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This elective course will look at the causes and consequences of air pollution, regulatory concerns, and methods for controlling and mediating its consequences.
Topics covered in previous years include
Topics may be adjusted somewhat depending on the interests and backgrounds of the students enrolled.
Student Outcomes: At the end of this course, each student should be able to:
I can usually be found in or around my office from about 7:30 in the morning until about 4:00 in the afternoon. Please feel free to stop by the office as needed.
You are welcome to phone or email to arrange an appointment. Appointments are not necessary, but are nice if you think you need a sizeable block of time.
My general schedule for this semester may be found by following this link. A daily schedule using Google Calendar is also linked and will show meetings, etc.
The text for this class will be:
I may also place reference material chosen to supplement the text on reserve at the library.
The library has much material that is relevant to this course. Use it to your advantage.
If you find a misprint, etc., in the text, please let me know so that the information can be shared. At present, based on my copy, the following appear to be mistakes:
Generally speaking, students are encouraged to work together to understand the course material. Students are allowed to cooperate on all "regular" homework problems, unless specifically requested not to do so. All students must turn in individual assignments. Penalties will be imposed if there is evidence that students did not individually prepare their work. Some "design" homework assignments will be assigned to small groups. In these cases, please do not collaborate outside your group.
Collaboration is not permitted on any exam.
In this course we will not have hour exams. Instead, we will have 10-15 minute quizzes every 5th class meeting or so. If you miss a quiz, you will not be able to make it up -- thus if you are going to be absent, you must notify me in advance so that the quiz day can be adjusted.
All quizzes will be open-book, open-note. The final examination will be open-book only -- notes and other unpublished materials will not be permitted.
No make-up quizzes will be given.
If you are really interested in maximizing your exam score, keep in mind that if I don't understand what you're doing, you probably won't get all the points you may have earned. Also remember that I'm usually matching your paper against a solution of my own, so you want the similarities to jump out at me while any differences hide under a bushel.
With this in mind, be sure to
Grades will be determined by student performance on graded homework asssignments, examinations, and a comprehensive final examination. The components of the grade will be weighted so that:
The target grading curve will be determined by a 85, 70, 60, 50 scale. The grades actually assigned may be adjusted downward to reflect overall class performance (the class average score), using natural breaks in the score distribution. The class average score will typically correspond to a "C" grade. "Ghost" students are not included in the calculation of class averages and grade breaks. Adjustments will never raise a cutoff.
This grading scale does not apply to those students who fail to achieve at least 35% on the final exam. In such cases, an appropriate grade will be determined without strict reliance on the scale.
All students should be aware that performance on the final is very important, and that qualitative weight is given to work at the end of the semester over that at the beginning.
The best way to acquire the skills this course seeks to teach is practice. Homework assignments are the best opportunity to do so. Students are encouraged to work as many homework problems as they can in order to improve their knowledge.
Homework will be assigned frequently. Most problems will be worth 10 to 15 points apiece. I will try to give you advance warning of the problems I am considering for assignment.
Homework is due by the beginning of class on the designated due date unless other instructions are given at the time of the assignment. Waiting too late to start is never an acceptable reason for being late. Late homework is not accepted unless arrangements are made in advance of the deadline.
All homework assignments must meet the following requirements. Assignments which do not comply will not be graded.
NOTHING will be accepted late unless arrangements were made prior to the due date. If a student is to be out of town, the instructor must be notified in advance. In case of illness, the instructor should be notified before the assignment becomes late, either by phone (901)321-3412 or email.
Makeup exams will only be given under extraordinary circumstances, and only if arrangements are made before the exam period.
You may earn "extra credit" or "bonus" points. These are added to your point totals but don't add to the "possible" points. Your option is:
These are links that you might find helpful as you study for this class. If you find any of them particularly useful (or especially useless), or if you want to suggest an addition to the list, please email and let me know.
Last Revised: 19 January 2007 by RMP
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