Course Rationale: This course is
designed to provide a study of the basic geologic materials and processes that
shape the Earth and the impacts these materials and processes have on society.
The laboratory skills for the study of geology will also be introduced. This
course is designed for science and non-science majors.
Catalog description: This course is an
introduction to basic geology. Students will learn about the principles of
mineralogy, petrology, structural geology, geomorphology, and historical
geology. Laboratory skills for the study of geology will be introduced.
Course
Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course students should be able
to:
1.
Explain
the origin of the Earth and state some of the major events in its history
2.
Use
the tools and techniques of a geologist to analyze earth’s processes and
materials
3.
Identify
rocks and minerals and explain how they form
4.
State
the theory of plate tectonics and use it to explain geologic phenomenon such as
sea floor spreading, continental drift, earthquakes, and mountain building
5.
Identify
a variety of surface features that demonstrate the external processes that
shape the Earth’s surface
6.
Explain
the external processes involved that create a variety of surface features
7.
Identify
a variety of surface features that demonstrate the internal processes that
shape the Earth’s surface
8.
Explain
the internal processes involved that create a variety of sub-surface features
9.
Assess
the hazards of geology-related phenomenon and the impacts these events have on
society
10.
Identify
the economic importance of a variety of earth materials and describe the
impacts of the extraction and use of these earth materials on society.
Optional Field Trip
Opportunities
As
part of the educational experiences provided in this course, optional field
trips are designed to augment the in-class learning experience in introductory
physical geology by providing students the opportunity to see firsthand local
geological features and understand their context as they apply to the geology
and geologic history of Missouri. Students are presented with an opportunity to
observe features relevant to topics learned in class involving rock types,
faults and folds, mass wasting features, catastrophic flood deposits, impact
structures, and volcanic materials and processes.
Participation
in these field trips will be worth 20 points per field trip and will replace
missing lab scores. If no labs have been missed, points will be applied to other
lab scores. Students are required to hand in a completed and accurately
answered field trip handout to demonstrate full participation. A maximum of
three (3) field trips can be used to replace missing/low lab scores.
Field
trips for this class may include:
·
The
Geology of Highway 65
·
The
Geology of Branson Airport
·
The
Decaturville Impact Structure
·
An
Ice Age Time Capsule: Riverbluff Cave
·
Missouri’s
Volcanic Past: Elephant Rocks/Johnson Shut-ins (may be an overnight camping
trip)
A. The required text for the
lecture part of the course is: Essentials of Geology—11th
Edition by Lutgens, Tarbuck,
etc..
I will frequently refer to figures similar to that in the text during my lectures,
so it would be to your advantage to bring your copy to class with you. |
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B. Detailed notes on the
lecture material and animated PowerPoint lecture slides are available on my
Internet page at: |
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http://courses.missouristate.edu/emantei/creative/ click on 1a and 1b |
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BRING
NOTES TO CLASS AND ADD MORE DURING THE LECTURE. |
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Your
course grade for GLG 110 will be based 67% on your performance in lecture and
33% on your performance in lab. At the end of the semester your instructor
will then determine your Total Course Percentage according to the following
formula: |
Total
Course Percentage = 0.67 x Total Lecture Percentage = 0.33 x Total Laboratory
Percentage |
Your
instructor will then determine your course grade from your Total Course
Percentage according to the following fixed scale—plus-minus
system--Borderline grades can favor a higher letter grade based on
attendance: |
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IV.
LECTURE EXAMS |
There
will be four exams over the lecture material. Three of these exams will be
given during regularly scheduled lecture periods, and the fourth will be
given during the Terminal Class Period on Finals Week. None of the four
lecture exams is comprehensive; each exam covers approximately one-fourth of
the lecture material. All four of these exams and the topic material are
listed on the accompanying Course Outline. In GLG 110 lecture the median score will be calculated for each exam. If the median falls below 70% on any exam, the scores for that exam for all students will be adjusted upward by adding the number of points necessary to bring the median to 70%. Under no circumstance will an individual student be allowed to take an exam later than the rest of the class. If you will be out of town on a school-sponsored activity on one of the exam dates, you must contact your GLG 110 instructor at least two weeks in advance to make arrangements to take the exam early. |
Absolutely
no make-up exams. If you miss an exam, no matter how legitimate your reason,
your grade for that exam will be "0". |
Cheating
on exams is a very serious offense and will be dealt with accordingly. The
first occurrence of cheating by a student in this class will result in a
grade of "O" being assigned for the exam in question. (Note: A "O" grade received for cheating on an exam
cannot be replaced by a higher score as a result of the "bonus"
attendance policy described below.) A second occurrence of cheating by the
same student will result in an automatic "F" for the course. |
ATTENDANCE IN LECTURE
ATTENDANCE
Your attendance in lecture will not be used
in any negative way in the determination of your grade for this course. In
other words, your course grade will not be lowered simply by skipping
lectures. However, at least for most students, regular attendance in lecture
will be essential for mastery of the material presented in this course.
