Fall 2009- Dynamics of the  Earth - Web-based Class - Syllabus

Introduction | Grading | Contact Information | Objectives | Holidays | Final | Schedule of Readings and Exams

Important changes or notifications will be posted here. Please check here daily.

Posted initially on 8/17/09

There is a required meeting Monday, August 31, 2009 at 8:00 - 8:30 am in CSL 422. If you can't make this meeting, then please drop by my office in GMCS 120 for a brief 5 to 10 min chat about the structure of this course, or alternatively watch the Video Introduction. You can find the Video Introduction on the homepage under Table of Contents.

Posted 9/18/09 - Extra credit questions for exam 1
Go to the following web site and read Chapter 4 Mount St. Helens: A Case Study - http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/visualgeology/naturaldisasters/
Chapter 4 can be found in the Table of Contents under the menu item labeled "eBook". After reading Chapter 4 please be prepared to answer the following questions on Exam 1.

1. What is the maximum speed reached by the pyroclastic flow generated by the northward-directed lateral blast that occurred on May 18, 1980 at Mt. St. Helens? (1 point)
2. The area affected by the pyroclastic flow produced by the lateral blast can be subdivided into three roughly concentric zones.  What are these zones referred to and how is each characterized? (3 point)
3. How were most people killed during the May 18, 1980 eruption? (1 point)

Posted 10/9/09 - Extra credit questions for exam 2
Go to the following web site and read the material in Chapter 8, Landslides, paying particular attention to the Mount Soledad and La Conchita landslides:
http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/visualgeology/naturaldisasters/
Chapter 8 can be found in the Table of Contents, under the menu item “eBook”. After reading this material, please answer the following questions.

1. Where is Mount Soledad and La Conchita located? (1 point)
2. How would you classify the landslide at Mount Soledad? (1 point)
3. How does the Mount Soledad landslide differ from the March 4, 1995 event at La Conchita? (1 point)
4. How does the January 10, 2005 landslide at La Conchita differ from the Mount Soledad landslide? (1 point)
5. How many people were killed and injured in the January 10, 2005 landslide at La Conchita? (1 point)
6. How many people were injured and killed in the March 4, 1995 event? (1 point)
7. Where is the Rincon Mountain slide located, and why is it significant? (1 points)
8. How was the weather in southern California characterized prior to both the March 4, 1995 and January 10, 2005 landslides? (1 point)
9. Who is Larry Gurolla and what did he conclude about the possibility of landslides reoccurring at La Conchita? (1 point)
10. Is it safe to have a home at Mount Soledad, La Conchita, or any similar environment and setting? (1 point)

Posted 10/29/09 - Extra credit question for Exam 3
The geologic column or geologic time scale is the framework in which geologists view Earth history.  On the CD and web site Figure 7 of Chapter 9 is an example of the geologic column.  You will receive 10 extra credit points if you can list in descending order (youngest/uppermost to oldest/lowermost) the Eonothems/Eons, Erathems/Eras, Systems/Periods, and Series/Epochs of the column shown in Figure 7, Chapter 9. You also must show the age boundaries for the Cenozoic, Mesozoic, and Paleozoic.

I lecture to another geology 100 class on the same material on Tuesday and Thursday from 11:00 am to 12:15 pm in NE-60.  You are welcome to attend these lectures.

You do not need a scantron for any of the scheduled exams.

Required CD (its your book): Notes on Planet Earth version 3.0 can be purchased in the campus bookstore.

Introduction

Geologists utilize physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and computer science to develop a holistic understanding of our planet. In so doing they have reached the conclusion that the fundamental Earth paradigm is Plate Tectonics, a subject that we will cover in Chapter 1. As you walk on the surface of the Earth, it feels hard and solid. That is because it is built from various types of rocks and sediments, topics that we will cover in Chapters 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. However, prior to jumping too far ahead it is important to recognize that the rocks and sediments below our feet are made up of many different varieties of minerals, a topic that we will cover in Chapter 2. As you probably already know the Earth has a long complicated history. In Chapter 9 we will delve deeply into this history, and attempt to understand how geologists distinguish time, an abstract but quantifiable term, from material that was deposited during, and therefore is representative of, a particular time. Geologic maps portray the distribution of various types of Earth materials and the complicated forms that are produced by forces acting within and on the surface of our planet. In Chapter 10 we will learn how to read a topographic map, and in Chapters 11 and 12 we will study how to identify folds and faults as well as consider the causes of earthquakes. In Chapter 13 we will evaluate the kinds of evidence that indicate that in the past the global climate of our planet was vastly different than it is today. We will then consider several reasons why that may be the case. We will close our study of planet Earth by investigating the causes of ocean waves, tides, currents, and tsunamis in Chapters 14 and 15.

All exams will be taken on the scheduled dates. Basically, I provide you a web site and a CD that contains all of the material including practice tests. You work through the 15 chapters and take four exams according to the schedule listed below. 

At the web site you will find under Table of Contents, links to your syllabus and a video introduction (Introduction), my eBook (eBook), videos of each of my lectures (Video Lectures), PDF files of practice exams (Practice Exams), video reviews for each of the four exams that you will take (Exams Video Review), PDF files for the Geology 101 Laboratories (Geology 101 Labs), and a link to my biographic sketch (About the Author). If you have not signed up for the 1 unit Geology 101 Laboratory, then do not worry about the link for the various Laboratories.

