Course Description

Survey of earth sciences through an examination of natural hazards including causes and effects of earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, floods, landslides, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, climate change, and impacts of extraterrestrial objects. Discussion will focus on personal and societal adjustments to these hazards.

Course Rationale

As the world's population grows and expands, humans are encountering natural hazards more frequently, and are contributing to a rapid change in the world's climate. College-educated consumers, voters, and decision-makers need to understand the scope and impact of these changes and the limitations that science and technology have in reducing their negative effects.  Studying natural hazards provides a valuable perspective for this understanding.  This is a general survey course that does not count towards a major in the geological sciences.

Course Objectives

• Learn how earth processes affect and interact with our civilization, especially those that create hazards
• Learn basic principles of geology, meteorology, oceanography and solar system astronomy
• Review basic concepts of mathematics, chemistry, physics, and biology as applied to natural hazards
• Develop an understanding of the methods scientists use to predict and assess the risk of natural hazards
• Become familiar with natural hazards that threaten Central Texas and ways to minimize the personal and societal consequences of these hazards

Instructional Methodology

This course will be taught in a lecture/discussion format illustrated with videos, maps, diagrams, digital photographs, and content on Web sites, and with an in-class field activity. Student learning will be assessed with three in-class examinations and a take-home assignment.

Registration

Section 22894 - Lecture - 2:50-4:05 PM in RGC Room 108

Prerequisite - Reading proficiency on Texas Success Initiative (TSI) testing or are TSI exempt; a knowledge of high school and middle school mathematics is required.

Required Textbooks and Materials

Textbook - Keller, Edward A., and Blodgett, Robert H., 2008. Natural hazards; Earth's processes as hazards, disasters, and catastrophes (2nd edition).  Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 488 p., ISBN 978-0-13-231864-8
Multimedia - King, Hobart M., Carpenter, B. M., and Wilson, Nicole D., 2008. Hazard city: Assignments in applied geology (third edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 1 CD packaged with Keller and Blodgett (2008).

Communication

Professor:   Robert (Bob) H. Blodgett, Ph.D., P.G., Professor
Office Hours:  8:00-9:00 A.M. and 1:00-2:30 PM Monday, 10:30 AM-Noon Tuesday, and 8:00-9:00 AM Wednesday, or by appointment in Rio Grande Campus Room 106;  Appointments can be arranged in person, by telephone or by e-mail.
Telephone/ voice mail:  223-3892
Electronic mail: rblodget @ austincc.edu - checked at least daily Monday through Friday
Web page: http://www.austincc.edu/rblodget

Assessment and Grading

Examinations

Three in-class, closed-book tests will contain varying proportions of multiple-choice, matching, and short and long answer questions drawn from lectures, handouts, and reading assignments. The final lecture examination will be given on the last day of class and will emphasize material covered since the last mid-term examination. No examinations will be given early for any reason. If a single mid-term exam is missed, the final exam score will be recorded for that missed exam. Scores of 70 or greater on the final examination will substitute for the lowest mid-term examination score. Review questions will be distributed before each examination. 

Hazard City Assignment

You will be assigned a take-home exercise on the Hazard City (3e) CD that accompanies your textbook. To prepare for this assignment you will be asked to submit your first, second, and third choice of topics to the professor by Wednesday, October 8, 2008. You will then be assigned a specific version of the exercise and a separate two-page paper on the hazard. The assignment must be turned in no later than the beginning of class on Monday, November 24, 2008. Five percentage points will be deducted for each calendar day that the assignment is turned in late. Late assignments turned in to Professor Blodgett's mailbox in RGC Room 204 must have the date stamped on them by the administrative assistant in the mail room. Late work will not be accepted after the assignment has been returned to the class.

Final Grade

Your final course average will be calculated as follows:

25%   Midterm Exam 1	15%   Hazard City assignment
25%   Midterm Exam 2	35%   Final Examination

There is no "extra credit." The following scale will be used to determine your course grade:

90-100%   -  A	70-79%    -  C	Below 60%    - F
80-89%     -  B	60-69%    -  D

Students whose final course average is 59%, 69%, 79%, or 89% will be advanced to the next higher grade if their final examination score shows improvement over their mid-term examination scores.

Course Policies

  Participation

Students are expected to attend lectures and participate in class discussion. Those students who do not attend class during the first two weeks of the semester may be administratively withdrawn. You are expected to work with the professor and your classmates. This may include distributing and collecting course materials in the classroom, setting up and logging off of computers and projectors, participating in class demonstrations, and cleaning up the classroom.

   Withdrawals

If you decide to drop this class, you must protect your academic record by withdrawing no later than Monday, November 24, 2008. The professor, however, reserves the right to withdraw a student for not meeting course objectives. Departmental policy forbids the instructor from withdrawing you from this class after the withdrawal date. It is your responsibility to verify that you have successfully withdrawn from the class before the Final Withdrawal Date. You are strongly encouraged to keep copies of paperwork should there be a problem in the computer records.

   Incompletes

An incomplete (grade of "I") will only be given if extenuating circumstances, such as illness or death of a loved one, keep a student from completing the final examination. Incompletes must be requested in writing with documentation of the extenuating circumstances. If a grade of I is given, the final exam must be taken on a date set by the student and professor that is at least three weeks before the end of the 2009 Spring Semester.

   Special Needs

Each ACC campus offers support services for students with documented physical or psychological disabilities.  Students with disabilities must request reasonable accommodations through the Office for Students with Disabilities (RGC Room 150 / 223-3142) on the campus where they expect to take the majority of their classes. Students are encouraged to do this three weeks before the start of the semester. Students who are requesting accommodation must provide the professor with an Approved Accommodations and Academic Adjustments form at the beginning of the semester before any accommodations can be made. Both ACC and your professor are committed to making accommodations and adjustments for qualified students. All information about your medical condition and special needs is confidential.

   Freedom of Expression, Scholastic Dishonesty, and Student Discipline- See Attachment 1

Studying

Science courses commonly require a different approach to studying than other courses. In this course you will be asked to conceptualize things in three dimensions, understand complex concepts, and learn a whole new vocabulary for describing your planet. You will improve your performance if you take notes from both the textbook and the lecture, answer the review questions in each chapter, and go over the summary and key terms at the end of each assigned chapter. Many students find it useful to make flash cards for terms, their definitions, and significance in natural hazards. You may also find it beneficial to study in groups with your classmates. Many students underestimate the amount of time needed to do well in this course. At a minimum, you should expect to spend at least two hours outside of class studying for every hour you spend in class. A free geology tutor is also available in several of the ACC Learning Labs; check http://www.austincc.edu/tutor/ for locations and hours.

Classroom Etiquette

You are expected to be seated and ready for class on time. If you arrive late or need to leave early, please sit near the door. Please notify the professor if you have to arrive late or leave early on a regular basis. As common courtesy, do not interrupt the professor or classmates when they are speaking, do not carry on conversations during lectures, and turn off audible sounds on your cell phone, pager, or computer before you come to class. Note taking with computers will be restricted. While in the classroom you are expected to focus on course content and not engage in other electronic communication.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GEOL 1301 Course Schedule^*