GEOL 1403-006 MW (Section 45453)
Professor Robert H. Blodgett 
Spring 2012

PHYSICAL GEOLOGY

 

Description

An introduction to geology, minerals, rocks, plate tectonics, geological processes, landforms, and structural geology. A field trip will be required.

Rationale

As the world's population grows and expands, humans are placing a greater demand on earth resources, encountering natural hazards more frequently, and are causing a rapid change in our climate. To make educated decisions about these changes, consumers, voters, and decision-makers must understand how the Earth system works and how scientists have obtained this knowledge. Studying physical geology provides a valuable perspective for this understanding. This course is designed to give a basic understanding of geology and geological techniques for both geology and non-geology majors.

Objectives

Outcomes

   Course-Level - upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

 

   Program-Level - as a required course for an Associate of Science in Geology, students will be able to:

 

   General Education - as a Core Curriculum course, students completing this course will demonstrate competence in:

 

Instructional Methods

This course will be taught in illustrated lecture, discussion, laboratory exercise, and field investigation formats.  Student learning will be assessed through graded laboratory exercises, examinations of lecture and field activity material, and through practical quizzes on laboratory exercises.

 

Registration

Section 45453 - Lecture - 1:30-2:50 P.M. Monday and Wednesday in RGC Room 108
                           Laboratory - 3:00-4:20 P.M. Monday and Wednesday in RGC Room 108

Prerequisites - One year of high school science, and reading and mathematics proficiency on Texas Success Initiative (TSI) testing or are TSI exempt

 

Required Textbooks

Grotzinger, John, and Jordan, Thomas H. 2010. Understanding Earth (sixth edition):  New York, NY, W. H. Freeman and Co., 654 p., ISBN 978-1-4292-1951-8.

Ludman, Allan, and Marshak, Stephen, 2010. Laboratory manual for introductory geology: New York, W. W. Norton & Company, 422 p., ISBN 978-0-393-92814-3.

 

Course Supplies

The following supplies are either required or optional for this class:
 
Two No. 2 pencils or mechanical pencil (required) Three-ring notebook  (optional)
Pencil eraser (e.g. Staedtler Mars-Plastic eraser) (required) Drafting compass  (optional)
Set of colored pencils with at least 10 colors (optional) Hand lens (10X pocket magnifier) (optional)
12" ruler with Metric and English units (optional) Rock pick  (chisel-edge or pointed-tip with metal handle)  (optional)
Protractor  (optional)  Vented safety goggles marked ANSI Z87.1  (optional)
Electronic calculator  (optional) (cell phones and laptop computers cannot be used as calculators on quizzes)

Laboratory

It is very important for you to attend all of the laboratory sessions and field activities. You should read the assigned pages in your laboratory manual before you come to class so that you can complete the exercise in the allotted time. Completed exercises are due one week after they are assigned unless otherwise notified. Some assignments will be due on the day the exercise is assigned or by the end of the next open-laboratory session. Students who miss a laboratory, or who need extra time, should plan on attending an open-laboratory session. You must bring your own copy of the laboratory exercise to the open-laboratory session. Geology Laboratory Technician John Conners facilitates open-laboratory sessions in RGC Rm.108 from 10:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. on Friday. For additional Friday open-laboratory sessions at the Cypress Creek, Northridge, Riverside, and Round Rock campuses see http://www.austincc.edu/geology/openlabs.htm.

Field Trip

You must participate in a mandatory class field trip at 8:30 A.M. on Saturday, March 24, 2012. Transportation will be provided by the College from the RGC campus and the trip is expected to return by 7:00 P.M. You must participate in an ACC physical geology field trip to pass this course. Department policy states that students who do not attend the required field trip will fail the class. If you cannot attend our class trip on March 24, 2012, it is you responsibility to make arrangements in advance to participate in another  professor's field trip. Do not assume that if you miss the field trip that you will be able to make it up.

Communication

Instructor:  Robert (Bob) H. Blodgett, Ph.D., P. G., Professor
Office Hours:  Noon - 1:30 PM on Monday, 10:30 AM - Noon on Tuesday, and 11:30 AM- 1:30 P.M. on 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;  Students are expected to check their ACC G-mail accounts regularly during the work week.
Web page:   http://www.austincc.edu/rblodget/

Assessment and Grading

    Examinations and Quizzes

Three graded, in-class, closed-book lecture examinations will contain varying combinations of multiple-choice, matching and short-answer questions drawn from lectures, handouts, reading assignments, and field activities. A final lecture examination will be given on the last day of class and will emphasize material covered since the last mid-term examination. Four graded, in-laboratory practical quizzes will contain questions about samples of earth materials, maps and photographs, as well as short-answer questions about terminology and methodology. No exams or quizzes will be given early. If a single exam is missed, the score on the final examination will be given for that missed examination. Scores of 70 or greater on the final examination will substitute for the lowest mid-term examination score. Review sheets will be distributed before each exam and quiz.

    Grading

Your final course average will be calculated as follows:
 10% - Graded laboratory and field exercises  46% - Two mid-term lecture examinations (each exam counts 23%)
 16% - Four laboratory quizzes (each quiz counts 4%)  28% - Final lecture examination
There is no "extra credit." You must notify your professor of any mistakes or disagreements in scoring within one week after a corrected exam, quiz or assignment has been returned to the class.  The following scale will be used to determine your course grade: 90-100% = A; 80-89% = B, 70-79% = C, 60-69% = D and below 60% = F. Students whose final course average is 59%, 69%, 79%, and 89% will be advanced to the next higher grade if their final lecture examination shows improvement over their mid-term lecture examination scores.

