Meteorology 445

Laboratory in Atmospheric Physics I

Fall 2002

1 credit (prerequisite or concurrent: METEO 436)

Location:

3 Walker Building (basement)

Meeting Times:

Section 001: Tuesday 11:15 pm – 2:15 pm

Section 002: Tuesday 2:30 pm – 5:30 pm

Section 004: Monday 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm

Instructor:

Nathan B. Magee

Sections 001, 002, 004

426 Walker Building

865-4526

nbm107@psu.edu

Office Hours,

Thursdays & Fridays, 11am-12pm

Grader:

John Stonitsch

jrs390@psu.edu

Required Materials:

* 3.5 inch floppy disks

It is important to bring all the previous lab exercises and reports to each class because the labs build on prior experience, and you will need to refer to what you have already done.

Purpose:

Much of what is known about the atmosphere is learned through instruments. These instruments collect data that are analyzed using computers. Working with data is crucial for appreciating the scientific method. In fact, no theories can be shown to be correct without data. The scientific process also requires that findings be reported in a clear manner. Findings are typically reported using written documents and verbal reports. The purpose of this course is to expose you to the process of collecting and analyzing meteorological data with the aid of computers. You will practice reporting your experimental results through written lab reports.

Class Structure:

q You will be working with a lab partner of your choice for each exercise. As the semester advances, you will decide as a class if you want to remain with the same lab partner for the entire course or switch periodically.

q Each week you will need to turn in one lab report with your partner for the previous week’s lab. I will go over the expected lab format with you during the first class period.

q Before each class period, you are expected to read over the upcoming lab and prepare a one-page summary with your lab partner. The summary should describe in short paragraph format the objective of the lab and what equipment will be used to address the objective. Then in bullet (list) format, you should state how you would achieve this objective. The summary must be contained on one typed page. It will be collected at the very beginning of class and will be graded.

q After collection of the current week’s one-page summaries and the past week’s lab reports, I will start each class period with a basic discussion of the day’s lab exercise. You will then have the rest of the 3-hour lab period to work on the lab experiment. The written lab report will be due at the beginning of the next week’s lab period. Late reports will not be accepted unless you get prior permission from me.

Grading:

The written lab reports will count as 80% of the final grade, while the one-page summaries will count as 20%. There will be no quizzes, no midterm and no final. The grades from the two parts of the rain gauge experiment will be averaged and treated as one lab report grade. Make sure to read the specific instructions on how to best write these reports!

Grading is done using an absolute scale with instructor input for improvement and class participation in borderline cases. Grading is not done on a curve. The scale for each lab report and one-page summary is:

A	94-100
A-	90-93
B+	87-89
B	83-86
B-	80-82
C+	77-79
C	70-76
D	60-69
F	<60

Academic Honesty:

It is against university policy to plagiarize. Plagiarism is the act of passing off another person’s work as one’s own without crediting the source. Specifically, you need to write your lab reports in your own words. Copying a section or sentence from another student is not allowed. A lab report or one-page summary containing plagiarism will be given an F. In this course, both you and your lab partner will turn in the same report with the names of both students on it. Plagiarism would involve one group representing another group’s work as their own.

Class	Dates, section 004 (Mondays)	Dates, sections 001 & 002 (Tuesdays)	Lab
No class	26 August 2 September	27 August 3 September	Read syllabus & print out labs from home
1	9 September	10 September	Lab #1 (Word and Excel) go over rain gauge report
2	16 September	17 September	Lab #2 (A/D board)
3	23 September	24 September	Lab #3 (pyranometer – a 2 week lab)
Non-lab Report due	30 September	1 October	RAIN GAUGE REPORT PART 1 DUE
4	30 September	1 October	finish Lab #3
5	7 October	8 October	Lab #4 (absorption)
No Class	14 October	15 October	NO CLASSES (Fall Break)
Mount Rain Gauge	16 October (Wed.)	16 October (Wed.)	MOUNT RAIN GAUGE
Monitor Rain Gauge	17 – 27 October	17-27 October	TAKE DAILY RAIN MEASUREMENT
6	21 October	22 October	Lab #5 (infrared thermometer part 1)
7	28 October	29 October	Lab #6 (infrared thermometer part 2)
Extra Report due	4 November	5 November	RAIN GAUGE REPORT PART 2 DUE
8	4 November	5 November	Lab #7 or Lab #8 (group 1 starts anemometers – a 2 week lab) (group 2 does thermocouple – a 1 week lab)
9	11 November	12 November	Lab #7 or Lab #8 (group 1 finishes anemometers and group 2 starts anemometers)
10	18 November	19 November	Lab #7 or Lab #8 (group 1 does thermocouple and group 2 finishes anemometers)
11	25 November	26 November	Lab #9 (rainfall variability)
12	2 December	3 December	Turn in Lab Report #9