GEOLOGY 161- Physical Geology (Spring 2007)
Course: Physical Geology
Course
Number: GEOL 161 sections 1 & 2
Instructor: Jim Durbin
Meets
(lect): MWF 9:00-9:50 AM
Office: Science Center Room 2218 (inside room SC2219)
Labs:
sect. 1 -T 3:00-5:20; sect. 2- R 3:00-5:20 (in room SC2230)
Office
Hours: Mon & Tues 11-12; Wed 10--11; 4-5; Thur 9-10
E-mail: jdurbin@usi.edu
Phone (office): (812)
465-1208
Textbook: Physical Geology 10 th or 11th ed., 2005, by
C.C. Plummer, D. McGeary, and D.H. Calrson, McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., New York, ISBN# 0-07-252815-X, 580 p.
Course
Objectives: This course is designed to give you an understanding of EarthÕs
geological materials and processes, familiarize you with the means by which scientific
conclusions are drawn concerning EarthÕs many materials, systems and history,
and introduce you to many events that have shaped Earth over the last 4.6
billion years. Topics include
identification of minerals and the major rock types, identification and
interpretation of basic deformation such as faults, folds, and mountains, Plate
tectonics theory, relative and chronological time concepts, Geologic timescale,
reconstruction of environments from geologic evidence, Oceans, Rivers, Deserts,
and Groundwater.
Structure
of the Course: The course has a lecture and a lab
section, you must pass both the lecture and the lab in order to pass the class. The lab grade comprises ~ 25% of the
total grade for the course. In
most cases, the materials shown during the lecture will be posted on the
classroom web page listed above, which can be reviewed at your convenience. The material on the web page will be
posted shortly after the day it was discussed, and in some cases prior to the
class period. The lab will focus on applying information we discuss
in lecture to specific exercises designed to let you understand the Earth and earth materials, and
the processes that affect the way our planet looks and behaves.
Caution: The web page is not a substitute for
coming to class!
This is a college level course with a tremendous amount of
material that many students have never been exposed to before. I require more than just memorization
of material; I require you to think and
apply what you have learned to the problems presented to you. The content of the web page is to
provide you with access to some of the materials so that you can review and
study material after the class, as opposed to trying to listen to what I have to say and write down what is on the slide and look at the visual material I am showing. While you may be able to do 1 or 2 of
the 3 tasks, it is a very rare person who can do all three of them at the same
time without missing something!
Policy: Do not
bring cellular phones or beepers to class unless they have a vibration
mode. If you choose to bring these
items to class with a normal ringer mode on, you will receive one warning, and
the next time, you will be dropped from the class! I do not mind students coming late to class, as I would
prefer you come in a little late rather than missing a class. Do not make a lot of noise when coming
in late, and try not to make a habit of being late to class as you will miss
valuable and informative material.
DonÕt talk in class while I am speaking, unless it is to ask a question
pertaining to the class. Do not
bring children into either the classroom or the lab. The University has
excellent child care facilities and ways to accommodate nearly any
circumstance. You may eat or
drink in the lecture hall, provided the University doesn't mind and you donÕt
make ÒcrinklingÓ noises when unwrapping food items or ÒburpingÓ noises when
finishing your drink. If you know
ahead of time that there is a conflict with a scheduled exam date, you must see
me in advance
to make arrangements as to when you will make up the exam. If for any reason you miss an exam, you
must see me to see if you will be allowed to make it up. Late assignments will be evaluated, but
penalized 20% per day. I have
scheduled office hours during the week, but I will be in my office between 8:00
AM and 6:30 PM Monday through Friday and you can come by and see me at any time
with or without an appointment to discuss any matter that you choose. If I am not available (i.e., not in my
office) you may leave a message with the departmental secretary, leave a voice
mail message, or e-mail me and I will respond to you as quickly as possible.
Grading
Policy: The grades in the lecture section are based on 4 exams, 3
worth 100 points each, occurring about every four weeks, and the Final, which
is comprehensive and worth 175 points.
Lecture exams are curved up to 10 points, based on the
highest score becoming 100. The
lab portion of the course constitutes 25% of your grade, and you must pass both
the lab and the lecture to pass the class!
Exams: Exams dates
are fixed and will not change.
Topics covered on each of the first 3 exams will constitute all of the
material covered since the previous exam.
The final exam is semi-comprehensive, with 55% covering new material,
and 45% covering old material.
Exams are multiple choice, true or false, matching, and short
answer. They include slides of
features we have discussed in class.
Exams are curved based on the highest score being adjusted to 100, up
to 10% of the total points.
Examples- 1) The top score is 92 out of 100. Therefore everyone gets 8 points added to their score, and
the top score becomes 100; 2) The top score is 88 out of 100. Therefore everyone gets 10 points added
to their total, making the top score 98.