Therefore, we offer the following optional "bonus plan" to
encourage regular attendance in lecture. |
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Your
attendance will be recorded for each of the non-exam lecture periods. At the
end of the semester your Lecture Attendance Percentage will be calculated
based on the fraction of those non-exam lecture periods you attend. If this
Lecture Attendance Percentage exceeds your score on any of the first three
lecture exams your Lecture Attendance Percentage may automatically be
substituted for the lowest of those three lecture exam scores before your Total
Lecture Percentage is determined. (Note: If your Lecture Attendance
Percentage does not exceed your score on any of the first three lecture exams
then your Total Lecture Percentage will be determined simply by averaging the
four lecture exam scores.) The attendance percentage will not replace any
exam score of 50% or below (after normalization). You must appear attentive
during class and be present in your assigned seat when your instructor takes role
in order to be marked present in attendance for that class. ABSOLUTELY
NO EXCUSES--you are either present or
not present. |
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Please
note that this attendance policy is designed to be a positive incentive (i.e.
"bonus") for regular attendance rather than a negative disincentive
(i.e. "punishment") for poor attendance. If you do not wish to
attend lecture regularly, that is your prerogative; you can demonstrate your
mastery of the subject matter simply by taking the exams. However,
statistical analyses of student performance in this course over the past
several years have indicated that almost no one who has skipped a significant
number of the lectures has been able to do very well on the lecture exams.
Therefore, we strongly encourage you to attend lecture regularly. |
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Avoiding
Class Disruptions.
In a large lecture class it is easy for one person to create disruption that
can disturb a large number of people including
the instructor. Instructors at MSU have the authority to
suspend or drop a student who is disrupting a class. Disruptions that
have caused problems in GLG 110 in the past include: |
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*excessive
talking or joking during lecture. |
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*smoking
in or immediately outside the lecture hall. |
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*use
of chewing tobacco or "smokeless" tobacco in or immediately outside
the lecture hall. |
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*consistently
arriving late for lecture. |
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*leaving
lecture early (without making prior arrangements with the instructor). |
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*rustling
papers, notebooks, and book bags during the last few minutes of lecture. |
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*cell
phones are to be turned off during class time and not used—if caught, phone
will be collected and sent to the Dean’s office. |
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Any
student who is being bothered by any such disturbance should bring that situation
to the attention of the instructor (either during or after lecture) so that
the instructor can see to it that the offender stops creating the
disturbance. |
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Absolutely
no extra credit work will be assigned in this course for any reason! Please
don’t ask. |
IX. DROPPING
Despite what you may hear from some of your peers, no one is automatically dropped from this course for non-attendance. If you simply stop coming to this class, you will receive a grade of "F" unless you officially drop the course of officially withdraw from the university at the due date before the end of the semester. |
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DATE |
LECTURE
TOPICS—internet note links |
Readings in Text |
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Jan.13
M |
Analyze
Syllabus |
Bring
Syllabus to class |
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Jan.15
W |
Chapter
1 pps.1-35 |
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Jan.20 M Jan.22 W |
NO
CLASSES—MARTIN LUTHER KING |
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Jan.27
M |
Chapter
2, pps.38-61 |
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Jan.29 W |
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Feb.3 M |
Chapter
3, pps.64-89 |
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Feb.5 W |
Chapter
4, pps.92-121 |
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Feb.10
M |
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Feb.12
W |
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Feb.17
M Feb.19
W |
NO
CLASSES—PRESIDENTS DAY Exam
1: Introduction to volcanoes inclusive. |
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Feb.24
M |
Chapter
5, pps.124-147 |
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Feb.26
W |
Chapter
6, pps.150-175 |
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Mar.
3 M |
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Mar.
5 W |
Chapter
7 pps.178-195 |
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Mar.10-16 |
NO CLASSES-- SPRING BREAK |
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Mar.17
M |
Chapter
14, pp. 336-359 |
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Mar.19
W |
Ch.
15, pps.362-391 |
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Mar.24
M |
Exam
2: Weathering Rocks to Earth’s Interior Inclusive |
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Mar.26
W |
Chapter
17, pps.416-435 |
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Mar.31
M |
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Apr.
2 W |
Chapter
9, pps.216-237 |
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Apr.
7 M |
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Apr.
9 W |
Exam
3; Continental drift, Plate tectonics, Geologic Structures, inclusive |
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Apr.14
M |
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Apr.16
W |
Chapter
10, pps.240-259 |
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Apr.21
M |
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Apr.23
W |
Chapter
11, pps.262-285 |
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Apr.28
M |
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Apr.30 W |
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May
5-7 M,W |
Chapter
12, pps.288-305 |
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May
12 M |
Exam
4: Streams to wind action & final exam (11:30-1:30 p.m.)
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