If you are having problems which interfere with you ability to do the work in this class, please tell me about it as soon as possible. I am willing to give incompletes or to make some kinds of special arrangements when the need is real and when you have done your best to deal with the situation and let me know about it in a timely manner. It is often not possible to make-up laboratories, since they may require special equipment and materials. If you know in advance that you have to miss a lab, contact one of the instructors to see if you can attend a different lab section or can make other possible arrangements. In general there will be no formal lab write-ups to turn in, but notes that you take in lab and have reviewed by a TA may be used in a portion of the lab exam.
Field trips are also an integral part of the course.
I encourage you to attend all of the trips, but the minimum requirement is that you attend at least one trip. If you fail to meet this minimum requirement you will receive a failing grade for the course unless you can justify a grade of Incomplete with a specific plan to make up the field trip in a similar course offered during some subsequent term in the following 12 months. Information covered on field trips and labs may appear on exams. If it has rained in the past week, be prepared for damp vegetation. Umbrellas often work well, but rain coats, rain pants, and rubber boots are a good idea if it is really wet.