Geol 100 – General Geology
San Diego Miramar College, Fall 2010, M/W, 5:00-6:20pm Room S5 108
Instructor: Ms. Gina Bochicchio CRN # 70999
Phone: (619) 388-7496 Email:
Required Text: Essentials of Geology, by Lutgens & Tarbuck (10th ed.)
Office Hours: Room S5-101D: M/W, 12:45-1:45pm T-Th 4:30-6pm, F after 11 am by appt.
Web Site: http://faculty.sdmiramar.edu/gbochicchio/index.htm(employee directory on faculty page of Miramar website)
Student Learning Objectives: At the end of this course, the successful student will be able to:
· Differentiate among the 3 major types of plate boundaries and recognize their characteristic geologic features.
· Identify common rock-forming minerals by their diagnostic properties.
· classify rock strata, faults and intrusions by age, using relative dating techniques.
GRADES: Grades are based on the following point system (out of 690):
A: 620 or more B: 550-619 C: 480-549 D: 410-479 F: less than 410.
1. Quizzes/Exams (aka Celebrations of Knowledge): There will be five in-class quizzes (50 points each) and a cumulative final exam (100 points). The lowest quiz grade will be dropped (not the final!). The format is multiple choice; I suggest buying a pack of Scantron forms and having them available. There will be NO makeup quizzes, since you can use a missed quiz as your lowest grade.
2. Photo Assignment (up to 50 points): Each student will complete a photo journal showing geologic structures that they have visited in San Diego County or elsewhere. Information about the photo assignment will be on my web site.
3. End of Chapter Homework (up to 100 points) Homework questions to be answered for each class are listed on the homework schedule page of the syllabus. I will call names at random from the roster. Everybody will get called at least 4 turns during the semester and probably more. Points are based on the percentage of times you are present and can correctly answer the question.
4. Writing Assignment (up to 50 points): This is a comprehensive report on two related geologic articles from scientific journals. This report should have be a minimum of 800 words. You will summarize, compare, and contrast the two articles, and include a proper citation for both articles. Information about the writing assignment is on my web site later in the semester. NOTE: All written work must be handed in as typed copy – no emails accepted.
5. Group Presentation (up to 100 points): A major contribution to your point total will be to participate in a team project with 2-3 other students. Your team will research a geologic topic, using journal articles, books, the Internet and other sources. Your team will then present the results of the research to the rest of the class. More information about the team projects, including a list of topics is on the web site.
6. In-class activities and computer assignments (5-12 points each). You must download the appropriate worksheet from the website (homework page). Dates are listed on the schedule in the syllabus. In class activities cannot be made up at home and are usually graded at the end of the class.
“Extra credit”; i.e. in addition to the 690 points include:
7. Field Trips (10 points per day with completed handout). More information on my web site.
8. Weekend Field Trip (10 pts per day with completed handout) Joint trip with Mesa College scheduled for the weekend of December 4-5th; more information on web site.
9. Additional Article Reviews (10 points each; up to 2 per semester): These should be about 500 words long and include the appropriate citation and bibliography.
10. Volcano Talk (up to 20 pts) – 5-minute presentation on a particular volcano.
Honors Contract: The topic for the honors contract is Global Warming. This contract will require participation in 5 Thursday evening discussion groups. We welcome people on both (all?) sides of this controversial and very interesting topic.
Late Work Policy: All late assignments are half credit. There are no make ups for missed in-class activities.
Excused Absences: Military obligations, religious holidays for which work is not permitted, and illness/injury with doctor’s note. Other emergencies or work obligations on a case-by-case basis. Please let me know as much as possible in advance.
CELL PHONE/COMPUTER POLICY: No visible or audible cell phones in class or lab. Every time I see your cell phone during lecture or lab, I will take 2 points off your final grade. The only exceptions to this rule are if your wife or child is in late stage pregnancy or you are awaiting organ donation. Please let me know if either of these apply to you.
In the class or lab, personal computers are to be used for notetaking, following the powerpoint, or accessing the ebook ONLY. Any other use is prohibited and the same 2 point penalty will apply.
Fine Print Stuff:
· It is the student’s responsibility to drop all classes in which he/she is no longer attending.
· It is the instructor’s discretion to withdraw a student after the add/drop deadline, (see below for date) due to excessive absences. I define excessive absences as more than 3.
· Students who remain enrolled in a class beyond the published withdrawal deadline, as stated in the class schedule, will receive an evaluative letter grade in this class.
· The final grade in this class will be affected by active participation, including attendance, due to the in-class activities and oral homework assignments.
· If you have a disability and need academic accommodations, please notify me as soon as possible.
· Academic Dishonesty: At the instructor’s discretion, you can receive a zero for the assignment, a failing grade for the class and be reported to the administration for further sanctions.
IMPORTANT DATES:
Sept. 3 Last day to add. Last day to drop with no “W” recorded.
