GEOLOGY 101:  PRINCIPLES OF GEOLOGY

SPRING  2010

 

Earth Revealed

LECTURE:  5:00 PM - 6:15 PM, Tuesday-Thursday, Deloach Hall 114.

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. David E. Blake, Rm 221 Deloach Hall, (910) 962-3387 (Main Office: (910) 962-3490; Fax:  (919) 962-7077); EMAIL: blaked@uncw.edu; http://people.uncw.edu/blaked/index.html; you will meet your designated Teaching Assistant during you assigned laboratory time.

OFFICE HOURS:  Tuesday 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM, Wednesday 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM; Additional hours always open by appointment.

LECTURE TEXTBOOK: Essentials of Geology, by Lutgens, Tarbuck, and Tasa, 10th Ed., 2009, Pearson/Prentice-Hall, New Jersey, 509 p.  You are expected to read textbook assignments prior to the tentative dates on the syllabus.  You should adjust your reading schedule as the syllabus and course material evolve through the semester.  Additional readings may be assigned during the semester on pertinent topics in current periodicals, the newspaper, or the worldwide web.  Your textbook publisher maintains an interactive website of world-wide web educational opportunities and activities at www.prenhall.com/lutgens.  They allow you to cover a variety of geologic and earth science concepts, manipulate live data sets, perform interactive exercises, review concepts, and quiz yourselves.  Also refer to the CD attached to your textbook, GEODe:  Essentials of Geology

For earth science and geological terms that are new and strange, try the Glossary of Geology by Bates and Jackson (Reference: QE5 .B38 1987).  If you want to find something in the geologic literature the computer data base GEOREF is the best.  Search the Randall Library under Inside UNCW on its web page.  Then search electronic resources by subject and choose Earth Sciences. The reference librarian in the Randall Library will help you get started with this if you wish to use it. U.S. government publications on geology can be found in the Government Documents section of the Randall Library which is a repository for such items.  In that collection you will find a complete set of the topographic maps for North Carolina and South Carolina plus partial collections for the surrounding states.  The library also has extensive collections of the U.S. Geological Survey publications including Circulars, Bulletins, Professional Papers, and Geologic Maps. Geology books in the Randall Library are found primarily in the QE section of the stacks. Books related to the technical and applied nature of geology are found in the TN section and those related to geography in the GB section.  Of course, for general information, various search engines can assist in your discovery process.

LABORATORY TEXT: GLY 101 labs will meet in Deloach 109.  The GLY 101 laboratory manual is Laboratory Manual in Physical Geology, 8th Edition, by the American Geological Institute and the National Association of Geoscience Teachers, Richard M. Busch, editor.  There is the general syllabus for the laboratory.  Individual TAs will supply lab syllabi for each lab section.

ATTENDENCE: Attendance of lecture is extremely important in order to function well in this course.  It is my assignment to highlight the nuances of Physical Geology.  Absence from the lecture may hinder useful insights needed toward successful completion of the lecture exams.  Attendance of the laboratory is MANDATORY!!

LECTURE OBJECTIVES: Physical Geology in an introductory course that deals with planet Earth.  The lecture is intended to provide the student with a survey of the physical processes and resultant features involved in Earth's formation and continuing evolution. Earth will be discussed as a dynamic machine that has experienced continual change throughout geologic time.  Much of this change is due to the interaction between Earth's interior heat energy, which creates the Plate Tectonic Cycle, and the Sun's exterior heat energy, which drives the Hydrologic Cycle. Results of this interaction include Earth’s physical processes, its Rock Cycle, and the geomorphologic features of the planet, which are the highlights of this course.  Topics to be discussed are described in the tentative syllabus below.  The laboratory is intended to provide hands-on, practical experience in understanding Earth materials, architectures, and landforms created by the interaction of these major energy sources.

GRADING:   Course letter grades are assigned on an A-F scale.  The +/- system will be used in reporting final grades.  There are four lecture exams that will be given during the semester.  The first three exams will take place during the lecture hour.  The fourth will be given during the first hour of the final exam period.  NO make-up exams will be offered during the semester.  However, one of the first three exams may be replaced by an optional comprehensive make-up exam offered during the second hour of the final exam period.  The final exam is scheduled for Thursday, April 29th, 2010, from 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM.

For each exam, you are responsible for material discussed in lecture supplemented by reading material in the textbook.  Don't forget to review the chapter summaries, important terms, and review questions at the end of each chapter’s topical two-page spread.  Pop quizzes will be given.  Scores on the four exams will be equally weighted and will determine 75% of the final course grade. Your laboratory instructor will discuss the laboratory objectives and grading scheme during the first week of laboratory classes.  Their grade is provided to me and combined with your lecture grade.  The remaining 25% of your final course grade will come from your laboratory results.

ACADEMIC HONOR CODE

UNCW is committed to the proposition that the pursuit of truth requires the presence of honesty among all faculty, staff, and students involved.  It is therefore this institution's stated policy that no form of dishonesty among its faculty or students will be tolerated. Although all members of the University community are encouraged to report occurrences of dishonesty, each individual is principally responsible for their own honesty.

UNCW practices a zero-tolerance policy for violence and harassment of any kind.  For emergencies contact UNCW CARE at 962-2273, Campus Police at 962-3184, or Wilmington Police at 911.  For University or community resources visit:  http://uncw.edu/wrc/crisis.htm.

                                                                                                        

TENTATIVE LECTURE SCHEDULE

A tentative course schedule is provided below.  Due to the scope of material required for the course, I reserve the right to modify the schedule when and where needed.  I encourage you to read the introductory sections of your textbook to assist you in its organization and function as we travel through this schedule.

 

DATE-TOPIC-TEXT READINGS

1/07:                Course Policies; Who is an Earth Scientist?  Chapter 1

1/12:                Fundamentals of Geology; Chapter 1

1/14:                Investigating Geologic Questions; Chapter 1

1/18:              Martin Luther King Birthday!

1/19:                Minerals, Atoms, and Elements; Chapter 2

1/21:                Mineral Properties; Chapter 2

1/26:                Magma, Crystallization, and Plutonic Rocks; Chapter 3

1/28:                Magma, Crystallization, and Plutonic Rocks; Chapter 3

2/02:                Volcanoes and Volcanic Rocks; Chapter 4

2/04:                Volcanoes and Volcanic Rocks; Chapter 4

2/09:              EXAM I:  Chapters 1-4

2/11:                Weathering and Soils; Chapter 5

2/16:                Sedimentary Rocks; Chapter 6

2/18:                Sedimentary Environments and Resources; Chapter 6

2/23:                Metamorphism; Chapter 7

2/25:                Metamorphic Rocks and Structures; Chapter 7 and 17

3/02:                Earthquakes; Chapter 14

3/04:              EXAM II:  Chapters 5-7, Beginning of Chapter 17

3/06-14:        Spring Break!!  Yeha!!

3/16:                Earthquakes; Chapter 14

3/18:                Continental Drift; Chapter 15

3/23:                Plate Tectonics; Chapter 15

3/25:                The Ocean Floor; Chapter 16

3/30:                The Continents; Chapter 17

4/01-04:        Easter Break!!!

4/06:                EXAM III:  Chapters 14-17

4/08:                Running Water; Chapter 9

4/13:                Landforms; Chapter 9

4/15:                Shorelines; Chapter 13

4/20:                Coastal Issues and Hurricanes; Chapter 13

4/22:                Geologic Time; Chapter 18

4/27:              Reading Day

4/29:              EXAM IV:  Chapter 13 and Hurricanes; MAKE-UP EXAM; 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM.