Geology 111 - The Earth !
Spring 2008 -
Instructor: Dr. Andrew Wulff
Office Hours: TBA - EST Room 437 (x 5976)
E-mail: andrew.wulff@wku.edu
Course homepage: http://geoggeol.wku.edu/awulff/111/G111.html
Course Meeting Times/Place: Lecture: 10:20 – 11:15 a.m. MWF in EST 260
Design and Purpose of Course - Geology 111 (3 credit hrs.) This is an introductory core course with a lab component for geology majors and minors, prospective science teachers, and students in allied sciences or other technical areas. This course provides an introduction to earth materials, dynamic external and internal earth processes, and the relationships between human activity and the earth. This course fulfills the Category D general education requirement. It will help you attain these general education goals and objectives:
● An understanding of the scientific method and a knowledge of natural science and its relevance in our lives.
Text (required) - Earth by Tarbuck and Lutgens (9th Edition), Prentice Hall 2008. If you already own an earlier edition, check with Dr. Wulff before buying a newer edition.
Lectures are designed to supplement and augment material covered in the text. Therefore – READ assigned chapters before lecture in order to be prepared.
Exams and Grades
There will be 4 exams (100 pts. each) and your final grade will be calculated on a 500-point basis (including 450 pts for four exams and 50 points total for announced and unannounced quizzes, exercises, and other assignments).
WWW-based assignments
will start with a grade of B – unless very good or very bad.
The first three exams are worth 100 points each.
The fourth exam is the final exam, which is worth 150
points, and is partly “cumulative” (it will deal with material covered on
earlier exams).
Exams will vary from multiple choice and short essay to short problem solving and
graphical display (sketching) formats. Exercises, assignments, and quizzes will be a measure of your commitment to learning on a daily basis in the class. Students who do well on quizzes and exercises will certainly prove themselves as the best performers on hourly exams (a word to the wise about “cramming for exams”). Online practice tests are available at:
http://wps.prenhall.com/esm_tarbuck_earth_8/0,9073,1298206-,00.html. - click on the “Enter Site” link – choose a chapter at the top of the page – answer the questions – and submit it to be graded. Questions from the “Chapter Tests” will be used on the lecture exams in this course. These tests may be taken at any time and results may be e-mailed to Dr. Wulff.
The grading scale is as follows:
(> 90%) = A (> 80%) = B (> 70%) = C
(> 60%) = D (< 60%) = F
Note: There is no
possibility of “extra credit”.
Attendance and
Participation Policy:
Attendance is expected and participation strongly
encouraged. Students are responsible for
all material covered in class, whether or not they are in attendance. I expect students to be on time, and to stay
for the entire class period. Students will
occasionally answer short questions in class and turn in the answers for
grade. Students will be permitted to
make up examinations missed because of illness, mandatory religious
obligations, or other unavoidable circumstances or University activities. I expect notice, and a written excuse
regarding such absences is required.
Schedule Change Policy
The Dept. of Geography and Geology strictly adheres to University policies regarding schedule changes. It is the responsibility of the student to meet all deadlines for drop/add etc. Only in exceptional cases will a deadline be waived (you would be required to fill out an appeal form). The form requires a written description of the extenuating circumstances involved and the attachment of appropriate documentation. Poor academic performance, general malaise, or undocumented general stress factors are not considered as legitimate circumstances.
Make-Up Policy
In the event that an examination is missed, make-up exams will be scheduled only for those students presenting a valid, written excuse for their absence during the scheduled test period. It is your responsibility to contact your instructor before the exam to make other arrangements. There will be no make-up quizzes or exercises.
Miscellany
There is no food or drink permitted in the classroom. EST is a smoke-free building.
Cell phones, pagers, and other electronic distractions should be turned off in the classroom!
I expect students to respect both the material and their colleagues. This means pay attention and do not disrupt those around you or prevent them from being able to concentrate.
Plagiarism To represent ideas or
interpretations taken from another source as one’s own is plagiarism.
Plagiarism is a serious offense. The academic work of a student must be their
own. Students must give the author(s) credit for any source material used. To
lift content directly from a source without giving credit is a flagrant act. To
present a borrowed passage after having changed a few words, even if the source
is cited, is also plagiarism.
Disposition of Offenses - Students who commit any act of academic dishonesty may
receive from the instructor a failing grade in that portion of the course work in which the
act is detected or a failing grade in the course without possibility of withdrawal.
Student Disability
Services
In compliance with university policy, students with
disabilities who require academic and/or auxiliary accommodations for this
course must contact the Office for Student Disability Services in
Please DO NOT request accommodations directly from the professor or instructor without a letter of accommodation from the Office for Student Disability Services.
The
General Education Course
This course fulfills the Category D general education requirement. It will help you attain these general education goals and objectives through the perspective of Geology:
Course activities are intended to help you develop your academic skills in these four general education areas plus provide content knowledge of Earth materials, dynamic external and internal Earth processes, and the relationships between human activity and the Earth.
All course reading assignments and lectures are intended to help you develop an understanding of the scientific method and a knowledge of natural science and its relevance in our lives. These goals are achieved through examinations of basic geologic mechanisms and engagement with the scientific method through in-class problem-solving. Students are strongly encouraged to read the text in a timely fashion, participate in class discussions, peruse and use the materials on the course webpage, join with other students in study groups, and intentionally apply the concepts and approaches in the course to their chosen field of study.
Proposed Geology 111 Course Outline
|
Week of .. |
Topics |
Chapters |
Important Dates |
|
Jan. 21 |
Intro to Earth
(Interior & Exterior); Science
& Scientific Method |
1 |
MLK birthday Jan. 21 |
|
Jan. 28 |
Plate Tectonics; Chemistry and
Mineralogy |
2, 3 |
Definitions web
assignment due Jan. 28 before class |
|
Feb. 4 |
Minerals Igneous Rocks |
3, 4 |
Minerals web
assignment due Feb. 6 before
class |
|
Feb. 11 |
Igneous Rocks and
Processes |
4, 5 |
Exam 1 – Friday, Feb.
15 |
|
Feb. 18 |
Volcanoes; Weathering &
Soils |
5, 6 |
|
|
Feb. 25 |
Sedimentary Rocks
& Depositional Environments |
7 |
|
|
March 3 |
Mass Wasting |
15 |
Exam 2 – Friday, March
7 |
|
March 10-14 |
|
|
Spring Break 2008 !! |
|
March 17 |
Metamorphic Rocks;
Metamorphism Time |
8, 9 |
|
|
March 24 |
Geologic Time &
Stratigraphy; Structural Geology |
9, 10 |
|
|
Mar. 31 – Apr.4 |
Structures Earthquakes |
10, 11 |
|
|
April 7 |
Earth’s Interior Geophysics/ remote
Sensing |
11, 12 |
Exam 3 – Friday, April
11 |
|
April 14 |
Running Water; Groundwater |
16, 17 |
|
|
April 21 |
Groundwater Glaciers and Climate |
17 18 |
|
|
April 28 |
Deserts; Shorelines |
19, 20 |
|
|
May 5 |
FINAL – Tuesday – May 6 10:30 am – 12:30
p.m. |
|
FINAL – Tuesday – May 6 10:30 am – 12:30
p.m. |