Grading/Assessment

There will be four exams, each exam being worth 25% of your total grade.  Extra credit questions will be provided to students at various times during the course. I will not provide answers to the extra credit questions. The 4 exams break the course up into 4 more or less equal quarters.

Range/Grade
100 – 93.3 A
93.3 – 90 A-
89.9 – 86.7 B+
86.7 – 83.3 B
83.3 – 80.0 B-
79.9 – 76.7 C+
76.7 – 73.3 C
73.3 – 70 C-
69.9 – 67.7 D+
67.7 – 63.3 D
63.3 – 60.0 D-
< 60 F

Contact Information

My office phone number is 594-2552 and my e-mail address is ggirty@geology.sdsu.edu. My office is GMCS 120. If you have any questions, then please do not hesitate to call or e-mail me. With the exception of the furlough days listed below, I have open office hours Monday through Friday. You do not have to email or phone to make an appointment.

Due to the budget crisis, and the implementation of furloughs, the monthly pay of all faculty and lecturers has been reduced by ~10%. As a result, the university has requested that all faculty and lectureres take 9 days off during the Fall semester. During those days we have been instructed to not answer emails or phone calls, and basically to have no interaction with students. My furlough days for Fall 2009 are as follows: August 24, 25, 27, and 28; September 14 and 21; October 5; November 9; December 7

Objectives

This course has several overarching and content goals. Overarching goals are outline below and meet several of the Goals and Objectives for GE Courses in the Sciences as outlined in the 2003 SDSU Curriculum Guide

I. Overarching Goals/Outcomes
After completion of this course students will be able to:

1. Articulate the multidisciplinary integrated nature of the Earth Sciences and the importance of its role in their and others everyday lives (Goal 1 – Objectives 2 and 3)

2. Articulate how technological advances along with the collection of a myriad of observational and analytical data over the last 200 years have lead naturally to the interpretation that the Earth originated about 4.6 billion years ago, and that its development has been punctuated by several major planet-wide events that brought about profound change in Earth’s habitants (Goal 2 – Objective 1)

3. Articulate how laboratory experimentation has lead to an enhanced understanding of dynamic earth processes such as faults and earthquakes, and, as a result, how the Earth Sciences have impacted their and others quality of life (Goal 2 – Objective 2; Goal 3 – Objective 3).

4. Articulate how the scientific method is used to infer the causes of global-scale changes that have affected planet Earth over time (Goal 2 – Objectives 2, 3).

5. Articulate examples of everyday observations that indicate that the Earth is dynamic and ever changing, and how these observations impact their daily life (Goal 4 – Objectives 1, 3, 4).

The above overarching goals are intertwined with the following specific content goals.

II. Content Goals/Outcomes
To meet content goals students will be able to:

1. Articulate the role that lithospheric plates and their movements play in shaping the Earth’s landmasses and ocean basins, and the internal compositional and mechanical attributes of planet Earth

2. Identify from their physical and chemical characteristics the common minerals in the non-silicate and silicate mineral groups

3. Distinguish the three major rock groups based on their physical characteristics and modes of formation

4. Articulate the distribution of the 12 major soil orders within the various states, and convey the major climatic or parental controls on this distribution

5. Convey the vastness of geologic time, key biological and physical events that have affected Earth through time, the terminology used to distinguish time from the rocks and sediments deposited during a specific time interval, and the role of the fundamental age equation in establishing the temporal framework for the geologic time scale

6. Identify the different types of faults and demonstrate an understanding of their origin, distribution, and relationship to earthquakes.

7. Identify the different types of folds from their geometrical and stratigraphic character, and the various map symbols used to locate and characterize them on geologic maps.

8. Identify the various landforms displayed on topographic maps, articulate locations in township and range format, and convey the differences between magnetic and geographic north.

9. Articulate the role of the Earth, Moon, and Sun in producing tides, the role of wind in producing waves, and the physical characteristics of deep and shallow water waves.

10. Convey that the Earth’s climate has been different in the past as exemplified by the Great Ice Age, and that the Earth’s climate is influenced by a variety of mechanisms including the precession and obliquity of the Earth’s axis of rotation and the eccentricity of its orbit around the sun along with large volcanic eruptions and bolide impacts.

Holidays

September 7 - Labor Day

November 11 - Veteran's Day

November 26-28 - Thanksgiving

Final

December 5 - 0900 to 1000 - EBA 343 and EBA 347

Schedule of Readings and Exams

Below is the schedule that we will follow during Fall 2009. Please adhere to it. Note that to prevent conflicts with your Monday through Friday class schedule all exams will be given Saturday mornings, from 9:00 am to 10:00 am. Due to the large number of students that have enrolled in the web-based class all exams will be given in EBA-343 & EBA-347 (EBA = Education and Business Administration).

For each chapter, there is also an online video lecture for you to watch. You are strongly encouraged to first read the material for a given chapter, and then watch the video lecture. After you have completed this task, then download and print out the practice exam. Find a quiet place, and work through all of the questions on the practice exam. If you score a 90 or higher, then you probably know the material well enough that you can go on to the next chapter. If you do not score 90 or higher, then you need to go back over the material. Please note that none of the questions in the practice exams are repeated in the exams that you will be required to take. However, the practice exams focus your attention on the concepts and ideas that I think are important. These concepts and ideas are what I will test you on. Finally, I will post 48 hours prior to each exam a Video Review for you to watch. These reviews will be posted under the link Exams Video Review on the home page. You are strongly encouraged to watch the video reviews.