Historical Geology 1402

Spring 2006

Dr. Phyllis Tippit

Office Hours: before or after class with appointment.

Email:

Telephone: 254-495-1578

Textbook: Earth System History, 2nd Edition. Steven M. Stanley.

Lab Manual: Laboratory Manual in Physical Geology, 7th edition. AGI Institute

Goal of Course: To develop a knowledge of and appreciation for the science of Physical Geology through experiences in lecture, in the laboratory, and on field trips.

This course is designed to give the non-science major an understanding of the history of the Earth, to enhance the science major’s knowledge of earth history and processes, and to provide education majors with a introduction to earth processes and how they are studied.

Student’s Responsibilities

Each student must attend class regularly. Failure to attend will result in 0 on quizzes and lab assignments. Read the assigned chapters and any other materials carefully before you come to class. Bring any questions to class. Take notes in class. Complete lab assignments during the class period.

Plan of Course:

The class will be a mixture of lecture material and lab exercises. There will at least one field trip. This trip will be before and during the class period to a BeltonLake site. Attendance is mandatory.

Grading System

Semester grades are based on student class participation and performance on assigned laboratory activities, quizzes, exams, and field trips.

Quizzes. Short quizzes may be given at the beginning of any class period. These quizzes are designed to test understanding of the material in the last lab and/or lecture as well as the reading for the present class. The lowest quiz grade will be dropped. The only makeups will be for excused absences with a written excuse.

Exams. There will be two exams, a midterm and a final. A review will be provided before each exam.

Laboratory. Lab reports are due at the beginning of the next class period. Late lab reports will not be accepted without a written excuse.

Grading Criteria

Quizzes20%

Field Trip 10%

Lab Reports20%

Exams50%

A90-100%

B80-89%

C70-79%

D60-69%

Fless than 60%

Quizzes, lab reports and assignments are returned to the students after grading. The student is responsible for keeping these papers until the end of the semester. The midterm exam will be returned for examination, but must be given back to the instructor. The final exam may be examined in the instructor’s office.

Grounds for Dismissal or Failing.

Students are encouraged to study together and will work as teams in the lab. However, all lab reports and assignments must be the student’s own work. Students caught cheating or plagiarizing will receive an automatic grade of “F” for the course. Any student submitting a lab report with another student’s data, or any student submitting a lab report describing work that was not performed, is also subject to an automatic grade of “F” for the entire course.

Safety.

Students must sign a safety contract. Students will not be allowed to continue in the lab if they repeatedly violate safety regulations which, in the sole opinion of the instructor, make them a danger to themselves and/or to others in the lab. Students should not bring food or drinks into the lab.

THIS SYLLABUS IS SUBJECT TO ANY CHANGES ANNOUNCED IN CLASS.

Historical Geology Class Schedule
Day / Date / Reading Assignment / Lab Assignment
Thursday / Jan. 12 / Chap. 1,8,9 Geol Intro/ Plate Tectonics
Tuesday / Jan. 17 / Chap. 6 Correlation & Dating Fossil Record / Lab 1; Relative Dating
Thursday / Jan. 19 / Chap. 2 Minerals & Rocks / Lab 2; Rocks/Minerals
Tuesday / Jan. 24 / Chap. 2 Minerals & Rocks (con't) / Lab 3, 4: Sed. Rocks
Thursday / Jan. 26 / Chap. 3, 4 Diversity of Life, Environments / Lab 5, 6: Sed. Environments
Tuesday / Jan. 31 / Chap. 5 Sed Environments / Lab 8 Stratigraphy/Correlation
Thursday / Feb. 2 / Chap. 7 Evolution & Fossil Record / Lab 14 Evolution
Tuesday / Feb. 7 / Miller Springs Park Field Trip at 4 pm
Thursday / Feb. 9 / Review
Tuesday / Feb. 14 / Mid-Term Exam / Mid-Term Exam
Thursday / Feb. 16 / Chap. 11, 12 Precambrian / Lab. 11 Fossil Preservation
Tuesday / Feb. 21 / Chap. 13 Early Paleozoic / Lab . 9 Fossils on the Internet
Thursday / Feb. 23 / Chap. 14 Middle Paleozoic / Lab. 10 Invertebrate Fossils
Tuesday / Feb. 28 / Chap. 15,16 Late Paleozoic, Early Mesozoic / Lab. 15: Vertebrates
Thursday / Mar. 2 / Chap. 17 Cretaceous / Lab. 12 Microfossils
Tuesday / Mar. 7 / Chap. 18,19 Paleogene, Neogene / Lab. 13 Biostratigraphy
Thursday / Mar. 9 / Chap. 20 Holocene / Lab. 16 Interp. Geol. History
Tuesday / Mar. 14 / Spring Break
Thursday / Mar. 16 / Spring Break
Tuesday / Mar. 21 / Presentations
Thursday / Mar. 23 / Presentations
Tuesday / Mar. 28 / Review / Review
Thursday / Mar. 30 / Final Exam / Final Exam