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)

REQUIRED TEXT

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.

B. Detailed notes on the lecture material and animated PowerPoint lecture slides are available on my Internet page at:

http://courses.missouristate.edu/emantei/creative/  click on 1a and 1b


 
Use of the internet notes is optional. You are not required to use them.  If you
  do,    

BRING NOTES TO CLASS AND ADD MORE DURING THE LECTURE.

 

GRADING OF THE COURSE

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:

 

 

 

 

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

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.

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.

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.

 

 

 

 

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:

*excessive talking or joking during lecture.

*smoking in or immediately outside the lecture hall.

*use of chewing tobacco or "smokeless" tobacco in or immediately outside the lecture hall.

*consistently arriving late for lecture.

*leaving lecture early (without making prior arrangements with the instructor).

*rustling papers, notebooks, and book bags during the last few minutes of lecture.

*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.

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.

. EXTRA CREDIT

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GLG (PHY)110

TENTATIVE CLASS SCHEDULE


 

DATE

LECTURE TOPICS—internet note links

Readings in Text

Jan.13  M

Analyze Syllabus

Bring Syllabus to class

Jan.15  W

Introduction: Earth’s dynamic nature

Chapter 1 pps.1-35     

Jan.20  M

Jan.22  W

NO CLASSES—MARTIN LUTHER KING

continued

 

Jan.27  M

Matter; Bonding & Non-silicate minerals

Chapter 2, pps.38-61

Jan.29  W

continued; Silicate minerals

Feb.3  M

continued; Igneous rocks

Chapter 3, pps.64-89

Feb.5  W

continued; Volcanoes  

Chapter 4, pps.92-121

Feb.10 M

continued;

 

 

Feb.12 W

continued;

 

 

Feb.17 M                

Feb.19 W

NO CLASSES—PRESIDENTS DAY

Exam 1: Introduction to volcanoes inclusive.

 

Feb.24 M

Weathering and Soils 

Chapter 5, pps.124-147

Feb.26 W

continued: Sedimentary rocks

Chapter 6, pps.150-175

Mar. 3 M

continued:

Mar. 5 W

Metamorphic rocks; Age determination

Chapter 7  pps.178-195

Mar.10-16              

NO CLASSES-- SPRING BREAK

 

Mar.17 M

Earthquakes: Earth’s Interior;

Chapter 14, pp. 336-359

Mar.19 W 

Continental Drift; Plate Tectonics

Ch. 15, pps.362-391

Mar.24 M

Exam 2: Weathering Rocks to Earth’s Interior Inclusive

Mar.26 W

continued: Geologic Structures (crustal deformation)

Chapter 17, pps.416-435

Mar.31 M

continued:

 

Apr. 2 W

Streams (running water)

Chapter 9, pps.216-237

Apr. 7 M

continued:

Apr. 9 W

Exam 3; Continental drift, Plate tectonics, Geologic Structures, inclusive

Apr.14 M

continued

Apr.16 W

Groundwater

Chapter 10, pps.240-259

Apr.21 M

continued:

 

 

 

 

Apr.23 W

Glaciers

Chapter 11, pps.262-285

Apr.28 M

continued;

Apr.30 W

continued;

May 5-7 M,W

Deserts and Wind Action

Chapter 12, pps.288-305

May 12 M

Exam 4: Streams to wind action & final exam (11:30-1:30 p.m.)