Soils 101
Introductory Soil Science
Syllabus, Fall 2009

Professor:            Dr. Richard Stehouwer, Associate Professor of Soil Science
Office Phone:      814-863-7640
Office Address:          417 Ag. Sci. & Ind. Bldg. (ASI)
Office Hours:      Any time, by appointment. I do not have regular office hours scheduled. Please call or email to set up an appointment. I welcome the chance to have some individual time with students, so please come and see me any time you have questions about any aspect of the course - or just feel like talking about soils.
Optional review sessions will be held Fridays before mid-term exams from 9:05 to 9:55 in room 101 ASI.
E-mail:                 rcs15@psu.edu
Homepage:          http://cropsoil.psu.edu/people/faculty/stehouwerr.cfm

Course Information
Credits                3
Location              101 ASI Bldg.
Times                   Monday and Wednesday 9:05 - 9:55 AM
Lab Sections       Lab sections 001 - 007 meet in room 13 ASI on Wednesdays and Thursdays, 2 hours

Required Texts
M.J. Singer and D.N. Munns, 2006, Soils: An Introduction, (6th Ed).  Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ
K.L. Butler and R.C. Stehouwer, Fall 2009, Soils 101: Introduction to Soils Lab Manual. Penn State University, University Park, PA. Available only at the Penn State Bookstore.

Course Goal
Students will gain an appreciation of soil as a valuable natural resource and as an integral and essential part of terrestrial ecosystems, and will be able to utilize their knowledge of soil science to solve relevant issues confronted in their academic and professional careers.

Course Objectives
Students who complete this course will

• Be able to describe fundamental soil physical, chemical, and biological properties and processes as well as the interactions among them that
• Govern soil formation, development and differentiation,
• Determine soil suitability and capacity to perform various essential production and ecological functions, and
• Allow for sustained use, conservation, and productivity of soil.
• Be able to relate those fundamental soil properties and processes to land use and soil management decisions and implications for soil sustainability, function, and degradation.
• Have gained the ability to retrieve and integrate soils information from a variety of sources and to utilize that information for land use and soil management decisions.

Specific topics covered in the course include the following:

• Soil formation and soil taxonomy
• Soil physical properties, texture and structure
• Behavior and characteristics of water in soil; water movement and storage in soil
• Soil aeration and gas exchange
• Soil colloids (clays and organic matter), cation exchange
• Soil acidity, alkalinity, salinity
• Soil biology and ecology
• Behavior and cycling of macronutrients in soil
• Principles of nutrient management
• Soil pollution/degradation and remediation/reclamation

Grading Policy
There are 500 possible points in this course assigned as follows:
Lab reports, worksheets and exercises (11 @ 15 points each)*       150
Land Use Project                                                                       50
Mid-term Exams (3 @ 50 points each)                                          150
Final Exam                                                                                100
Think and Link Exercises                                                             40
Lab participation                                                                        10

*Your lowest lab report score will be dropped from the record.

Lab Reports are prepared during the week following the laboratory exercise and are due at the beginning of the following laboratory period. In the laboratory students will work together in teams of 3 or 4. Teams may also work together to prepare their lab reports, however, each student must turn in an individual lab report. There will be 11 lab reports during the semester. Each is worth 15 points and the lowest score of the eleven will be dropped from the student’s record. All of the laboratory exercises and lab report requirements are contained in the Soils 101: Introduction to Soils Lab Manual.

Land Use Project is a major course project to prepare a development plan for a 500 acre parcel of land that includes natural/recreational areas, agricultural areas, and housing areas. The plan must recognize soil characteristics and limitations. The Land Use Project is a group project and consists of a proposal, maps, and a written report. More details on the Land Use Project are provided in the Soils 101: Introduction to Soils Lab Manual.

Mid-term Exams and Final Exam. All exams will be computer based exams given in the Penn State Testing Center computer lab in Pollack Building. All three mid-term exams are scheduled on Tuesday evenings at 7:00 and 8:00 on September 29, October 27, and November 17. In the week prior to each exam students will receive an email from eTesting Services requesting them to register for either test time. Students who have a documented course conflict with these times will be offered alternative testing times earlier on the exam date. The final is a comprehensive examination.

Think and Link exercises are short thought questions normally presented near the end of a lecture period. Students write an answer in a bluebook notebook, consult and discuss the question and answer with students around them and modify their answer. Bluebooks are usually collected once per week (10 times during the semester) and 4 points are awarded for any reasonable attempt to answer the question.

Lab participation points are assigned by the lab section instructors at the end of the semester and are based on student attendance and effort during the semester.

Grading Scale

There is no opportunity for extra credit work in this course. All grades for the course are recorded in the Angel grade book so students can track their grades throughout the semester.

Attendance Policy
Students are expected to be present at all lectures and labs. If you must miss a lecture, you are responsible for all material presented during lecture and for the assigned textbook reading. Students are expected to arrive on time for lectures. See Professor Stehouwer for truly exceptional situations that are beyond your control and for any situation causing more than three absences. See the Lab Guidelines section for information concerning lab attendance and make-up policies. Students who miss a lab session will not be allowed to turn in a lab report for the missed lab. Students who skip lecture could lose up to 40 Think and Link points, and students who skip lab could lose up to 10 attendance points in addition to the 15 points lost for each lab report not completed. A complete schedule of lectures, reading assignments and laboratory exercises is provided at the end of this syllabus.

Academic Integrity
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to:  cheating, plagiarizing, fabricating information or citations, facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, having unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work of another person or work previously used without informing the instructor, or tampering with the academic work of other students.  Sanctions imposed for acts of academic dishonesty may range from receiving a reduced grade or zero for an assignment or an exam, an F for the course, or expulsion from the University.  (See http://www.sa.psu.edu/ja/AcademicIntegrity.shtml for more details on academic integrity).

Examination Policy
Students are required to take all three mid-term exams and the final exam in this course. Make-up exams will only be offered to students who have an excused absence for the missed exam. Excused absences will normally only be granted for documented medical reasons. Excused absences can only be given by Professor Stehouwer. Students who have an excused absence for a missed exam must make arrangements with Professor Stehouwer for a make-up exam within 2 weeks of the missed exam. Students may arrange to take a make-up exam or may opt not to take a make-up exam and have their final exam grade serve as the make-up grade for the missed mid-term exam.

Students with Disabilities
Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University's educational programs. If you have a disability-related need for reasonable academic adjustments in this course, contact the Office for Disability Services, ODS located in room 116 Boucke Building at 814-863-1807(V/TTY). For further information regarding ODS, please visit their web site at www.equity.psu.edu/ods/. Professor Stehouwer and your lab instructor should be notified as early in the semester as possible regarding the need for reasonable academic adjustments.