GEOL& 101 IINTRO TO PHYSIICAL GEOLOGY PIIERCE COLLEGE PUYALLUP COURSE SYLLABUS Spring Quarter, 2010 Item # 7953; Section SA SQUINT! DON T PRINT! In an effort to move towards a more sustainable society, please do NOT print this syllabus! Instead, copy it to your computer hard drive or flash drive where you may refer to it as needed. The Earth thanks you! To access the Syllabus Quiz, in the GEOL& 101 web page in Angel: Modules Syllabus Quiz and Chapter Study Questions Syllabus Quiz Inssttrruccttorr I Tom Bush Tittl lee Professor and Department Coordinator, Earth and Space Sciences Offffi iccee LSC 110, Library/Science Building, Pierce College Puyallup Phonee 253-840-8484 E--maai ill tbush@pierce.ctc.edu Hourrss M 1:00-4:00 p.m. TWTh, 3:00-4:00 p.m. F 8:00 a.m.-12:00 noon Other times gladly by appointment. Office hours may occasionally be precluded by meetings or field trips. Claassss MTWTh 8:00-8:50 a.m., LSC 108, Pierce College Puyallup Laab Th 1:00-2:50 p.m., LSC 108, Pierce College Puyallup Crreedi ittss 5 college quarter credits Appliccaatti ion General Education Requirements-Natural Science (GER-NS) and Lab Science with grade of 1.5 or better Sttaarrtt M March 29, 2010 End T June 8, 2010 Please do NOT ask for accommodations if you make travel plans that conflict with the quarter s schedule. Yourr Success Your success in this course is entirely up to you. By fully engaging yourself as an active learner, and through thorough preparation, you should not only achieve your academic goals but also develop a greater appreciation of your surroundings. I hope you find this course enlightening and enjoyable. Geology rocks! Courrse Descrriipttiion A study of minerals, rocks, and the dynamic processes that shape the Earth s surface over time, such as Earth s tectonics, volcanism, earthquakes, landslides, streams, and coastlines. Some special topics such as resources or climate change may be included. Appropriate for non-science and science majors. Field trip required. Lab included.
Courrse Prrerrequiisiittes There are no prerequisites for this course. With dedication and diligence, it is possible for the student with no prior background in this field to excel in this course. Requiirred Textts Wicander and Monroe, 2009, Essentials of Geology, 5 th Edition Geology 101 Lab Manual Requiirred Matterriialls 5 scan-tron forms for exams #2 pencils for exams and labs Calculator with basic functions (cell phone is okay) Set of colored pencils with 4 colors (for color drawings in lecture notes) Cllassrroom Polliiciies Use of cell phones or other communication devices during class, lab, or field trip times may result in expulsion for the day. Please do NOT bring food to class, as eating during class can be a distraction. Beverages are acceptable, but please recycle or dispose of containers appropriately, and clean up after yourself if you spill. Neither food nor beverages are permitted during lab sessions. Please raise your hand if you wish to respond to a question in class, ask a question, or make a comment, and wait to be called upon. Please do NOT speak out during class unless called upon. Attendance is NOT a direct part of your grade. However, responding to my inclass questions when called upon IS, and you must be present to be awarded your participation points when called upon. Absences also mean that you loose the opportunity for learning beyond what is provided by the textbook. Absences from labs or field trips mean that you loose the points for those activities and they may not be made up. Punctuality for class and lab is a fundamental element of professional behavior. I consider tardiness a rude and unnecessary classroom disruption. So is leaving early or getting up during class for any but the most extreme of reasons. Additionally, if you arrive late, you are not eligible for participation points that day (see Assessment of Student Learning below). You are expected to conduct yourself at all times in this class (lectures, labs, field trips) in a manner that is respectful of all and conducive to the learning process in a multicultural educational environment. If you need require any disability accommodations, please contact the Access and Disability Services (ADS) office in ADM 115 or at 253-840-8335.
