Semester at a Glance

GLG 101 INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL GEOLOGY

Course Meeting Times and Place:

Time:MWF 1:40-2:30pm
Room:PSF166

Textbook:

Title: “Earth: Portrait of a Planet”
Author: Stephen Marshak
Publisher: WW Norton & Company

Course Objectives:

Geology is the study of the Earth. The science of geology is traditionally divided into two broad disciplines: physical and historical. This course will focus primarily on physical geology through an examination of the basic structure and composition of the materials that comprise the Earth, and the processes that underlie major geologic phenomena. The course is divided into the following broad subject areas: Earth’s place in the Solar System; rocks and minerals (the materials which comprise the surface, crust and interior), internal processes (volcanic activity, earthquakes, plate tectonics and mountain building); external processes (physical/chemical weathering, erosion (transport of materials) by gravity, running water, ice and wind) and the landforms created by the interaction of internal and external processes. Throughout the course, an emphasis will be placed on how geological phenomena are linked together into large scale systems and how these systems interact to create the geological features we observe.

Presentation Format:

The course will consist of lectures, in-class discussions, in-class exercises and films or short video clips. Lectures will be based primarily on readings from the textbook, plus some classroom handouts. Lectures will be largely digital presentations and will be archived on a class website. Lectures will include interactive class demonstrations and a Saturday field trip to PapagoPark. Students are encouraged to earn extra credit by researching and presenting short news reports (“Geology in the News”) to the class at the beginning of lecture. These Geology in the News reports will be selected from short written summaries handed to the instructor at the beginning of lecture.

Class Website:

Lectures will be archived at the following web address:

General Course Policies

Attendance: Because of the integrative nature of the material covered in the course, regular attendance at lectures is expected. Attendance will be monitored through participation in homework and in-class exercises. The history of attendance will be carefully considered when assigning final course grades. \

Classroom Etiquette: The classroom is a place for learning. Talking in class, reading the newspaper, eating food, or other noisy activities are improper and can distract others. In accordance with University policy, students who disrupt classroom activities will be asked to leave and if they persist, will be dis-enrolled from the course.

Exams and Grading

The lecture grade will be based on two midterms and a final exam, plus in-class quizzes and discussion assignments. In place of one midterm exam, students can hand in a 12-page term paper (plus references and illustrations). The paper topic must be drawn from materials covered by that course midterm and must be agreed to by the instructor. The lecture final will emphasize the latter third of the class, but will also include questions covering the recurrent themes from the first 2/3 of the course. Exams will be closed book and follow multiple choice, matching and short answer essay formats. The approximate point breakdown for the course grade is given below:

No early or make-up examinations will be given except for medical reasons, or attendance at an official ASU-sanctioned sporting event. In all cases there must be official written documentation by a doctor or University Official before permission for a make-up exam will be granted. Make-up exams are typically oral exams that last an hour.

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has mandated that final exams be given and taken at assigned times. As a matter of University policy, requests for early final examinations will not be granted by the instructor.

Students caught cheating on exams will be assigned a failing grade for the course.

Course Schedule: GLG 101 MWF 1:40-2:30 PM Spring ‘03 Prof. Farmer

Read: Prelude

Topic: Geology as a Science

29

31

25

Midterm I

28

31

2

3

Midterm II

17

28

2