Jon Ahlquist 9/7/2006MET1010 Intro to the Atmosphere 1MET1010Intro to the AtmosphereSchedule for first day:Everyone must sign in first day.Athletes must sign in at beginning of every class.Examine course syllabus and semester calendarOffice hoursDiscuss how to study and scientific methodOverview of textbookDr. Jon Ahlquist <[email protected]>Office: 421 Love Bldg, 644-1558; Lab: 308 Love, 644-7511TA: Mr. Will Sexton <[email protected]>Office: 501B Love BldgSyllabus & Calendar Distribute syllabus and calendar These will also be posted at class Web site:http://ahlquist.met.fsu.edu Important: Get an email account by going tohttp://www.ucs.fsu.edu; click on “Get started” I’ll be sending you lots of email with answers to student questions and other information. Your email account will be needed to access your MET1010 test scores at http://campus.fsu.eduOffice Hours Dr. Ahlquist MWF 12:30-1:10, Tues & Thurs 11:00-12:15 By appointment (ask after class or send email) Check office (421 Love) or lab (308 Love). If more than a few attend, check conference room (402 Love) and 5thfloor classroom in Love Bldg. Teaching assistant: Mr. Will Sexton, 501B Love You should make frequent use of office hours. Typically, students in the top quarter of the class visit the most, but everybody is welcome and should come in for office hours.Visiting a professormay seem intimidatingProfessors may not seemvery sensitiveDon’t be shy about office hours.Professors want to help.Dr. Jon Ahlquist At FSU since 1981 PhD: meteorology MS: planetary science BA: physics & math Hobbies: violin, viola, singing, computers, puzzles, running Family: wife and two daughtersJon Ahlquist 9/7/2006MET1010 Intro to the Atmosphere 2Textbook & other references Our textbook is the most common “met” book in the country. Publisher’s Web site: http://now.brookscole.com/ahrens8 Other good references (about $20 each) The Weather Book by Jack Williams The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Weatherby David Ludlum Internet searches are good, but any idiot can post a Web page, so beware. Government sources are more reliable.Example: At http://www.google.com, enter:tornado site:govThe extra “site:gov” will restrict the search to Web sites whose addresses end in “gov,” which are government Web sites. Keep your college books at end of semester; don’t sell them. If you sell them, you’ll get a pittance. Start personal library to maintain your college investment. Our textbook will answer almost all your weather questions.How to study Read handout on how to study athttp://ahlquist.met.fsu.edu YOU have to study. The instructor can’t do it for you. To help you, I’ll post lecture notes at the course Web site. This is by no means a substitute for attending class and reading the text. Attend ALL classes, and read ALL chapters. Analogy: Being on a sports team You must attend every practice and work hard The coach won’t let you sit on the sidelines for practices if you say, “I’ll just watch.” (This is like students who just watch a lecture.) The coach won’t tolerate athletes who say, “I’ll miss a lot of practices, but I’ll be there for the game (exam).”College Courses Are Typically Much Harder Than High School Courses General rule for college courses: Two hours of study outside of class for each hour in class. 15 credits should involve roughly 30 hours of work per week outside of class. Total = 45 hrs/week. That is why someone taking 15 credits is called a full-time student. Some say: GPA you want = hours of study per credit,so 4 hours study per credit for A, 3 for B, etc. High school AP class meets 5 days per week for a year to equal a college course that meets 3 days per week for a semester. So college course covers same material as AP course in ¼ of meeting sessions.College Courses Are Hard (cont.) Don’t come to me the last week of class and say, “I’ll lose my Bright Futures scholarship if I don’t raise my grade from a C or D to a B. What can I do?” By then, it is too late. There is no “extra credit “ work for this class. Start working steadily NOW in all your classes. Having a job while being a full-time student Many people can handle a job with up to 15 hr/weekif they plan carefully and work hard Many full-time students who try to work to work 30 hrs/week or more flunk out of school. It is too much!Honors Section of MET1010 For the few of you in the Honors Section: Do the same work as those in the regular section Receive a grade based on that work using the same grading scale as applies to the class in general In addition, complete a satisfactory project developed in discussion with the professor. The project is typically a report, but it can be something else. One student created a piece of art involving weather concepts and wrote a report discussing those concepts If the project becomes too much to complete, I can transfer you to the regular section at the end of term.Progress in science is often made by following the scientific method1. Observe something2. Get an idea (theory) how it works3. Does theory explain observation?4. Does theory predict something that can be checked? This list is idealized. Sometimes one gets an idea (theory) first and then collects observations to test the theory. Other times, one seeks to determine the extent of a relationship, not just yes or no. The scientific method commonly taught in public school is more rigid than what is used in practice.Jon Ahlquist 9/7/2006MET1010 Intro to the Atmosphere 3Scientific method: Example 1 Hypothesis: Studying improves test scores. Get data: Students reported study hours for MET2700 during Fall 2000. Compare number of study hours against total points earned. See graph on next slide.Relation Between Study Time & Points Earned0.0010.0020.0030.0040.0050.0060.0070.0080.0090.00100.000.00 20.00 40.00 60.00 80.00 100.00 120.00Hours of Study for Quizzes 1-5Total Points Earned for SemesterApproximate linethrough points← These students dropped the courseRelation between hours of study and total points earned General trend: study correlates with higher scores Significant variations, though. Someone who spent less than 20 hrs studying earned one of the top scores Someone who studied over 100 hrs
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