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CSS 306: Principles of Soil Science - Recitation

Professor:
James Cassidy
Office: 3015 Ag & Life Sci. Bldg
Office hours: by appointment
Phone: 737-6810
E-mail

TA:

Required materials for class:

• Textbook: Introduction to Soils, arranged by E. Sulzman and S. Frey.
  NOTE: for a more in-depth resource, buy the hardcover book, The Nature and Properties of Soils INSTEAD of the required paperback. All information in the paperback can be found in the hardcover. You do NOT need both texts – they are redundant.
• Laboratory Manual
• Class notes

Corequisite course (optional but strongly recommended):
CSS 306: Problem Solving – Soil Science Applications (1 credit)

Three sections offered:
Thursday 12:00 - 1:00, CORD 3121
Thursday 1:00 - 2:00, CORD 3121
Friday 9:00 - 10:00, CORD 3121

Course web site:
http://cropandsoil.oregonstate.edu/classes/css305/
(Note that this is the web site for 305, but I maintain all the homeworks and studyguides there.)
I will also put everything on Blackboard…

Goals for the course and my goal as a teacher:
My goal is to make this course as enjoyable and beneficial to you as possible. We are very active in this class: expect to make noise. I hope you will leave this course with useful knowledge that provides you with a new outlook on the world around you.

University and Class Policy:
The goal of Oregon State University is to provide students with the knowledge, skill and wisdom they need to contribute to society. Our rules are formulated to guarantee each student's freedom to learn and to protect the fundamental rights of others. People must treat each other with dignity and respect in order for scholarship to thrive. Behaviors that are disruptive to teaching and learning will not be tolerated, and will be referred to the Student Conduct Program for disciplinary action. Behaviors that create a hostile, offensive or intimidating environment based on gender, race, ethnicity, color, religion, age, disability, marital status or sexual orientation will be referred to the Affirmative Action Office.

Course Content:
Recitation activities and assignments will correspond with material covered in the companion lecture course, CSS 305. This recitation is specifically designed to help you do the best you can in CSS 305. There are five homework assignments designed to help you prepare for the exams. These will take about 30 min to one hour each to complete. In addition, weekly in-class activities will apply what you have heard in lecture toward working quantitative and applied problems (more of which you will see on the CSS 305 exams). Active participation is REQUIRED for all in-class activities.

Upon completion of the course the student should be able to:

• Calculate texture, bulk density, particle density, and porosity given raw data, and relate these to conditions in the field that would lead to them.
• Calculate the amount of water available to plants from field data, and discuss controls on water availability and water movement in a soil profile.
• Calculate nutrient holding capacity for various soils and relate these values to real-world patterns.
• Calculate levels of biological activity in soils based on dilution plate data. Explain what the results suggest about different management activities and different vegetation types.
• Calculate carbon storage in given soils and describe how soils have the potential to affect the future climate of the earth

Grading (see web site for grade tracking sheet):
Weekly attendance and participation required. Attendance is worth 5 points! Homework assignments will be scored 10 points, 5 points, or no points based on assessment of effort. Note that you don’t have to get all questions right to get a perfect score, but you do have to try to work every problem. Grading is A-F with half grades (+ and -): A = =93%, A- = 90-92%, B+ = 87-89%, B = 83-86%, B- = 80-82%, C+ = 77-79%, C = 73-76%, C- = 70-72%, D+ = 67 69%, D = 63-66%, D- = 60-62%, F = 59%

Example grade sheet:

*It is actually easier to get a good grade than indicated above, as there are ten weeks worth of 5-points for attendance

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