CSES 3124 Fall 2008 SOILS LABORATORY SYLLABUS PAGE

Instructor: Nick Haus, 318 Latham, 231-9787, nhaus@vt.edu, Office Hours:

Teaching Assistants: Nick Haus, Tim Woodward, Whitney Nash

Office Hours

Office hours are the best time to look for a specific TA. If you have a question, or need help, you can look for any of the TA's at any time; however, we won't always be available without advance warning.

Lab Sections

Wednesday 8:00, 1:25; Thursday 9:30, 2:00 and Friday 11:15.

Catalog Description

CSES 3124 supplements CSES 3114 by providing students with laboratory and field experiences to illustrate the principles discussed in CSES 3114. The emphasis of CSES 3124 is practical applications of the principles of soil science. Students will learn to recognize and understand how the physical and chemical properties of soils affect land use. The material is presented so as to apply to needs of students in a variety of disciplines, including agronomists, environmental scientists, horticulturalists, foresters, animal scientists, landscape architects, and engineers.

Objectives

After completing this course, the student will be able to:

1. Apply the general principles of soil science to a variety of land use problems.

2. Understand how soils with various properties and land use potentials occur on the landscape, as the result of soil forming processes.

3. Measure basic physical and chemical properties of soils in a laboratory setting.

4. Evaluate soil morphology and landscape properties in the field.

5. Use and apply information contained in published soil surveys for the purpose of making land-use management recommendations.

Texts

Brady, N. C. 1990. The Nature and Properties of Soil. Macmillan, 14th Edition.

CSES 3124 Laboratory Guide. Available from Copy Center II, Smyth Hall.

Grading

Your final lab grade is based on quizzes, homeworks, and participation in lab, as follows:

Quizzes

Four quizzes will be taken during the Tuesday night lecture period. Except for emergency situations, quizzes cannot be made up unless you have previously made arrangenments with your T.A. If you miss a quiz due to unforseen circumstances, discuss the situation with your T.A. as soon as possible. Each quiz will cover the previous three or four weeks of lab. There will be 4 quizzes over the course of the semester. Each quiz is worth 10 % of your final grade.

Online Quizzes:

Each week you will need to complete a short online quiz based on the lab manual and the webpage for that week's lab. when you attempt to submit the online quiz it will automatically be graded. The quiz will be submitted only if at least 80 % of the answers are correct. You may re-take the quiz until it is successfully submitted. Your weekly quiz grade will be based on the total number of submissions for the semester, rather than the actual percentage of correct answers. Over the course of the semester you must submit 10 out of 13 quizzes to receive full credit. Extra credit will be assigned for submitting more than 10 quizzes. You may use the lab manual and the webpage while completing quizzes. Quizzes must be submitted each week prior to your lab section.

Spreadsheet Homework Assignments:

There will be two homework assignments that require a spreadsheet based on data collected in the lab. The first will be assigned after week 6, and the second will be assigned after week 10. Each assignment is worth 5 % of your final grade.

Take-home Final Assignment:

A take-home assignment will be assigned during the end of the semester and will be due the last week of classes. This assignment reviews and integrates material that you have covered over the course of the semester. The take-home final is worth 10 % of your final grade.

Participation:

Participation grades are estimated by the following guidelines based on attendance. This grade may be adjusted as necessary based on your participation during lab periods. Missing more than 5 labs results in an automatic F for the class.

If you miss lab, you can go to another section - discuss the situation with your TA as soon as possible. Let your TA know which lab you will attend, and please give your name to the TA for the lab you attended. In some cases (such as field trips) you may need to make advance arrangements to attend a different lab section.

Field Trips

Four of the labs are field trips. These labs meet at the same time and place as your normally scheduled lab section. On field trip weeks be prepared to be outside, and to get dusty or muddy. Field trips are cancelled only when the roads are unsafe to drive or if there is severe rain/thunderstroms. If you suspect your lab may be cancelled, call your TA or check with Sue Brown at 231-5741 . You should bring a washcloth or towel for your own personal use.

THE HONOR CODE WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED IN THIS COURSE. ALL ASSIGNMENTS SUBMITTED SHALL BE CONSIDERED GRADED WORK, UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. ALL ASPECTS OF YOUR COURSEWORK ARE COVERED BY THE HONOR SYSTEM. ANY SUSPECTED VIOLATIONS OF THE HONOR CODE WILL BE PROMPTLY REPORTED TO THE HONOR SYSTEM. HONESTY IN YOUR ACADEMIC WORK WILL DEVELOP INTO PROFESSIONAL INTEGRITY. THE FACULTY AND STUDENTS OF VIRGINIA TECH WILL NOT TOLERATE ANY FORM OF ACADEMIC DISHONESTY.

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These pages were last modified July 7, 2008