GLG 103: Intro to Geology I: Laboratory

Syllabus and Requirements – Summer 2006

Instructor: ______Office: ______Office Hours: ______Email: ______

Professor in Charge: Donald Burt, PSF 642, <>.

Lab Book: Observing and Interpreting Geology – A Laboratory Manual for Introductory Geology, Summer 2006 Edition, by Reynolds, S.J., Johnson, J.K., and Stump, E. This manual is available only at the ASU bookstore and used copies are not allowed because (1) pages are filled out, torn out, and turned in; and (2) the manual is revised every semester.

Relation to GLG 101: The laboratory course, GLG 103, is administered separately from the “lecture” course (GLG 101). Grades are determined independently for each course and not combined into one grade. Both GLG101 and GLG103 must be taken to secure SQ or SG credit. The courses cover complementary material, but topics do not necessarily correspond on a week-by-week basis.

Attendance: Attendance is mandatory! Students must attend the lab section for which they are registered. The only exception to this is when a lab is being made up due to an excused absence. You may only make up labs at the instructors discretion, and it is your responsibility to complete all labs. Labs will begin promptly at the beginning of the lab period; you should plan on arriving on time and staying the entire time.

Lab Schedule: The schedule of labs is listed below.

Chapter / Lab Assignment / Chapter / Lab Assignment
1 / Painted Canyon: Shape of the Land
No quiz this day. / 8 / Colonizing Painted Canyon and Exploring Volcano Island
2 / Locating Yourself on Topographic Maps / 9 / The Grand Canyon of Northern Arizona
3 / Mineral Riches of Painted Canyon / 10 / Canyons and Mountains of S. and Central AZ
4 / Ancient Environments of Painted Canyon / 11 or 12 / You will not meet in the normal lab room!
Labs that meet in H456 will do a Field Trip to A Mountain, while labs that meet in H457 will do Hometown Geology (Chapter 12) in the Map Library. No quiz this day.
5 / Ancient Mountains and Volcanoes of Painted Canyon / 11 or 12 / You will not meet in the normal lab room!
Labs that meet in H457 will do Field Trip to Robert A Mountain, while labs that meet in H456 will do Hometown Geology (Chapter 12) in the Map Library. No quiz this day.
6 / Mapping the Geology of Painted Canyon / 13 / Geology and Landscapes of Arizona
7 / Reconstructing the Geologic History of Painted Canyon / 14 / Badwater and Fossils of the Grand Canyon and Colorado Plateau

Grades: Grades are assigned based on points you earn by (1) attending and completing the labs, (2) completing lab quizzes, (3) turning in worksheets at the end of each lab, and (4) a one-page paper on the geology of your hometown. There are no hour exams and no final. Completing the lab worksheets accounts for most of the total points, so attendance is essential! The point distributions and typical letter-grade assignments for the total points earned are listed on the following page.

¨  Thirteen (13) labs, including the first one, are worth 40 points. Work done in lab manuals will be checked at the end of the lab period by the instructor, and worksheets will be handed in for grading. Worksheets will not be handed back, but answers to the worksheets may be posted at the end of the week. Grades for the labs and the quizzes will also be posted periodically throughout the semester. The “Hometown Geology Lab” is worth 20 points for your participation at the ASU map library (chapter 11 or 12). Following the lab, you will write a one-page paper on geology of your home town which is worth 60 points.

Point Distribution /

Points

13 Labs (@40 points each)
11 Quizzes (@ 5 points each) / 520
55
Hometown Geology Lab & Paper / 80

Total

/ 655
Letter Grade
655-590 = A
589-524 = B
523-459 = C
458-393 = D
Less than 393 = E

Quizzes: Starting with the second chapter, each lab will begin with a short quiz that is worth 5 points. (Exceptions to this are during chapters 11 & 12 when the Hometown Geology and Robert S. Deitz Museum Labs occur.) The material on the quiz will come from (1) the lab manual covering the subject of that chapter’s lab, and/or (2) key concepts and skills you learned in the previous lab – your TA will inform you what type of material the quizzes will cover. The quizzes are intended to assure that you have read the manual before coming to class and will attempt to cover the most obvious material.

Make-up labs: If you miss a lab for medical or other legitimate reasons, the lab should be made up with the instructor’s permission, preferably within the lab week.

Withdrawals

Unrestricted withdrawal deadline: to withdraw, obtain and complete a withdrawal form from a registrar site. The signature of the instructor is not required.

Restricted course withdrawal deadline: the withdrawal form requires the signature of Dr. Burt. The grade of "W" will be given if work to date is passing, i.e. 60% or better. Otherwise, an "E" will be issued. In calculating your grade at the time of the withdrawal, any unexcused absences will be counted as no points. To initiate the withdrawal procedure, give the completed withdrawal form to your TA. You will then need to pickup the form from the Geological Sciences Department office (PSF 686), allowing a minimum of 2 days for departmental approval. Remember, it is your responsibility to pick up the form and take it to a registrar site to withdraw. After this restricted date, the only way to withdraw from a course is to withdraw completely from the University.

Incomplete Grade: A mark of "I" is given only when a student who is otherwise doing acceptable work is unable to complete a course because of an illness or other situation beyond the student's control. The University and Dept. of Geological Sciences will not sign off on an Incomplete if the student simply quit coming to class without informing the instructor. The student is required to fill out the REQUEST FOR GRADE OF INCOMPLETE form which spells out the arrangement for the completion of the course requirements. This is done through Dr. Burt (not your lab Instructor). The student has one calendar year from the date the "I" is recorded to complete the course. Marks of "I" for undergraduate courses that have been on the student's record for more than one calendar year are automatically changed to a grade of "E". An undergraduate student does not register or pay fees for a course the second time in order to complete the incomplete.

Academic Dishonesty: The Geological Sciences Department has very strict and enforced policies against academic dishonesty and disruptive behavior. We consider any of the following activities to be evidence of dishonesty (i.e. cheating):

·  any exchange of answers between you and other students in your lab or any other lab; although you will work in a team, you and your teammate should not write the exact same answers in worksheets – please use your own words;

·  coming to lab with any part of that day’s lab manual already filled out or using unauthorized materials (“cheat sheets”);

·  plagiarism, such as incorporating another person’s writing, including uncited Internet sources, into any part of your written lab reports, Hometown Geology paper, or Robert S. Deitz Museum; and

·  other activities specified in the University Student Academic Integrity Policy.

Safeguards are designed into the course to identify and document academic dishonesty. Proof of academic dishonesty will result in an automatic grade of "E" for the course and will be reported to the University, possibly resulting in your suspension or expulsion. The labs are designed with an appropriate level of difficulty so please do your part.