Oct. 29: Last day to withdraw without an evaluative grade.
Wed, Dec 15, 2010: Final Exam
Common Courtesy: This is a big class. No extended conversation with your neighbors, please . Thanks!
Tentative Course Outline, Geol 100, Fall 2010
Date / Subject / Chapter (Section titles in book are in red)M 8/23
/ Introduction / Ch 1 Earth’s Internal Structure; The Dynamic EarthW 8/25
/ Plate Tectonics / Ch 15 – Plate Tectonics: The New Paradigm, Plate BoundariesM 8/30 / Plate Tectonics / Ch 15 – Testing the Plate Tectonics Model, Measuring Plate Motion (omit Apparent Polar Wandering)
W 9/1 / Minerals / Ch 2 – Minerals: Building Blocks of Rocks, Elements: Building Blocks of Minerals, Properties of Minerals, Mineral Groups. Plate mapping assignment due
W 9/8 / Quiz#1 Ch. 1,15
Minerals / Ch 2 – The Silicates, Common Silicate Minerals, Important Non-Silicate Minerals
M 9/13 / Minerals / Minerals cont’d (Bring mineral ID exercise to class)
W 9/15 / Igneous Rocks / Ch 1 Rock Cycle, Ch 3, Magma, Igneous Textures, Igneous Compositions
M 9/20 / Igneous Rocks / Ch 3 – Naming Igneous Rocks , How Magmas Evolve
M9/20 / Field trip#1 / Mount Woodson, Scripps Ranch Library, Miramar Lake 1:45 pm
W 9/22 / Igneous Rocks / Ch 3 Cont’d (Bring igneous rock ID exercise to class)
M 9 /27
/ Quiz #2 Ch. 2,3Sedimentary Rocks / Ch 6 Read entire chapter
W 9/29 / Sedimentary Rocks / Ch 6 - Cont’d
M 10/4
/ Metamorphism / Ch 7 –Entire ChapterW 10/6 / Metamorphism / Ch 7 Cont’d
M 10/11 / Rock ID ( ch 6,7) / (Bring sedimentary and metamorphic rock ID exercise to class)
W 10/13 / Geologic Time / Ch 18 – Geology Needs a Time Scale, Relative Dating – Key Principles, Correlation of Rock Layers, Fossils, Geologic Time Scale
M 10/18 / Quiz#3, Ch 6, 7
Geologic Time / Ch 18 – Cont’d (Bring Correlation Exercise to class)
1st call for presentation groups/topics
W 10/20 / Radiometric Dating / Ch 18 – Dating with Radioactivity
M 10/25 / Radiometric Dating / Ch 18 – Dating with Radioactivity, Carbon-14 Assignment Due
W 10/27 /
Earthquakes
/ Ch 14 – Entire Chapter up to Probing Earth’s InteriorM 11/1 / Earthquakes / Ch 14 Cont’d Earthquake Assignment Due
W 11/3 / Mountain Building / Ch 17 –Folds, Faults, Writing Assignment due
M 11/8 / Mountain Building / Ch 17 –Mountain Building (rest of chapter)
W 11/10 / Quiz#4, Ch 14,18
Volcanoes/Igneous Activity / Ch 4 – Mt. St. Helens vs. Kilauea, The Nature of Volcanic Eruptions, Materials Extruded During an Eruption, Volcanic Structures and Eruptive Styles, Volcano Talks
M 11/15 / Volcanoes/Igneous Activity / Ch 4 – Living in the Shadow of a Composite Cone, Other Volcanic Landforms, Intrusive Igneous Activity, Volcano Talks
M 11/15 / Field Trip #2 / Tourmaline Beach, Monday 1: 45 pm
W 11/17 / Volcanoes / Ch. 4, cont’d, Plate Tectonics and Igneous Activity, Volcano talks
presentation groups/topics due
M 11/29 / Global Warming / http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/globalwarming/index.html,
W 12/1 / Quiz #5 Ch 17,4 Global Warming / http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/globalwarming/index.html
12/4-12/5 / Weekend FT / Mecca Hills (Salton Sea)
M 12/6 / GW/Presentations
W 12/8 / Presentations
M 12/13 / Presentations
W 12/15 / Final Exam / Photo Assignment and all outstanding assignments due
Tentative Homework Assignment Geology 100 – Fall 2010
(check web site: http://faculty.sdmiramar.edu/gbochicchio for changes and updates)
Date Due /Chapter and Question Number from 10th Edition
W 8/25
/ 1. List and describe the earth’s layers as defined by physical properties, such as being liquid or solid2. What are the 3 major types of plate boundaries? Describe the relative plate motion at each of these boundaries.
3. Describe seafloor spreading. With what type of plate boundary is it associated? Name a place where seafloor spreading is occurring today.
4. What is a subduction zone? With what type of plate boundary is it associated? Name a place where subduction is occurring today.
