Geology 101: Survey of Geology (3485 A)                      Rm: B262

Lecture/Lab:        MWF  7:30am – 8:20am, TTh 7:30am – 9:20am

 

Instructor: Deborah Minium

Phone: 564-6183

E-Mail: dminium@bcc.ctc.edu

Office Hours: by appointment only

 

Required Texts:   Essentials of Geology, 3rd edition  (2002) by Stanley Chernicoff and Chip Fox.

                                Geology Lab Manual

                                               

Lecture: Attendance will not be taken; however, exams will be based on lecture material as well as readings from the text, so it is highly recommended that you attend!  It is in your best interest to complete the assigned readings before lecture.  Interaction, questions, discussions are encouraged and expected.

 

Laboratory:           There will be one or two lab assignments per week for a total of 200 points. (Note that the lab days in the syllabus are approximate and may change.)  Assignments will be from the lab manual or assigned in class from other material.  Each lab will be completed during the class period, unless otherwise directed, by groups of 3 to 4 people.  Each lab assignment is due in class at the end of class time unless I specifically say otherwise.  Late labs will receive a zero.  There is NO LAB MAKE-UP and starting lab late will not be allowed – so arrive on time.

 

Quizzes: There will be ten quizzes during the quarter, for a total of 100 points.  Each quiz will be worth 10 points and be given in the first fifteen minutes of class each Friday.

 

Exams: There will be 2 midterms during the quarter worth 100 pts each (one approximately every month).  There are no makeup exams so please carefully note the dates. The final exam will contain some material from the entire quarter.  Each exam will include questions relating to the labs, as well as the lectures.

 

 

Points:           Labs 12.5 pts each                         200

                        Quizzes                                      100

                        2 Midterms  (100 pts each)           200

                        Final                                                 200

                        Total                                                 700    pts

 

 

 

 

Grading:        A = 100-93% C = 76-73%

                        A-=92-90%                    C+=79-77%

                        B+=89-87%                    C-=72-70%

                        B= 86-83%                     D+=69-67%

                        B-=82-80%                     D =66-60%            

                                                                F =59-0%

                                   

 

 

 

 

 

General Safety:  The only material we will work with that may irritate the skin is a very dilute solution of hydrochloric acid.  It is no more dangerous than strong household chemicals, but you should be careful and wash your hands after using it.

 

Special Needs Students:  If you need course adaptations or accommodations; if you have emergency medical information to share with me; or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please see me as soon as possible.

 

Supplies:  Pencils (with erasers!!); a metric and an English ruler, both with fine divisions; a few sheets of graph paper; access to or ownership of a calculator; colored pencils.

 

 

Science Division Policy on Cheating: You, the student, are expected to conduct yourself with integrity. If you cheat*, or aid someone else in cheating, you violate a trust.  If you cheat, the following actions will be taken:

1.     You will receive a grade of "0" on the work (exam, assignment, lab, quiz, etc.), where the cheating occurred.  This grade cannot be dropped.

2.     A report of the incident will be sent to the Dean of Students.  He may file the report in your permanent record or take further disciplinary action such as suspension or expulsion from the college.

If you feel you have been unfairly accused of cheating, you may appeal.  (For a description of due process, see WAC 132H-120.)

*Cheating includes, but is not limited to, copying answers on tests or assignments, glancing at nearby test papers, swapping papers, stealing, plagiarizing, and illicitly giving or receiving help on exams or assignments.

 


 

 

Section A Lecture Syllabus

Week     Date                Subject                                                                                           Weekly Reading

                                                                                                                                   (Chapters in Chernicoff and Fox)

PART I: Earth Materials and Resources

1              9/22                 Introduction to Geology                                                                             1

                9/23                 Introduction to Plate Tectonics                                                                

                9/24                 Origin and Structure of the Earth

                                         Plate Tectonics and the Structure of the Earth

                9/25                 Lab: Plate Tectonics Overview                                                                 11

                9/26                 Atoms, Elements and Minerals                                                                  2

 

2              9/29                 Physical Properties of Minerals

                9/30                 Lab: Geologic Materials

                10/1                 Common Rock-Forming Minerals

                10/2                 Lab: Common Rock-Forming Minerals                                                  3

                10/3                 Origin and Behavior of Magma

 

3              10/6                 Igneous Rocks

                10/7                 Lab: Minerals Properties                                                                         

                10/8                 Volcanoes

                10/9                 Lab: Igneous Rocks                                                                                    4

                10/10               NO CLASSES

 

4              10/13               Volcanoes(& Volcanic Hazards (Video))                                              6

                10/14               Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks                                                           5

            10/15               MIDTERM EXAM 1

            10/16               Lab: Sedimentary Rocks                                                                            

                10/17               Weathering and Erosion 

 

5              10/20               Sedimentary Environments                                                                       

                10/21               Lab: TBA

                10/22               Metamorphism                                                                                             7

                10/23               Lab: Metamorphic Rocks

                10/24               Metamorphic Rocks

                                       

 

PART II: Time & the Dynamic Earth

6              10/27               Geologic Time: Relative Time                                                                     8

                10/28               Lab: Geologic Time                                                                           

                10/29               Geologic Time: Absolute Time

                10/30               Lab: Earthquakes

                10/31               Deforming the Earth’s Crust                                                                      9

                                       

 

7              11/3                 Earthquakes : The Earth's Interior                                                             10

                11/4                 MIDTERM EXAM 2

                11/5                 Earthquakes Earthquake Prediction Video                                          

                11/6                 Lab: Plate Tectonics

                11/7                 Plate Tectonics : Sea Floor & Plate Motion & Review                 

                                       

 

PART III: Shaping the Earth's Surface

8              11/10               Landslides                                                                                                    

                11/11               NO CLASSES                                                                                             

                11/12               Landslides and the Hydrologic Cycle                                                      12

                11/13               Lab: Mass Wasting in Washington                                                         

                11/14               Rivers and Floods

 

9              11/17               Rivers and Floods                                                                                   13

                11/18               Lab; Rivers & Floods

                11/19               Groundwater                                                                                                 14

                11/20               Lab: Geologic Tools – Topographic Maps

                11/21               Groundwater

 

10            11/24               Speleothems                                                                                                 15

                11/25               Karst topography

                11/26               Glaciers

                11/27               NO CLASSES- THANKSGIVING BREAK                                                                           

                11/28               NO CLASSES- THANKSGIVING BREAK                                           

 

11                  12/1 Glaciers                                                                                                                  19

        12/2                 History of the Earth

        12/3                 History of the Earth

        12/4                 Early Life forms

        12/5                 Review

 

 

12                  12/8 NO CLASSES                                                                                                             

        12/9                 Final Exam December 9th AT 7:30AM – 9:20AM

       

 

·         All dates, topics, chapters, etc., are subject to change