Point Breakdown for Lecture, Lab, and course (Table 1, 2, and 3)
Table 1. Lecture points breakdown |
Table 2. Lab points breakdown |
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| Table 3. Course points breakdown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Table 4. Lecture grading scale |
Table 5. Lab grading scale |
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You must earn 320 points in the lecture to pass the lecture |
You must earn at least a 337 points in lab to pass the lab component of the course |
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Table 6. Course grading scale |
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Course grades are assigned based on the total number of POINTS accumulated. Do not assume that because you earned an A in one part and a B+ in the other that you will earn an A for the course. To determine your grade for the course, Divide the total number of points earned in lab by the total possible (600) to get a percentage. Multiply that percentage by 175 to get the point value for the Lab component of the course that will be added to the total points earned in lecture. The POINT breakdown for the grading scale is shown in Tables 4, 5 and 6 below. All fractional points will be rounded up to the next whole number (e.g., 75.00001 will get recorded as a 76).
Lab information
You are required to have read the chapter(s) for the lab for any particular week read before the start of class. Labs will have a quiz over the reading materials (see readings for lab in the list below) and/or the information covered in the prior lab meeting time (e.g., mineral or rock properties / ID quizzes).
The Lab is scheduled to run for 2 hours and 20 minutes. Do not plan on leaving early or you will miss the points covered with the quizzes. There are two exams in the lab- a midterm and a final, and there are assignments due each week at the end of the period- unless otherwise stated. In most instances, the lab exercises will be evaluated for correctness and understanding, with one opportunity to make corrections before a final evaluation.
At the end of the semester, the points earned in the lab component will be converted to a percentage (see scale above) and multiplied by 175 points to determine the points that will be included into the total points for the entire course.
Schedule of topics and readings
| Lecture | Lab | |||||
|
Week |
Week of dates |
Readings |
Topics |
Notes |
Lab topic | Lab Readings |
|
1 |
1/8- 1/12 |
Chapter 1, 2 & 22 |
Intro & Minerals |
|
Intro- Tools of the trade - going to go outside for a bit | No assigned readings |
|
2 |
1/15- 1/19 |
Chapter 3, 4, 5 & 6 |
Minerals & IG Rocks & SED Rocks |
No classes on 15th- Martin Luther King Jr. Day |
Mineral Properties & Identification | Chapter 2 |
|
3 |
1/22- 1/26 |
Chapter 6 & 7 |
IG Rocks & Volcanoes SED Rocks & Resources |
|
Rocks part 1 | Chapter 3 pp. 60-70 |
|
4 |
1/29- 2/2 |
Chapter 4 |
SED Rocks & Resources |
EXAM 1 Friday 2/2/07 |
Rocks part 2 | Chapter 3 pp. 60-70 |
|
5 |
2/5- 2/9 |
Chapter 8, 15, 16 & 17 |
Geologic Time & |
|
Geologic Time | Chapter 8 -all |
|
6 |
2/12- 2/16 |
Chapter 16, 17 & 20 |
Earthquakes, folds & faults & EarthÕs Interior |
|
Earthquakes | Chapter 16 pp. 406-425 |
|
7 |
2/19- 2/23 |
Chapter 19 & 20 |
EarthÕs Interior |
|
Rocks part 3 West Franklin exposure -Field trip - |
Chapter 6 pp. 155-165; wear clothes for going outside and climbing on rocks |
|
8 |
2/26- 3/2 |
Chapter 1, 19 &20 |
Plate Tectonics & Mountains |
Virtual dating assignment |
No Readings Quiz Lab Midterm -Rocks, Minerals & Geotime |
|
| 9 | 3/5-3/9 | SPRING | BREAK | NO | CLASSES | |
|
10 |
3/12- 3/16 |
Chapter 9 |
Mass Wasting |
|
Plate tectonics & Isostasy | Chapter 17 pp. 452-454; Chapter 19 pp. 504-522 |
|
11 |
3/19- 3/23 |
Chapter 14 & 18 |
Oceans & Coasts |
|
Intro to topographic maps and Geologic maps | Chapter 15 |
|
12 |
3/26- 3/30 |
Chapter 12 |
Glaciers |
|
Geological structures - maps | Chapter 15 |
|
13 |
4/2- 4/6 |
Chapter 11 |
Groundwater & Karst |
|
Glaciers and Karst - maps | Chapter 11 & 12 |
|
14 |
4/9 -4/13 |
Chapter 10 |
Rivers |
Exam 4 |
River Field trip* Be prepared to get wet! |
Chapter 10-all |
|
15 |
4/16-4/20 |
Chapter 13 |
Deserts |
|
Deserts - maps |
Chapter 13 |
|
16 |
4/23- 4/27 |
assigned reading |
National Parks |
|
Lab Final Exam | |
|
17 |
4/30- 5/4 |
|
|
No lab | ||