GEOSCIENCES 001
Introduction to Physical Geology - Fall 2011
Professor: David Bice Email: dmb53@psu.edu
Office: 540 Deike (865-4477) Office Hours:
M 2:30-3:30, W 10-11 & by appointment
Class Meetings: Monday Wednesday Friday: 1:25 –
2:15
Location: 26 Hosler (Lecture) and 2 or 4 Deike (lab)
Credit Hours: 3 Credits. You
must complete the lab section of this course to receive a grade. There is no prerequisite for this course.
Teaching Assistants: Travis Deptola
(tjd212@gmail.com), Matt Travis (met5178@psu.edu) ,
Randy Justin (RMJ152@psu.edu) , Mike
Donovan (mpd187@psu.edu)
Text: Earth, Portrait of a Planet 3rd ed. by Stephen Marshak (used copies in bookstore or amazon.com, or e-book
(http://www.nortonebooks.com/welcome.asp
book is listed under Geology. You can ÒBuy the online e-bookÓ or ÒBuy the downloadable e-bookÓ of the Marshak text. The downloadable e-book can be saved to
your computer desktop, so you donÕt always have to have an internet
connection to access it. Both passwords expire after one year).
Lab Manual: The lab manual is required. To keep your costs down, we are preparing this manual
in-house. It can be purchased at
the Student Book Store on East College Ave.
Lab Materials: 10x hand lens (available at bookstore),
colored pencils, pencils, erasers and field notebook. Labs start 2nd week of class.
Supplementary Materials:
You are encouraged to make use of the EMS library on the
1st floor of Deike if you are interested in pursuing any aspect of the
Geosciences or related fields. In addition, if you have any questions, you have
your professor and teaching assistants as a resource!
Readings
In the syllabus, the topic for
each day is accompanied by a reading assignment that should be completed before
class or lab. Most of the readings come from the textbook; other readings will
come from various sources on the web. These readings are intended to provide a
basis and context for the things we'll discuss in class. If you follow the
readings, you'll have a much easier time seeing how it all fits together. In
general, you should think of your textbook and the library as resources for
answering questions - learn how to use these resources well and you'll have the
means for unlimited learning. You cannot expect everything important to be
served up to you - you have to go out and forage a bit and find your own
answers sometimes. Speaking of foraging, a word of caution about information on
the web – not all of the information that pops up in a Google search is
trustworthy. There are good sources of geoscience
information on the web and almost all of these are connected with someone at a
university or college or a government lab or a museum; Wikipedia
is generally a reliable source as well. So, scrutinize the sources of the
information you find on the web.
Field Labs
There will be several field labs
during the course in order to get some hands-on experience looking at and
interpreting rocks; many of these labs will lead to an overall understanding of
the geologic history of the State College area. Expenses related to these field trips will be charged to you
after the class is over – it will be in the neighborhood of $40. Come prepared with appropriate clothing
- boots are always recommended; raingear will sometimes be needed and should
always be brought along.
GRADING
Grading: Your performance in this course will be evaluated in several
ways.
Exams: Multiple choice. There will be three midterm exams and
one final.
Laboratory Work: The work you do in lab is critical to your understanding of
the geological sciences. You will
complete and hand in laboratory work after each lab session.
Deadlines: Lab reports are due at the end of the lab
session, unless otherwise noted by your teaching assistant. Late labs will be
penalized by 10% per day and they cannot be handed in after the graded
labs for that exercise have been returned. No make up labs will be allowed. Please contact your lab TA if you cannot make a lab for any
reason.
GRADING POLICY:
There are three midterms and one final. The midterms are each worth 15%,
combining for 45% of your final grade. The final will be cumulative and is
worth 25% of your grade. The
laboratory reports will make up 30% of your final grade.
Attendance: Your presence in lecture and lab is necessary for this course. In class, we will discuss current
events, images and movies of geologic phenomena you will not find in the
textbook. I also conduct in-class
experiments and bring in rock samples and props to demonstrate geologic
processes and phenomena. These may
reappear on exams. I want you to
do wellÉ so show up for class! For
most classes, there will be a powerpoint or pdf posted on ANGEL shortly after the class period, but
these will almost always be devoid of any notes or text, so you canÕt rely on
them as a substitute for coming to class.
If you have an excused absence, you must provide written supporting documentation before the absence (if, for
example, it involves a university-sanctioned field trip) or within a week after
class (in the case of a medical absence).
Labs. Setting up the laboratory exercises takes a lot of time on
the part of the Geosc 001 teaching assistants. If you will miss a lab, you MUST inform
your teaching assistant as soon as possible (BEFORE the lab) to discuss the
situation. The teaching assistants are under NO
obligation to set up laboratory exercises from previous weeks to accommodate
absences.
Academic Integrity: I expect
that you will treat your professors, yourself, and your fellow students with respect during
the course. Cheating and plagiarism will not be
tolerated. You will have the opportunity to work in groups, both in class and
in lab. However, you may not provide or receive assistance on exams, labs,
quizzes or projects unless authorized by your professor or teaching assistant.
If you copy or plagiarize another person's work or idea (in class, from a published
work, from the web, etc.) without proper acknowledgement you are in violation of the trust we have in
you. You will receive a zero grade for the assignment or
exam. This will significantly lower your grade for the course, by a minimum of
one letter grade.