5. Where do most transform fault boundaries occur, in the ocean or on land? Name an exception to that rule.
M 8/30 / 1. Explain why the discovery of Mesosaurus fossils in S. America and Africa supports the continental drift hypothesis.
2. According to the continental drift hypothesis, why is coal (which is formed in tropical swamps) abundant in northern hemisphere locations such as eastern U.S., northern Europe and Siberia?
3. What was probably the main objection to the continental drift hypothesis as proposed by Wegener?
4. What post WW 2 oceanographic discoveries caused the rejected continental drift hypothesis to be re-examined and modified?
5. How do the Hawaiian Islands show how fast and in what direction the Pacific Plate moves?
W 9/1 / Ch 2: 1, 11, 15, 16, and:
A: Briefly define the following primary diagnostic properties of minerals
· luster
· hardness
· cleavage
B. What are the most abundant elements (not minerals) in the Earth’s crust?
Plate mapping assignment due
W 9/8 / Quiz#1 Ch. 1,15
Ch. 2: 18 (omit f ) and: A: Which mineral group contains the mineral calcite? What sedimentary rock is formed from impure masses of calcite?
M 9/13 / (Bring mineral ID exercise to class)
W 9/15 / Ch.1: 13 and
Ch 3: 1,3,5,6, 8
M 9/20 / Ch. 3: 11, 12, 13,16, 17 and:
Do the following pairs of rocks have the same texture or the same mineral content?
A. granite and rhyolite, B. granite and diorite, C. basalt and gabbro, D. andesite and rhyolite
W 9/22 / Bring igneous rock ID sheets to class
M 9 /27
/ Quiz# 2, Ch 2,3Ch.6: 2,4,8, and
A. Briefly describe the parts of the rock cycle that pertain to sediments and sedimentary rock.
W 9/29 / Ch 6: 12, 14, 15 and:
A. Limestone cliffs indicate what type of past environment? Explain
B. Sandstone cliffs indicated what type of past environment (more than one answer). Explain.
C. The presence of coal indicates what type of past environment? Explain
M 10/4 / Ch 7: 1,2,7, 8
W 10/6 / Ch 7: A. What is foliation, and what process ultimately drives it in metamorphic environments? B Name the four common foliated metamorphic rocks, from lowest to highest grade of metamorphism. C. What are the parent rocks of marble and quartzite? Are these parent rocks igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic?
M 10/11 / (Bring sedimentary and metamorphic rock ID exercise to class)
W 10/13 / Ch 18: 1,2,3 4,5, and:
A: Describe what is meant in the geologic record by an unconformity.
M 10/18 / Quiz#3, Ch 6, 7
Ch 18: 7, 9, (Bring Correlation Exercise to class)
W 10/20 / Ch 18: 13, 14, 16 and:
A. How is the Principle of Fossil Succession related to the evolution of life through time?
B. The eras of the Geologic Time Scale are defined by worldwide changes in life forms. Using the expanded Time scale on p. 447, explain what those changes were between:
· The Paleozoic and Mesozoic Eras
· The Mesozoic and Cenozoic Eras
C: During what geologic era and period did the first complex life forms appear?
M 10/25 / Ch 18: A. Explain what is wrong with this statement: If a “half-life” represents the time it takes one half of the radioactive parent isotope to turn into stable daughter product, then all the parent should be gone after 2 half-lives.
B. What is the stable daughter product of Carbon-14?
C. When using Carbon-14, the ratio of parent to daughter product cannot be measured because the daughter isotope is a gas and escapes into the atmosphere. How, then, is the age of the specimen determined?
Hand in Carbon 14-Dating assignment and certificate (see my web site under “Lecture HW”)
W 10/27 / Ch. 14: 1, 2, 4, 7, 8 , 10
M 11/1 / Ch. 14: 12,13,14, and Hand in Earthquake Assignment and certificate (see my web site under “Lecture HW”)
W 11/3 / Writing Assignment due
Ch. 17: 7, 8,9 11 and:
A. According to “strict definition”, what are anticlines and synclines?
B. What type of force causes folds such as anticlines and synclines to form?
C. Is the San Andreas Fault a dip-slip fault or a strike-slip fault? Explain.
M 11/8 / Ch 17: 14, 15,17, 19, 20, 21
W 11/10 / Quiz#4, Ch 18,14, volcano talks
M 11/15 / Ch. 4: 3, 8, 9, 15, 17 (omit laccolith), volcano talks
W 11/17 / Ch 4. 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 28 volcano talks presentation groups/topics due
M 11/29 / Global warming assignment #1 (see website)
W 12/1 / Quiz #5 Ch 17,4 Global warming assignment #2 (see website)
M 12/6 /
GW cont’d/Presentations
W 12/8 /Presentations
M 12/13 /Presentations
W 12/15 /Final Exam Cumulative/Presentations – Photo assignment due (and all other outstanding)