GEOG 203 - Weather and Climate

Credits: 3
Lecture Contact Hours: 3
Description: This course provides an overview of the earth’s atmospheric system. Topics include energy, temperatures, atmospheric moisture, cloud formation, precipitation, atmospheric pressure, weather systems, weather forecasting, severe weather and global climate patterns. Discussions include global climate change and air pollution.

Prerequisites: None.
Corequisites: None.
Recommended: None.

Course Category: Liberal Arts | Science
This course counts toward Schoolcraft’s General Education Requirements.
This course counts toward a Michigan Transfer Agreement General Education Requirement.

This Course is Typically Offered: Fall, Winter
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Course Competencies

Analyze the major atmospheric processes, including energy, pressure, wind, precipitation, air masses, and weather systems.
Explain how the major atmospheric processes are linked in the atmospheric system.
Summarize the atmospheric conditions that result in severe weather, such as thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes.
Analyze the spatial patterns of weather systems.
Predict local and regional weather using fundamental meteorological principles.
Classify the major climate regions of the world.
Explain the possible causes for climate change.
Explain how humans have altered the composition of the atmosphere.
Explain how atmospheric pollution affects both the environment and human health.
Develop global climate change policy by using the fundamentals of atmospheric processes, the global distribution of climate, and evidence of paleoclimates.