 

Course Policies

     Participation and Assignments

You are expected to attend all lectures and laboratory sessions, participate in class discussion, and work with your professor and classmates to learn the course content. This may include distributing and collecting course materials, setting up and logging off of computers, participating in demonstrations, and cleaning up after laboratory and field activities. Assignments turned in late will be penalized four points each calendar day; however, it is better to turn an assignment in late than to receive no points for the work. Late assignments must be submitted to Professor Blodgett's mailbox in RGC Rm. 204 with the date stamped on them by the mail room assistant. Late work will not be accepted after an assignment has been returned to the class.

 

     Withdrawals

If you decide to drop this class, you must protect your academic record by withdrawing no later than Monday, April 23, 2012. The professor reserves the right to withdraw a student for not complying with course/ACC policies or for not meeting course objectives. Departmental policy forbids the professor from withdrawing you after April 23, 2012. State law permits students to withdraw from no more than six courses during their entire undergraduate career at Texas public colleges or universities. With certain exceptions, all course withdrawals automatically count towards this limit. Students who enroll for the third or subsequent time in a course taken since Fall 2002, may be charged higher tuition for that course. Details on this policy can be found in the ACC Catalog:  http://www.austincc.edu/catalog

 

    Incomplete Grade

An incomplete (grade of "I") will be given only if extenuating circumstances, such as illness or death of a loved one, prevent a student from completing the final examination and/or final laboratory quiz. Incompletes must be requested in writing with documentation of the extenuating circumstances. If a grade of I is given, the final examination and/or final laboratory quiz must be taken no later than one week before the end of the first 2012 Summer Session.

    See the attached "ACC Academic Policies and Services" for additional policies

Studying

Science courses, especially those with laboratory and field exercises, generally 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 read each textbook chapter, review the chapter summary, take notes from both the textbook and lecture, answer the exercise questions, and learn the key terms and concepts in each assigned chapter. Many students find it useful to make flash cards with the definitions and geologic significance of terms.  You may also find it beneficial to study in groups with your classmates. You are strongly encouraged to visit the textbook publisher's Web site, http://bcs.whfreeman.com/understandingearth6e/ for a complete study guide for this course, additional study hints, animations, flash cards, self-corrected quizzes, images, and Web links.  Many students underestimate the amount of time needed to pass this course. At a minimum, you should spend two hours outside of class studying for every hour you spend in class. A free geology tutor my be available in one of the ACC Learning Labs; check http://www.austincc.edu/tutor/ for locations and hours.

Etiquette

You are expected to be seated and ready for class on time and not leave your seat during lecture or the introduction to the laboratory exercise. Take a seat near the door if you arrive late or need to leave early. Please notify the professor if you have to arrive late or leave early on a regular basis. As a common courtesy, do not interrupt the professor or classmates when they are speaking, do not carry on conversations during lectures, and please turn off audible alarms on electronic equipment before the class starts. Note taking with computers will be restricted if your computer screen can be seen by others or if you are using your computer for other purposes. Texting or telephone conversations are not allowed during class, laboratory, or field activities - you are expected to focus on course content and not multi-task.  


     
   

 

GEOL 1403 COURSE SCHEDULE*
Date
Lecture Topic
Text
Lab or Field Exercise
Lab Manual
Jan 18
Introduction
1
 Earth Systems lecture
-
Jan 23
Interior of the Earth
14
Interior of the Earth lecture / Lab Safety
-
Jan 25
Earthquakes
13
Geography, Math and Chemistry Review
1
Jan 30
Plate Tectonics
2
Earthquakes
16
Feb 1
Plate Tectonics
3
Minerals lecture
-
Feb 6
Minerals
3
Plate Tectonics
2
Feb 8
Rock  & Tectonic Cycles
3
Mineral Properties
3
Feb 13
Igneous Rocks
4
Mineral Identification
3
Feb 15
Volcanoes
12
Mineral Identification
3
Feb 20
Sediment & Sedimentary Rocks
5
Igneous Rocks
5
Feb 22
Sedimentary Environments
5
Igneous Rocks
5
Feb 27
Exam 1 (Chap. 1-4, 12-14)
-
Sedimentary Rocks
6
Feb 29
Metamorphic Rocks
6
Quiz 1 (earthquakes, tectonics, minerals, review)
-
Mar 5
Geochronology
8
Sedimentary & Metamorphic Rocks
6. 7
Mar 7
Structural Geology
7
Metamorphic Rocks
7
Mar 12 -18
Spring Break
-
No Classes
-
Mar 19
Evolution of the Continents
10
Rock Identification
5, 6, 7
Mar 21
Weathering and Soils
16
Relative Dating
17
Mar 24
Hill Country Field Trip
-
Hill Country Field Trip
-
Mar 26
Mass Wasting
16
Contours and Topographic Profiles
8, 9
Mar 28
Groundwater
17
Topographic Map Interpretation
9
Apr 2
Streams
18
Quiz 2 (rocks, relative dating)
-
Apr 4
Exam 2 (Chap. 5-8, 10, 16, 17)
-
Geologic Structures
15
Apr 9
Winds and Deserts
19
Geologic Maps
15
Apr 11
Oceans and Coastlines
20
Mass Movement
-
Apr 16
Glaciers
21
Groundwater
12
Apr 18
Landscape Development
22
Stream Erosion and Deposition
10
Apr 23
Energy Resources
23
Quiz 3 (contours, topographic profiles & maps, geologic maps & structures)
-
Apr 25
Mineral Resources
3, 23
Arid Environments
13
Apr 30
Global Climate Change
15
Shoreline Landscapes
14
May 2
Global Climate Change
15
Glacial Landscapes
11
May 7
Quiz 4 (geomorphology)
-
Review
-
May 9
Final Exam (Chap. 3, 15, 18-23)
-
Optional course evaluation
-
*Schedule changes may occur during the semester and will be announced in class.