplished while attending SLCC. Your ePortfolio will allow you to include your educational goals,
describe your extracurricular activities, and post your resume. When you finish your time at SLCC,
your ePortfolio will then be a multi-media showcase of your educational experience.
Visit http://www.slcc.edu/gened/eportfolio (Links to an external site.) for more details.
You may visit the ePortfolio Lab in the basement of the Taylorsville Redwood Library during business
hours, and staff will help you without an appointment. Finally, questions regarding the ePortfolio can be
directed to eportfolio@slcc.edu.

Grading Scale

94-100 = A
74-76 = C

90-93 = A70-73 = C-

87-89 = B+
67-69 = D+

84-86 = B
64-66 = D

80-83 = B60-63 = D-

77-79 = C+
0-59 = E

Assignment Group Breakdown

Reading Quizzes - 220 points (20.20%)
Assignments - 165 points (15.2%)
Discussions - 250 points (23.04%)
Exams - 400 points (36.87%)
Video - Planet Ocean 50 points (4.61%)
Total Points - 1085 points (100.00%)

Departmental Incomplete Grade Policy

Students must be passing and have completed 80% of the course work in order to be granted an
incomplete. Students are responsible for making arrangements to complete the course.

Late Work
I expect all assignments and discussions to be turned in on time. Late work will not be accepted unless
you are maimed, very sick, or otherwise incapable of using your fingers or your brain. If you experience
such calamities, you may ask for an extension providing documentation.

Online Participation and Attendance

For this course participation is attendance. Simply filling an electronic seat space is not participating in
the class. In my view, being intellectually absent from class discussions/activities is no different than
being physically absent for class. I expect you to come to log into Canvas DAILY, read the assigned
textbook chapters, and engage in online class discussions/activities.

Plagiarism
Students commit plagiarism when they submit another persons work as their own. Plagiarism also
includes the failure to attribute unique phrases, passages, or ideas to their original source (I will not grade
any papers that do not contain both in-text and Works Cited citations). Plagiarism is a violation of the
student code of conduct. Students who commit plagiarism will receive either an automatic E for that
assignment or an E for the course, depending upon the severity of the plagiarism.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

Students with medical, psychological, learning or other disabilities desiring accommodations or services
under ADA, must contact the Disability Resource Center (Links to an external site.) (DRC ). The DRC
determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of these accommodations and services for the
college." Please contact the DRC at the Student Center, Suite 244, Redwood Campus, 4600 So.
Redwood Rd, 84123. Phone: (801) 957-4659, TTY: 957-4646.

20 U.S.C.A. Section 1681 (a): TITLE IX

No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied

benefit of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal
funds.
Examples of violations (but not limited to):

Sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and sexually motivated physical conduct

Overt or subtle pressure for sexual activity

Sexually offensive verbalization including remarks, teasing, slurs, and innuendo

Repeated inappropriate jokes or comments about sex or gender specific traits

Conduct that is demeaning or derisive and occurs substantially because of ones gender

Sexual assault

Sexual Violence

Gender-based disparate treatment

Violations can occur in any college environment, such as (but not limited to):

Field Trips

Classrooms

Student Clubs

Athletics

Transportation

On Campus Events

If you have questions or concerns regarding your rights or responsibilities, or if you would like to file a Title
IX complaint please contact:
StudentsDr. Marlin Clark, Dean of Students, 801-957-4776, Taylorsville-Redwood Campus, STC 276 A
Employees or Community membersKen Stonebrook, Title IX & Discrimination Manager, 801-957-5027, Taylorsville-Redwood Campus, AAB
211G
Online Reporting Form- http://www.slcc.edu/eeo/title-ix/complaint.aspx (Links to an external site.)

Salt Lake Community College has a strong prohibition against RETALIATION! The college does not
tolerate acts of retaliation against anyone for engaging in filing a complaint or participating in an
investigation.

Date

Details

Wed Jan 13, 2016

01.3: Reading Quiz - Introduction to Physical Geography

Fri Jan 15, 2016

01.2: Role of Science Discussion

Sat Jan 23, 2016

01.1: Seven Wonders of the World

Mon Jan 25, 2016

02.1: Reading Quiz - The Universe

Mon Feb 1, 2016

04.2: Reading Quiz - Planet Earth

Fri Feb 5, 2016

02.2: ePortfolio Set-up

Wed Feb 10, 2016

04.1: The Story of Earth Discussion

Fri Feb 12, 2016

Unit 1 Test (Chapters 1, 2, & 3)

Mon Feb 15, 2016

05.3: Reading Quiz - Plate Tectonics

Wed Feb 17, 2016

05.2: Colliding Continents Discussion

Fri Feb 19, 2016

05.1: Image Interpretation

06.2: Reading Quiz - Tectonic Forces

Wed Feb 24, 2016

06.1: Yellowstone Supervolcano Discussion

Mon Feb 29, 2016

07.1: Reading Quiz - Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition

Fri Mar 4, 2016

02.3: ePortfolio Discussion

Mon Mar 7, 2016

6.4 Erosion/Deposition Assignment

Mon Mar 14, 2016

Unit 2 Test (Chapters 4, 5, & 6 - Unit 2)

Wed Mar 16, 2016

08.2: Reading Quiz - Fresh Water

Fri Mar 18, 2016

08.1: Water Scarcity Discussion

Mon Mar 21, 2016

09.3: Reading Quiz - Oceans and Coastal Environments

Date

Details

Fri Mar 25, 2016

Video - Planet Ocean

Tue Mar 29, 2016

09.2 Oceans and Coral Reefs Discussion

Thu Mar 31, 2016

10.1: Reading Quiz - The Atmosphere

Mon Apr 4, 2016

Unit 3 Test (Chapters 7, 8, & 9)

Tue Apr 5, 2016

11.1: Reading Quiz - Weather Processes and Systems

Mon Apr 18, 2016

10.2: Weather Forecasting

Thu Apr 21, 2016

11.2: EF 5 Joslin Tornado Discussion

Mon Apr 25, 2016

12.3: Reading Quiz - Climate Systems & Change

Tue Apr 26, 2016

12.2: Climate Systems and Change Discussion

Wed May 4, 2016

Unit 4 Test (Chapters 10, 11, & 12)