Emerrgency Prrocedurres Imminent threat to persons and property: call 911 and then Campus Safety at 253-840-8481. Evacuation (intermittent horns and strobes): gather all personal belongings and leave the building using the nearest available safe exit. Be prepared to be outside for one hour and stay a minimum of 200 feet from any building or structure. So long as it is safe to do so, students are expected to stay on campus and return to class after evacuations that last less than 15 minutes. Do not attempt to re-enter the building until instructed by an Evacuation Director (identified by orange vests) or by three horn blasts or bell rings. Please notify the nearest Campus Safety Officer or Evacuation Director of any one left in the building or in need of assistance. Grradiing Polliiciies Your course grade is determined by your total points as a percentage of the total points possible according to the grading scale below. A grade of 1.5 (C-) or better is required for this course to count as GER-NS or GTE. With a grade of 0.7 (D-) to 1.4 (D+), this course applies GE only. There are five exams in this course. Your lowest exam OF THE FIRST FOUR EXAMS is dropped from your course grade. Exam #5 counts regardless of its score. Exams must be taken according to the schedule provided, which may be modified by the instructor to fit the lecture schedule needs of the course. Exams MAY NOT be taken early or late if you are unable to take an exam as scheduled. If you miss an exam for any reason (of the first four), it may NOT be made up. This will be your dropped score. If you missed Exam #5, you will receive a zero and this counts towards your grade. Late assignments are generally NOT ACCEPTED (unless under extreme circumstances, and you contact me about your situation on or before the due date). Extra credit opportunities are generally not a part of this course, unless otherwise stated elsewhere in this syllabus or announced in class. Communiicattiion Wiitth IInsttrructtorr Please consider all emails with me to be of a professional business nature, and therefore you should use proper English, grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Emails not meeting professional business standards may be returned for rewriting before a reply is given. Academiic IInttegrriitty Academic dishonesty acts (as outlined in the Pierce College Catalog) will result in at least a failing grade for the assignment or exam, or possibly a failing grade for the course, depending on the nature and severity of the act.
Yourr Sttudentt GMAIIL Accountt If you wish to correspond with me using email, I make the following requests: Communicate via your student GMAIL account to ensure that I will respond promptly. Because of the huge amount of spam that make s it through the College s spam filters, I generally don t open emails from unknown senders in my regular email account. When corresponding via GMAIL, make your emails professional! Please don t send me emails written in the same style as text messages to a friend! Check for proper spelling, use proper grammar, capitalize where appropriate, and use appropriate business-like language. This is to encourage the development of Effective Communication (see Core Abilities below). Please DO NOT SEND OR FORWARD ME mass emails. Piierrce Collllege Corre Abiilliittiies It is the goal of Pierce College to prepare students to live and work in a dynamically changing world by emphasizing whole-student development and hands-on learning. Through experiences both in and out of the classroom, you ll be given the opportunity to broaden your horizons and be challenged in ways that encourage the development of the abilities vital to succeeding in life. These core abilities include: Information Competency: Seeks, finds, evaluates and uses information to engage in lifelong learning. Critical, Creative and Reflective Thinking: A critical, creative, and reflective thinker will question, search for answers and meaning, evaluate ideas and information, and develop beliefs that lead to action. Responsibility: The ability to respond by examining the relationship between self, community, and environments, evaluating potential impacts and consequences of actions, and making choices and contributions based on that examination and evaluation. Effective Communication: The effective exchange of messages in a variety of contexts using multiple methods. Multiculturalism: Valuing open-mindedness, inclusion, multicultural perspectives and multiple ways of knowing, thinking and being. Generrall Courrse Outtlliine a. Introduction to Physical Geology. b. Minerals. c. Igneous Rocks. d. Weathering and Sedimentary Rocks. e. Metamorphic Rocks. f. Geologic Time. g. Plate Tectonics.
h. Geologic Structures, Earth s Interior, Earthquakes. i. Mass Wasting, Streams, Deserts, Glaciers, Coastlines. j. Groundwater. k. Other Special Topics (Geologic resources, Climate Change, Geologic Evolution of North America, Planetary Geology). Courrse Outtcomes What you should know and be able to do upon satisfactory completion of this course 1. Describe the basic relationship between the solid earth, water, atmosphere, and life of the Earth through geologic time. 2. Apply the scientific method and relate basic scientific concepts to geologic processes (e.g. plate tectonics or other examples). 3. Use mineral properties to identify common rock-forming and ore minerals. 4. Explain the rock cycle. 5. Classify and identify common igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. 6. Describe the types of magmas and where they occur. Analyze the relationship between magmas, volcanic styles (including hazards), and plate tectonics. 7. Compare mechanical and chemical weathering, give examples of each, and relate weathering to the formation of soil. 8. Correlate the types of sediments; sedimentary structures, and fossils, and relate to sedimentary depositional environments and the processes of sedimentary rock formation. 9. Compare the physical and chemical conditions of metamorphism and their relationship to the occurrences of metamorphic rocks. 10. Explain and apply the methods of relative dating and absolute dating; reproduce the primary subdivisions of the geologic time scale. 11. Apply the scientific method to the theory of plate tectonics and explain the physical evidence that supports it. 12. Recognize geologic structures, describe their formation and their relationship to stresses created by tectonic plate movements. 13. Discuss origin, occurrence, difficulties in predicting, and hazards of earthquakes, and describe how earthquakes reveal the earth s internal structure. 14. Analyze the effects of earth s surface physical processes and their relationship to surface features and hazards (including human effects), including mass wasting, streams, deserts, glaciers, and coastlines. 15. Relate the occurrence, origin, and movement of groundwater to underground features, pollution, and use of groundwater as a resource. 16. Discuss the main concepts of other relevant special topics in geology as determined by the instructor (such as geologic resources, climate change, geologic evolution of North America or planetary geology). 17. Interpret topographic maps, geologic maps, aerial photographs, and satellite imagery to understand geologic processes and solve geologic problems. 18. Access geologic data from various sources, including library research, internet, and field observations.