General goals of the course
We hope that by the end of this course, you will have
a good, basic understanding of how the whole Earth system works --
the processes that operate in the interior, on the surface, and above the
surface. Through this, we hope you will gain a sense of the Earth as a complex,
dynamic system in which there is a high degree of connectedness. You should
also learn something about how the Earth has changed through its long history,
and what the future might hold. In addition, we hope that you will get a
feeling for how geologists think -- how we know what we do about the Earth, and
how we go about solving problems in the earth sciences. We hope that this
course will also provide you with some insight into how people are affected by
geologic processes, how our activities can in turn affect the Earth, and how an
understanding of geology can lead to a more intelligent way of occupying the
Earth. These are the kinds of things that we hope you will retain from this
course, along with a new way of looking at the Earth around you. These are
lofty goals and they won't be realized without a lot of hard work, but we think
we can have fun along the way too.
SCHEDULE OF LECTURE TOPICS,
READINGS, AND LABS
|
Date |
Topic |
Reading |
Lab |
|
22-Aug |
Intro
to the Earth System |
Web Reading |
No Lab first week |
|
24-Aug |
How was
the Earth made? |
Ch 1 |
|
|
26-Aug |
Inside
the Earth |
Ch 2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
29-Aug |
The
Core to Continental Drift |
Ch 3, Interlude A |
1. Maps |
|
31-Aug |
Plate
Tectonics: How the Whole Thing Works |
Ch 4 |
|
|
2-Sep |
More
Plate Tectonics |
Ch 4 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
5-Sep |
LABOR
DAY |
|
no lab on
Monday |
|
7-Sep |
Plate
Tectonics and the Rock Cycle |
Interlude B & C |
2.TBA |
|
9-Sep |
Minerals:
Building Blocks of Rocks |
Ch 5 |
2. TBA |
|
|
|
|
|
|
12-Sep |
Geologic
Time |
Ch 12 |
3. Minerals (read ch. 5) |
|
14-Sep |
How to
Date a Rock |
Ch 12 |
|
|
16-Sep |
Interpreting
Sedimentary Rocks |
Ch 7 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
19-Sep |
More Sedimentary
Rocks |
Ch 7 |
4. Geologic Time |
|
21-Sep |
Exam 1 |
|
|
|
23-Sep |
Landslides |
Ch 16 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
26-Sep |
Geology
of Pennsylvania I |
p. 391-394; 461-469 |
5. Sedimentary Rocks (read ch.
7, interlude B) |
|
28-Sep |
Geology
of Pennsylvania II |
p. 391-394; 461-468 |
|
|
30-Sep |
No
class |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3-Oct |
Rivers,
Floods, Humans |
Ch 17 |
6. Field Lab Axemann |
|
5-Oct |
Groundwater
— Processes |
Ch 19 |
|
|
7-Oct |
Groundwater
— Resources |
Ch 19 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
10-Oct |
Intro
to the Oceans |
Ch 18 |
7. Field Lab Spring Creek |
|
12-Oct |
Ocean
Circulation |
Ch 18 |
|
|
14-Oct |
No
Class |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
17-Oct |
Ocean
Circulation |
Ch 18 |
8. Exploring the Oceans (read ch.
18) |
|
19-Oct |
Exam 2 |
|
|
|
21-Oct |
Coastal
Processes |
Ch 18 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24-Oct |
Igneous
Rocks & Volcanoes |
Ch 9, Ch 6 |
9. Field Lab Salona/Coburn |
|
26-Oct |
Volcanic
Hazards |
Ch 9 |
|
|
28-Oct |
Fossils,
Life on Earth, Mass Extinctions |
Interlude E & Web
Reading |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
31-Oct |
How
Does the Climate System Work? |
Ch 20 |
10. Igneous Rocks |
|
2-Nov |
Atmosphere:
Evolution & Dynamics |
Ch 20 |
|
|
4-Nov |
The Global
Carbon Cycle |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
7-Nov |
Glaciers |
Ch 22 |
11. Field Lab Bald Eagle/Reedsville |
|
9-Nov |
Ice
Ages, Isotopes, Orbital Theory |
Ch 22 |
|
|
11-Nov |
Recent
and Future Climate Change |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
14-Nov |
|
|
12. Structures & Metamorphic Rocks (read ch. 11) |
|
16-Nov |
Earthquakes
I |
Ch 10, Interlude D |
|
|
18-Nov |
Exam 3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
21-Nov |
Thanksgiving
Break |
|
|
|
23-Nov |
Thanksgiving
Break |
|
|
|
25-Nov |
Thanksgiving
Break |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
28-Nov |
Earthquakes |
Ch 10, Interlude D |
13. Earthquakes (read ch. 10) |
|
30-Nov |
Seismic
Hazards |
Ch 10, Interlude D |
|
|
2-Dec |
Geologic
Structures |
Ch 11 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
5-Dec |
Geology
of Oil and Gas I |
Ch 14 |
14. Geologic Maps |
|
7-Dec |
Geology
of Oil and Gas II |
Ch 14 |
|
|
9-Dec |
FINAL
CLASS |
|
|