Assessmentt off Sttudentt Learrniing Exams, Quizzes, Field Trip, Etc 5 exams (multiple choice and essay); lowest score dropped OF FIRST 4 EXAMS (Exam #5 may NOT be dropped); 1 or more quizzes or other miscellaneous assignments may also be included; 1 field trip (20 points EXTRA CREDIT) to a location of interest (see Course Calendar for location and date) 9 lab exercises (10 points each) and 1 lab exam (50 points) for a total of 140 points Involvement in class discussions about the textbook readings or other assignments 50% 30% 20% Lab Exercises TOTAL 100% Participation To calculate your grade (Your Exam, Quiz, Field Trip Points/Total Exam Points Possible) x 50 + (Your Lab Points/Lab Points Possible) x 30 + (Your Participation Points/Participation Points Possible) x 20 = Grade %
Grradiing Scalle Your course grade is determined by your total points as a percentage of the total points possible according to the grading scale below. 96-100%=4.0 (A) 94-95%=3.9 93%=3.8 92%=3.7 91%=3.6 90%=3.5 (A-) 89%=3.4 (B+) 88%=3.3 87%=3.2 86%=3.1 85%=3.0 (B) 84%=2.9 83%=2.8 82%=2.7 81%=2.6 80%=2.5 (B-) 79%=2.4 (C+ 78%=2.3 77%=2.2 76%=2.1 75%=2.0 (C) 74%=1.9 73%=1.8 72%=1.7 71%=1.6 70%=1.5 (C-) 69%=1.4 (D+) 68%=1.3 67%=1.2 66%=1.1 65%=1.0 (D) 64%=0.9 63%=0.8 60-62%=0.7(D-) 0-59%=0.0 (F) A grade of 1.5 (C-) or better is required for this course to count towards as Core Requirement (Natural Science) or a Core Elective (GTE) course. A grade of 0.7 to 1.4 (D- to D+) applies only towards GTEs. Courrse Modulles--Majjorr Topiicall Secttiions Module Module 1 Foundations Exam #1 Description Introduces the student to the science of geology, including the topics of plate tectonics and minerals. This section forms the foundation for the remaining sections. Textbook Chapters Chapter 1: Understanding Earth Chapter 3: Minerals Chapter 2: Plate Tectonics Module 2 Rocks and Geologic Time Exam #2 Module 3 Rocks and Geologic Time, Cont d Exam #3 Module 4 Effects of Earth s Internal Processes Exam #4 Module 5 Effects of Earth s Surface Processes Exam #5 Origin, classification, and identification of igneous rocks, and important weathering processes on rocks that produce sediment. Origin, classification, and identification of sedimentary and metamorphic rocks; use of rocks and to determine geologic time. Processes that shape the Earth s surface from within. Includes study of earthquakes, geologic structures, deformation, and mountain ranges. Processes that shape the Earth from the surface from the surface, with emphasis on mass wasting, streams processes, ground water, glacial activity, and deserts. Chapter 4: Igneous Rocks & Intrusives Chapter 5: Volcanism & Volcanoes Chapter 6: Weathering Chapter 6, cont d: Sedimentary Rocks Chapter 7: Metamorphic Rocks Chapter 17: Geologic Time Chapter 8: Earthquakes Chapter 10: Deformation Chapter 11: Mass Wasting Chapter 12: Running Water Chapter 13: Groundwater Chapter 14: Glaciers Chapter 15: Deserts